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From Senegal and Back (1975–2008): Migration Trends and Routes of Migrants in Times of Restrictions

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Migration between Africa and Europe

Abstract

Since the mid-1970s, sub-Saharan candidates for migration to Europe have been confronted with increasingly stiff policy measures. This chapter explores how migration between Senegal and Europe has evolved in this context. Taking advantage of the retrospective nature of the data from the MAFE project (Migration between Africa and Europe) in addition to other available sources, it offers a unique quantitative account of the history of Senegalese migration. The results show that, between 1975 and 2008, there was neither a surge in out-migration (despite the widespread belief in an African invasion in Europe) nor the decline that might have been expected if restrictions had been effective. In fact, results tend in many ways to support the hypothesis that the effectiveness of restrictive policies is hampered by a number of unintended effects due to the ability of (would-be) migrants to adapt to new rules. Among these unintended effects are: the decline in intentions to return from Europe, the increase in attempts to migrate to Europe and the growth of irregular migration.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Data sources of all statistics are presented below the figures and tables. All results are weighted. Readers should bear in mind that the samples used in the analyses vary from one table or graph to another, which can substantially affect the results interpretation. For more information see Chap. 2, which provides all details on MAFE samples.

  2. 2.

    On the role of colonial taxes in the development of migration in West Africa, see S. Amin (1974) and Cordell et al. (1996).

  3. 3.

    In 1919, the French Minister for Agriculture and Supplies suggested recruiting migrant workers from the colonies (declaration of the Minister for Agriculture and Supplies, Journal Officiel, parliamentary debates, 29 January 1919).

  4. 4.

    Italy regularized 217,000 migrants in 1998, 650,000 in 2002 and 350,000 in 2006; Spain regularized 200,000 migrants in 2000, 230,000 in 2001 and 580,000 in 2005. Note that Sub-Saharans were a small minority among the regularized migrants: in Italy, 14% in 1998 and 5% in 2002; in Spain, 14% in 2000 and 6% in 2001. France regularized 80,000 migrants in 1997–1998 and 7000 migrants in 2006, in addition to 122,000 migrants who were regularized through a case-by-case procedure between 1999 and 2006. Sub-Saharan migrants represented 40% of those regularized in France in 1997–1998 and 31% in 1999–2006. Sources: Lessault and Beauchemin (2009) and Kraler (2009).

  5. 5.

    Note that the migration trends (departure and return) presented in this chapter are somewhat different from those presented in Flahaux et al. (2013), who used a different computation method. For a presentation of the method used in this book, see Chap. 3. And for a deeper methodological discussion of trend computation using retrospective data, see Schoumaker and Beauchemin (2014).

  6. 6.

    For a discussion on the potential effects of distance on migration determinants, see Gonzalez-Ferrer et al. (2014).

  7. 7.

    Results on the determinants of return point in the same direction as they show that undocumented Senegalese migrants are not more likely to return that those living in Europe with proper documents (see Chap. 4).

  8. 8.

    However, it has been established that return to Senegal is a significant phenomenon. According to the Push-Pull data (1997–1998), more than a quarter of the households surveyed in the capital city (27%) contained at least one returnee. These returnees may be involved in circular migration: barely 50% of them declared that they had return for good, and more returnees than non-migrants declare an intention to move abroad (Robin et al. 1999). Furthermore, 30% of migrants living abroad were reported (by the interviewed household heads) to intend to return, this figure being higher among the more recent migrants and among those currently in Italy (compared to those in France or in Senegal’s neighboring countries, no results being available for Spain). In addition, 16% were said to be indecisive whether to come back or stay abroad. These figures are not representative of the Dakar region, but they illustrate quite well that return migration was a significant phenomenon at the end of the 1990s in the capital city.

  9. 9.

    This exposure also results from migrants’ investments in the city. Tall (2008) suggests that massive (and thus visible) investments in real estate by migrants located in Europe contributed to the creation of a “culture of migration” that has increased emigration pressures.

  10. 10.

    According to the 2002 Census, 19% of the recent migrants who left Dakar had gone to study, this proportion being only 10% at the national level (Baizan et al. 2013).

  11. 11.

    For details on the methodology used to code policies in the ImPol database and on results interpretation, see Mezger (2012) and Mezger and Gonzalez-Ferrer (2013). Vickstrom (2013, 2014) also provides a very detailed analysis of immigration policies in Spain, Italy and France.

