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Migrants

Child Migration in Africa

Upphovspersoner: Thorsen, Dorte | Hashim, Iman
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | London, Uppsala : Zed Books, Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Rural-urban migration, Labour migration, Labour mobility, Migrants, youth, children, Childhood, Living conditions, Social environment, cultural identity, Livelihood, Interviews, West Africa, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ethnography, Etnografi
Child Migration in Africa explores the mobility of children without their parents within West Africa. Drawing on the experiences of children from rural Burkina Faso and Ghana, the book provides rich material on the circumstances of children's voluntary migration and their experiences of it. Their accounts challenge the normative ideals of what a 'good' childhood is, which often underlie public debates about children's migration, education and work in developing countries. The comparative study of Burkina Faso and Ghana highlights that social networks operate in ways that can be both enabling and constraining for young migrants, as can cultural views on age- and gender-appropriate behaviour. The book questions easily made assumptions regarding children's experiences when migrating independently of their parents and, by drawing parallels with children's migration in Latin America and Asia, contributes to analytical and cross-cultural understandings of childhood. Part of the groundbreaking Africa Now series, Child Migration in Africa is an important and timely contribution to an under-researched area.

Diasporas within and without Africa : dynamism, heterogeneity, variation

Medarbetare: Manger, Leif O. | Assal, Munzoul A. M.
Utgivare: Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2006
Ämnesord: Migration, internal migration, Migrants, human relations, Africans, identity, diaspora, Social anthropology/ethnography, Socialantrolopologi/etnografi
The book deals with two types of “African diasporas”, the first of which originated in the migration histories of the Indian Ocean and brought new groups into Africa. This is illustrated by case studies of Hadrami communities in Sudan and Zanzibar, and the Malay community in Cape Town, that produced trade links as well as processes of Islamization. The second type originated with the failing African states and cases discussed are an Eritrean diaspora in Germany, alongside Sudanese diasporas in Norway and the USA, and a Somali diaspora in Norway. The papers deal with processes of homemaking, political mobilization in the diaspora through local organisations, religious networks and cyberspace nationalism. The central conceptual argument is that “diaspora” is not only a post-modern reaction to the xenophobia of Western nation states but must be seen as part of a broader history of human migration and intercultural experience. This calls for a perspective which takes into consideration historically produced variation and dynamism.

African Migration, Global Inequalities, and Human Rights : Connecting the Dots

Upphovsperson: Minter, William
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Migrations, Migrants, Social inequality, Human rights, Economic and social development, case studies, Africa, SOCIAL SCIENCES, SAMHÄLLSVETENSKAP
Migration from and within Africa, just like migration elsewhere in the world, often generates anti-immigrant sentiment and ignites heated public debate about the migration policies of the destination countries. These countries include South Africa as well as others outside the continent. The countries of origin are also keen to minimize losses through “brain drain” and to capture resources such as remittances. Increasingly, international organizations and human rights advocates have stressed the need to protect the interests of migrants themselves. However, while the UNDP’s 2009 Human Development Report talks of “win-win-win” solutions, in practice it is the perceived interests of destination countries that enjoy the greatest attention, while the rights of migrants themselves are afforded the least. Yet migration is not just an issue in itself: it also points to structural inequalities between countries and regions. Managing migration and protecting migrants is too limited an agenda. Activists and policymakers must also address these inequalities directly to ensure that people can pursue their fundamental human rights whether they move or stay. It is not enough to measure development only in terms of progress at the national level: development must also be measured in terms of reductions in the gross levels of inequality that now determine differential rights on the basis of accident of birth.

Contexts of migration

Upphovspersoner: Thorsen, Dorte | Hashim, Iman
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet | London; Uppsala : Zed Books; Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Rural-urban migration, Labour migration, Labour mobility, Migrants, youth, children, Childhood, Living conditions, Social environment, cultural identity, Livelihood, Interviews, West Africa, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Ethnography, Etnografi
Child Migration in Africa explores the mobility of children without their parents within West Africa. Drawing on the experiences of children from rural Burkina Faso and Ghana, the book provides rich material on the circumstances of children's voluntary migration and their experiences of it. Their accounts challenge the normative ideals of what a 'good' childhood is, which often underlie public debates about children's migration, education and work in developing countries. The comparative study of Burkina Faso and Ghana highlights that social networks operate in ways that can be both enabling and constraining for young migrants, as can cultural views on age- and gender-appropriate behaviour. The book questions easily made assumptions regarding children's experiences when migrating independently of their parents and, by drawing parallels with children's migration in Latin America and Asia, contributes to analytical and cross-cultural understandings of childhood. Part of the groundbreaking Africa Now series, Child Migration in Africa is an important and timely contribution to an under-researched area.

Migrant remittances, social inequality and restrictive immigration regimes

Upphovsperson: Åkesson, Lisa
Utgivare: Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Globalization, Trade and Regional Integration | Uppsala : Nordiska Afrikainstitutet
År: 2011
Ämnesord: Migrants, Remittances, Immigration, Social inequality, Cape Verde, Business and economics, Ekonomi
The case of Cape Verde shows that the relationship between remittances and inequality in migrant-sending countries depends on a number of factors. The situation is thus more complicatedthan the dominant pessimistic view of the 1970s and 1980s or today’s “development optimism” discourse. Among the factors are changes over time in the selectivity of migrants, variations in family organization and differences in impact between permanent and return migration. A policy debate about remittances and inequality needs to include immigration regimes. Migrant-sending countries can reduce the risk that remittances will exacerbate socioeconomicinequality by facilitating the use of remittances for projects that benefit local communities. Destination countries can open up possibilities for legal labour migration, especiallyfor those who are not highly educated, in order to promote, among other things, a more equal distribution of remittances.