« Un voyage sans retour »

“Un voyage sans retour” is a documentary written and produced by Sergio Ghizzardi and was released in 2014. This documentary traces the history of Turkish and Moroccan migrant workers during the 1964 agreements between Morocco, Turkey, and Belgium. Sergio Ghizzardi gathers testimonies from the first generation of migrants, who are now at retirement age. These migrants tell their experience in Belgium, from their arrival to the present day. Belgium’s migration agreements with Morocco and Turkey were concluded in a particular socio-historical context. Turkey and Morocco were facing a major unemployment crisis, while Belgium was looking for more and more blue-collar workers to work in its mines. In 1964, formal agreements were signed to send migrant workers to Belgium.

First, the migrants describe their arrival in Belgium. The migrants were mainly men, women and children stayed at home. They left everything, family, and friends, to come to Belgium and work in the mines. They didn’t know anyone when they arrived, so they relied on the help of other immigrants to explain to them what it’s like in Belgium, and exactly what they have to do. On arrival, they had to choose between a blue and a white paper, at random. Without knowing it, those who chose the blue paper would go to Mons, and those with the white paper would go to Limburg.

After, just when they thought they had a better life ahead of them, the migrants found themselves working in the mine: extremely hard labor carried out under extremely difficult conditions. Despite these working conditions, the migrants remained in Belgium and continued to work in the mines. The testimonies in the documentary also tell us about the shame of returning home. For some migrants, returning home meant failure.

Moreover, another topic addressed in this documentary is the social bond. They explain their feeling of loneliness when they arrive. They were looking for people of the same origin as them, to find some comfort. They also tell us how difficult it is to integrate with the standards imposed by Belgian society. It was not the same ways of dressing, eating, there was the difference of religion and belief. Language was also a barrier for these migrants arriving in Belgium.

Furthermore, children’s schooling is another major topic. Indeed, first-generation migrants wanted their children to do well in school and get a good diploma. There was a desire for a better future for their children, they didn’t want them to end up workers like themselves, they wanted to offer them a better life.

In addition, the desire to return to one’s country of origin is a question that receives different answers. Most of the Moroccan and Turkish migrants did not expect to stay in Belgium for long and planned to return to their country of origin as soon as possible. But the years went by, and they stayed. The fact that they had children born or/and raised in Belgium was a factor that favored their definitive migration to Belgium. Indeed, they felt that their children would be better off in Belgium, whether in terms of schooling, healthcare, or social rights. In addition, having grown old and built a life in Belgique, first-generation migrants no longer see themselves returning to their country now that they consider themselves old. They have left family and friends behind in their home country, and if they were to return, many of them would no longer know anyone there.