TOWARD A SHIFT IN THE MIGRATION PARADIGM: INCLUSION, EXCLUSION, IMMIGRATION, AND DEVELOPMENT IN THE CAPE VERDE ISLANDS PEDRO FERREIRA JOSE-MARCELINO A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER'S GRADUATE PROGRAM IN DEVELOPMENT STUDIES YORK UNIVERSITY TORONTO, ONTARIO APRIL 2010 Library and Archives Bibliothgque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de l'6dition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-62282-7 Our file Notre r6f6rence ISBN: 978-0-494-62282-7 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non- L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Biblioth&que et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduce, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par ('Internet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non- support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. The author retains copyright L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur ownership and moral rights in this et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni thesis. Neither the thesis nor la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci substantial extracts from it may be ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement printed or otherwise reproduced reproduits sans son autorisation. without the author's permission. In compliance with the Canadian Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la Privacy Act some supporting forms protection de la vie privee, quelques may have been removed from this formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de thesis. cette these. While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1*1 Canada iv Abstract This thesis analyses Cape Verde's pivotal position as a transhipment centre for Sub- Saharan African migrants in transit to Europe, suggesting the islands have become a liminal space and, often, a final destination for individual migratory projects. The study discusses the early stages of public engagement with immigration, and how the debate is affecting the construction of identity and ideas about national development. It proposes that the islands should be understood within a wider migratory context that includes the changing geopolitics of Europe. While also suggesting, from a strategic perspective, that immigration policies in the EU have pushed the de facto European border westwards and southwards to the West African coast between Morocco and Cape Verde, the thesis uses a postcolonial theoretical framework and proposes a specific model of inclusion and exclusion to understand the unique features of the integration of Africans in Cape Verde, with its specific racial ideology, hybridism. VI Dedication To my father—wherever he might be—for bestowing on me the sometimes bewildering, often disconcerting, but mostly wonderful gift of 'otherness,' and for injecting onto my very soul the love and—unknowingly—the critical eye for a second motherland I barely know. I'm certain he's toasting to me with a vintage manecon and dancing away to Nha Fidjo Matcho, a sedate morna by lido Lobo. Toronto, Canada, January 31st, 2010 VI "Our revised Negritude is humanistic. [l]t welcomes the complementary values of Europe and the white man, and, indeed, of all other races and continents. But it welcomes them in order to fertilize and reinvigorate its own values, which it then offers for the construction of a civilization which shall embrace all mankind. The neo-humanism of the twentieth century stands at the point where the paths of all nations, races and continents cross, 'where the four winds of the spirit blow'. " —Leopold Sedar Senghor, "What is Negritude?" (October 1961) vii Acknowledgments At the onset of this work, I owe some people a journey to its roots. Firstly, to Prof. Eduardo Raposo de Medeiros (Superior Institute of Social and Political Science—ISCSP, Lisbon) who not only instilled in me his own passion for the deeper, and profoundly humane workings of economics, but was also the first one to accept my view that Cape Verde was an economy worth watching (even if I had to "twist his arm"). Eleven years later, Dr. Rita Abrahamsen, then my advisor at the University of Wales Aberystwyth (currently at the University of Ottawa), took me under her supervision, allowing and encouraging me to explore the early ideas that would eventually lead to an abridged article masterfully edited by Jonars Spielberg (University of Michigan at East Lansing). To both of them, and to the anonymous peer reviewers, I owe a note of appreciation and many of the ideas that landed in these pages. In spite of theirs, and other valuable contributions, however, I alone bear the burden of any shortcomings this thesis may contain. My gratitude is, in the present, first and foremost due to my thesis supervisor