Ouahiba Bouzyane's first days in France after arriving from Morocco: 'I never dreamed of leaving my country. Things just turned out that way'

Ouahiba Bouzyane, 53, stands in front of the Opéra Garnier in Paris, June 7, 2025. When she arrived in Paris, she used to come to the neighborhood to eat pastries with her mother. TERENCE BIKOUMOU FOR LE MONDE

"It was my first time on a plane, my first time outside Morocco. I was 30 years old. My sister, a flight attendant for a Saudi airline, accompanied me to the airport, so I wouldn't be too stressed. I remember that day, December 22, 2002, as if it were yesterday. I was wearing black pants and a long black faux leather coat with a red sweater, a red scarf and red boots. Red is my favorite color. I was young, I was free, but I wasn't happy about leaving my country. When I said goodbye to my grandmother, I knew Morocco was over for me, that I would only come back for vacations. At first, that made me sad. I was born and raised in the suburbs of Casablanca. My grandmother, Mariame, raised me and my four siblings, because her only daughter, my mother, was working.

I never dreamed of leaving my country. Things just turned out that way. It wasn't my decision. It was my sister's and my mother's.

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