PhD Project: Emerging Transatlantic Migration – West African migrants in Argentina
Ida Marie Vammen, DIIS, Danish Institute for International Studies
This PhD project explores an emerging transatlantic migration system between West Africa and South America. Following a group of Senegalese migrants in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and their transnational connections to families and friends back home, the project aims to generate nuanced empirical knowledge on transnational frontier migration.
In recent years, Senegalese migration has reconfigured. From being a destination for migration in the region, Senegal has become an exit and transit migration locality due to economic crisis and high youth unemployment. Like other countries in West Africa, the EU, UNHCR and IOM have put pressure on Senegal to curb illegal flows, enhancing migration management systems as well as encouraging potential migrants to stay in the country. In spite of these campaigns, many Senegalese migrants still use cross-Saharan and cross-Mediterranean routes towards Europe, while others seek alternative migrant routes and destinations. Transatlantic migration to Argentina is one of the most recent developments.
Argentina is thus emerging as a destination for West African migrants. The UNHCR estimates that almost 50 % of the asylum claims are from people from African countries, and that there has been a notable increase in especially Senegalese cases within the last five years consisting of mainly young men fleeing conflict, seeking new opportunities, or, as many South American migrants, hoping to reach North America eventually.
Research questions:
In recent years, Senegalese migration has reconfigured. From being a destination for migration in the region, Senegal has become an exit and transit migration locality due to economic crisis and high youth unemployment. Like other countries in West Africa, the EU, UNHCR and IOM have put pressure on Senegal to curb illegal flows, enhancing migration management systems as well as encouraging potential migrants to stay in the country. In spite of these campaigns, many Senegalese migrants still use cross-Saharan and cross-Mediterranean routes towards Europe, while others seek alternative migrant routes and destinations. Transatlantic migration to Argentina is one of the most recent developments.
Argentina is thus emerging as a destination for West African migrants. The UNHCR estimates that almost 50 % of the asylum claims are from people from African countries, and that there has been a notable increase in especially Senegalese cases within the last five years consisting of mainly young men fleeing conflict, seeking new opportunities, or, as many South American migrants, hoping to reach North America eventually.
Research questions:
- What are the livelihoods of West African migrants in Buenos Aires, and what do migrants hope to achieve through these livelihoods?
- How are the migrants’ visions of hope, the good life and failure shaped and renegotiated by involvement in religious communities, diaspora groups and other forms of organization?
- To what degree do conflicting interests exist between the migrants’ imaginaries of success and failure and the expectations from the family and social network back ‘home’?
The project sets out to explore this emerging transnational frontier migration, examining migrant everyday life in Buenos Aires. It analyses how different social and legal possibility structures and constraints influence migrants livelihood strategies, their notions of hope and despair as well as their transnational family relations.
The analysis will build on multi-sited and ethnographic fieldwork in Argentina and Senegal.
DIIS Experts
Photo/illustration by Lynggaardhansenfoto.dk