at York, Dr. Pablo Idahosa, a fellow Aberystwyth alum who—if that was not enough coincidence—frequently surprised me with his refreshing knowledge about the obscure islands of Cape Verde, and continuously provided me with the tools and the advice to make this the best thesis it could be, certainly by often putting me back on track. My appreciation is extended to my supervisory committee members, Dr. Amin Al-Hassan, whose thoughts on hybridity shaped some of my most recent ideas, and Dr. Viviana Patroni. I also benefited from comments and sources suggested by other York University scholars, notably Dr. Alan Simmons, who consistently gave sound, yet sophisticated answers to framework puzzles, theoretical dilemmas and analytical conundrums that arose not in relation to my thesis but in relation to a joint project on migration and development in Latin America; Dr. Fahim Quadir, Dr. Maria Joao Dodman, Dr. Sharada Srinivasan, Dr. Rina Cohen, and Dr. Uwafiokun Idemudia. York International very generously funded part of my research, and Orlene Ellis, our Graduate Programme Assistant, was a bright star in several steps of the way. Among my York colleagues, I owe very special thanks to Leah Reesor for her minutious proofreading, Monica Stillo for brainstorming ideas with me before and after they hit the paper, and my very own, very fun—and very useful—discussion group, Rahma Kerim, Sara Mohammed and Nausheen Quayyum. Beyond York, Dr. Slawko Waschuk has spent innumerable days reading through my often-dry prose, and making sure I did not create (too many) new English verbs. Dr. Maria Joao Pereira (ISCSP, Lisbon) offered invaluable advise on the early conceptual stages and Dr. Ana Maria Marcelino, my sister, listened to my doubts and kept some of my ideas at bay. Dr. Jorgen Carling (International Peace Research Institute, Oslo), Dr. Godfrey Baldacchino (University of Prince Edward Island), Dr. John Connell (University of Sydney), Dr. John W. Berry (Queen's University), and Dr. Cecil Foster (University of Guelph) generously gave me access to unpublished or otherwise not easily available material. Dr. Hein de Haas (International Migration Institute, University of Oxford), and the Migration Policy Institute in Washington, DC, kindly allowed me to reprint their outstanding Trans-Saharan Migration map. Finally, my deepest appreciation goes to the many people in the islands who helped me throughout the research process: Dr. Ana Cordeiro (University of Oporto) and Dr. Lia Cordeiro Medina (University of Cape Verde); Mamadou Bhour Guewel Sene; Carmen Presa and ACCVE; Rosa DeNictolis; Carmita and Djibla Mascarenhas; Sueli Leite, Samira Pereira and the Amilcar Cabral Foundation; Orsola Bertonelli; and all my anonymous interviewees across the archipelago. A very special thanks is owed to my dearest friend Corinne Molza, who throughout the summer of 2009 heard me talk about migrants more than she would ever care to, with remarkable gracefulness and insightful interventions. She was the perfect companion for many islands-hopping travels—an incredible, unforgettable, bumpy and often emotional journey that I partly report in the pages that follow. For this I am deeply grateful to her. N' ta agradezi besot's tcheul Vlll Table of Contents Abstract iv Dedication v Epigraph vi Acknowledgments vii Index viii List of Figures x List of Tables x List of Abbreviations xi Prologue: 1460-1999, the story of ten little clumps of dirt xiii Chapter 1: Introduction 1 Research questions 5 Theoretical framework 8 Cape Verde as a magnifying glass, or why we should care 9 Chapter 2: Methodology 12 Research design 12 Site and sample collection 15 Data collection and data analysis 19 Validity and ethical issues 21 A tale of two people, many island, and mistaken identities 23 Research scope (benefits and limitations) 24 Chapter 3: Literature Review 26 Cape Verdean historiography 26 Postcolonial literature 28 Literature on globalization, migration and diaspora 29 Studies on contemporary Cape Verdean economy and society 30 Chapter 4: Islands in transition 33 The eleventh island 34 Oh, that home in the sun 39 Of mandjakos, chines and bronks 45 ix Morabeza and "tcheu sabura": how tranquillity sells the brand 49 Proposing a framework for integration and interaction 57 Chapter 5: Processes of arrival, interaction and differentiation 61 The integrated expat and the disconnected migrant 64 The archipelago as an extension of the European jigsaw 74 The ghettos of difference, illegality and (not much) understanding 77 Chapter 6: Contending discourses of nationhood 85 All African, but not so fast: contrasting voices of acceptance 88 Hybridity and Gentrification: just another warmwater archipelago 100 The eleventh island wants in: internal and external boundaries of the nation ..