MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten

Wageningen University and Research

Academic Year 2015-2016 / 2016-2017

‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’: Ethnography of West African Migrants in Barcelona

Master Thesis International Development Studies

Conflict, Disaster, and Development / Sociology of Development and Change

Student: Sjors Joosten (930329413130)

Supervisor: dr. ir. MCM Nuijten

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Acknowledgements

This thesis is the end product of the Master of Science in International Development Studies with a specialization in Conflict, Disaster, and Development, and with a personal focus on migration. The research required for this thesis was conducted over a fieldwork period of four months from March until June 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. This research was part of the internship period forming part of the VENI-research project ‘’Fortress Europe as a Mobile Space? Intra-EU Mobility of African Migrants’’ of dr. Joris Schapendonk of Radboud University in Nijmegen.

To start, I would like to thank my supervisor dr. Monique Nuijten for her support and guidance during the entire process of both internship and thesis. She has been very supportive in giving constructive feedback on my thesis (especially my analyzing part), as well as very positive about my ethnographical style of writing, which almost made me blush. I was very happy that Monique showed her sincere interest and enthusiasm in my research from the beginning. Thank you Monique.

As a second supervisor I thank dr. Joris Schapendonk for whom I functioned as intern within his VENI- research project. From the beginning I have been fascinated by the set-up and extend of the project, which made my time as intern very interesting. It was a pleasure working for Joris and meeting him in the field to have some good conversations with someone who has done the same and has the expertise. During my first two months of the internship I was working at the Radboud University, at the institute of management research and, therefore I would also like to thank the people who helped me creating a rather nice working environment at the office.

Joris helped me with interesting topics and discussions, both individual between the two of us, as with the other research assistants within the project. From the research assistants I would specifically like to thank Bram, who was also positioned in Catalonia during the same fieldwork period. We met several times and exchanged our ideas, thoughts, and methods of doing the research, after we continued these interesting talks with some fresh beverages in Fissure, La Casa de les 3 Àmfores, and of course, La Boit.

Obviously I could not have done my research without meeting the right people to interview. Now I think interview is a too formal word for the nice and interesting talks and conversations I had with ‘’the guys’’. It is amazing that most of them opened up to me and telling their story of migration and life experiences to- and in Barcelona. I enjoyed being able to listen to every story which were beautiful, amazing, intense, vulnerable, each in its own way. Not only the stories I heard from the

1 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten guys opened and changed my view, especially the experiences I had with them in their personal lives. For this I especially want to thank Lamba, my man, who showed me around Raval, took me to Espacio Inmigrante, his own place, the MACBA, the reggae clubs, and most important the Baye Fall group. My Barcelona fieldwork period would have been so different if I would not have met Lamba and the Baye Fall guys: Abduhllah, who took me to the beach drinking cheap whiskey; Fati, who gave me my own Baye Fall name (Cherife Hassan Fall); Gatche G-Boy, who showed me his crazy-ass rapping skills; and Yegge, who is definitely the nicest guy in Barcelona, I hope he will make it as an artist. Thank you guys for enriching my life with these wonderful experiences. Baye Fall Biggéée.

I cannot and should not forget my bro’s from Nigeria, Walter and Luki. Knowing we had the same age it was both sad to know what you had been through on this age already, but also admirable to see how you continued your life. It was very cool to hang out with you on the Rambla.

Furthermore I want to thank my flatmates, Johanna, Magherita, and Fransesca, during my fieldwork period in Barcelona. Every night, after I came back from the city center where I did my interviews and observations, it was very nice to be able to sit down, relax, eat (chicken) and talk about all kind of issues I experienced. Grazie/Danke.

The last person from Barcelona I want to thank is Antoni Luna Garcia, assistant-professor of humanities at the University Pompeu Fabra Barcelona. I really appreciated your enthusiasm and involvement for my research.

Finally I want to show my gratitude to my friends and family. Especially dad (Angelo) for checking my writings and giving critical comments, but also Mum, Twan, Eva, Roos and René, who not only supported me during this period but have been doing this since the beginning of my studies. My friends from Wageningen; Linn, Tinkie, Edel, Del Piero and the other half of the Bandana-Brothers; the famous Tropical Rocher; thank you very much for your support, discussions and relief (at Desire) during our master study. I am more than delighted for having met you during this study.

Last on the list, but she should definitely be on the top, my sjattepoemel; Giovanna. What should I have done without your support and love during this period, but in general, in my life. Next to beer and food, your love and bacios are a good source of motivation. Grazie mille il mio dolce amore.

Heythuysen, December 2016.

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Executive summary

African migration to Europe has been a very hot topic over the last few years. The amount of migrants from Africa who try to reach the shores of southern Europe is only increasing. Spain is one of the south European countries that have to deal with entering migrants from Africa, especially from West Africa. Many of the West African migrants who enter Spain, legally or illegally, end up in the big cities, like Barcelona. Here, in Barcelona, the life as a West African migrant is extremely difficult, it is a real survival. This is what my research is about; the survival of West African migrants in Barcelona. Based on ethnographical research I have been able to do observations, semi-structured interviews, small-talk, and self-ethnography to be able to understand the West African migrants’ experience of survival in Barcelona, and in its larger extend, in Europe. From the 35 West African respondents, 19 were in-depth enough to base the core of my thesis and results on. I have been able to enter the life world of many of the respondents which gave me a deep insight and understanding of their life- experience in Barcelona. All respondents came from West Africa, however the three main nationalities were Senegalese, the Gambian, and Nigerian. With the main research question, ‘’how do West African migrants survive in Barcelona, Europe?’’, I have been able to elaborate on the following aspects, which are the fundaments of this research: 1) migration stories of West African migrants to Europe; 2) Babylon, what it is and what it means, how it is felt, and what for affects it has on the respondents’ lives; 3) survival of the West African migrants in Barcelona and what keeps them surviving, and 4) exodus, and future migration and/or aspiration plans.

1) The migration story plays and important role in the continuing live of the West African respondents. It has an impact on the way they are able to live in Europe. While the motivations of most respondents were overlapping, mainly trying to find a better life (for themselves and their family back home), the trajectories and means to enter Europe were very diverse. This diversity shows the power difference (Ernste et al, 2002), difficulty, struggle to arrive. While the majority of the respondents (13 out of 19) had been able to arrange a visa via family, friends, or by marrying a European woman, the others (6 out of 19) had to take the dangerous illegal route for arriving in the same place. Based on the results of this research I disagree with Carling (2007) who states that Spain is a transit country. I rather agree with Schapendonk and Steel (2014) who argue that transit places can turn into destinations. For the majority of the West African respondents Barcelona became an end destination due to their social ties here, but also the (economic) opportunities a global city like Barcelona has to offer.

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2) The opportunities many of the West African respondents came to seek in Barcelona and Europe are very scarce, not only for those who arrived illegally, the respondents with a legal residence permit experience the same. African migration, especially illegal migration, is still often portrayed as a threat to the security, welfare, and identity of Europe (Bauman, 2015). West African migrants are no Europeans, they are different, strange, ‘’other’’, and thus a threat. This makes the EU feel the oppressive need to protect and thus starts to resemble a king of gated community (van Houtum, Pijpers, 2007). However, for the West African respondents, Europe more resembles Babylon. Babylon is the strong and powerful, yet corrupted, unjust and oppressive society which exists in Western countries, and thus in Europe. Bob Marley already made a song, ‘’Babylon System’’, about this issue many years ago, and still it is very relevant. It describes the white superior powers which control and oppress the black people. The black people in my research, the West African migrants, feel Babylon is still very much alive. Babylon is against their presence and makes them feel powerless. It affects their lives, especially for the illegally residing respondents. They try to avoid police, making themselves invisible; not only for the fear of being caught, but also due to the still present level of racism. Furthermore, the respondents in this study would argue a sense of slavery exists in the Babylon environment. By means of suppression and exclusion this happens, and they can feel it. Zapata- Barrero (2013) argues that the European domination over the world did not change in its core practices, only in its appearance, which can be made very clear by the European Council’s black-and- white list argues van Houtum (2010). This list divides the world in good and bad, white and black countries; those who can enter the EU without- or those who need a visa.

3) The main aim of this research was to research the way in which West African migrants survive in Barcelona. Survival can be explained by keeping strong, physically and mentally, and continue living in the hard Babylon world. All West African respondents in this research would argue that their live is indeed a survival. While survival for the legal residing respondents was already hard, for those residing illegally it was very difficult, they would have no real chance for a long term contract job. Most of them end up ‘making do’ in whatever situation (Grillo & Mazzucato, 2008), in which they do a wide range of illegal practices (Akyeampong, 2000) that are often based on the street. These include promoting coffeeshops, ‘’hassling’’, or ‘’doing small business’’. An illegal migrant is also called ‘’clandestino’’, like the Manu Chao song. This song, made almost two decades ago, is still very relevant and embodied in the West African migrants. It namely tells the story of a migrants who entered Spain illegally from Africa, and is now stuck in the ‘’heart of Babylon’’.

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To keep strong and survive all respondents relate to their own religious belief, which takes a great part of their life; by means of meetings, get-togethers, or church services, but also by the way they live it. Furthermore, it does not only make them believe someone is looking after them; they also create a sense of community when coming together with people of the same ethnicity or background. Besides the religious belief, music is another major element which helps and keeps West African migrants surviving. Not only listening to music, what according to Baily and Collyer (2006) can have therapeutic outcomes, but some of the respondents also made their own music. They did this out of enjoyment, but on the other hand they used this mean to put their thoughts, emotions and feelings on paper. This often ended up in Malegría (happy-sad) songs, because often they were based on autobiographical experiences, which included migrating to Europe and living in Babylon.

4) The majority of West African respondents mentioned that their time here in Barcelona would just be temporarily. The eventual idea was to return back to their home country in Africa. This would mean an end to their survival in Babylon, and the start of a new life in Africa; inclining and exodus. Exodus means the movement of a large group of people, in this case the moving away from West African migrants from the EU to Africa. While most of the respondents wanted to return to Africa, a very few respondents did not want to go back. They were stuck in Barcelona; due to no reasons or meaning to go back, or for others Babylon (Barcelona) was an opportunity to become somebody. How vicious and corrupt the society, it does offer the slightest possibility which is not available in Africa. They intentionally stayed here. I elaborate on the model of Cerase (1974) which explains three categories of return; as innovation, failure, or as conservatist. A handful of the respondents could possibly be categorized as innovation, which means they are able to bring money back to their home and invest in the development of their environment. A significant amount of the respondents mentioned that their current situation was not the one the hoped for and argued the best solution might be to return home; this would be a case of return as failure. The last category inclines those migrants who want to return due to social- and religious feelings towards home which they cannot find in their current situation; for this category there would be just a minority of respondents fit for. However, based on my research I argue that the model of Cerase (1974) is rather incomplete. I believe there is another reason to return which covers all of the categories, namely that of wanting to leave Babylon. All respondents were experiencing their live here in Europe which made them aware of the flaws and crucial difference between their beautiful mamma Africa and the corrupt Babylon. They would not go back to Africa, but forward.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ...... 1 Executive Summary ...... 3 Chapter 1 - Introduction ...... 8 Lamba ...... 9 1.1 Further Background Information...... 10 Migration towards Europe and Spain ...... 10 Survival in Babylon ...... 12 1.2 Research Aim- and Question ...... 13 1.3 Internship: Veni-Research Project ...... 15 1.4 Why Barcelona? ...... 16 Chapter 2 – Getting Started ...... 18 2.1 Methodology ...... 18 2.2 Respondents, Sampling and Access...... 19 2.3 Ethnography; Living the Life ...... 22 3.4 Small-talk, in-depth interviews, and observations ...... 23 Chapter 3 – On the Streets ...... 26 3.1 Where to start ...... 26 Promoters on the Rambla ...... 27 Espacio Inmigrante ...... 32 Baye Fall ...... 34 Business in the Park ...... 38 3.2 Diversity among West African migrants ...... 40 Concluding Remarks ...... 44 Chapter 4 – Migration Stories ...... 45 Luki...... 46 4.1 Entering Fortress Europe ...... 48 Motivations ...... 49 Trajectories ...... 53 4.2 Making it in; Creative around the system ...... 61 4.3 Mobility after arrival ...... 65 4.4 Continue or settle down? ...... 69 Concluding Remarks ...... 71 Chapter 5 – Babylon...... 72 Mome ...... 74 5.1 Babylon System ...... 74 5.2 West African migration: a Threat to Europe?! ...... 79

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5.3 Feels like Babylon ...... 84 5.4 Racism on the Street ...... 88 5.5 Political Slavery ...... 92 5.6 Migration is Life ...... 96 Concluding Remarks ...... 98 Chapter 6 – Survival ...... 100 ‘’Sobrevivir no es un delito’’ ...... 101 6.1 Strive to Survive ...... 103 6.2 Life as Clandestino ...... 108 6.3 Religious Belief ...... 113 6.4 Malegía Music...... 119 Concluding Remarks ...... 127 Chapter 7 – Mamma Africa ...... 129 Mamma Africa ...... 130 7.1 Return Migration ...... 130 7.2 ‘’Stuck’’ in Babylon ...... 134 7.3 Exodus ...... 137 Concluding Remarks ...... 143 Chapter 8 – Conclusion ...... 145 Slam Gueya ...... 145 8.1 ‘’It’s the time for Africa’’ ...... 146 8.2 Live on Babylon ...... 148 8.3 Migration will not stop ...... 150 Overall Conclusion ...... 151 References...... 155 Annex 1 ...... 160 Annex 2 ...... 163 Annex 3 ...... 167 Annex 4 ...... 168

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Chapter 1 – Introduction

African migration to Europe is not something new; on a daily base we see and hear media and news about the dangerous journey many migrants take. A significant amount of (West) African migrants try to enter the Europe via Spain, because it is located closest too- and even on the African continent (enclaves Ceuta and Melilla), after which great numbers end up in global cities like Barcelona. Here, in Barcelona, the life as a West African migrant is extremely difficult, it is a real survival. This thesis is based on ethnographical research which focusses on the way of life of West African migrants, which has been done by observations, semi-structured interviews, small-talk, and self- ethnography to be able to understand the meaning and feeling of West African migrants’ lives in Barcelona more in-depth. Even though most of the respondents had their residence paper or passport, to legally reside in Spain and the European Union, life is hard and difficult. It is a strive to survive, to continue their lives, and to create long term opportunities and prospects for the future. Especially being illegal, or ‘’clandestino’’, means that survival is a day-to-day job, and opportunities are hard to find, even in a global city like Barcelona. On the streets is where it happens, their ‘’work’’, their life, their survival. What helps and keeps the West African migrants surviving is in almost all cases their religious belief, in which they not only pray and ask for help from God, but also be part of a religious community with people from the same origin. Next to religious belief, for many respondents music is a way to keep mentally strong. It is an output for feelings, emotions, and creativity which some West African migrants use to explain their migration story or difficult current situation. While they are currently surviving in Babylon, the majority of respondents argues to eventually return to Africa. The overall reason; not wanting to live in the European society, in Babylon.

