CASABLANCA // Sitting opposite the children is a dreadlocked man from Senegal called Babacar Boyé, twice their height and clenching a skin drum between his knees. "Like this, children," he says, slapping the drum with his palms: Dum-dum, dum-dum, dum-dum, Da-dum.
The children pound their own drums in unison, and thunder reverberates into the courtyard of the École La Prairie, a private primary school in Casablanca.
Mr Boyé, a drummer and dancer, is part of a recent influx into Morocco of sub-Saharan Africans. Some are migrants, others are students and a few are working. All have come to see the country as a step toward realising their ambitions.
"In Senegal there are already a lot of professional musicians and dancers, and Europe is saturated with African artists," said Mr Boyé, 38, who came to Morocco in 2006. "This is virgin territory."
Now he is tapping into a new vogue in cosmopolitan cities such as Casablanca and Marrakech for all things African.
"Schools hire me to help children discover black Africa through music and dance, and my dance troupe gets a lot of work at festivals and private soirées," he said. "Senegalese artists went to Europe in the 1930s; now that's repeating in Morocco."
Interest in Africa is a relative novelty for the country, which has traditionally looked to the Arab world and Europe for cultural imports.
Arab armies invaded North Africa in the 7th century, introducing Islam and the Arabic language, while 20th century French colonialism helped shape modern Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, leaving strong ties to Europe.
Most of Africa lies beyond the barrier of the Sahara desert. In recent years thousands of sub-Saharan migrants have struggled across it en route to Europe via Spain.
Thanks to tightened border controls by Spain, most get bottled up in Morocco.
"I never intended to stay here," said Moussa Brité, 28, a Guinean migrant mending shoes on a side-street in a working-class neighbourhood of Rabat, the capital. "My plan was to go to Spain."
In 2007, Mr Brité left his farming village, paid traffickers for truck passage across the Sahara and slipped over the Algerian border into Morocco. "But now I can't make enough money to leave," he said.
A man drew up beside Mr Brité and pulled off a shoe. "You see?" the man said. "It's tearing away from the sole just here."
Mr Brité took an awl from his toolkit and began punching holes in the leather for new thread.
"I earn enough to eat," he said. "But there's not even enough left over to send my parents."
Nobody knows how many sub-Saharan migrants are currently in Morocco. Recent estimates by United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) range from about 3,000 to 10,000.
Illegal migrants say that police sometimes drop them at the Algerian border. However, Morocco has rarely deported them to their home countries, said Rachid Badouli, the strategy and development director for the Orient-Occident Foundation, a Moroccan NGO supporting migrants. Morocco's foreign ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Today migrant arrival rates are falling, Mr Badouli said. Meanwhile, nearly 3,000 migrants have gone home via a voluntary return programme begun in 2005 by the International Organization for Migration, co-ordinated with Moroccan authorities and funded mainly by European governments.
However, as migrants leave, sub-Saharan students are increasingly arriving in search of better and cheaper education than their home countries offer.
Foreign students at Morocco's public universities have climbed from about 2,000 to 9,000 over the past decade, said Youssef Imari, the director of the state agency for international cooperation. "70 per cent are from sub-Saharan countries, and three quarters of those are getting a scholarship," he said.
Students come for a chance of free tuition and the wide range of degrees, Mr Imari said, while Morocco is keen to strengthen ties with other African countries.
"Morocco is a major player in south-south cooperation, and accepting students is part of that," said Mr Imari. "The goal for Morocco is that students educated here return home and contribute to the development of their countries."
"I applied to programmes in China, Algeria and Morocco," said Thierry, 28, a fifth-year Rwandan medical student coming out of an exam at Mohamed V University in Rabat last Wednesday, who did not give his surname. "At first I was really interested in China, but Morocco gave me the scholarship."
He wants to continue studying in Morocco to become a surgeon, but plans to return ultimately to Rwanda. "Why would I stay in this country, which has many doctors, when I can go home, where there aren't enough?"
In Casablanca, Mr Boyé has other ideas.
After the drum lesson at the École La Prairie, the children stampeded to the cafeteria and Mr Boyé retired to a patio with a cup of coffee to think about the future.
"African music, restaurants, art boutiques, dance troupes - there's a huge market here," he said. "I want to stay and develop all the projects in my head."
jthorne@thenationial.ae
Company%20profile
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SPECS
Engine: Two-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 235hp
Torque: 350Nm
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Price: From Dh167,500 ($45,000)
On sale: Now
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
RESULT
Fifth ODI, at Headingley
England 351/9
Pakistan 297
England win by 54 runs (win series 4-0)
KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL
%3Cp%3EYears%3A%20October%202015%20-%20June%202024%3Cbr%3ETotal%20games%3A%20491%3Cbr%3EWin%20percentage%3A%2060.9%25%3Cbr%3EMajor%20trophies%3A%206%20(Premier%20League%20x%201%2C%20Champions%20League%20x%201%2C%20FA%20Cup%20x%201%2C%20League%20Cup%20x%202%2C%20Fifa%20Club%20World%20Cup%20x1)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
2.30pm: Dubai Creek Tower – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Marmara Xm, Gary Sanchez (jockey), Abdelkhir Adam (trainer)
3pm: Al Yasmeen – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: AS Hajez, Jesus Rosales, Khalifa Al Neyadi
3.30pm: Al Ferdous – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Soukainah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout
4pm: The Crown Prince Of Sharjah – Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: AF Thayer, Ray Dawson, Ernst Oertel
4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup – Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: George Villiers, Antonio Fresu, Bhupat Seemar
5pm: Palma Spring – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Es Abu Mousa, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
Profile Periscope Media
Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)
Launch year: 2020
Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021
Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year
Investors: Co-founders
UAE%20SQUAD
%3Cp%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Aryan%20Lakra%2C%20Ashwanth%20Valthapa%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20CP%20Rizwaan%2C%20Hazrat%20Billal%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%20and%20Zawar%20Farid.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The%20Roundup
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Lee%20Sang-yong%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Ma%20Dong-seok%2C%20Sukku%20Son%2C%20Choi%20Gwi-hwa%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
AIDA%20RETURNS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECarol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAida%20Abboud%2C%20Carol%20Mansour%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203.5.%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
Company%20Profile
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Know your cyber adversaries
Cryptojacking: Compromises a device or network to mine cryptocurrencies without an organisation's knowledge.
Distributed denial-of-service: Floods systems, servers or networks with information, effectively blocking them.
Man-in-the-middle attack: Intercepts two-way communication to obtain information, spy on participants or alter the outcome.
Malware: Installs itself in a network when a user clicks on a compromised link or email attachment.
Phishing: Aims to secure personal information, such as passwords and credit card numbers.
Ransomware: Encrypts user data, denying access and demands a payment to decrypt it.
Spyware: Collects information without the user's knowledge, which is then passed on to bad actors.
Trojans: Create a backdoor into systems, which becomes a point of entry for an attack.
Viruses: Infect applications in a system and replicate themselves as they go, just like their biological counterparts.
Worms: Send copies of themselves to other users or contacts. They don't attack the system, but they overload it.
Zero-day exploit: Exploits a vulnerability in software before a fix is found.
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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'Gold'
Director:Anthony Hayes
Stars:Zaf Efron, Anthony Hayes
Rating:3/5
