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Paper short abstract:

The paper directs our attention to the stories of Africans themselves, seeking to untangle how the enduring impact of slavery and colonialism shapes their present-day realities and migration pathways.

Paper long abstract:

This paper uses ethnographic methods to explore the connections between the historical legacies of slavery and colonialism and their impact on current African migration to the Netherlands. I explore how history has influenced the lives of contemporary African migrants residing in the Netherlands. In the broader discourse on migration, the unique experiences and perspectives of African migrants often take a back seat to Western-centric narratives, policies and agendas. The paper directs our attention to the stories of Africans themselves, seeking to untangle how the enduring impact of slavery and colonialism shapes their present-day realities and migration pathways. I aim to understand how historical forces shape current socio-economic conditions, cultural identities, and issues of belonging. The paper aims to bring forth a crucial Africentric perspective in the broader conversation on migration. Through empirical insights, this paper advocates for a more comprehensive understanding of the dynamics that influence the paths and challenges African migrants encounter in the Netherlands and the triumphs that provide a platform for dialogue that bridges historical contexts with contemporary realities.

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Building on the racist crisis in Tunesia in 2023, I explore the entanglement of African nationalism, race, and gender in the backdrop of EU border externalization. Drawing on the perspectives of Black migrant activists, I critically reassess racialized patriarchal constructs of African postcolonies.

Paper long abstract:

The violence of Western border and migration regimes is intensifying. Borders racialize and sexualize. They delineate the spheres of rights and non-rights, of being and non-being, and shape our participation in economic life and ability to survive.

Simultaneously, the process of externalizing Western borders into the territories of the South blurs the geopolitical line between North and South, especially evident in the interplay between the European Union and African governments. Postcolonial, race-critical, and intersectional border studies foreground the entanglement of the EU's neoliberal, racialized, and gendered border politics and the social relations and hierarchies in Africa and emphasize the need to decolonize hegemonic migration and border theories to grasp these processes.

The racist violence in Tunisia in early 2023, triggered by President Saied's nationalist discourse on the "great replacement" by black migrants and the subsequent fatal expulsions at the Tunisian-Libyan border, starkly exemplifies the effects of neocolonial bordering on African territories. In this context, Black and Sub-Saharan migrants face intersectional forms of oppression and exploitation along the lines of race, class, and gender.

Building on these events, my contribution explores the entanglement of postcolonial nationalism, race, and gender regimes in the backdrop of EU border externalization. Drawing on the perspectives of Black African migrant activists in Germany, Niger, and Senegal, I critically reassess racialized and patriarchal constructs of African postcolonies and revisit Pan-African visions of a decolonized future.

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This paper explores migration discourses from Europe and the US, emphasizing the pivotal role of African universities and local researchers in reshaping narratives and moving beyond the polarization between advocates of stricter border control and proponents of positive migration

Paper long abstract:

Irregular border crossings into the European Union via the Western African Route — from the African continent to Spain's Canary Islands — saw a significant surge in 2023, escalating by 116 percent compared to the corresponding period a year ago. Such figures are typically employed by advocates of stricter border control to underscore the perceived threat of migration. On the flip side, proponents of positive migration tend to downplay these numbers, emphasizing the benefits of people moving between borders and cultures.

To move away from this polarization, this paper delves into the discourses surrounding migration emanating from Europe and the US, examining the pivotal role that universities and local researchers situated within the African continent may play in reshaping these narratives. The objective is to decolonize some ideas about migration, comprehending it as a reality within the history of humanity, rather than categorizing it as a solely positive or negative modern aspect of our lives.

In this regard, the significance of local institutions and researchers within the continent lies in their capacity to offer fresh perspectives on the intricate dynamics of migration, avoiding the polarized stances often adopted by critics and proponents of immigration. This perspective not only challenges stereotypical portrayals but also aims to dispel the misconception that we are living in an era of unprecedented migration (Hein de Haas, 2023).

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Paper short abstract:

The paper explores the political economy of migration policies and geopolitical dynamics rooted in neo-colonialism. It lays bare the asymmetrical power between the global North & South reflected in international migration policies. In a way, this fails to acknowledge the complexity of migration.