The research of the thesis focusses on the survival of West African migrants in Barcelona. This thesis consists of 1) further elaboration on the topic with background information and the research aim- and question; 2) the methodology section which explains the rational for choosing an ethnographical approach, and how this is conducted; 3) where and how I started the research, and with whom I got in contact; 4) the migration story of the West African respondents, because to understand the context of their lives one needs to know their background and situation; 5) Babylon, what it is and how it is experienced/felt by the West African respondents; 6) the survival of West African respondents in Barcelona; how they do it, and what helps/keeps them strong; 7) future aspiration- and migration plans of the respondents; and finally 8) some concluding remarks.

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Lamba

Lamba is a 38-year-old Senegalese guy who lives in Raval, a neighbourhood in the city center of Barcelona. He lives his life day by day, taking it easy, sometimes working or sometimes relaxing. Lamba does not have a permanent job with a contract; instead he ‘’works’’ on the streets, as a promoter. With his colorful clothes and long rastas he promotes different kind of establishments, from party clubs to coffee shops; trying to get people in there by talking with them on the street. He tries to approach you with a smile and hopes you will be interested in having a conversation with him, but most of all, he hopes you will be interested in going to one of the clubs he promotes, because then Lamba gets payed; for every person he brings in. With some smooth talks Lamba shows his interest in you and asks if you are interested in some ‘’coffeeshop? Smoke weed?’’; this can be a very short conversation with simple ‘’no’’, or if he is Luki a long talk which will end at the coffeeshop itself. I met Lamba on the Rambla, the busiest street of Barcelona. He was promoting one of the establishments he works for, while I was just interested in a conversation with him, and thus we started talking. Many years ago Lamba came to Europe, to Babylon; and why? Because ‘’Europe is destiny’’ (Lamba; 17-03-2016). Like Lamba there are many more West African migrants who are currently living in Europe, legally or illegally, but trying to make something of their lives in the Promised Land, because for many this is still the idea of Europe which is alive. However, on arrival, this fictional idea will slowly make place for the hard truth I conclude. The life here in Europe, in Barcelona, is tough, difficult, and a day by day struggle to survive.

On the basis of my research, not just to survive physically is hard; getting enough money on the table for food and the rent, but maybe mentally it is even more difficult. African migrants are still seen as something not-good, sometimes even as a threat, intruding something we like to call ‘’our’’ Europe. A Europe that has to guard and protect its external borders and do everything what is necessary to actually keep migrants like Lamba out. A large number of plans, policies, and other arrangements have been - or are being made between the EU and third countries like Senegal, in order to try to keep West African migrants in West Africa. And this while most of them just want to work, and eventually return home. Lamba has been lucky that he came many years ago, when it was relatively easy to enter that what is called ‘’fortress Europe’’ (Albrecht, 2002). But the current and future generation will not have this ‘’privilege’’ to enter the EU like Lamba did. And that is weird, Lamba thinks, but so do I.

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Lamba tells me that; ‘’I want to move, you (he points at me) want to move, everybody here wants to move, so why it’s not equal for all people to go where they want?’’ (17-03-2016) It is not just Lamba who is moving, everybody is moving; not just he who is a migrant:

‘’Everybody here is a migrant’’ (Lamba; 17-03-2016).

1.1 Further Background Information

African Migration towards Spain

Spain has a relatively short international migration history. When Spain joined the European community in 1986, it entered the international migration circuit. Most of the European Union countries formed the Schengen area, opening up the intra-EU borders on the one hand, but establishing more control at the external borders on the other hand; in order to protect ‘’their’’ fortress Europe. This happened in 2005, when the internal borders opened but also the joined border police (Shamir, 2005) was established. Especially in the South-European border countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece, which are closest to Africa, the external borders were increased in strength and control by means of building high fences and usage of advanced technology, to control migration form Africa. Spain built Europe’s most formidable and sophisticated system for border surveillance, relying on electronic fences, radar and infrared cameras (Shamir, 2005). The measures taken by Spain at its external borders are highly debated, as migrants that try to cross the border-fences are often injured, and the excessive use of violence by the Spanish border patrols (Zapata-Barrero et al, 2007). With the controlling and (b)ordering (van Houtum, 2002) of a major part of the external European borders, Spain became and still is a significant player within the European Union’s migration field. While first in the 90ties the majority of migrants entering Spain came from Morocco, over the last years it changed to migrants from sub-Saharan countries, such as Senegal, Gambia, and Nigeria who are trying to cross the EU’s dangerous external borders. . ‘’Attracting beneficial foreign economic (human) resources, securing safety and preventing abundant immigration are defined as the most prominent border tasks by governments nowadays’’ (van Houtum, p. 128: 2002).

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This grasps the current European Union thought. And to keep the European political, economic and social system going, making Fortress Europe strong, Spain has to play its part by closing her Europe- African borders for all unwanted outsiders (Migreurop, 2010). However, there is a vast amount of migrants that succeed in crossing these highly protected external borders. While in the 1990s, the majority of these migrants came from Morocco and was headed for Spain, the current large majority of immigrants trying to cross these dangerous land- and water routes are from Sub-Saharan African origin, such as Senegal, Mali, Gambia, Guinea, and Nigeria. They try to enter Spain as a jumping board to the rest of Europe. As Spain is a member of the Schengen countries, immigrants cross the African-Spanish border with the idea of free movement within these countries (Zapata-Barrero, 2007). Therefor the increasing development of the borderlands not only highlights Spanish intervention, but mainly the strong pressure of the EU to fortify these borders. This highlights the importance of the Spanish southern borderlands as European borderlands; politically, technically, and mentally (Zapata-Barrero et al, 2007).

Due to its location Spain is one of the most strategic points with regard to the EU’s border policy. Not only is Spain closest to the Africa from the European mainland, it even has Ceuta and Melilla as two enclaves on the African continent, as well as the Canary island west of Africa. These places are of great significance for the African immigration (Ferrer-Gallardo and Van Houtum, 2014). It makes Spain consist out of many transit zones, which are crucial for the migrant to continue their journey towards Europe (Carling, 2007). Due to the heavy protection measures at the Spanish borderlands and the high difficulty to enter legally, West African migrants are taking even more dangerous routes to enter the EU, but still arriving at the EU’s southern borders in Spain, Italy and Greece. Where previously the EU was pressuring Spain to protect its external borders, over the last decade Spain has been asking the EU to see Spain’s external borders as a European responsibility and not solely that of Spain. This has been a crucial factor, not only in Spain, but also in Italy and Greece, to decide who should take responsibility looking at migration on a European level (Zapata-Barrero et al, 2007). Africans who migrate to Europe has created a politicization of the migration debate and also its management for many years now (de Haas, 2008). An ‘’invasion’’ never happened, due to the EU’s strict migration policies and even stricter border management. However, the fear of undocumented migrants, especially those from Africa, is still present, thorough not grounded (van Houtum, 2010).

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Survival in Babylon

To understand the way West African migrants’ experience their life in Barcelona and its larger extend, in Europe, it is important to elaborate on a few aspects. These aspects are also crucial in the remaining of this research, because it will make the reader understand this case, of West African migrants in Barcelona, more in depth. Therefor I want to elaborate on the following; 1) Babylon and Babylon System; and 2) Survival.

To understand the way West African migrants experience life in Barcelona, and to its greater extend, in the European Union, one should understand ‘’Babylon’’. This is the name many of the West African respondents call Europe, which is used to indicate a strong and powerful, yet corrupted, unjust and oppressive society. They continent Europe itself is called Babylon, while the political, economic, and social system covering Europe is called the Babylon System. Often the European Union with its capitalistic ways and means of drawing benefits solely for the European citizens is inclined to be this Babylon system. Because Babylon (and its system) only cares about their own people, life for outsiders, and in this case West African migrants, is extremely difficult. They feel that Babylon is against their presence, and feel suppressed by it, not only here, but already in their home country. A sense of slavery, political slavery, is mentioned by the respondents in this study. European dominations is a great part of it, which already existed in its colonial past (Zapata-Barrero, 2013), and thus has only changed in its appearance, but not in its core.

The core theme of my research is that of the survival of West African migrants. All respondents in this study would argue that they are not living in Barcelona, but surviving in Babylon. Survival can thus be described as the physically and mentally keeping strong and continuing living in the hard environment of Babylon. Survival is not something individual; it often also includes the survival of family living in the migrant’s country of origin. Because it is so extremely difficult to gain a contract job, even more when you are illegally residing in Spain, they know how to ‘make do’ in whatever situation (Grillo & Mazzucato, 2008); this often means ‘’hassling’’ or ‘’doing small business’’ which includes a wide range of illegally set practices (Akyeampong, 2000) that are often based on the streets.

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1.2 Research Aim and –Questions:

Research Aim

This thesis aims to create a greater understanding of the lives of West African migrants in Barcelona. To paint the picture, I aim to shed a led on first of all the migration stories of the West African respondents. It is namely very important to understand their situation considering their migration history, and current migration possibilities. Furthermore, many respondents talked about Europe as ‘’Babylon’’, about the European political, economic, and social system as the ‘’Babylon system’’; this impacts and affects their lives, how Babylon treats them. After giving an elaborate explanation on Babylon and how it is felt and perceived by the West African migrants I aim to come to the inner core of this research; explain the way West African migrants survive. By the West African migrants’ survival (in Barcelona) I mean,

The focus of the research has been an ethnographic approach to understand the experiences of survival inside Barcelona, inside the European Union. It is of great importance to know the migration stories of the West African migrants in order to better understand their current lives.

Research question

In the following section there is a structure made starting with the main- and later sub research questions, which are based on different categories of the main research question and the future aspirations of the West African migrants. These categories include; 1) Migration; 2) Babylon; 3) Survival; and 4) Future aspiration- and migration plans. The categories ‘survival’ and ‘Babylon’ make up for the main research question, however to create a deeper insight of the West African migrants’ life in Barcelona, it is of essential importance to understand the past and present; the migration history and future ambitions and migration prospects.

Main research question: ‘’ How do West African migrants survive in Barcelona, Europe?’’

- Migration ‘’Which trajectory has been taken to enter Europe, and arrive in Barcelona?’’ ‘’How did they enter Europe?

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‘’How mobile have West African migrants been since their arrival in the EU?’’ The trajectory and route migrants took to reach the place they are now, in Barcelona, the way they entered Europe, and what for places they went in- and outside of the EU and why. It is important to understand, because the migration and mobility of the West African respondents shows their capability to move to- and within Europe.

- Babylon ‘’What does Babylon mean to West African migrants?’’ ‘’How do West African migrants experience Babylon or the Babylon System?’’ Babylon is the continent Europe, while the Babylon System is the political, economic, and social system covering the EU; how are both described by the West African migrants, and how is it being experienced.

- Survival ‘’How do West African migrants survive in Barcelona?’’ ‘’What help/keeps them surviving?’’ Maybe the most important aspect, how do West African migrants survive within Babylon. What influences their lives, how they do they relax, pray, live, survive.

- Future aspiration- and migration plans ‘’what are the future aspiration- and migration plans of West African migrants?’’ Many people believe that once West African migrants are in the EU they do not intend to leave and return to Africa, but is this true? With this sub-question the future migration plans and general aspirations of the West African migrants is explained.

1.3 Internship Veni-Research Project

I participated as an assistant researcher in the VENI-research project of dr. Joris Schapendonk. This research, called ‘’Fortress Europe as a mobile space? Intra-EU mobility of African Migrants’’, focuses on the mobility of West African migrants within Europe. The data that I collected during the fieldwork period will be used by both dr. Schapendonk for his VENI-research project, as well by me for this thesis.

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This VENI-research project looks at the trajectories West African migrants take towards Europe and within Europe in three different European regions, namely Lombardy (Italy), Catalonia (Spain), and Randstad (Netherlands). It therefor includes more master students who likewise act as assistant researchers. Together, through group meetings and data sharing from these different regions, the relevance and significance for this research project as well as my own MSc Thesis increased.

