Hostname: page-component-745bb68f8f-g4j75 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-01-18T13:58:28.044Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Backway or bust: causes and consequences of Gambian irregular migration

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 March 2019

Catherine T. Conrad Suso
Catherine T. Conrad Suso*
Affiliation:
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada
*
Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Gambian irregular migration is a phenomenon that is well known and discussed within this small African nation, yet little is understood of the deep personal and socio-cultural motives to embark on the perilous journey across the Sahara towards Europe. This paper explores the ambitions and capabilities of Gambians who embark on irregular migration, or the so-called ‘backway’.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 57 , Issue 1 , March 2019 , pp. 111 - 135
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

The author would like to acknowledge funding from the Saint Mary's University Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, the SMU Research Ethics Board for review of the research, Kebba Suso for assistance with fieldwork and translation and all Gambian participants of the study for sharing their voices.

References

REFERENCES

Adepoju, A. 2003. ‘Migration in West Africa’, Development 46, 3: 37–41.Google Scholar
Akokpari, J. 2006. ‘Globalization, migration, and the challenges of development in Africa’, Perspectives in Global Development and Technology 5, 3: 125–55.Google Scholar
Ali, S. 2007. ‘Go west young man: the culture of migration among Muslims in Hyderabad, India’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 33, 1: 37–58.Google Scholar
Alpes, M. 2014. ‘Imagining a future in ‘bush': migration aspirations at times of crisis in Anglophone Cameroon’, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 21, 3: 259–74.Google Scholar
Andersson, R. 2014. Illegality, Inc.: clandestine migration and the business of bordering Europe. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Bal, E. & Willems, R.. 2013. ‘Introduction: aspiring migrants, local crises and the imagination of futures ‘away from home’’, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 21, 3: 249–58.Google Scholar
BBC News. 2017. 28 April. <www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-39731109>..>Google Scholar
Carling, J. 2002. ‘Migration in the age of involuntary immobility: theoretical reflections and Cape Verdean experiences’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies 28, 1: 5–42.Google Scholar
Carling, J. 2016. ‘Migrant smuggling data and research: A global review of the emerging evidence base.’ IOM Publication. <https://publications.iom.int/books/migrant-smuggling-data-and-research-global-review-emerging-evidence-base>..>Google Scholar
Carling, J. & Collins, F.. 2017. ‘Aspiration, desire and drivers of migration’, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. <http://doi.org/10.1080/1369183X.2017.1384134>..>Google Scholar
Carling, J. & Hernandez-Carretero, M.. 2011. ‘Protecting Europe and protecting migrants? Strategies for managing unauthorised migration from Africa’, British Journal of Politics and International Relations 13: 42–58.Google Scholar
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). 2018. The World Factbook. <https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2010.html>, accessed 15.5.2018.,+accessed+15.5.2018.>Google Scholar
Colvin, L. 1981. The Uprooted of the Western Sahel: migrants’ quest for cash in the Senegambia. New York, NY: Praeger.Google Scholar
de Haas, H. 2006. ‘Trans-Saharan migration to North Africa and the EU: historical roots and current trends.’ Migration Policy Institute. <https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/trans-saharan-migration-north-africa-and-eu-historical-roots-and-current-trends>..>Google Scholar
de Haas, H. 2014. Migration Theory: Quo Vadis? Working Paper 100. Oxford: International Migration Institute, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
Dempha, M., Nambwira, A., Jallow, A. & Secka, B.. 2017. ‘Curbing irregular migration through sustainable livelihoods: findings from the assessment of returnee migrants from Libya and Niger.’ Employment Directorate, Gambian Ministry of Trade, Industry, Regional Integration and Employment, October.Google Scholar
Donato, K. & Massey, D.. 2016. ‘Twenty-first-century globalization and illegal migration’, Annals, AAPSS, 666: 7–26.Google Scholar
Embiricos, A. 2016. ‘The back way to Europe: Gambia's forgotten refugees.’ <https://www.opendemocracy.net/5050/alexandra-embiricos/back-way-to-europe-gambia-s-forgotten-refugees>..>Google Scholar
Flahaux, M. and de Haas, H.. 2016. ‘African migration: trends, patterns, drivers’, Comparative Migration Studies 4: 1. <https://comparativemigrationstudies.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40878-015-0015-6>..>Google Scholar
Gaibazzi, P. 2014. ‘Visa problem: certification, kinship, and the production of ‘ineligibility' in the Gambia’, Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute 20: 38–55.Google Scholar
Gaibazzi, P. 2015. Bush Bound: Young Men and Rural Permanence in Migrant West Africa. New York, NY: Berghahn.Google Scholar
Graw, K. 2012. ‘On the cause of migration: being and nothingness in the African-European border zone’, in Graw, K. & Schielke, S., eds. The Global Horizon: expectations of migration in Africa and the Middle East. Leuven: Leuven University Press.Google Scholar
Graw, K. & Schielke, S.. 2012. The Global Horizon: expectations of migration in Africa and the Middle East. Leuven: Leuven University Press.Google Scholar