Paper long abstract:

Migration, an age-old phenomenon, has surged with globalisation and underpinned by technological advancements. Africans historically engaged in intra-continental migration, pastoral agriculture, and batter trade. They were content with their economic lifestyles until the arrival of missionaries. Notably, migration from the global South to the North originated from the former. It is crucial to note that historically, global North migrants freely entered Africa, whereas those from the South were compelled to move into, for example, Europe, as ‘slave labour’. Today, the global North is deemed 'developed,' contrasting with the 'under-developed' or 'developing' global South due to cheap slave labour that played a central role in building the former’s economies. Of concern is the introduction of restrictive migration policies to preclude the free movement of people from the global South to the global North. Paradoxically, migrants from the North enjoy the right to free movement and visa privileges in the South, reflecting skewed migration policies. This imbalance raises questions about class, power, and racial dynamics. Based on desktop review and archival research, the paper explores the political economy of migration policies, examining contemporary geopolitical dynamics rooted in historical and neo-colonialism. Furthermore, it questions the unilateral decision-making and crafting of international migration policies by the global North. In a way, the exclusionary approach fails to acknowledge the agency of the global South and the complexity of migration premised on geo-politics. This begs the question, “Whose interest do these international migration policies serve? Could this be a new form of subtle colonialism?

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Short Abstract : This paper is about examining various foreign policies of the global north which has served as a pull factor for migration from global south. It deconstructs the role of socioeconomic and political factors in stimulating individuals and families to consider migration to the north.

Paper long abstract:

Long Abstract :

This research seeks to examine how foreign policies pursued by the global north act as catalysts for migration from the global south. It probes the intricate ways in which the foreign policies of countries in the global north, particularly those related to trade, development assistance, humanitarian aid, and immigration regulations, influence the decision-making processes of individuals and families in the global south to migrate. Additionally, the paper examines social and cultural factors, such as perceptions of quality of life, educational opportunities, and social welfare systems, as elements that attract migrants to the global north.

It considers how economic factors, such as trade agreements and investment policies, create differential opportunities and discrepancies between the global north and south, impacting livelihoods and prodding migration.

This paper further seeks to interrogate the dominant narrative in the global north which apportions all the blames of migration on the global south.

Further to this, the study aims to elucidate the complex interplay between global north foreign policies and migration patterns. More so, it seeks to shed light on the moral and ethical dimensions of foreign policy decisions and their impact on the lives of individuals and communities in the global south. The study adopts a multidisciplinary approach, tapping on discourses from sociology, economics, international relations, and migration researches to offer an in-depth analysis. The findings are intended to provide constructive insights for policymakers and scholars working in the fields of migration, development, and international relations.

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Paper short abstract:

The consequences of disguised western migration policies on Africa’s developmental drive have been unwavering. Yet the beneficiary has always played the victim even when its policies suggest a siphoning spree agenda of trained human resources out of Africa.

Paper long abstract:

The consequences of disguised western migration policies on Africa’s developmental drive have been unwavering. Yet the beneficiary has always played the victim even when its policies such as blue card, green card, scholarship schemes all suggest the contrary. While migration policies in the Sahel are sponsored by the West to restrain irregular migration of unskilled Africans who are perceived to be a burden, the blue card and scholarship schemes are used to bate thousands of skilled personnel to support the healthcare and educational systems of the west. The attempt to understanding the consequences of the western migration policies on Africa’s developmental drive and the associated complexities remain the main focus of this paper. Review of relevant literature and migration policies shows that, the care industry in Europe and America survives on the back of trained teachers and health workers from Africa and other third world countries. It has been observed that the effects of the western migration policies even soared in post COVID-19. In 2021 alone, over 44, 000 basic schoolteachers in Ghana resigned and migrated to Western Countries. This supports the arguments of the underdevelopment theorist of migration which sees the capitalist migration policies as the best means of siphoning cheap labour to prosecute its developmental agenda at the expense of countries in the global south. The accessibility of the west migration policies to the hinterlands of the global south exacerbates the poverty, labour displacements to major sectors while the core profits for their development.

