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For a Moroccan pharmacist, Romania is like his wife, he chose her because she charmed him!
Alexandra Mănăilă - Reporter
20 November 2014
Amjad Alaoui Soulimani, pharmacist, originating from Morocco, opened a pharmacy in a Romanian village together with a Romanian colleague, more exactly in Căpâlniţa, Harghita county. This is not small thing, considering that Romanian pharmacists who have the courage to open a business in the countryside can be counted on the fingers. Not to mention foreigners...
After graduating the Faculty of Pharmacy in Iaşi Amjad returned to his home country where he lived for 9 years and managed 3 pharmacies. He then came back again to the country where he received his professional education, and although not a Romanian citizen, he feels like one, considering himself fully integrated.
I met him at the ”Training course on inter-cultural communication and deconstruction of stereotypes in mass-media” held in Cluj between 30 October - 1 November 2014; the event was organised by Institutul Intercultural (Intercultural Institute) in Timişoara, Asociaţia pentru Apărarea Drepturilor şi Integrare Socială (the Association for the Protection of Rights and Social Integration) in Bucharest, Centrul de Resurse Civice (the Centre for Civic Resources) in Constanţa and Liga Apărării Drepturilor Omului (the League for the Defence of Human Rights), Cluj Branch. As soon as we met he let me call him on his given name, Amjad, and he broke some myths regarding muslims.
Rep: When did you first come to Romania?
Amjad Alaoui Soulimani (A.A.S.): In 1992 for studies. I heard on TV about the events in 1989, but I knew about Romania, and everybody knew about Ceauşescu. I had a cousin who had come to Romania a few months before me, at the Faculty of Pharmacy, and I followed him. I can't say it was difficult here, neither with the language, nor with other things. It was for the first time I left my home, I was 19 years old, so I had freedom. In the first year I only studied Romanian language, all my colleagues were foreigners so I felt no difference. In the following year it was easy for me because I spoke French, this was a big advantage for me. I took no additional private lessons, I learned Romanian only from the courses and everyday life, at the marketplace, on the street, from the friends I made.
Rep: After graduation you returned to Morocco...
A.A.S.: After graduating I returned home for 9 years. My pharmacist diploma was acknowledged in Morocco. I also had 27 other Moroccan colleagues in Pharmacy in my year and I think everybody from that class returned home.
Rep: And still, why have you come back to Romania?
A.A.S.: I have no answer to this. I also don't know why I came back (he laughs meaningfully). I got married right after graduation and I took my wife, who is Romanian, with me in Morocco. Any change is difficult, so it was not easy for her during the first 2-3 months there. Then she also found it difficult here when we came back again, she could not adapt.
Rep: How are Romanian women seen in Morocco?
A.A.S.: My wife had an advantage, she spoke the Moroccan dialect, she learned it and she managed well. If someone didn't know her they could not tell she was not Moroccan, all the more so that she is not blonde either. I think for her it was difficult to part from her family.
Rep: Was this not just as difficult for you as well?
A.A.S.: No, because I was going home regularly, besides I came here just for studies whereas she was moving to Morocco for good. For me it was not difficult at all.
Rep: How did you find work in Romania?
A.A.S.: Initially I didn't think of pharmacy, I was doing business in the phone card trade. Then, as this business was no longer going very well, I came back to my profession. I first worked near Iaşi, at Podul Ilioaei for one year and then I moved to Vlăhiţa in Harghita and I was a commuter. I worked there for 2 years. Then I decided - together with a Hungarian ethnic Romanian colleague of mine - to open a pharmacy. So we opened Yassmine pharmacy. It bears my daughter's name, who is now 13 years old and was born in Morocco.
Rep: Is it difficult for a foreigner to open a pharmacy in Romania?
A.A.S.: Nothing is obtained easily, there always comes some problem to face, but with tenacity... it is possible. I have not obtained my citizenship yet, although I meet all criteria, I have not submitted the application dossier yet because of lack of time. Maybe I'm lazier (he laughs), but I think it is an advantage to be a Romanian citizen. Although I am not a Romanian citizen yet, I acquired the Romanian culture. Anyway, in my profession you can find a job the very next day, if you agree to the salary... As regards admission to the College of Pharmacists, in Romania the procedure is the same, regardless whether you are Romanian or foreigner.
Rep: Have the pharmacy patients regarded you differently?
A.A.S.: They were more surprised with me being a man, rather than being a foreigner. There are not many men working in pharmacies in Romania. And in the pharmacy where I worked we were two male pharmacists. Someone entering the shop and seeing us was saying: a male pharmacist is very rare, but when there are two, it's already unique. The fact that I am a foreigner makes patients more open towards me. Anyway there is no language barrier.
Rep: In Morocco are there more male pharmacists?
A.A.S.: No, the proportion is equal, 50% women, 50% men. As regards the establishment of pharmacies, to open a pharmacy in Morocco you need to do exactly the same things as in Romania, the administration is the same. I had 3 pharmacies in Morocco, in turns, not all at once. I had the first one, then I sold it, I bought another one. And so on.
