Qt'a al-bhar bach toulli rajl (Crossing the sea to become a man): imagined trips of aspiring migrants from Morocco to Italy.

Addressing aspiring migrants' dreams planning to move from Khouribga (Morocco) to Italy , I will focus on the construction of the imagined "away from home" and "back home" versus an experienced and symbolized "staying", and I will point out how they converge.

A context of crisis perceived inside Moroccan society, concerning lack of working opportunities and diffuse nepotism, pushes many people of Khouribga to imagine a life elsewhere. The steady contact with images and goods coming from Italy presents this country as a land where to fulfil oneself. An imagined life becomes a migration project, though one which seems to turn into a trip "without moving". To face these dynamics, the local context shapes its actions as to let people go away by, actually, forcing them to realize their trip "at home".