The first two months of the internship (Jan-Feb) took place in Nijmegen, at the Border Research group. Within this period I found and analyzed the statistics of West African migrants asking for asylum or illegally present in the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, and Germany. Furthermore, I looked at the re-bordering chronology of the intra-EU borders of the last months. The data I gathered by means of these two assignments have been discussed in two papers. Next to doing this background research of West African statistics and chronology of EU re-bordering, I have been focusing on my on project, which had quite a significant amount of overlap with that what I needed to research for dhr. Schapendonk, thus I create a better understanding of migration to- and inside the EU, especially focusing on West African migrants in Barcelona.

For the second period I went to Barcelona for engaging in the fieldwork. The fieldwork existed out of talking, interviewing and observing West African migrants. With some of my respondents I participated in their life, observing from a close range, and thus understanding more in-depth about their issues concerning mobility to- and inside Europe, and their life here. I had been given an interview guide (see Annex 2) from dhr. Schapendonk in which some guidelines and questions were outlined that I needed to cover during the interviews. However, I had been given full freedom to ask and engage how I felt most fit, because these interviews, conversations and observations have been also used for this thesis.

The very useful feature of participating in a research project group with other research assistants is that among each other we could discuss issues and experiences. While I was in Barcelona doing the fieldwork, others were in Lombardia, de Randstad, and in Lleida (Catalonia). Even though you meet other respondents and each research assistant has his/her own way of doing things, it was nice to be able to discuss some thoughts and experiences. Especially with Bram Bos, who was located in Lleida (Catalonia), I discussed on a regular base.

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1.4 Why Barcelona?

The fieldwork was done in Barcelona, Spain. Dhr. Schapendonk divided his research assistants over de different regions in which his project was held. Because there were already enough research assistants leaving to Lombardy, and because I wanted to gain an international experience, only Catalonia in Spain was left. I was not the only one leaving to Catalonia; Bram Bos went to the rural city of Lleida, which is surrounded by spacious agricultural fields, where many West African migrants work. Due to my initial master thesis proposal focusing on the intersection of migrants and tourists the most obvious place in Catalonia was to go to Barcelona, because of its large quantity of tourists in this global city. Each year more tourists go to Barcelona, and where there are many tourists there is something to do. Tourists spend money, attract business, and thus many migrants try to seek their fortune in a place like Barcelona.

‘’Global cities are the primary spaces of globalization, where the migrant worker meets the banker, the tourist meets the refugee, and the student meets the homeless. These new spaces of encounter are the empirical starting point to question traditional approaches to human mobility.’’ (Rhode, p.13: 2008). Later I adapted my thesis proposal and left the intersection between the migrants and tourists out. I could not observe enough interesting interaction of significance between my West African respondents and tourists.

While doing the fieldwork in Barcelona, and having been to Lleida once to see Bram and meet some of ‘’his’’ respondents, I noticed the difference in the kind of migrant. While the West African migrants in Lleida were very calm and solely wanted to work on the fields to make some money, the men I met in Barcelona have different ideas and thoughts about life and means of survival. Barcelona is the New York of Spain, a place where dreams can come true; a place where you should go when you want to become someone, because it’s the place where it happens.

Furthermore, Barcelona is a global city where many people meet; some migrants see the city as a springboard to other European cities, as a transit point, while others remain in Barcelona and thus make it their end destination. This makes it more interesting because why and how would West African migrants continue or remain in Barcelona.

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Chapter 2 – Getting Started

Introduction

In this chapter I will elaborate on the methodology used in the research on West African migrants in Barcelona. This study focused on qualitative methods to gain in-depth information; a thick description of the lives of the West African respondents. From the 35 West African respondents I talked to, 19 are considered to be in-depth enough and thus on these respondents the thesis is mainly based on. From these 19 respondents I have been able to subtract all necessary information for all chapters which my thesis is built upon. This Chapter explains 1) the methodology used; 2) the respondent group, and how I gained access to their in-depth life stories; 3) the ethnography I used for conducting the qualitative methodology; 4) how I used my methods, which is actually an ethnographical mingle of small-talk, semi-structured interviews, and observations.

2.1 Methodology

The data gathering of this master thesis has been done in Barcelona (Spain), between the months of March and June 2016. The research has been done by ethnography; with qualitative tools as semi- structured interviews, informal (small) talks and conversations, and participant observation. These methods were often used simultaneously and interactively. Ethnography is a way of knowing, or in other words, an effort to understand the meaning-making practices of others in their specific contexts of acting and thinking (van Hulst et al. 2015). My research is fully based on ethnography; there for the title of the thesis; ‘’an ethnography of West African migrants in Barcelona’’. It tries to make the reader understand the way of thinking, living, and in this specific case, surviving, of West African migrants in Barcelona. According to van Hulst et al ethnographic research requires the engagement and interaction of the researcher with the people whose actions he seeks to understand (2015; p. 1). The best is to engage like the people the researcher is studying in certain situations; this is what I did. Joris Schapendonk, supervisor of my internship and head of the Veni-research project, had provided me with an interview guide (see Annex 2), which lined up the basic data he expected me to gather

17 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten during my interviews. However, this guide could and has been used in a very flexible manner, asking questions for both the Veni-research project as my master thesis with- and through each other. With the ethnography of participant observation I gained understanding of the West African migrant’s life in Barcelona. This happened on a diversity of places. Mainly in public environments, like on the street, in the park, on the beach, or in civic centers. But also through the respondents’ personal spaces as their homes, their church, and in community houses; on which I will elaborate shortly. Due to the insufficient level of Spanish of the author, the interviews and conversations were mainly being done in English. Sometimes a word of Spanish or French came in between, however, most of the West African respondents could make themselves understandable in English. They had been connection with tourists or other international people over the last years, or they already could speak English from their native country. Many respondents originated from the Gambia or Nigeria were English is the official language. From the first week I noticed that I could not simply make arrangement with the West African migrants by means of talking in person, a phone was necessary. Luckily I brought my old sim-lock free Samsung device. Because Lamba and other respondents told me they had a Lyca simcard. Lyca calls Lyca for free was there reasoning for having bought this special simcard. If you both have a Lyca simcard you can call each other for free. So I bought a Lyca sim card to be able to call the majority of my respondents for free.

2.2 Respondents, Sampling and Access

The group of respondents was formed by West African migrants. There was no special focus on certain nationalities, only on migrants coming from West African origin. In the end most respondents came from Senegal, the Gambia, and Nigeria. Some respondents I spoken with came from other countries like Guinea-Bissau, Mali, or Niger. The status of the migrant was not of importance to the selection of the respondents, as both regular- and irregular migrants were of value to this research. The possession- or lack of documentation and/or papers would have most likely had influence on their trajectory and mobility in different aspects. Furthermore the mobility itself was not an issue; it would not matter if the migrant had been involved in mobility trajectories or movements very recent or years ago. I talked with many migrants, from all over the world, of which 35 had West African nationalities. Of these 35 West African migrants I talked too, 19 I consider to have fulfilled the interview requirements. However, these differ significantly, because with some respondents I had more intensive contact than others. Due to more contact and conversations with some of them the

18 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten understanding and experience of their way of life gained more detail. Especially my contact with Lamba, Luki, Walter, Gatche, and Abduhllah showed me the deeper level of their life experiences. While I met Luki and Walter almost daily on the Rambla to have a small talk, with Guacher, Abduhllah, and especially Lamba I phoned to make some kind of appointment where to meet; to walk around, have a drink, or go to their houses. From these experiences I gained more details about their daily lives, on which I will elaborate in a later stadium. The intention before gathering the data was to have a balanced representation of the West African migrant, meaning different nationalities, ages, and genders. However, the most West African migrants I met were from Senegal, the Gambia and Nigeria, male and between the ages of 20 to 50. The age was not such a problem, however I hoped to have respondents from more nationalities. Besides, my respondents were all male; to find female respondents was not easy. The West African women are less visible on the street as men. The group of West African women, which was rather visible, was prostituting in the city center during the night. These women might find themselves in a difficult vulnerable situation, which made approaching them only harder. Including the fact I am a male, these women might not be interested in talking to me. The times I walked through the ‘’prostitute-street’’ (Carrer d’En Robador) in El Raval I was not feeling comfortable talking to these women, not solely because they approached me sexually, but also because I saw some guys checking out what was happening with ‘’their’’ women. I would guess these guys are the ‘’pimps’’; and only talking with the prostitutes would make them possibly confront me. This idea was not comforting me. Due to the whole idea behind approaching the West African prostitute women and perhaps getting into problems with their ‘’pimps’’, and my good connections with the West African males I already made, I decided to focus solely on the West African male migrants. This might influence the way I write about the West African migrant; knowing it is mostly based on males from Senegal, the Gambia and Nigeria.

Getting more and more involved with my respondents I slowly gained access to their more personal lives; Lamba would show me around, invite me for dinner at his house, and let me join him to his Baye Fall get together (religious meeting). Before I met with Lamba several times, spoke with him on the streets regularly, and asked the right questions, which eventually led to him inviting me. Also Luki and Walter would invite me to go with them to Winners Chapel on Sunday morning, a Nigerian Christian church in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat. I guess it has also been a part of luck by meeting the right people. By means of Luki and Walter I met other Nigerian migrants like Sely. And by Lamba I met the whole Baye Fall community, which mainly existed out of Senegalese men. They opened up their group and let me in; however, this did not happen out of the sudden. I was welcome

19 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten every time to join them, but I also did, and participated by singing, dancing, and moving along during their get together’s. This made them see I respected and liked their way of life, and so I got more involved in their group, which eventually led to naming me a new ‘’Baye Fall name’’; Cherife Hassan Fall. Of course not everyone would invite me, some were very suspicious about me asking them questions, and explaining what I was doing. They would not trust me to tell me their stories; about migration, mobility and what they were doing now. In doing research to a group of persons who are in a vulnerable position in society, and coming from different countries, trust is an issue that should be slowly build-up. With some respondents it was directly there, with others it needed some time, while for a few the trust was never there. I was happy if I met someone with whom I could talk about all different kind of issues, and ask rather personal questions, but I could understand that other respondents were more skeptic about the ‘’project’’ I was doing, and so were more careful by choosing their answers or not replying at all. On a certain moment I knew where most guys would be hanging out during the day or night. Almost every day I would go to the city center to walk around in El Raval where a few of my respondents lived, which is a neighborhood full of migrants. Sometimes I would meet them on the street without making an appointment, and sometimes I called some of them; mainly those with a Lyca card. Simply asking if they were around and if I did not sit down with them to interview I would ask if they had time to ‘’talk a bit longer’’. Most of the times I would receive a neglecting answer or something in the kind they were not able. However sometimes it worked and we did meet. Meeting without my phone and calls without have been close to impossible with some of the West African respondents. Lamba would even occasionally call me when he did not see me in a few days, asking if I was alright and if I would come to the Baye Fall meeting, because I had to go there according to him. Furthermore, during the day, but mainly throughout the night, the coffeeshop promoters would walk on the Rambla; here I would go in the late afternoon or in the early night. There would always be the same guys, but they were promoting and thus most of them would not have the time for me. I came there regularly to show my face so that the guys would recognize me. On a certain moment the guys recognized me as ‘’the Holland guy’’, which felt good. Finally, during the day, but mainly in the weekends, the Park de la Ciutadella would be a place to relax for many West African migrants, especially for the Gambians and Senegalese. I would go here during the weekends but also throughout the week. In the weekends it was busier because the West Africans from outside of Barcelona came over for a few days than during the week. However, the guys who were in the park during the week had more time for me to talk.

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2.3 Constructing Ethnography; living the life

‘’Ethnography is predicated upon attention to the everyday, an intimate knowledge of face-to-face communities and groups’’ (Marcus, 1995:99). As Marcus states, for doing ethnography it is important to stick to every day practices and a deep understanding of the communities and group you do research about. By doing so, interacting with the research field and its subjects, the understanding of the respondents’ way of life will rise. However, Jordan and Yeomans (1995), speak about the dynamic of the researcher with regard to its research subject and process, and argue that doing too much ethnography and using too much qualitative methods might result in being too close to the topic and subject. This will influence the researcher’s own interpretation of the results, and thus the researcher should keep on reflexing on the moment and himself. When doing ethnography one needs to follow the lead of the informants explains van Hulst et al (2015). I tried to stick to some prepared points of the interview guide or which I had in mind to discuss, but next to that I would leave the respondent up to what he wanted to discuss and tell me. I participated in the environment of my respondents over an extended period of time, and observed what they did and at the same time asked questions in order to find out what meanings they attach to what they do (Yanow, 1996; in Van Hulst et al, 2015). Next to full participation in some of the West African respondents’ activities, I mainly ‘’hanged out’’ in the field with the respondents, how they live, work, and in this case survive in Barcelona. This showed me to see how the social world under study is constantly produced (van Hulst et al, 2015). To be able to create a good ethnography of the respondents an open atmosphere is needed to gain knowledge about the migrant’s daily life, including an open and trustworthy relationship between each other. This interaction, with the research field and –subject, is of great importance in this research (Crang, 2003). Due to this interaction and trust bonding, I accompanied some migrants in part of their daily activities and gained access to places and within groups, it helped me getting accepted in certain places or with people I did not knew before, which would not have been possible without connecting with them in such an intensive matter. In some cases friendship-like contacts were established with some of my respondents, which might have changed or adapted my view on some of the migration issues, but it also made me more aware of their daily struggles. By coming this close to some respondents and seeing them as friends gave me many interesting finding with regard to their way of life in Barcelona, which I would not have gained if I had not engaged in these friendships. However, by getting this close into some of my respondents’ life worlds; I try to be reflective on the interpretations of my outcomes in this master thesis.

