Selected migration research findings |
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The points below are selected findings from my own research on migration, grouped under the following headings:
Please note the warning to the right about the selection, content and use of these findings. About migration dynamics (general)It is misleading to say that the
'total effect' of labour emigration is either positive or negative for a given
country. Emigration involves the development of complex spheres of
exchanges, exploitation and support that affect many different parts of the
societies of origin. While it is futile to look for a 'net result', it is
necessary to investigate the social, spatial and temporal distribution of
effects.
Migration pressure exists when
people's aspiration to emigrate exceed their ability to do
so. Aspiration can be defined as the wish to emigrate.
Ability to emigrate is conditioned directly and indirectly by
immigration control policies in destination countries.
We are living in an era of
involuntary immobility. One of the most striking aspects of
today’s migration order, compared to the recent past, is the degree of
conflict over mobility and the frustration about immobility among people in
many traditional countries of emigration.
People generally relate to
emigration as a culturally defined emigration project. In
people’s minds migration is not simply a demographic event, a move from A
to B, but a parcel of expected actions and consequences. People’s wish to
migrate will often be based on ideas about a culturally defined `emigration
project’ , but if they do migrate, their own particular experience is
likely to diverge from this ideal-type version.
About the Cape Verdean diasporaThe Cape Verdean diaspora probably
numbers between 370,000 and 620,000 people. This is based on
available estimates for individual countries around 1990. This means that it is
probably true that there are more 'Cape Verdeans' (defined by ancestry) abroad
than on the islands. However, the common belief that there are 'twice as many
abroad', is clearly exaggerated. (The resident population was 390,000 in 1990).
Cape Verdean diaspora population
estimates are problematic. First, an increasing number of people are
third or fourth generation Cape Verdeans of mixed ancestry that are difficult
to 'classify'. Second, where official statistics exist , there is often a
considerable number of undocumented Cape Verdeans that are not included. Third,
when estimates are made by community leaders, there could be a tendency to
exaggerate the numerical importance of the community. The fact that both the
characteristics of the Cape Verdean population and the conditions for
estimating its size vary enormously between countries complicate matters
further.
About migration aspirations in Cape VerdeThe wish to emigrate declines
steadily accross age groups and with increasing levels of education.
Statistical analyses (logistic regression) show that the ihigher a persons age,
and the higher the level of education, the less likely it is that the person
wishes to emigrate.
Receiving remittances has
contradictory effects on the wish to emigrate On the one hand,
people who receive remittances have tangible 'proof' that emigration leads to
wealth and induced to wish to emigrate themselves. On the other hand, receiving
remittances is an incentive for staying because one enjoys a relatively good
standard of living. As soon as one emigrates, one is one one's own and is
expected to support others. Statistical analyses suggest that the first effect
is the most important one.
The widespread wish to emigrate is
linked to specific perceptions of poverty. First, people almost
invariably think of themselves as poor. There is almost a deterministic poverty
consciousness, apparent in such statements as `all Cape Verdeans are poor’
or `there are no rich people in Cape Verde’. Second, Cape Verdeans express
a view of their poverty as place-bound, caused by the lack of rain.
Many people have a motivation for
emigrating that cannot be explained by traditional migration
theories. Migration has become established as a general form of
'exit' from a difficult present. In some cases, this makes people turn to
emigration as an escape from an unhappy marriage or an exploitative
relationship -- factors which in other contexts would hardly make people
consider emigration. About Cape Verdean migration dynamicsMany people have a firm belief in
the possibility of getting a residence permit after entering a situation of
illegal residence in Europe. Many Cape Verdeans have migrated to
Europe with tourist visas, overstayed and later been able to regularize their
situation. The development of European immigration policies has made this more
and more difficult. However, many potential migrants still have the attitude
that after arrival in Europe, 'sorting out one's papers' is purely a matter of
time. This has important implications for the efficacy of immigration
policies. Family formation migration has
become ever more important as a 'mode' of emigration. As the
possibilities for labour migration and family reunification migration have
declined, migration by means of marriage has become particularly important,
especially to Northern Europe and the United States. Cape Verde has become a
stepping-stone for undocumented migration from West Africa to
Europe. Nationals from other countries of the Economic Community of
West African States (ECOWAS) can enter Cape Verde without a visa. A
considerable number do so in the hope of making the crossing to the Canary
Islands clandestinely and proceed from there within the Schengen area. Cape
Verdeans themselves very rarely attempt to enter Europe illegally. |
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Related publication: International labour migration: Consequences for
countries of origin [
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