Moroccans laid off in Europe scrape living back home

By Zakia Abdennebi

KHOURIBGA, Morocco (Reuters) - Moroccans who left their country to escape poverty are returning home after losing jobs in recession-hit Europe and becoming street traders to make ends meet.

The migrants usually take holidays back home in summer but in Khouribga, a town in a poor farming region of central Morocco, many have set up market stalls offering second-hand household appliances brought from Italy and Spain.

"This place is packed now on Friday and Saturday and nearly all the traders are recent arrivals from Europe," said Abdsamad Zoukeh, 53, a trader at "Souk Talian" (Italian Market) in Khouribga.

The returnees sell anything from clothes and kitchen utensils to shoes, heaters and bathroom taps.

"I won't spend my time strolling around Khouribga," said Mourad, 32. "I'm going to sell enough of this stuff to get by until someone hires me again in Spain."

The number of Moroccans working abroad has soared to more than 3 million from 634,000 in 1992 after the north African kingdom's economy failed to create enough jobs for a fast-growing population.

The money they earn is a lifeline for poor relatives back home and helps Morocco balance a current account weighed down by costly energy imports.

Many of the migrants come from the region around Khouribga, where remittances from departed residents have helped the town grow fast despite its isolation from the big coastal economic centres of Casablanca, Rabat and Tangier.