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2.4 Small talk, in-depth interviews, and observations

As mentioned above, there was a need for an informal open atmosphere to create a relation of trust in order to gather desired detailed life stories of the respondents. Due to this fact, plenty of interviews felt more like conversations, but for me with a clear line of subject. However, often we spoke about everything, from our favorite football teams to the terrible weather of that day. With many interviews but especially small talks, there was a mutual interest in our lives, the respondents almost always wanted to know something about me, and asked questions too. In most cases I answered openly and honest, however, sometimes I felt the best and comfortable thing to say would not be the entire truth; like the intense interest of Walter in my sister, who does not have a boyfriend, but I would say she did, to avoid the topic. To have small talk with my respondents was an important aspect of the entire research. To be able to see them often and have a small chat showed them I was there plenty of times and interested in their lives. With many this ended in being able to talk about more serious kind of topics more relevant for my research, however some respondents still kept some distance in elaborating their story in depth to me. I believe that I made the right combination between serious topics and informal ‘’bull-shitting’’; sometimes making a joke or having a laugh between topics was a good way to relief a some tensions from the serious topics or conversations. However, sometimes the respondents were so involved in telling me their serious story that I did not interrupt with a joke or funny comments. In ethnography, informants are offered much room to tell their stories and steer the conversation (van Hulst et al, 2015). In the case of this thesis, respondents were encouraged to tell their stories, however as researcher I did steer the interview and conversations occasionally, otherwise the respondent could avoid the sometimes unpleasant topics and questions, which I found necessary to ask.

While doing the research itself, I figured out what was the best way to align the questions I had to ask for dr. Schapendonk as my own, which eventually worked out fine, due to the overlap in dr. Schapendonk’s Veni-research- and my own master thesis’ subject. Schapendonk’s Veni-research focusses on the intra-European mobility of West African migrants as well as their previous migration history of entering the EU. While my own research focusses more on the current life of the West African migrants aside of the mobility issues; it aims to look at the survival aspect of their present situation. To understand their current situation the mobility- and migration aspects of the

22 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten respondents’ past, present, and future are of great importance, and it influences their lives significantly. Therefor I cover this issue to some extent; however, the main goal of this research is to create an understanding of the ‘survival in Babylon’ of the West African migrants.

Next to the interaction with the respondents by means of talks, conversations, and interviews, I observed my respondents as well. Observations form a significant part of the process of getting to know the various elements of the West African migrants’ way of life in Barcelona. These observations have taken place everywhere; on the streets, in the neighbourhood where some live, or in the park. For example the promoters on the Rambla; they were finding themselves in a grey area of work. To promote on the street is allowed, if one has the right badge and a contract with the specific club or bar. However, promoting for coffeeshops was not really allowed by the police. When the police would come the coffeeshop-promoters would get off the Rambla and hide away. Sometimes I saw that one of the promoters was ‘’caught’’ and the police would search him from head to toes for possible drugs. Furthermore the policemen would ask many questions in a non-friendly manner. The respondents I talked too who worked as promoter told me that they were discriminated by the police and could not afford making a mistake while ‘’working’’. Also I observed multiple undercover police who stopped promoters (and even me) from time to time. These observations can be used and applied to what my respondents said during our conversations.

For dr. Schapendonk there were three kind of data; 1) the really basic information of the respondent; 2) more in-depth information gained by being able to write some notes; 3) word-by-word, having recorded the conversation/interview. The last one was rather difficult, because it sometimes felt uncomfortable by asking one of my respondents to record the interview. You have to have a good bond and trust relation with the respondent to ask him to record the interview. Eventually I have recorded two interviews of which I knew the respondents quite well, and thus our relation was of a good level. For most of the interviews I wrote down notes of the questions I asked and especially the respondent’s answers. I did not write down entire sentences but just words or interesting quotes. On the same day I would write down the entire interview how I remembered it with help of the words I wrote down. This method worked fine and thus I used it almost every time. Some guys were asking me why I needed to write down what they would say and were not comfortable with me doing this, thus we just talked.

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Concluding remarks

In this chapter the methodology has been explained. Ethnography is the main part of this thesis research. I wanted to gain access to a limited number of West African respondents so that the quality would be of a significant level; this has been accomplished by gaining in depth access to 19 West African respondents. By means of engaging and participating with my respondents in their daily activities, group gatherings, religious meetings, dinners, or relaxing times, I bonded with them and a connection of trust was made. This was necessary to understand more in depth their life and situation in Barcelona.

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Chapter 3 – On the Street

Introduction

Barcelona is a world city, with 1.604.555 inhabitants in the city part and a total of 5.375.774 in its metropolitan area (2015; Ajuntament de Barcelona). How was I supposed to find my particular research group, West African migrants, in this city? The only West African migrants, of whom I knew they were there, were the Senegalese street sellers, or ‘’Manteros’’. These ‘’Manteros’’ are very visible on the streets, however, Joris told me beforehand that if I could, it would be better to focus on a different groups of West African migrants, because Saskia and Michelle, the girls who went to Barcelona last year as research assistants within the Veni- project, only talked with these ‘’Manteros’’. This made the search for possible groups of West African migrants only more difficult; where would they be, what would they be doing, and how could I approach them? In this chapter I will elaborate on the beginning phase of my fieldwork experience, in which I explain the different respondent groups I encountered and how I slowly gained access to their closer lives. The West African respondents in this study can actually be explained in three categories; 1) promoters on the Rambla (mainly Nigerian); 2) Baye Fall group (mainly Senegalese); 3) guys in the park (often from the Gambia). These categories are not fixed; neither are they focused on solely one nationality. After I will also shortly explain on Espacio Inmigrante; a Barcelona squad movement which fights for the rights of the legal and illegal migrant. Furthermore I will elaborate on the diversity amongst the West African respondents. Finally, this chapter ends with a network of all West African respondents in this study; how they are related to each other, as well as the most common places they meet, or where I met them.

3.1 Where to start?

The very first days in Barcelona I had not a clear idea where to start or what to do. I had been in Barcelona a few times before, so knew the way a bit, I was not totally disorientated, however, the times I came here was for pleasure, as a tourist. From the previous research assistants of Joris I got some tips and they told me where I could meet West African migrants, but again, these guys would

25 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten only be ‘’manteros’’. Sadly Joris did not have any connections like organizations or institutes, which he could put me in contact with, so I really had to start from scratch. The first week I arrived I was busier with arranging a permanent room for the coming months rather than talking too West African guys. During the first days I went out in the later afternoon and night to have a look around in the city center where I possible could come in contact with West Africans. Not knowing where to start exactly, I went to the Rambla to observe the ‘’Manteros’’ selling their goods and playing the cat-and-mouse game with the ‘’Guarda Civil’’ (police). If the police comes they quickly pick up their ‘’manta’’ (blanket), put it on their back and walk away fast or go underground in one of the metro stations until the police is gone; then they come back. Watching this unusual scene I noticed some other black guys on the street without the blankets and dressed more fancy, trying to speak to the people passing by; these guys are the promoters.

Promoters on the Rambla

On the third night of my fieldwork period in Barcelona I went out to the city center. I took the metro from Plaça de Sants to Liceu which lies directly underneath the most famous street of Barcelona; the Rambla. Making my way up to the ground floor I walked the stairs and already saw and heared the crowd of people, mainly tourists who were walking up and down the Rambla; from Plaça de Catalunya to the port or the other way around. On the Rambla I closed my jacket due to the cold wind; in addition I lighted a cigarette to get a bit warm and because it makes me feel a bit more comfortable to talk to people. Maybe it’s the way I dressed, or the sight of me lighting a cigarette, but I saw two black guys approaching me: a taller bold bigger dude, and a smaller guy with short rastas. The small one bends forward and said, almost whispering: ‘’coffeeshop? Smoke weed?’’ I was not sure what to say, and I guess that my hesitation took too long, which was a positive thing for the guys. They started asking me where I was from and so we started a small conversation. While both guys ask me where I am from, I do the same, and apparently they are from Senegal and the Gambia. This makes the conversation only more interesting to me. After introducing, Marty (from Senegal) and Ramba (from the Gambia) tell me I should go with them to ‘’their’’ coffeeshop, because it’s the best in town, and they explain me the deal with coffeeshops in Barcelona, which is a legal business.

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Like Marty and Ramba there are many West African guys promoting coffeeshops on the Rambla. Most of them are from Nigeria; Marty and Ramba make up the smaller part, those who are from Senegal, the Gambia, or Mali. They walk on the Rambla during the late afternoon but especially during the night, to promote their coffeeshop. This promoting is not the idea I had when I think about promoting, which includes handing out flyers, or shouting on the street. While the legal, official, and mostly white promoters who are trying to get younger tourists into bars and clubs wear a badge and got a contract, the African coffeeshop promoters neither have them. The coffeeshop promoting is a grey area, because the presence of coffeeshops in Barcelona is legalized, however those who promote most likely do not have a contract and a license (or badge) to promote on the street. It is not really legal, that’s why Marty and Ramba wouldn’t be comfortable when they spotted the police. By means of whispering and softly speaking words like ‘’coffeeshop’’ and ‘’smoke weed’’ into the passing by tourists’ ears, they hope to gain attention of those who are interested in these services and facilities. After the attention of the person is with the promoter it will enter the small- talk conversation. Asking where he/she is from, what he/she is doing here, etc. to create a fragile bond of trust, but strong enough to take the person to the coffeeshop. Here the promoter will tell that this specific coffeeshop is the coolest with the best assortment of soft drugs. However, the person cannot simply enter the coffeeshop. For gaining access a membership card is needed, and this card costs around 20euros for a year. Eventually, it is this money, which is given partly or entirely to the promoter who brought the new costumer.

The following nights I spent more time on the Rambla in the hope to get in contact with more of these promoters, or to see Marty and Ramba again. The strange thing about this was that I was not the one approaching the possible respondents, but they would approach me, trying to make me join them to ‘’their’’ coffeeshop. I would engage in their small-talk conversation, most of them would be glad they found someone who seemed interested to join them, however I would explain them in the same conversation my research objectives. Some of them were sincerely interested and very willing to help me, while others were not eager enough to spend time on my project. Via this ‘’method’’ I met quite the amount of respondents (see Annex 1; network) like Walter and Luki.

I met Walter and Luki like many others on the Rambla. Both of them approached me separately to promote their coffeeshop, however, afterwards I found out they were good friends. Of course I was very happy to talk with them but I made my intentions rather clear, and thus I would not join them to the coffeeshop. Walter and Luki were both from Nigeria, and both my age (+/- 23), maybe because of their age we connected so well.

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Knowing that they would ‘’work’’ on the Rambla almost every evening I met them quite often when I was passing by or intentionally going there to talk to them and others. Two or three times a week I would see them there and we would talk about anything. Having told them my project I regularly asked them questions about migration and mobility towards- and inside Europe, and other issues related to this matter. However, these were all small talks, because I was on the Rambla, interfering with their ‘’work’’, their only way to make money ‘’to survive’’ I hear Walter saying. That is why on a certain moment I made appointments to sit down with both of them separately to talk more in- depth about their lives, experiences, and issues focusing on the mobility and migration aspects. After having done the interviews with both Walter and Luki we still saw each other on a weekly base, and I would get questions like ‘’where have you been?’’ if we did not meet for four or five days. Just hanging out with them, experiencing how they worked and what they told me, made me understand how difficult it must have been, especially for Luki. While Walter had a residence permit to stay in Spain, Luki arrived to Europe via Italy, and thus was subscribed in the Italian asylum procedure. He lived in the asylum Walter (brown coat; left) and Luki (black jacket; right) doing their ‘’business’’, promoting on the Rambla. Picture by author center close to Bergamo, ‘’a big camp (May, 2016) with only African people’’ (Luki; 26-03- 2016). Secretly and illegally he moved to Barcelona, with a passport he found, because a friend of him told him to come. But at arrival, the friend was gone. Now here in Barcelona, he had to survive on his own, but still he wants to go back to Italy where he will ‘’beg on my knees to let me stay in Italy, I don’t want them to send me back’’ (Luki; 26-03-2016). Both Walter and Luki, young Nigerians, slightly different situations, doing the same job. This relationship especially took off when I joined both guys to their Nigerian Christian church, Winners Chapel, to see and experience the Nigerian Christian community and how they related to their belief, because from talking to them I understood that God and Jesus made up for a major part in their lives. The first time I went to the Winners Chapel church (03-04-2016) I arranged with Walter to go there together. I got up on a Sunday morning and made my way to the metro stop Av. Carrilet in the accrued suburb of L’Hospitalet de la Llobregat, south-west of the Barcelona city center. While waiting for Walter at the metro stop, as we discussed, he did not show up. It was almost 10:00, and thus the church service would start, so I eventually went to the Winners Chapel myself. I followed some nicely

28 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten dressed black people to the church, which is located in a more industrial-looking area. The church looks very similar to the other buildings around it from the outside. When I enter a younger man approaches me in Spanish but is relieved when I start talking English. He asks me what I am doing here, I don’t actually know either, but I tell him that I would meet up with Walter, maybe he is already inside, and so he says I can join him inside. No kelvin when I enter the white painted room. All chairs in rows, and only black people. I do not see Walter. The room is big and white, with red draped curtains at the front. There are +/- 150 people, families, old, young, everybody, but all black. Most people are dressed up nicely, with a suit, a dress, or traditional colorful clothes. During the service I do not feel very comfortable, not that I feel afraid or unsafe, but more due to the fact from the moment I stepped inside everybody was intensively staring at me. After some time, when the priest starts to talk and the focus of the people is not directed to me but to the priest, I start to feel better. The priest is extremely engaged; singing, dancing, screaming though the microphone, and sweating a lot. The people in the church like it. At the end of the mess the priest calls forward the people who are here for the very first time, I try to hide away, but I cannot be unseen. The guy who showed me my spot pushes me to the front, where I start to sweat, but luckily only have to shake the priest his hand. ‘’You don’t come here for a reason, you come here because God brought you here’’ the priest said. At 12:30 the service was over. I was glad that the next time (17-04-2016) both Walter and Luki were present by my side which made me feel more comfortable, but also the fact I had been there before helped me.