  12. 12.

    In line with the view that reunification did not become a major channel of entry among Senegalese migrants, Toma and Vause (2013) have shown that the likelihood of female migration increased very moderately over time.

  13. 13.

    Note that this type of pioneer migration is largely but not exclusively a male experience: 41% of male migrants in Europe declared they knew nobody, against 20% among women (Table 13.6). For a discussion of the autonomy of female migration, see Toma and Vause (2013). Migrants with primary education or none at all are also more likely to be pioneers (i.e. to know nobody at destination) than those who are more educated (43% against 29%), the latter relying more on kinship (siblings: 26% against 17%; other kin: 22% against 15%).

  14. 14.

    Here friendship also probably refers to religious networks, which are especially important in Senegalese migration, especially among migrants from the Murid brotherhood (Ebin 1993; Bava 2003; Tall 2007; Gabrielli 2011).

  15. 15.

    As in many other contexts, family migration is a strongly gendered phenomenon: among the Senegalese interviewed in Europe, 42% of women declared family as a motive for migration, while the proportion was only 6% among men (Table 13.7).

  16. 16.

    This type of migration is also highly gendered: 19% of female migrants in Europe travelled with a child or children, compared to 0% of male migrants (Table 13.8).

  17. 17.

    These percentages were computed for the whole 1975–2007 period and so also reflect the migration routes observed in the more recent period (2000–2007), when Spain and Italy became more significant destinations of Senegalese migrants.

  18. 18.

    These fears were notably expressed during the preparation of the European Pact on Immigration and Asylum (2008).

  19. 19.

    On regularization numbers, see note 4.

  20. 20.

    Because of the way the samples were constructed, migrants who were in transit countries (for instance in Morocco) at the time of the survey are absent from the biographic MAFE survey. The Senegalese sample may include returnees who have failed in their journey to Europe (e.g. migrants who went to Morocco, stayed there, were unable to cross the sea and finally returned to Senegal). Numbers are likely to be tiny. These cases could however be investigated in future research.

  21. 21.

    The need to obtain a permit to leave the country was abolished only in 1981.

  22. 22.

    Trends have been computed using different sources. Figure 13.1 (actual migration) is based on a sub-sample of the household data (children of households heads in Dakar), whereas Figure 13.5 (steps to migration) is based on the biographic data collected among all individuals in Dakar. As they refer to the same periods, the same place (Dakar) and the same destinations, we believe that a comparison between these trends is acceptable.

  23. 23.

    This figure only concerns those who were actually able to immigrate to Spain: those who were apprehended and whose entry was refused are not counted here. Numbers of aliens refused in European countries (aggregates of all origin groups) can be consulted online in the MAFE Contextual Database.

  24. 24.

    Plane was especially predominant among women: 97% of them used a plane, against 81% among men (all countries and periods combined). By contrast, the use of pirogues or pateras is almost exclusive to male migrants (10% against 1% for women). Means of transport also vary by education, with the more educated (secondary or higher education) being more likely to use a plane (94% against 75% for those with primary education or none at all) and less likely to use a pirogue or patera (1% against 16%).

  25. 25.

    For further explanation of the institutional conditions explaining this type of change in administrative status, see Vickstrom (2014).

  26. 26.

    In the rest of this section “irregular migrant”, “irregularity” etc. should be taken to refer to those whose status had been irregular status at some point during their first year in the destination country.

  27. 27.

    On average, 30% of Senegalese migrants in France, Italy and Spain were “irregular”, with higher proportions among men (37% against 12% among women) and the less educated (38% among those with primary education or less, against 24% for those with higher education).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut national d’études démographiques (INED), F-75020, Paris, France

    Cris Beauchemin & Marie-Laurence Flahaux

  2. IPDSR, Université Cheikh Anta Diop, Dakar, Senegal

    Papa Sakho

  3. Centre de recherche en démographie, Université catholique de Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium

    Bruno Schoumaker & Marie-Laurence Flahaux

  4. LPED, Institut de recherche pour le développement, Marseille, France

    Marie-Laurence Flahaux

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  1. Cris Beauchemin
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    Cris Beauchemin

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Beauchemin, C., Sakho, P., Schoumaker, B., Flahaux, ML. (2018). From Senegal and Back (1975–2008): Migration Trends and Routes of Migrants in Times of Restrictions. In: Beauchemin, C. (eds) Migration between Africa and Europe. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69569-3_13

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