Crisis, Circular Systems, and Return: A Case Study of Morocco

In the first two weeks of March 2020, a relatively fluid border system shut down when the world devolved into isolation in a way we have not seen in modern times. Economies that relied on porous borders were suddenly shut down. What ensued were short-run “immobility crises,” where systems that relied on cross-border movement had to suddenly readjust. The crisis-driven migration literature typically focuses on movement that occurs in response to a crisis event such as a war or a natural disaster. However, in this case, movement was restricted, making immobility itself a crisis. This chapter describes the impact of the border closures on circular movement systems through interviews with Moroccan migrant families and members living abroad and families living on the Nador-Melilla border. We articulate three forms of circularity: return migration, seasonal return and daily border crossings. Our findings indicate that while the border closures had minimal impact on the longer-term migration patterns, the immobility crisis was devastating to the day-to-day cross-border traffic and seasonal return.