As Walter and Luki were very open guys who helped me a lot, and of which I did not really had to ask time after time if they had some time for me to talk, other guys were more difficult; like Pose, who also came from Nigeria. I never sat down with Pose to talk about ‘’his story’’ but I met him quite often on the Rambla. Every time we would have a chat, and every time I would ask him something else. So in the end I had enough information about his life and migration history. Pose was, like the others, a promoter on the Rambla, dressed very fancy, looking sharp, and from Nigeria. Like most of them also he was a true believer of Christianity. Every Sunday he would go to church for a three-hour session, the other days of the week he had to work. This ‘’work’’, promoting coffeeshop on the Rambla, was not Pose’s dream job; in fact he said ‘’this is no work, this is survival’’ (Pose; 26-04- 2016)); ‘’I am ashamed of doing this, smoking is bad, weed is bad, and what do I do? I take people to smoke, that is bad’’(Pose; 15-04-2016). With me Pose would talk about anything, because I showed sincere interest in his life. He was slightly surprised I went to meet him every time on the Rambla ‘’are you still here?’’ he would say. Sometimes he would be a bit grumpy, and not that talkative, and other situation he would be very open and willing to talk with me a lot. First this was getting a bit annoying to approach him every time, but I just felt he was an interesting person with an even more

29 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten interesting story, which he had. Because of his love for God and his belief, Pose would tell me his story aligned with some biblical references; like ‘’why did Ambraham leave to the Promised Land’’ Pose (17-05-2016) would ask me, and say that that’s the same reason he came to Europe. Pose left his home land of Nigeria, to search and find the Promised Land.

While most of the promoters were Nigerians there were some exceptions, like Marty and Ramba. So was Lamba. He was not just different by means of his nationality, but especially by the way he dressed and how he lived his life. While most of the promoters were dressed reasonably fancy, with leather jackets, nice shoes and pants, and some notable shiny jewelry like watches and chains, Lamba wore rastas, colorful shirt and pants, and a wooden necklace (Lamba; 14-03-2016). Lamba, 36 years old from Senegal, is a taller happy looking guy. He approaches me like the other promoters, and asks if I wanted to smoke some weed and join him to the coffee shop he promotes. He seems like an interesting guy, and I directly feel quite comfortable with him, so I join him to his coffee shop ‘’Haze Brothers’’. During our small walk there, Haze Brothers is in one of the side streets of the Rambla, Carrer del Carme, I tell Lamba what my intentions are for my project. First he thinks it is rather weird, who is interested in him? But slowly he gets to understand that I am really interested in hearing his story; ‘’I want to know your story, what do you think’’ (Author; 14-03- 2016). We sit down in the coffee shop and continue our conversation. While he is telling me some of his experiences and memories I can feel that it makes him a bit sad and angry. Lamba tells me that ‘’without a job, no life’’ (Lamba; 14-03-2016). But life has ups Entrance of coffee shop ‘’Haze Brothers’’ (HB) at the and downs he explains, you have to see the Carrer del Carme. Picture by author (13-04-2016) positive, because that is his way of life.

After Lamba and I met a few times on the street we regularly just called each other to see how one was doing and if we were up to meet somewhere. So one time Lamba called, around 18:00 (25-03- 2016), and thus we met on the Rambla. We have a walk and finally go to Lamba’s apartment. I was not entirely sure to enter, because first we had to enter a small alley, which I did, but now there was a big dark door, and thus I ask Lamba where we were going, ‘’to my apartment’’. I trust Lamba, and so I join him.

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He lives in el Raval, in the street Passatge Bernardí Martorell to be specific, a dark alley were no cars are allowed neither possible to enter. Up up, on the the second floor he lives. On the first floor we pass the sign ‘’Espacio Inmigrante’’ and I ask Lamba what it is, he said he would take me there later. The apartment is big, with a high roof; however, everything is quite improvised. The kitchen/living room exists of a large table, chairs, a couch, hand-made African art on the wall, and a small kitchen where Izza is cooking. Lamba lives together with two other West African guys; one is Izza, a dj who first lived in Jamaica to experience the real reggae, the other one is Ibba ‘’tomba tomba’’, a singer/artist. ‘’This is an artist house’’ Ibba tells me when he hands me over a cold beer he just bought. Lamba leaves for a moment, he gets a call there is a possible costumer whom he can take to the coffeeshop he explains me, and thus I get the opportunity to talk a bit more with Izza and Ibba.

Both artists, a dj and a singer, both heavy influenced by reggae. Izza left Gambia because he felt the need to live and experience the real reggae in Jamaica; ‘’reggae is in my blood’’ (Izza; 23-04-2016). But eventually, after some time he moved here to Barcelona with part of his family. He still sends money back to other relatives in Gambia, his bigger family he explains. Izza says that he works here for many people back home. The conversation goes stiff, I have to ask him all questions on which I get a short answer, maybe it’s because he is cooking; rice with very spicy chicken, I can smell it. Ibba on the other hand brings joy in the room’s atmosphere when he entered, singing, talking, laughing, he is a very positive person.

When Lamba comes back it is time for dinner, rice with vegetables and spicy chicken. I feel a bit confused, shall I go now or is it ok for me to stay? I do not need to think long because Lamba tells me to eat with them. He explains you have to share with each other; therefore we all eat from one big plate. Izza made a lot, why I ask ‘’we always make more, for extra person, they can always come at the door, so you need to have food’’ Lamba explains. And the food is good; very spicy, how the guys like it. On a certain moment I had enough, because I do not want to intervene in their dinner; that was not the idea. However, all three guys ask me why I stopped eating, they sincerely looked confused. ‘’Why you not eat, you not want to be big man?’’ (Lamba; 25-03-2016). I already got a beer from them, and now the dinner, while I got nothing to give; that is not an excuse, I have to eat, so I eat. The guys nod at me with a smile, I am doing good.

After dinner I see there is a guitar standing in the corner of the room and thus I ask if somebody plays guitar, Ibba does. Of course, he is a singer/artist, but when he picks it up and starts playing I am not convinced of his guitar-playing abilities, so I ask if I can give it a shot; I also play guitar. We end up jamming some beats and Ibba improvising some lyrics.

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Espacio Inmigrante

Eventually Lampe brings me to the Espacio del Immigrante Raval as he promised; it’s a collective for immigrants. They try to help immigrants with all issues and problems they face. I am lucky because tonight there is an international group of students who study a master in gender equality from the United States, and thus the conversation and discussion are in English.

‘’Here they feel like home’’ says one of the spokesperson, Ezeguiel, of the Espacio Inmigrante, they have to feel safe here. The collective is based in the same building as where Lamba’s apartment is, and I get to understand it is a squat group; they do not pay rent for residing here. It is a grassroots collective, because they do not like to be called organization. And it tries to help immigrants in all ways Entrance of the building with inside Lampa’s apartment and ‘’Espacio possible; going with them to the doctor, helping them with Inmigrante’’. Picture by author (April, 2016) paper work for getting documentation, but most important is to understand their situation and problem. This is what governmental institutions do not do, and there for the Espacio Inmigrante is brought alive, to be there for (un)documented (im)migrants who need help but do not receive it at the governmental institutions.

On a certain moment in 2012, Ezeguiel explains, there was a new law implemented, under the justification of the economic crisis, against immigrants. He continues quite heated elaborating on the fact that when there is an economic crisis, the first thing the government does is cutting the rights of the groups with the lowest political influence. ‘’Negro people do not have anything. Some of them are illegal, they cannot vote, so there is no problem in cutting their rights. It’s the easiest group to cut rights’’ (Ezeguiel, 23-04-2016).

After the first time I got in touch with Espacia Inmigrante, I was Lamba very thankful for taking me there, I asked Ezeguiel (the spokesperson) if it was possible to meet up with him and ask him some questions more relevant for my research. This was possible, and so a few weeks later we met at the Espacia Inmigrante. Ezeguiel is from Argentina but has a Spanish residence paper, besides him there is Angie from Spain. I ask them about the reason behind not wanting to receive any funding; ‘’if we would accept money people wouldn’t come anymore, because they know we are connected with the government. And if we would get money from them, we would lose our autonomy’’ Ezeguiel explains (15-04-2016).

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Ezeguiel tells me that one of the main reasons why so many West African migrants came to Spain is because of the ‘’Sabbatero’’, a period from 2004-2008 in which Spain had a lot of money available to spend on construction, and thus many jobs opened up for migrants.

Espacia Inmigrante does not receive any funding, because they did not ask for it and neither have they wanted to receive any. This is part of their ideology; to have no relation with the state whatsoever, thus they are fully independent and autonomous. Espacio Inmigrante has a humanitarian- and political- side. First of all the humanitarian side is to help people in need by providing them with a safe space and services. Next to that the political side is to send messages to politics that these people are in need, which is being done by small manifestations, but also by talking and discussing with other organizations/collectives and politicians.

I attended one of the meetings which was organized by Espacio Inmigrante in combination with other small collectives/organizations ‘’Sindicato’’ and ‘’Tras la Manta’’, which both are organizations for the rights of the manteros (streetsellers), and ‘’Casa de Solidaridad’’ where the meeting was held (30-03-2016). For this meeting they invited David Bondia, who was running to become the next ombudsman (public advocate) of the local government in Barcelona. An ombudsman is an official who investigates complaints of people against the public authorities. The small collectives/organizations wanted to go in discussion with David to ask him what his opinion and solution is about the rights of the migrants in Barcelona. David was clear and of what I could understand he mentions that there should be one platform for the Meeting at ‘’Casa de Solidaridat’’ with David Bondia, immigrants to rely on, and that the current who was running to become the next public advocate of Barcelna Picture retrieved from Espacio state of integration of the manteros in Inmigrante facebook Barcelona is terrible.

While the discussion was interesting to attend, I could not help noticing that the people about whom mainly discussed, the black migrant and manteros, where underrepresented. A very diverse group of people was present, more alternative left oriented people, however, young and old, black and white. But from the 25 people present only three of them were black. I was wondering where the other black people where. I do not know anymore where I heard, yet maybe it is true that most of them could not attend this meeting because it is during ‘’working hours’’, and their priority is to make

33 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten money, to be able to survive. It was interesting to see that there are organizations and collectives trying to improve the life circumstances of migrants, and try to make the Barcelona people understand their difficult situation. However, the migrants for whom this is organized where not present in significant numbers on the meeting itself.

Baye Fall

After I met with Lamba for the first time I asked him for his phone number and we kept in contact from time to time. Sometimes we called, other times we met on the streets, and maybe even had a beer at the MACBA (Museum d’Art Contemporani de Barcelona). Lamba wore a big wooden necklace, which looked like a large rosary, which he wore almost every time. On a certain I asked him about it, and he told me that he believed in the Baye Fall. After I also asked about this, he explained me what it was. Baye Fall is, to put in very easy words, a combination of the Islam and Rastafari. It is a religious group within the Islam faith, but according to Lamba it is more a ‘’way of life’’ than a religion. Lamba told me the very first time that life has ups and downs, yet you have to see the positive, because that is his way of life; that is Baye Fall.

He invited me to join him to one of his weekly sessions in which he and some other Senegalese guys would come together to sing, dance, and worship their Baye Fall belief. There would be more Senegalese guys that I could talk with for my project he mentioned. Not only for getting in contact with more guys this was cool, but also to understand Lamba’s way of life, because Baye Fall told him how to live it. Every Thursday, from 18.30-20.30, at the Centre Civic close to the Arc de Triompf (a monument in Barcelona) at the parc de la Ciutadella, the guys would have their get-together. The very first time I went there I had no idea what to imagine what would happen. It was a gathering of Senegalese guys with positive energy towards life, who wanted to sing, shout, dance and drum this together to the higher spheres. Before I go to the Centre Civic I call Lamba to ask if it is ok if I join them to the Baye Fall meeting, but of course Lamba says. The Centre Civic looks like a place for all different social activities, playing music, hanging out, reading books, social meetings, courses, classes, etc. When I arrive Lamba is not there yet so I wait outside. . After a few minutes I see a group of black guys in colorful clothes/dresses and almost all with rastas approaching the building. I see Lampe and he yells ‘’George’’, which is the name I use when ‘’Sjors’’ is too difficult. It’s funny to see them. They brought

34 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten thermos bottles and their own African drums with them. When I say hi to Lampe he hugs me and tells me he is happy to see me. The other guys who arrive all shake my hand and are interested in me, especially G-boy. He speaks fine English and tells me to call him G-Boy. ‘’That’s not your real name man’’, no his real name was Gatche, but G-boy is his artist name, because he is a rapper.

