Full Description
This ethnographic exploration of irregular migration from Western and Central Africa in Morocco deconstructs dehumanising narratives of a "migration crisis" and a "sub-Saharan problem" in politics of migration. The book provides an original focus on how migrants understood and experienced their entrapped mobility. The emic notion of "the adventure" at the heart of this study sheds light on a transformative, epic quest to carve out a better life and future. The book traces how young men from Western and Central Africa sought to assert themselves as agents of their own destinies, despite uncertain, illegalising processes. In steering away from aesthetics of despair and fearmongering narratives, the book brings new insights into inter-disciplinary debates (e.g. illegality, uncertainty, immobility, violence, suffering, transit, etc.). Such focus is essential to draw out the complexity and existential depth of (irregular) migrants' lives, journeys, and stories.
Contents
Prologue: Golden Sands
Introduction
1 The making of a sub-Saharan issue
2 Reaching the objective
3 Taking a chance
4 Life in the ghettoes
Insert: Adventurers in Douar Hajja and Maâdid
5 Adventurous entrepreneurs
6 Chacun sa route
7 Between violence and shared dreams
8 Fighting illegal migration
Adventure: a radical movement towards life
References
Index