Rep: Where was the pharmacy doing better as a business, here or there?
A.A.S.: It was doing better in Morocco. But as a pharmacist I was just as respected here as there. As a business, I am somehow satisfied here. In my country I would certainly earn more than here, because the living standard is lower.
Rep: How do Romanians regard Moroccan people?
A.A.S.: In general Romanians are open towards immigrants, as compared to the French or German.
There were also moments when I felt rejected, but this was because of the lack of professionalism. For instance at the bank I am often asked for my passport. Why the passport, which is a travel document? In order to withdraw money from my account they should ask for my identity card and I have a residence permit, which is a Romanian document. Not all banks ask for this, but it happens.
Rep: What are you missing from Morocco?
A.A.S.: We are a community here, we meet, we can cook our food here as well. I feel like home here, I feel integrated. In my opinion, you are integrated in a country when you start dreaming in that language. I have long since started to do so.
Rep: And still, are you not missing anything from Morocco?
A.A.S.: The sun.
Rep: Have your children integrated?
A.A.S.: The first word I learned in Romanian was "da" (yes). My children learn Romanian. The boy, Yassine is still too small, but the girl speaks Romanian very well and she also speaks Moroccan and French. She doesn't speak Arab yet. Both she and the boy who was born here have both citizenships (if one of the parents is Moroccan, the child automatically receives dual citizenship).
Rep: In your capacity of inter-cultural mediator at the Oriental Cultural Centre in Iaşi, what advice would you give to immigrants from Morocco?
A.A.S.: To learn Romanian language, this is the first thing to do. Second, to become integrated as much as possible. To make Romanian friends.
Rep: What advice would you give to Romanians, how should they behave with immigrants?
A.A.S.: To be more indulgent, to try to understand their traditions. I am Muslim and I see that Romanians do not really understand why we pray 5 times per day and why we wash so many times per day. I had no problems, but a friend of mine had a tenant who told him he was wasting water by washing 5 times per day. It is not a shower but it's a ritual, to wash one's face, head, hands, feet before each prayer. Another example: I never eat pork, this is also something Romanians do not really understand.
Rep: Do Romanians often ask you whether you would like to have more wives?
A.A.S.: This custom of having more wives is not really in place any more, although our religion allows us to have one, two, three or even four wives. Who can do this today? Not only for economic reasons, but also because everything has changed, including mentality. Moroccans have only one wife, very seldom would you meet Moroccans with two wives. My wife saw herself that this is no longer really practised. Not in my family either. My great-grandfather had 4 wives, my grandfather had one wife, my father also one and I have only one wife.
Rep: How is Morocco in your heart? And Romania?
A.A.S.: I can say so: Morocco is like my mother, I was born there, I spent my childhood there, and Romania is like my wife whom I chose because I liked her and she totally charmed me. I cannot make a difference.
After graduating the Faculty of Pharmacy in Iaşi Amjad returned to his home country where he lived for 9 years and managed 3 pharmacies. He then came back again to the country where he received his professional education, and although not a Romanian citizen, he feels like one, considering himself fully integrated.
I met him at the ”Training course on inter-cultural communication and deconstruction of stereotypes in mass-media” held in Cluj between 30 October - 1 November 2014; the event was organised by Institutul Intercultural (Intercultural Institute) in Timişoara, Asociaţia pentru Apărarea Drepturilor şi Integrare Socială (the Association for the Protection of Rights and Social Integration) in Bucharest, Centrul de Resurse Civice (the Centre for Civic Resources) in Constanţa and Liga Apărării Drepturilor Omului (the League for the Defence of Human Rights), Cluj Branch. As soon as we met he let me call him on his given name, Amjad, and he broke some myths regarding muslims.
Rep: When did you first come to Romania?
Amjad Alaoui Soulimani (A.A.S.): In 1992 for studies. I heard on TV about the events in 1989, but I knew about Romania, and everybody knew about Ceauşescu. I had a cousin who had come to Romania a few months before me, at the Faculty of Pharmacy, and I followed him. I can't say it was difficult here, neither with the language, nor with other things. It was for the first time I left my home, I was 19 years old, so I had freedom. In the first year I only studied Romanian language, all my colleagues were foreigners so I felt no difference. In the following year it was easy for me because I spoke French, this was a big advantage for me. I took no additional private lessons, I learned Romanian only from the courses and everyday life, at the marketplace, on the street, from the friends I made.
Rep: After graduation you returned to Morocco...
A.A.S.: After graduating I returned home for 9 years. My pharmacist diploma was acknowledged in Morocco. I also had 27 other Moroccan colleagues in Pharmacy in my year and I think everybody from that class returned home.
Rep: And still, why have you come back to Romania?
A.A.S.: I have no answer to this. I also don't know why I came back (he laughs meaningfully). I got married right after graduation and I took my wife, who is Romanian, with me in Morocco. Any change is difficult, so it was not easy for her during the first 2-3 months there. Then she also found it difficult here when we came back again, she could not adapt.
Rep: How are Romanian women seen in Morocco?