Entering the Centre Civic Lamba and the other guys went downstairs to the basement. Here there were some soundproof rooms which mostly would be used for band practice, and where one of the rooms was reserved for the Baye Fall. We enter one of these rooms, the walls are soundproof, I wonder why, but later I will certainly understand. There are some 10 guys, only guys, no women. All the men are more or less around Lampe’s age, so between end twenties and beginning forties, some might be a bit younger or older. I took a seat at the side of the room, and I got offered a cup of coffee Touba, typical Senegalese coffee, very sweet but good. A handful of guys started playing the drum, and after the first hits on the drums with their hands or sticks I understood why we were in this soundproof room. Within some minutes everybody is singing, shouting, and dancing in a circle to the beats in the Wolof language, except for me. But within a few seconds I get pulled into the circle to be part of the group. When the guys are singing, some do it out loud, others more quietly. Some of them hold their hands or fingers against their ears that it almost likes if they get their lyrics out of their head, or are in connection with a higher atmosphere. If the coffee has an effect on this, I don’t know, but everybody had to drink it. One of the men with the longer rasta’s stands in the middle of the room and sings the first line, while the others sing to him afterwards. Like a Drumming and dancing during Baye Fall meeting at Centre Civic. (14-04-2016; picture by author) dialogue it goes back and forward. On a certain moment the guys made a circle around the lead singer and dance around him in against the clock. Everybody had his own moves, there is no right or wrong. The singing is more like screaming, but some do it more intensively and louder as others. For example Guacher was almost cracking the ground by stamping this hard, while another guy was more butterflying around. It was very cool to see; all have a different ways to connect with the music and their belief. I am trying to participate but not in a same intensity as them, I cannot. I am not Baye Fall, I do not know what it means, but I do not want to sit on the side and just observe. When I get pulled into the circle and try to participate I feel like it is being appreciated.

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The music, the singing, the guys, all happy and in their own atmosphere, it makes me feel fine. The circle dancing goes on for quite some time (40min) with some change in pass, speed, and lyrics. The guys in the middle changes sometimes, but there are some rules I guess. Just a few (3 guys) are allowed to stand in the middle. Eventually the drums stopped and everybody entered the circle. Now it became more intense, because all the guys squeezed themselves together. The circle was quite small because everybody was almost against each other, with their fronts and their backs. The movement of the circle was still the same; the right foot a bit to the right, but the left foot was put more fiercely in the middle when all heads came together. Still singing; and this became louder and louder. In the final part of the session everybody sat down on his knees, praying like Muslims do, which just took a minute. After that a small bowl was put in the middle to throw some paper money but mainly coins in; of which they could pay the coffee and soda. Furthermore, some bread was put in the middle and shared amongst everybody. You took a piece, took a bite from it, and then put it back in the middle again. While eating the bread and drinking some more coffee Touba the men were discussing some matters. This was the end of the session, Final part of Baye Fall meeting at Centre Civic. (14-04- 2016; picture by author) however, when everybody left the Centre Civic they gathered at the Arc de Triompff to discuss more issues (like the plans for the weekend, how they wanted to arrange their Baye Fall gathering at the park) or just talk under the enjoyment of some cigarettes and joints. At this moment I could talk and connect easier than in the soundproof room while everybody is singing and dancing. So I came to know Gatche, ‘’call me G-boy’’, and Isbre who are both very interested in the project I am doing. I was impressed they knew, but apparently Lamba told them about what I am doing. As well as Lamba, Gatche and Isbre told me to go to the parc de la Ciutadella that weekend, because they would be there with the whole Baye Fall group. After having said goodbye to the guys and having thanked Lampe for this experience, he hugs me and said that it was great I came to see and feel his belief. Of course I went to the parc de la Ciutdella the following weekend. There was a whole market going on, in and around the park, so it was rather difficult to find Lamba and the Baye Fall guys. Most people in the park were enjoying some beers or wine; next to that I could smell the air filled with marihuana. It amazed me that there was no police in the park, just outside of it at the entrance, but not inside. The park had a nice open relaxed atmosphere, maybe because there was no police intervention, or perhaps because of the hippy-like kind of people.

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Eventually I found Lamba and his friends because I walked towards the sound of the drums. Lamba was very happy to see me and it was cool to see the other guys. Some recognized me, said hi, while others were busier with rolling cigarettes or drinking whisky. The Baye Fall guys were having fun, enjoying themselves by drinking, smoking, singing, and dancing. It was a coming and going of people, and all Baye Fall people who come are welcomed by doing the Baye-Fall-hanshake, which includes taking the others hand to your forehead, and he will do the same; ‘’it’s a sign of respect’’ (Lamba).

When I look around I recognize one of the guys, an older looking big dude who smokes a lot (but all Baye Fall guys do) and thus has quite a low voice. He was calmer and instead Abduhllah’s shop at the Parc de la Ciutadella. (16-04- 2016; picture by author) of singing and dancing with the rest he sat down on the ground. I notice quickly that the blanket with all different African products in front of the group of guys located at the side of a path which goes through the park is of Abduhllah. He tries to sell some African jewelry, clothes, etc. to the people passing by. Abduhllah tells me that he does this for living. He also did it at the Rototom, Europe’s biggest reggae festival in Benicassim (close to Valencia); that’s a coincidence I tell him, because I have been there last year, and I can imagine that many hippy people like his products. I ask him about Baye Fall, what it means for him. Abduhllah explains that Baye Fall is in his heart. It’s a part of the Islam, he continues, and currently many people are not happy with the Islam and Muslim people, but Baye Fall is not extreme at all. I like to talk to Abduhllah, more calm, laidback and relaxed, and he can explain quite good.

Lamba and his Baye Fall group was just a small part of the black people in the park, there were many more. I had a walk around and saw plenty of black guys; this did not directly mean they were from West Africa, but having heard from Lamba that most black guys in the park are from Senegal or the Gambia, there had to be a significant amount of possible Baye Fall guys in the park with Abduhllah in the respondents. Maybe it was just that weekend middle. (16-04-2016; picture by author) in the park; so I would go to the park another time to research the availability of possible respondents.

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Business in the Park

The first time I was at the park de la Ciutdadella was on a Saturday with Lamba and the other Baye Fall guys. The next day, on the Sunday I also went there. During this weekend I saw black guys walking around there, so I thought there could be some potential respondents among them. I noticed that every day of the week there are people in the park de la Ciutadella. The better the weather, the more people of course. There were some specific spots ‘’reserved’’ for certain groups of guys, black guys. Before, I thought that they would only hang out here during the weekends, but later I noticed that the same guys were there during the week. Most of them would just hang out there, talk with each other, smoke, have some beers, doing nothing of great importance; at least, that is how I saw it. After having been there several times I got enough self-confidence to start talking with them. Some of the guys already tried to approach me like the promoters on the Rambla did; ‘’smoke weed?’’. While the promoters on the Rambla would take you to a coffeeshop, the guys here in the park would just sell the goods to you on the spot; cheaper, but way more dangerous. Because while the promoters on the Rambla would not have the drugs on them, they would just take you to the coffeeshop, the guys in the park had the drugs with them in their bag or jacket. The guys on the Rambla could be checked and searched by the police; however, if they would not have any drugs on them, they would most likely get away with a warning. If the police would stop and search the West Africans in the park and find drugs on them, they could get arrested and be detained. But the police did not enter the park that often. As I explained before, during events but also in the weekends there would be people in the park smoking joints, and no police in the neighbourhood to control or arrest.

Like this I got in contact with Lami (28-05-2016); he was just sitting on the side of the path in the grass, gesturing me to come to him ‘’come here man’’, and so I did. ‘‘Sit down’’, so I sat down. Before I thought I recognized his face, but when I was up close, I did not knew who he was. Of course he wanted to sell me some of his goods, I directly declined, but I asked if I we could just talk; sure we could. I introduced myself and this guy’s name was Lami, his friend sitting next to him was Sam. I did not know why, but I felt very comfortable with Lami, he had an open face and something familiar. We had a cigarette when we started talking. It seems to me like the conversation goes more smooth while having a smoke. Less worried, more relaxed, and you have something in common, you both smoke. And it was the least I could offer Lami, even though he offered me one before.

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Lami was from the Gambia, and he told me that many guys, who hang out in the park, including his friend Sam, are from there too. Like many others he left the country to find a better life, he said that ‘’life there is not that bad, it’s a peaceful country, but there is a lot of poverty. I wanted to find a better life’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016). Lami told me that he has job now, working in the construction, and he got his documentation for staying in Spain, however, this has to be renewed every few years. And without a job this renewing gets more difficult. Lami works and lives in a village close to Barcelona, and that is why I would only see him in the park during the weekends, when he was free and had time to relax and spend with his fellow Gambian friends. Lami had a job and his papers, however, not everyone was as Luki as he was, for example Mayko; also a Gambian, living in Barcelona, but without a job. He would try to sell me some marihuana in the park, and that is how I got in contact with him. He was currently without a job, he did work as a waiter before, and was hoping to work as one again this summer (Mayko; 14-06-2016). I would not have guessed that Mayko did not have a job looking at the way he dressed. Quite fancy to say the least; with some necklaces, good looking pants, a colorful shirt, and even a white hat, not to forget his sunglasses. Lami, Tova, Mayko, all knew each other, but were sitting somewhere else throughout the park, each doing their small business, ‘’hassling’’ in the park/on the street; which meant dealing in small amounts of soft drugs. Mayko was dressed more fancy than the others. Perhaps because he went around restaurants and bars to hand out his resume he told me, in order to find a job. He worked in a bar before, during the summer period, and was hoping that he could do the same now too. In the meantime he was ‘’hassling’’, doing some small business, in the park to make some money on the side. Lami I would only see during the weekends in the park, however, Tova and Mayko were there also during the week. I could not help myself from thinking what they would do during the day. Just hanging out in the park, ‘hassling’ a bit, would this not make their lives more meaningless? But Tova explained to me that plenty of people indeed think they are doing nothing and wasting their time, but like him, the guys in the park would work extremely hard during the summer season. Tova (07- 06-2016), for example, was going to work at the same place he worked last summer; renting beach- stretchers in Lloret de Mar. He told me that this is extremely hard work with long exhausting hours every day for 3-4 months.

While Lami and Mayko were very nice guys, open for a talk about anything, I also met guys like Hamed, who questioned everything I wanted to ask. Hissu was almost living in the park, almost on the same spot under the small threes, because I saw him every time I was there. Maybe he did not want me to get too involved in his life and know what he was doing. Because the times we did speak

39 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten

I could see he was dealing not only marihuana but also in hard drugs (small plastic wrapped balls with white powder in them, which he would keep hidden somewhere). I would not feel very comfortable when sitting with him and talking. And Hissu would not be interested in helping me out. It could have been interesting, knowing he was the only guy I met from Niger. On a certain moment I did not engage with him anymore, due to me feeling too uncomfortable and because he would simply not share his story with me, better to focus on other possible respondents.

3.2 Diversity amongst West African migrants

From all the people I talked with (see Annex 1, Barcelona Network) there can be made a categorization based on nationality: Nigerians, Senegalese, and Gambians. These nationalities are separated slightly in the Barcelona city life. The Nigerians mainly do the promoting on the Rambla, the Senegalese are everywhere, but are all related to the Baye Fall, and most of the Gambians I talked too were in the park doing some small business, however, this does not mean these groups are fixed. For example I met Lamba, who is Senegalese and member of the Baye Fall community, on the Rambla promoting a coffeeshop. Or Yegge, who is from the Gambia, but an avid member of the Baye Fall group. Besides that, I also met respondents from outside of these three main countries, like Mo from Guinea-Bissau or Hissu from Niger.

In the network (see Figure 1; p.44) of the people I met and talked too it can be seen how my network is build up. On and around the Rambla it is where I mainly met the Nigerian coffeeshop promoters. Most of them know each other; some very good, like Walter and Luki, others are more outside of this group, like Yki. Yki would be more like a loner in the promoting business on the Rambla, however, he did not promote a coffeeshop. He would sell some marihuana to the persons, taking them to Placa del Pedro, where Ike would tell them to wait a minute, and then he would come back with the goods. Next to that he promoted party clubs or other bars from time to time, but many promoters would do the same; Walter and Luki did it too. If somebody was not interested in going to a coffeeshop they could try to persuade the person to go to a party club. Even though Yki was in the promoting/selling business on the Rambla and he was Nigerian he did not know any other guys there, in fact, Yki would even be located on a different spot on the Rambla. While most of the promoters would be promoting on the upper part of the Rambla, towards Placa de Catalunya, Yki was doing his business in the lower

40 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten part between the metro stops of Liceu and Drassanes, but mainly around the Joan Miro Mosaic. The times I talked with- and observed him Yki would not be connecting with other promoters; he would just be alone. Walter and Luki were friends and had a good connection with each other; they knew many other guys, like Sely and Christopher, who also did the promoting. On a normal night they would ‘’work’’ on the Rambla, but in the meantime hang out with each other. Walter, Luki, Sely, etc. all knew the other Nigerian promoters, sometimes by name, but mostly from sight, knowing they would also work as promoter. The relationship between them was not very competitive; Walter and Luki would even try to help each other. Of course there were some guys who worked as promoter longer than others, but it was not that they had more to say, unless they worked together for the same coffeeshop. Or, in the case of Mome, there would be some family related ties with the coffeeshop owners, which would put them on a higher hierarchy step. Mome, a 22- year old Senegalese-Italian guy, came to Barcelona because his cousin partly owned a coffeeshop (Amnesia), and he told Mome that there would be some job opportunities for him in this circuit. I saw him together with Baba once, who was way older, but Baba would listen to what Mome had to say, probably in the difference of Baba being just a simple promoter, and Mome being a cousin of the coffeeshop owner.