Hernandez-Carretero, M. & Carling, J.. 2012. ‘Beyond ‘kamikaze migrants': risk taking in West African boat migration to Europe’, Human Organization 71, 4: 407–16.Google Scholar
Hultin, N., Jallow, B., Lawrance, B. & Sarr, A.. 2017. ‘Autocracy, migration, and the Gambia's unprecedented 2016 election’, African Affairs 116, 463: 321–40.Google Scholar
Hunt, L. 2015. ‘The Gambia faces battle to deter its young people from migrating abroad.’ The Guardian. <https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/sep/11/the-gambia-migration-livelihood-empowerment-agricultural-project-concern-universal>..>Google Scholar
Ifekwunigwe, J. 2013. ‘Voting with their feet: Senegalese youth, clandestine boat migration, and the gendered politics of protest’, African and Black Diaspora: An International Journal 6, 2: 218–35.Google Scholar
International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). 2016. ‘Sending money home: contributing to the SDGs, one family at a time.’ <https://www.ifad.org/documents/38714170/39135645/Sending+Money+Home+-+Contributing+to+the+SDGs%2C+one+family+at+a+time.pdf/c207b5f1-9fef-4877-9315-75463fccfaa7>..>Google Scholar
Jonsson, G. 2008. Migration Aspiration and Immobility in a Malian Soninke Village. Oxford: International Migration Institute.Google Scholar
Kandel, W. & Massey, D.. 2002. ‘The culture of Mexican migration: a theoretical and empirical analysis’, Social Forces 80, 3: 981–1004.Google Scholar
Kebbeh, O. 2013. ‘The Gambia: migration in Africa's ‘Smiling Coast’.’ Migration Policy Institute. <https://www.migrationpolicy.org/print/4195#.WpVwqbYZOi4>..>Google Scholar
Lopez-Sala, A. and Godenau, D.. 2017. ‘Controlling irregular immigration at the European Union's southern maritime border. An emerging system driven by ‘Migration Emergencies’’, Journal of Mediterranean Knowledge 2, 1: 17–35.Google Scholar
Maastricht Graduate School of Governance (MGSoG). 2017. ‘Gambia Migration Profile: Study on Migration Routes in West and Central Africa.’ Maastricht: MGSoG.Google Scholar
Mainwaring, C. & Brigden, N.. 2016. ‘Beyond the border: clandestine migration journeys’, Geopolitics 21, 2: 243–62.Google Scholar
Massey, D., Arango, J., Hugo, G., Kouaouci, A., Pellegrino, A. & Taylor, J.E.. 1993. ‘Theories of international migration: a review and appraisal’, Population and Development Review 19, 3: 431–66.Google Scholar
Mbaye, L. 2014. ‘Barcelona or die: understanding illegal migration from Senegal’, IZA Journal of Migration 3, 21: 752–71.Google Scholar
Mueller, T. 2016. ‘Out of Africa: movements along the ‘back way' from Gambia to Eritrea and the ‘capacity to aspire’.’ <https://tanjarmueller.wordpress.com/2016/05/12/out-of-africa-movements-along-the-back-way-from-gambia-to-eritrea-and-the-capacity-to-aspire/>..>Google Scholar
Nyanzi, S., Rosenberg-Jallow, O., Bah, O. & Nyanzi, S.. 2005. ‘Bumsters, big black organs and old white gold: embodied racial myths in sexual relationships of Gambian beach boys’, Culture, Health & Sexuality 7, 6: 557–69.Google Scholar
Parkes, R. 2017. ‘Out of (and inside) Africa: migration routes and their impacts.’ European Union Institute for Security Studies Brief Issue. <https://www.iss.europa.eu/sites/default/files/EUISSFiles/Brief_12_Africa_migration.pdf March 4 2018>..>Google Scholar
Richmond, A. 2002. ‘Globalization: implications for immigrants and refugees’, Ethnic and Racial Studies 25, 5: 707–27.Google Scholar
Schapendonk, J. & van Moppes, D.. 2007. ‘Migration and information: images of Europe, migration encouraging factors and en route information sharing.’ Working Papers Migration and Development Series, Report 16. Radboud University.Google Scholar
Sen, A. 1985. Commodities and Capabilities. Amsterdam: North-Holland.Google Scholar
Strand Jagne, F. 2014. ‘The back way to Europe: a case study about why young men in Gambia are prepared to risk their lives to get to Europe.’ Dissertation. <http://lnu.diva-portal.org/smash/record.jsf?pid=diva2%3A729589&dswid=8757>..>Google Scholar
The Economist. 2016. ‘Migration to Europe: travelling in hope.’ <https://www.economist.com/news/international/21709019-flow-africans-libya-italy-now-europes-worst-migration-crisis-travelling>..>Google Scholar
Uggla, F. 2015. ‘Looking for a greener pasture; exploring the narratives of Gambian clandestine migrants.’ Master's Thesis in Geography, Stockholm University.Google Scholar
UNHCR. 2016. ‘IOM missing migrants project.’ <https://missingmigrants.iom.int>, accessed 7.9.2018.,+accessed+7.9.2018.>Google Scholar
Washington Post. 2015. ‘Africa exodus: tiny Gambia has a big export: migrants desperate to reach Europe.’ <http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/world/2015/06/14/tiny-gambia-has-a-big-export-migrants-desperate-to-reach-europe/?utm_term=.c6bae7d55c64>..>Google Scholar
Willems, R. 2014. ‘Local realities and global possibilities: deconstructing the imaginations of aspiring migrants in Senegal’, Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power 21, 3: 320–35.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2013. Africa's Pulse, Volume 8. Washington, DC: World Bank.Google Scholar
World Bank. 2018. ‘The World Bank in The Gambia: Overview.’ 19 April. <https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/gambia/overview>..>Google Scholar
Zanker, F. 2017. ‘The Gambia is now free and democratic so Europe is pushing its migrants to go home.’ Quartz Africa. <https://qz.com/1114660/italy-is-pushing-gambian-migrants-to-return-now-yahya-jammeh-is-out-of-power-but-there-are-no-jobs-at-home/>..>Google Scholar
Zanker, F. & Altrogge, J.. 2017. The Politics of Migration Governance in The Gambia. Freiburg: Arnold Bergstraesser Institut.Google Scholar

INTERVIEWS

To satisfy confidentiality of informants, the SMU REB required that no information be provided in the publication that could identify who the individuals are.Google Scholar