A.A.S.: My wife had an advantage, she spoke the Moroccan dialect, she learned it and she managed well. If someone didn't know her they could not tell she was not Moroccan, all the more so that she is not blonde either. I think for her it was difficult to part from her family.
Rep: Was this not just as difficult for you as well?
A.A.S.: No, because I was going home regularly, besides I came here just for studies whereas she was moving to Morocco for good. For me it was not difficult at all.
Rep: How did you find work in Romania?
A.A.S.: Initially I didn't think of pharmacy, I was doing business in the phone card trade. Then, as this business was no longer going very well, I came back to my profession. I first worked near Iaşi, at Podul Ilioaei for one year and then I moved to Vlăhiţa in Harghita and I was a commuter. I worked there for 2 years. Then I decided - together with a Hungarian ethnic Romanian colleague of mine - to open a pharmacy. So we opened Yassmine pharmacy. It bears my daughter's name, who is now 13 years old and was born in Morocco.
Rep: Is it difficult for a foreigner to open a pharmacy in Romania?
A.A.S.: Nothing is obtained easily, there always comes some problem to face, but with tenacity... it is possible. I have not obtained my citizenship yet, although I meet all criteria, I have not submitted the application dossier yet because of lack of time. Maybe I'm lazier (he laughs), but I think it is an advantage to be a Romanian citizen. Although I am not a Romanian citizen yet, I acquired the Romanian culture. Anyway, in my profession you can find a job the very next day, if you agree to the salary... As regards admission to the College of Pharmacists, in Romania the procedure is the same, regardless whether you are Romanian or foreigner.
Rep: Have the pharmacy patients regarded you differently?
A.A.S.: They were more surprised with me being a man, rather than being a foreigner. There are not many men working in pharmacies in Romania. And in the pharmacy where I worked we were two male pharmacists. Someone entering the shop and seeing us was saying: a male pharmacist is very rare, but when there are two, it's already unique. The fact that I am a foreigner makes patients more open towards me. Anyway there is no language barrier.
Rep: In Morocco are there more male pharmacists?
A.A.S.: No, the proportion is equal, 50% women, 50% men. As regards the establishment of pharmacies, to open a pharmacy in Morocco you need to do exactly the same things as in Romania, the administration is the same. I had 3 pharmacies in Morocco, in turns, not all at once. I had the first one, then I sold it, I bought another one. And so on.
Rep: Where was the pharmacy doing better as a business, here or there?
A.A.S.: It was doing better in Morocco. But as a pharmacist I was just as respected here as there. As a business, I am somehow satisfied here. In my country I would certainly earn more than here, because the living standard is lower.
Rep: How do Romanians regard Moroccan people?
A.A.S.: In general Romanians are open towards immigrants, as compared to the French or German.
There were also moments when I felt rejected, but this was because of the lack of professionalism. For instance at the bank I am often asked for my passport. Why the passport, which is a travel document? In order to withdraw money from my account they should ask for my identity card and I have a residence permit, which is a Romanian document. Not all banks ask for this, but it happens.
Rep: What are you missing from Morocco?
A.A.S.: We are a community here, we meet, we can cook our food here as well. I feel like home here, I feel integrated. In my opinion, you are integrated in a country when you start dreaming in that language. I have long since started to do so.
Rep: And still, are you not missing anything from Morocco?
A.A.S.: The sun.
Rep: Have your children integrated?
A.A.S.: The first word I learned in Romanian was "da" (yes). My children learn Romanian. The boy, Yassine is still too small, but the girl speaks Romanian very well and she also speaks Moroccan and French. She doesn't speak Arab yet. Both she and the boy who was born here have both citizenships (if one of the parents is Moroccan, the child automatically receives dual citizenship).
Rep: In your capacity of inter-cultural mediator at the Oriental Cultural Centre in Iaşi, what advice would you give to immigrants from Morocco?
A.A.S.: To learn Romanian language, this is the first thing to do. Second, to become integrated as much as possible. To make Romanian friends.
Rep: What advice would you give to Romanians, how should they behave with immigrants?
A.A.S.: To be more indulgent, to try to understand their traditions. I am Muslim and I see that Romanians do not really understand why we pray 5 times per day and why we wash so many times per day. I had no problems, but a friend of mine had a tenant who told him he was wasting water by washing 5 times per day. It is not a shower but it's a ritual, to wash one's face, head, hands, feet before each prayer. Another example: I never eat pork, this is also something Romanians do not really understand.
Rep: Do Romanians often ask you whether you would like to have more wives?
A.A.S.: This custom of having more wives is not really in place any more, although our religion allows us to have one, two, three or even four wives. Who can do this today? Not only for economic reasons, but also because everything has changed, including mentality. Moroccans have only one wife, very seldom would you meet Moroccans with two wives. My wife saw herself that this is no longer really practised. Not in my family either. My great-grandfather had 4 wives, my grandfather had one wife, my father also one and I have only one wife.
Rep: How is Morocco in your heart? And Romania?
A.A.S.: I can say so: Morocco is like my mother, I was born there, I spent my childhood there, and Romania is like my wife whom I chose because I liked her and she totally charmed me. I cannot make a difference.
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