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Since their independence in the 1950s and 1960s, North African countries transitioned from being emigration nations to becoming transit points for migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa, en rout to Europe. This shift followed the signing of Schengen convention and subsequent securitization of European borders and outsourcing border management to North African transit states. This border militarization has so far contributed to the death of 50,000 migrants in the Mediterranean, and other thousands in the Sahara Desert. North African states, aligning with EU interests, criminalize migration through laws like 02-03 in Morocco and 11-08 in Algeria. The official discourse in North Africa downplays race's role in policy, yet statements from leaders reveal underlying racial biases. Despite EU criticism, financial support often fuels the implementation of discriminatory practices, exemplified by mass displacement campaigns against Sub-Saharan migrants. Collaborative efforts include militarizing borders, restricting migrant movement within specific parts of the country, therefore making coastal cities migrant-free zones. Migrants in coastal cities, particularly in Tangier, face arrest campaigns targeting black migrants, pushing them southward. Turning the South of the country into a migrant "dumping ground" exacerbates historical grievances in an area historically marginalized and suppressed by the post-independence Arab elite. The present study explores how North African transit countries adapt migration policies under EU pressure and EU-Africa Mobility Partnerships, shaping policies with both discriminatory views and financial support. This paper delves into the narratives surrounding mobility in Africa, scrutinizing EU tropes that outsource repressive border control operations and deflect responsibility for migrant deaths. It also examines how North African countries attempt to reconcile repressive migration policies with an official discourse emphasizing their African identity. Finally, the study explores how two marginalized groups, indigenous Berbers in South Morocco and Sub-Saharan migrants, negotiate differences and conflicts within their broader struggle against the post-independence Moroccan state.

Keywords: North Africa, Migration, Racism, Berbers, Sub-Saharan Migrants, Borders.

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Paper short abstract:

Drawing on a rich corpus of some fifty life stories, the main aim of this paper is to examine perceptions and representations of irregular migration in Senegal in particular, and in African countries in general.

Paper long abstract:

In today's globalized world, where the movement of goods and people is both a marker and a constant of our times, the issue of migration is analyzed from a number of different angles. However, a review of the numerous works on migration dynamics in Senegal shows that few refer to and focus on the perceptions and representations of irregular migration in Senegal in particular, and in African countries in general. Drawing on a rich corpus of some fifty life stories, the main aim of this paper is to deconstruct, through an analysis of perceptions and representations of irregular migration, the negative, miserablist and centrifugal discourse of European countries on the issue of so-called irregular migration. To test the needs of this research, we favored a socio-anthropological approach that "aims to be as close as possible to the subjects' natural situations - daily life, conversations, routines - in a situation of prolonged interaction between the researcher in person and local populations, in order to produce in situ, contextualized, transversal knowledge, aiming to account for the actor's point of view, ordinary representations, customary practices and their indigenous meanings." (De Sardan, 2008: 41). Our methodology is essentially qualitative, involving life stories and informal discussions.

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Paper short abstract:

Global remittances flow bidirectionally, Global north to south and vice versa. Literature often spotlights the south's reliance, neglecting the crucial role of southern remittances in bolstering the north's economy. This paper emphasizes the two-way remittances, providing a broader perspective

Paper long abstract:

An extensive body of research on international migration highlights international remittances. Some have compared the volumes of remittances accrued from migrants in the global north to FDIs and official development aid. Whilst this epos is profoundly revealing, there are several instances of remittance from global south countries to global north countries. This daily occurrence is rarely conceptualized as a major source of income or livelihood for recipients, and a source of income for global north countries. Questions such as: To what extent are international migrant students’ daily livelihood shaped by remittances from their home countries? What volume of remittance income from global south becomes available to the global north receiving countries? have remained rarely explored. Bearing in mind these questions, the paper shows how dependence of remittances from families and other sources in global south sending regions is a normal part of the daily lives of international migrants whose livelihood depends on it. By focusing on students’ migrants in the UK, one of the most common features of international migration from the global south to the global north, this paper will contribute to our understanding of remittances associated with international migration.

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This paper offers analysis on the efficacy of the biographies in increasing the audibility and visibility of African migrants, refugees and asylum seekers, and their engagement with refugee and migration crises as prevailing and hotly debated topic, globally.