All the Nigerian promoters on the Rambla are Christian. It ranges and differs for each person, but most of them are quite devoted. They believe in God and try to go to church every week. To experience and understand their view I got invited by Walter and Luki to join them to their Nigerian church Winners Chapel; eventually I went there multiple times. By seeing their relationship with the church at the Christian belief I could understand that for them God and Jesus are often the answer on many questions. Questions which divided them from life and death, on which there was no logical explanation, but God was the answer. There is quite a clear division between the Nigerians and Senegalese migrants. While almost all Nigerians are Christian; most of the Senegalese are Muslim, or Baye Fall, which is a group within the Muslim faith and thus part of it. Of course there are exceptions, like Mome, who is Senegalese, but Christian. The difference in belief between Christianity and Baye Fall is immense; not only in the place the gathering/service was being held, but also by the way it was being done. The Winners Chapel existed out of a big room, with white walls and red draped curtains, filled with white chairs facing the stage on which the priest would preach, a small band for the live music, and approximately 150 nicely dressed black people: men in their Sunday suits, women in dresses or African clothes. The band would make some music and sing at the beginning, but the central part of the service was the preaching of the priest; he would do this almost screaming, and to be sure you heard it, a

41 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten microphone was used. The people present would listen, nod, pray, praise the Lord and sing. More like a passive interaction between the priest and the audience. The Baye Fall, however, was totally different. They could use a small sound proof room at the Centre Civic (only on Thursdays between 18:30-20:30) which had concrete walls, no chairs, no stage, some drums for the beat, and more or less ten guys present. They would include everybody who was present in their praising and singing to their belief and its prophets; a very active interaction between everybody who was there. It was no miracle this happened in a soundproof room, because the drums and the singing were quite loud. There is a hierarchic difference between the Baye Fall guys; the normal Baye Fall or the Soldiers of Baye Fall. Ibba ‘’tomba tomba’’ (02-05-2016), Lamba’s flatmate, told me that Lamba was a Soldier of Baye Fall, maybe that is why, during the singing and dancing he could sing the first lines, as a preacher, like just a few others. Perhaps only the guys with the long rastas, like Lamba, Abduhllah, and Mamseh, were allowed to do so. While dancing/walking in the circle it was noticeable that the Soldiers would walk in the front of the circle. One would sing the first part, and the rest would sing after him. The Soldiers sometimes pulled guys to the front or to the back, to show who belonged where. I was mostly in the middle or towards the end of the circle. Even though it was a circle, you knew where it started, by means of the soldier walking and singing at the front. Next to the difference between the kind of gathering/service and participation of the West African, the respondents are different in their daily lives. The Nigerian Christians are more calm and obedient during the church service, but also in their normal life, while the Baye Fall group members were very active during the weekly gathering but also in their day-to-day life are more the creative, active, extrovert West Africans.

The connection between the Senegalese and Gambian migrants was quite alive, while there was not such a connection between the other main groups; Nigerian migrants were a group on its own. Both countries, Senegal and the Gambia, have a majority of Muslims, while in Nigeria Christianity prevails. Most of the Gambians I met were Muslims; this could also explain the connection between the Senegalese Baye Fall, because it is part of the Islam. Lamba lived together with Izza, who was from Gambia. And also in the Baye Fall group there was Mo, who was half Guinea-Bissau half Gambian. This was a bit weird, especially for the Gambian guys. Mo was half Guinea-Bissau and half Gambian, but he was Baye Fall. According to many Gambians, like Sam, Baye Fall is something for the weirdo’s among the Muslims. Baye Fall is seen as something related to the Islam, but not real, it is more for the faker-Muslims. Because they do not have to participate in the Ramadam, neither they necessarily have to pray, nor they need to go to the mosque, it is not the real Islam belief.

42 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten

However, in the park the Senegalese and the Gambians would mix and mingle. There would still be a division, but they could hang out with each other.

While the Baye Fall had some sense of hierarchy in their group and community, with the Gambians I could not sense this. Perhaps because the amount of time spent with the Baye Fall group of Lamba exceeds that of the time I spent with the Gambian guys. During the weekends there would be a larger amount of Gambians at the park. Many come in the weekend to relax, because throughout the week they work in the suburbs- or towns outside of Barcelona. These guys have a job, while the Gambians I met in the park during the week, like Mayko and Ale who live in Barcelona, do not have a permanent job and are trying to survive day by day.

In the network of the West African respondents the start point begins at the Rambla, from there it all started. Some of the Nigerian promoters on the Rambla know each other as is displayed in the network by the arrows. Besides, the arrows show for which coffeeshop the promoters where promoting. As stated before, Lamba has been the main connection in the research for getting in contact with other West African migrants. Lamba took me to his house, to Baye Fall (at Centre Civic), to the Baye Fall house, and thus I got in contact with a large new group of interesting migrants. After the very first Baye Fall meeting Lamba told me to go to the park de following weekend because he and the other guys would be there, so I did. Here I met with the Baye Fall guys, but could also see the many other possible respondents of which I later found out many were from the Gambia.

By means of the colors it is clear to see where each nationality is concentrated. The Nigerians (red) are mainly visible on and around the Rambla, while the Gambians (green) can be found in the park. The largest group, the Senegalese (yellow) respondents are primarily linked to the Baye Fall, however, there are some exceptions like Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’ who lives with Lamba but is not Baye Fall, or Marty, Ramba and Mome who all work on the Rambla and do not have a connection with Baye Fall either. Besides the three main nationalities in this network, there are some other West African nationalities (purple), like Mewo and Hissu from Guinea-Bissau, or Hassa form Mali.

43 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten

Figure 1; network of West African

respondents and places in Barcelona. Made by author (12-10-2016)

Concluding remarks On the streets is where it happens and where I met my respondents. The network above shows how they are all interconnected in some way, starting from the Rambla. Here is where it all started, with me getting in contact with coffeeshop promoters. I did not start the engagement, but was the passive person in the interaction, which is a bit weird, but made it easier to start, because I sincerely did not knew where to begin. From the coffeeshop promoters I came in contact with Lamba who took me to his Baye Fall group in which I got in contact with many more Senegalse migrants, and eventually ended up in the park de la ciutadella where I found out many Gambian guys hang out during the day. These are directly the three main groups; 1) coffeeshop promoters on the Rambla (mostly Nigerian); 2) Baye Fall guys (mainly Senegalese); and 3) guys hanging out/hassling in the park (often Gambians). The diversity amongst West African migrants is great, and not all limited to these groups above.

44 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten

Chapter 4 – Migration Stories

Introduction

This chapter is intended to explain the migration of the West African respondent based on the stories of nineteen respondents. Migration is a great part of the life of the migrants. It is something they carry along for the rest of their lives, which has a considerable impact on how they live it, and how they can live it. Their migration stories influence how they survive in Barcelona; as an irregular or regular migrant. But also in the way they express feelings and emotions, for example by means of singing about their migration experiences. It is the general aim of this thesis to create an insight of how West African migrants survive in Barcelona. Therefor the understanding and explanation of the dynamics of West African migration is of great importance.

The chapter starts with introducing the concept of ‘’Fortress Europe’’ (Albrecht, 2002) which is commonly used to portray the current migration situation towards the European Union. My research shows that for most of the West African respondents entering and surviving in Europe is not something they long for to do; as is in line with Obi (2010). However it is almost unavoidable because they need to make money for their entire family; most respondents are economic migrants in this sense. Including the pull factor of the existence of a better world out there, it makes most of the West African migrants take the shot for making way to Europe. Next to this a significant amount of the respondents argue that the sense of freedom and the experience of another world makes them leave their home country. The trajectories of each individual West African migrant were different; many were alike, but none exactly the same. Some travelled overland or overseas, while most West African respondents simply took the plane. These migration processes underscore the dynamics of the mobility situation (Ernste et al, 2002), and show the power differences in the way they enter. The creative way how most respondents made it ‘’in’’ the EU portrays the diversity in moving around the rules and policies. Bloch and Chimienti (2011) elaborate on this fact that even though the EU is fighting the irregular migration, it did not prevent it; the West African migrants just diversified the characteristics and modes of illegality. Marrying a European woman is one, but most respondents arranged a visa before leaving their home country by means of already established family ties in the EU.

45 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten

Once inside the European Union, moving around depends on the financial situation, but mainly is influenced by the status of the migrant. Koser (2010) argues that the change from being illegal to legal and vice versa can happen very fast. While those legal residing respondents can move anywhere they want, the illegal residing ones cannot actually, however still they try to, but then simply within Spain. Most of the movements are temporarily and motivated by family or friends living somewhere else, however, some also move for business. According to my research it shows that eventually all West African migrants tended to return to Barcelona for now; due to their business- and social networks. This opposes Carling’s (2007) argument who states that for many migrants coming from Africa the southern European countries like Spain are just used as transit countries. Other scholars (Kuschminder et al, 2015; Schapendonk, 2014; Bloch and Chimienti, 2011) argue in line with my findings, stating that these countries, and especially Spain, are end destinations. This can be due to the larger informal economies, the higher tolerance towards migrants, or the periodically legalization of their status. My research shows however, that almost all West African respondents were residing in Barcelona due to social ties and the opportunity to work; legal or illegal.

Luki

Oki ‘’Luki’’ Araga, is a 23-year old Nigerian man. I got to know him via Walter on the Rambla in the very first weeks I started my fieldwork period. We eventually became friends on Facebook and there I noticed that his name was not really Luki, but Oki Luki Araga. I always called him Luki, because that is how he introduced himself. When in Nigeria, Luki was working as a security guy in a hotel in Benin City, but he had to leave his country. His brother was in a kind of gang (the Gottish), and was on a death-list of another gang (the Cripts), that is why Luki was also in danger. On a certain moment they came to their house to look for them. Eventually it was his mum and dad who told Luki to leave Nigeria. And thus Luki left, first he did not have enough money, and thus he had to work on the street pushing cars to make enough for paying the smuggler. When he had enough money, they left to Kano, North Nigeria, in the heart of the Boko Haram region. Luki (12-04-2016) tells me that he was afraid to go here because of the danger of Boko Haram. He stayed there for just a night, but in the time spend there he could hear the bullets everywhere. From Kano on the big truck through Algeria to Libya. I can see Luki does not like

46 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten to talk about it, but when he started he tells me his story in the slightest details. I am happy with such a good in-depth interview, as well as sad and horrified by his experiences. In Libya the truck he was on got raid by Libyan rebels. Luki and everybody else on the truck was beaten with sticks, and stolen from all of their remaining money. However, Luki arrived in the desert town of Brak (Libya), where he had to stay for several days until further transportation was arranged to Tripoli. Eventually he made it to Tripoli, but not as he expected. All the people on the truck were put in a big garage and locked up. ‘’They made us starve’’ Luki (12-04-2016) says, with only one bucket of rice for 30 people for the entire week, and thus ‘’we drunk each other’s pee to stay alive’’, he says softly, as he is ashamed of it. I do not know what to say. For three weeks Luki was locked, until the group of people stood up against the guards and broke out. Some got shot while running away, but Luki survived and hide in the city. After some days of begging an Arabic guy came to Luki and told him he could work for him on the land and make some money. Thus Luki worked and eventually made enough money to pay for the boat crossing to Italy. He does not honor his name, because Luki’s boat started to leak, ‘’we all prayed to God, . . . and then the water stopped’’ (12-04- 2016). Eventually his boat got picked up by the Italian coastguard and so he was brought to Lampedusa. From there Luki’s asylum procedure started, until some weeks later he ended up in a big camp in Bergamo, north Italy. Because he had his fingerprints in the Italian asylum procedure he was not allowed to leave the country, however Luki got in possession of a passport/ID of another African person and tried his luck to leave the detention center and make way to Barcelona, because his sister leaves close by the city. And now, here he is, in Barcelona. Living day by day, surviving in this European mega city. He promotes coffeeshops and other leisure establishments during the night, having to do something which is in contradiction with his belief just in order to survive. I can only ask myself; has Luki been lucky? ‘’There are people in the hospital with no legs or no arms, I have everything. I have hope, my life is good. I thank God for my life’’ (Luki; 04-04-2016).

I bend and shake my head slowly with my eyes closed, I can almost cry. I am lucky, for having met Luki. He left his life behind, almost died on his way to reach the EU, and now lives as an illegal without any real future perspective; and still he tells me he has everything.

Everybody moves and migrates in different ways. While Luki had a very extensive mobility trajectory of how he arrived in Barcelona; by truck, feet, boat, and bus; others simply just take the plane. It is

47 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten important to understand the trajectories of the West African migrants to- and inside the European Union, because this not only shows their struggle to arrive but also the differences between them in the power they have to move within the EU. Many irregular migrants have to readjust their plans, find new pathways and create en route social capital to cross certain borders during their journeys (Schapendonk, 2011). The migration process underscores the dynamics of the mobility situation; one instance a migrant is stuck and immobilized to continue their trajectory, and at the other instance an opportunity to continue pops up (Ernste et al, 2002).

