Paradoxes of Social Capital: A Multi-Generational Study of Moroccans in London (IMISCOE Dissertations)

Using oral history narratives, in-depth interviews and a range of other field techniques, this pioneering book studies the deployment of social capital to evaluate the cohesion and integration of three generations of Moroccans living in London.This research has had a long gestation period and I have accumulated debts to many people en route. The study was initially meant to be a comparative research on second-generation Moroccans in Paris and Amsterdam. Destiny took its toll, and I ended up working for a Moroccan association at the heart of ‘little Morocco’ in London. It was the long conversations that I had with my former work colleagues and clients at Al-Hasaniya, to whom I am extremely grateful, that inspired me to change direction somewhat and pursue this project. This research also depended on the help and goodwill of a great many individuals. I would like to thank all my interviewees who appear on these pages, who brought this research to life and who spent time and effort on my behalf. I am most grateful to Ali Lazizi for his initial help in establishing contact with Moroccans in London and for all his words of wisdom and comfort throughout. I am also grateful to Abdulmajid Semlalli and Rabah Kaddouri for providing me with some unique historical resources. My deepest appreciation also goes to Anass Khales and Abdelaziz Bouyerman for their invaluable support when I was conducting part of my fieldwork.