Paper short abstract:

I shall consider imaginaries of Europe among Tuareg in Northern Niger focusing on narratives of those who traveled to Europe. Next to possibilities to travel and other social factors they influence decisions about travelling to Europe.

Paper long abstract:

In my ethnographic research with Tuareg on three different locations in Northern Niger I was interested how images of Europe and Europeans are produced, transmitted, changing and classified. Despite presence of TV and/or school which radiate images of 'the West' and European countries the main form of transmission is oral. Narratives are based on experience or on other person's narratives. One of the sources are also experiences of those Tuareg who already visited Europe, lived there for a limited period of time or on narratives of Europeans visiting or living for a while in Niger. The imaginaries of Europe are ambiguous: while on the one hand infrastructural, health, schooling and technological facilities are appreciated on the other hand thorough critique is expressed about lack of spontaneous social life and about personal over organisation of time, both perceived as lack of freedom. Next to this, reasoning about high financial means needed for life in Europe and a wish to be close to one's relatives is influencing the pragmatic decisions to stay based at home in Niger and only if and when possibility arises visit Europe. Possibility is often associated by having a friend (usually European) who can be a guarantee for legal migration and a host. Even in younger generation and despite lack of opportunities to earn in Libya after fall of Khadafi, it seems that pragmatic decisions and looking for (limited) opportunities closer to home mostly prevail above risks of undocumented travel across Mediterranean.