Greetings from a data collection trip in Morocco, part 4

The fieldwork period in Morocco is coming to an end.

Towards the end, I conducted many interviews. Our local partner may still carry out a few more, but so far, 18 young people have participated. The participants lived in large cities, smaller towns, and some in rural areas.

In the interviews, we discussed experiences of belonging and safety (as well as feelings of exclusion and insecurity), and how young people perceive the various global crises as affecting their own lives. Many spoke about the recent youth demonstrations and social crises in Morocco, and the situation in Palestine and Gaza felt very personal to several of them. We also talked about their future plans and hopes, which was truly heartwarming to hear.

Many participants said that the reading circles and interviews had been meaningful experiences for them, which of course was wonderful to hear. From my perspective, the encounters with the young people were open and often deeply moving. Still, I am sure much was left unsaid — partly due to the fact that, for example, the tight school schedules often gave the interviews a slight sense of hurry.

Four weeks is, of course, a very short period for fieldwork, but unfortunately, other duties are already calling me back to Finland. Next, it’s time to start digitizing, transcribing, and organizing the material, while data collection in Finland continues. I return home deeply grateful to all the young people who took part in the study, as well as to our Moroccan partners and fellow researchers whose contributions made the fieldwork period possible.

– Johanna