Paper long abstract:

Arguably, aside from climate action, the most debated topic globally is the refugee and migration crisis that the world faces in this epoch. Literary productions delve on this topic in various forms, and this explains the increasing rise of life writing for and about migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers from different parts of the world. In this study, premium is anchored on the biographical representations of African refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers in the volumes of David Herd and Anna Pincus’ (Eds) Refugee Tales and Dave Smith’s Refugee Stories insofar these texts are appreciated for their amplification of the voices and enhancing visibility of the subjects that have hitherto are marginalised in their respective host countries. The argument advanced herein is that such biographical collections provide reconfigure understanding and studying the African subjects in the West by creating and establishing spaces where they can share their personal stories and experiences, hence contributing to the ongoing debates on mobility and migrations. In so doing, this study will demonstrate that Refugee Tales and Refugee Stories provide the capacity for notable African subjects to construct and enact their own agency in a highly polarized world about migration and refugees. Guided by the theory of the auto/biography and critical reflections from refugee and migration studies, reading and analyzing such works is to appreciate the political amplification of African voices to the capacity of being heard and observe their challenging of precarity, vulnerability and marginalization that is definitive of migration and refugee experiences.

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Paper short abstract:

Migration narratives have dominated EU-African policy frameworks. This paper shows that the lack of dominance of African narratives in the north-south migration discourse stems from an overemphasis on economic gains and the neglect of skilled labour retention and return in the African perspective.

Paper long abstract:

In the past decade, migration discourses have taken substantial space in EU-African policy frameworks. The African policy framing on migration, juxtaposing EU external migration policy interests, have, on some occasions, converged but mainly diverged on several issues. Within this north and south divide on migration policy frameworks and interests, the northern narrative has indeed dominated the discourses. An attempt, therefore, to illuminate African narratives within the north-south migration discourses divide calls for the understanding of what constitutes the African interests within this ever-changing EU-Africa migration policy framework.

Using political economy analysis, this paper interrogates chains of migration policy frameworks that have emerged between the EU and Africa over the last decade. It examines African narratives on different thematic migration frames within the north-south migration discourse.

The paper shows that while the EU’s external migration frameworks persistently focus on reducing irregular migration, returning undesired migrants, and attracting skilled labour, the African perspective dominantly focuses on diaspora mobilisation, remittances, and labour migration. It advances that despite the increasing evidence of brain drain from the global south towards the north, the African policy perspective has done little to retain and attract a skilled labour force.

The paper argues that the lack of dominance of African narratives and positional interest in the wider north-south migration discourse is the overemphasis of governments on financial remittances and the neglect of skilled labour retention and return. This paper shows the complex interplays of migration narratives while advocating for a stronger African perspective towards development.

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Paper short abstract:

By depicting the negative consequences experienced by families of migrants in Africa and the unfulfilled desires for easy gains, the African writers potentially serve to dissuade migration and underscore its hindrance to African development.

Paper long abstract:

The issue of immigration from Africa to Europe or America stands as one of the most recurrent themes in current affairs, academic discourse, and literary debates concerning Africa. This paper seeks to examine migration as a catalyst for the misery and underdevelopment of the African continent. It argues that migration symbolically underpins the disintegration of productive forces and serves as a crucible for familial suffering or the outright destruction of family structures.

African literature portrays migration to Europe or America as an opportunity to explore unfulfilled desires and an elusive future. This paper delves into the artistic representation of migration, particularly through literary works, to demonstrate how the pursuit of personal enrichment by migrants often leads to their downfall and the destabilisation of the familial nucleus. Through the analysis of literary works by African authors such as Henri Lopes, Véronique Tadjo, Fatou Diome, and many more, this study aims to unravel the intricacies of the migrant experience, highlighting its perpetual nature and the profound impact it has on individuals and families alike.

By examining the themes of migration, loss, and familial disintegration in African literature, this paper contributes to a deeper understanding of the socio-economic factors driving migration from Africa to other continents, from an African perspective. It underscores the complex interplay between individual aspirations, societal pressures, and the harsh realities faced by migrants, shedding light on the cyclical nature of migration and its role in perpetuating the cycle of poverty and underdevelopment in Africa.