Paper short abstract:

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Paper long abstract:

Even though most of the African migrants in Morocco hope to travel to Spain and then further on to other European countries, they spend increasingly longer periods in Morocco in often difficult conditions.

This paper describes the situation of a number of female African migrants who are living in Morocco with their children. It is based on ongoing qualitative research with migrants in Rabat that consists of interviews with migrants and participant observation. Specific emphasis is based on these women's strategies to find work and shelter, to organise health care and education for their children and how their relations to both Moroccan and migrant communities in Rabat as well as abroad influence these strategies.

Beyond the description of women's personal experiences in transit, the paper attempts to link these experiences to the life-course approach by highlighting the connection between the condition of "immobility" in transit and life-course development.