4.1 Entering Fortress Europe

Europe as a fortress, it carries both critical rather negative- and positively evaluated meanings (Albrecht, 2002). Fortress Europe works to the disadvantage of the migrants coming from third and developing world; their human rights are neglected. But this is done for those who live inside the fortress Europe, for them it cuts down the number of immigrants arriving in the EU, which decreases the perceived risks and threats that comes with these ‘’strangers’’; with these migrants. The concept of a ‘Fortress’ from this perspective points to urgent needs for exclusion of these possible risks and the pursuit of safety of the European society, as well as preserving its economic and social stability (Albrecht, 2002). The Fortress of Europe has reinforced its immigration controls by means of stricter visa requirements, which has a profound symbolic significance. It shows the stratification which has been going on in this fortress, and lays bare the fact that the access to global mobility is only available to the elites among the global citizens, the Europeans (Bauman, 1998).

When looking at Spain, which only recently transformed from an emigration to an immigration country after it got its European Union membership. It became Europe’s principal immigration country writes Carling (2007). The number of Africans in Spain has grown rapidly, both in terms of legally and illegally residing migrants.

Why do all these West African migrants want to leave their country of origin? Obi (2010) states that is not something they are longing for to do, it is simply the result of regional conflicts, the increase in poverty, prolonged economic crisis, socially harsh economic reforms, some want to escape a political crisis, or due to climate change their lands are too dry, and then there is the pull factor of the existence of a better world out there. Most try to first move from the rural areas to the urban cities,

48 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten however, these are also getting too full. Lamba (14-03-2016) explained that there are 12 million people living in Senegal, of which 5 million in the capital, Dakar. Many people leave the rural areas to go to the big city, to Dakar. Lamba says that everybody who does not have a job in the country moves to Dakar, but there are not enough jobs for everybody, therefor many leave the country, to Europe, in search for a job and a better future.

Motivations

‘’You go from place to place to find a better situation, that is the story of migration’’

(Pose; 25-04-2016)

Pose came from Nigeria. He entered Europe by flying to Italy, because he had a friend of him living there, but eventually moved to Barcelona. Back in Italy he had found a job, working in a huge bakery, more like a factory, making bread, cookies etc. from 2 in the morning till noon, every day. With this job he just earned 500euros a month. ‘’Then I pay my rent, which is 250, and I pay the work tax, which is 50, how much is left?’’, just 200 euros. ‘’yes, from 200 euros I have to live each month, that is not life, that is slowly dying, I cannot safe anything. They want to slowly break you’’. And that is why Pose left Italy and moved to Barcelona. The poor conditions in which Pose lived encourage migrants to move further, making countries like Italy more transit- than destination countries (Düvell, 2014). Why particular Barcelona Pose does not know, he did not have any friends or family living here, but he just wanted to find a better situation, because that is according to him the story of migration.

However, Pose was not the only one who influenced where he went. He compared himself with the biblical story of Abraham, who got told by God to leave his home country, his family, and his cattle, in order to go to the Promised Land. This land was empty and dry, but Abraham survived. After asking if Pose saw Europe as the Promised Land, he does not agree, neither does he decline it, it is a bit vague: ‘’it is where I went to go’’ (Pose; 17-05-2016). On the moment that Pose says he is a refugee I stop him and explain what a refugee is according to me; somebody who flees his/her country because of safety reasons. Thus he would be an immigrant; however, Pose says that he had to leave the country. Not directly for safety reasons, but because he needed too from himself, and because God told him so. Pose is not happy to explain his motivations for coming to Europe, apparently people asked him often because he answers: ‘’why is it weird for an African person to be in Europe? People directly ask why I am here, while they are also immigrants’’ (Pose; 17-05-2016). Migration is a phenomenon

49 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten which includes almost everybody, so why do people look weird when people come from Africa; Pose even explains that the ancestors of all of humanity came from Africa. They also migrated to other parts of the world without anybody asking them why they left their home country. Like Pose there are many migrants who want to try their luck to find a better situation than the one they find themselves in before, and where else than the Europe, the continent full of opportunities, should they go?

Marty is now 33 years old. He left Senegal when he was 23, back in 2005, more than 10 years ago. Even though his father has a big ‘’campo’’ (farm) of peanuts, where according to Marty is ‘’is a lot of money in that’’ (Marty; 26-04-2016), he left his parents place when he was 17 years old. Marty wanted to do other work instead of working on the peanut farm. For 5-6 years he worked everywhere and nowhere he explains to me ‘’go around you know, work a bit. To Dakar, I been to Gambia, Morocco and Algeria, you know’’ (Marty; 26-04-2016). Eventually he left Senegal because Marty had some friends living in Spain, and thus the choice for going here was easily made. Besides this reasoning Marty says that many other people from Senegal were going to Europe, thus he joined them, which seemed like a good idea. But he explains that the main reason he left was because:

‘’here its better, life is better. Life is not easy in Senegal. People in Senegal are happy, don’t look like they have problem, but they have.’’ (Marty; 26-04-2016). In Senegal Marty could work on the farm of his dad but he did not want to. He could do other jobs, but these would not be paid that good, thus his idea to come to Europe was based on making money. A better life is closely related to making money, many West African migrants think like this.

Also Danny also came to Barcelona for a better life, even an opportunity for a better life. And to see the world Danny explains (Danny; 07-04-2016). He tells me that it is not that weird, like Pose elaborated also before, ‘’many people come to Barcelona’’. He continues by saying that he knew many people who came here as tourists but liked the city this much that they stayed forever. The culture is different, maybe that is what attracts so many people. Again, like Marty, Danny arrived more or less 10 years ago, when the Spanish were more open to migrants, and there were many opportunities to find a job. so did he, he first worked in the construction sector for which he received social welfare, however, over the last five years he did not receive anything, while before, when he was working, he did. In the last five years the quantity of jobs for migrants decreased and this is the main reason why many people left the country during the economic crisis. A lot of them lost their homes, were kicked out, and thus they left.

Lamba did not have a short term job like Danny and many other West African migrants. Lamba had his own store in Barcelona, with clothes, art, and jewelry from Senegal (Lamba; 27-04-2016). But

50 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten even though Lamba had his own store, the economic crisis hit him hard, ‘’because of the crisis I had to close my shop’’ Lamba says sadly while showing me his big notebook filled with important papers and leaflets about his former shop. I came to Lamba’s apartment to talk with him more calm and in- depth. Every time I see Lamba on the streets or at Baye Fall it is awesome to hang out with him, but we never really have the opportunity to talk seriously and in detail about his life. Therefor I asked him if he had some time this day (27-04-2016). In his apartment we do not sit down in the living room/kitchen, because Izza, his flat mate, is cleaning and cooking in the room, so we sit down in his bedroom. A large room with a high roof and even a small balcony looking out on the Carrer de l’Hospital which goes from the Rambla del Raval to the big touristic Rambla. During the interview Lamba is sitting on a chair against the wall. He is more serious, while normally he is in a funny mood, laughing and smiling, I do not recognize him that well. I do not know why exactly, maybe he does not like to talk about his family and friends in Senegal, and he being here, all alone. When I ask him if he has any friends or relatives living here in Barcelona he is very short; ‘’no’’, he is alone here. However I saw him during the Baye Fall and on the streets, he knows many people, and hangs out quite a lot with Fati and Abduhllah.

Lamba did not come to Barcelona because he had friends and family living here. He migrated to Spain ‘’for my wife, to experience freedom, to make money, and meet people with my job’’ (Lamba; 27-04-2016). He namely had a Spanish wife, which he met and with whom he got married back in Senegal. She then took him with her to Spain. However, this commitment did not last long as Lamba explains ‘’I got divorced, because I had trouble with the woman’’. After breaking up with her Lamba moved to Paris, where he says a brother of him lived. He stayed there for one and a half years before returning back to Barcelona.

A few times a week I have a walk through the city, just to meet some new or familiar people. I mostly start at Placa Cataluña, from where I walk downwards over the Rambla to meet some possible promoters towards the port, from there in the direction of Barceloneta beach where the manteros would show there products, but before arriving at the beach I would turn left to the Parc de la Ciutadella to find some Baye Fall guys, or Gambian men, and hang out with them. When I am walking in the port next to the fancy boats, ships and yachts, a guy on a half broke bike comes passing by and when our eyes cross each other he stops and ask if I want to buy some weed or hasj. I guess I look interested and open for a conversation because he intentionally stopped and we start to talk. His name I forgot, but he came from Morocco. A slightly older man, who, when I ask him why he is living in Barcelona, said:

51 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten

‘’If you have nothing there (country of origin) you try somewhere else, all people do; so why not me?’’ (16-05-2016).

You do not stay on a place where there is nothing for you, you move from place to place to find a better situation, as Pose said before. For most of the respondents this is the main motivation of migrating to the European Union. They are in search of a better life. They want to work and make money.

The same applies for Lami, he knows and said that the Gambia, his country, is a peaceful country ‘’but there is a lot of poverty, I wanted to find a better life’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016). He came to Spain because people told him it was a good country with a high possibility to find a job. Things have changed now, because of the crisis, and there for finding a job is very difficult. Lami is happy, because he still has a job. Back in the Gambia he also had a job, but these do not pay enough to survive. It is a struggle says Lami, to live your life there in Africa.

While for most respondents the main reason was to find a better life or make money, one of Lamba’s close friends in Barcelona, Abduhllah, explains me what brought him here, to Europe in other words:

‘’To see paradise, to see what you have dreamed off. Africa is not what you want, you don’t want to be there’’ (Abduhllah; 19-04-2016).

Why stay in a country where you have nothing, where you do not want to be? Lamba arrived in Spain due to his wife, but he wanted to leave Senegal, to experience freedom as he stated, while Abduhllah wanted to see what he had dreamed off. In quite some cases the respondents argued that they did not solely migrate to Europe for themselves to experience freedom or see what they dreamed off, but like Gatche: ‘’to make my family in a better situation, to do better for home’’ (Gatche; 22-04- 2016).

My research shows that many West African migrants leave their country of origin to find opportunities somewhere else and make something of their own live but especially be able to help their family back home. They do not come solely for their own individual interests, but for their bigger family. Simultaneously, while migrating to other parts of the world, they want to see the world and experience a feeling of freedom. However, this last matter is difficult to obtain for many West African migrants. Looking at the routes they covered it can be said that their freedom to move has been restricted to certain trajectories.

52 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten

Trajectories

Pose arrived in Europe via Italy, and then continued to Barcelona. As he explained me his story with references to the biblical story of Abraham, I therefor ask him if he also went by feet to Europe, because Abraham made his journey by feet. ‘’No, you know how far it is from Lagos to here?’’, it is very far indeed; ‘’by plane, I took a flight’’ (Pose; 17-05-2016). While most of the European people have the view of the African migrant making his way to the island Lambadusa (Italy) on a crowded wooden boat, this is of course not the only trajectory which is taken (see picture 1; ‘’Main West African migration routes’’). African people know that the fastest and safest way to go is by plane; there for most of the respondents did indeed arrive by plane. Because most of them did not knew they would end up in Barcelona, I did not meet many migrants who flew directly to Barcelona. To go by plane might be the fastest route, but for this you need a Picture 1: Main West African migration routes. In purple, West Africa. (Mobility and Migration passport and visa to arrive in the EU. Like in West Africa Factsheet; European Pose, he flew from Nigeria to Italy, because Commission, 2016) ‘’yes, I had a visa in Nigeria to go to Italy’’ (Pose; 17-05-2016).

For Pose the migration process between Nigeria and Europe was very straight, his mobility towards Europe went reasonably good and smooth. For many other migrants this is not the case. Mobility is the entanglement of movement, representation, and practice (Cresswell, 2010); it explains the whole migration experience. A tourists and an illegal migrant experience the line between two countries in total different ways. ‘’the fact of movement, the represented meanings attached to it, and the experienced practice are all connected’’ (Cresswell, 2010: p. 21). Their mobility is based on power issues. While most were able to arrange visa for a certain European country, others like Luki did not have this power; they had to take the long, expensive, dangerous route to get to the same destination. This shows the difference in power to take the preferred trajectory.

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As mentioned before, Pose was Luki he had been able to arrange a visa to enter Italy, thus he did not had to move illegally. However, the differences in the mobility- and movement experience between an illegal migrant and a tourists shows that there is an unequal distribution of the power and resource using the freedom of movement. Most of the West African migrants who cannot arrange a legal way to enter the EU will just take the illegal route. Since Spain and Italy introduced stricter visa regimes (de Haas, 2007) in the 1990s, irregular migration has only increased. As elaborated above, entering ‘’fortress Europe’’ is not easy. Especially when migrants do not have the right papers, there for many enter illegally. These trajectories do not use the service of the aviation transport, but stay on the ground. In many cases the costs for going on an illegal crowded unseaworthy wooden boat exceed those of a business-class luxurious plane ticket. And if the illegal migrant is unlucky, he will get arrested and even deported to the country from where he left (Bauman, 1997; 89). To almost all of the respondents this did not happen, they have been able to obtain the right documents or stay out of the authorities’ hands, however some do mention the fact of being careful to be send back, like Luki explained how afraid he is of going back to Bergamo where his asylum procedure is running and thus the possibility exists that they (the Italian authorities) will send him back to Africa (Luki; 26-03-2016).

The sad story of Luki is an example of how long, expensive, dangerous, exhausting, and depressive the trajectory of a West African migrant can be; from Nigeria, via Niger, Algeria, and Libya; taking week after week to finally arrive in Italy on a dangerous boat. A trajectory which costed more money than a business-class plane ticket from Lagos to Milan. But even more important, it costed him so much more time and an unthinkable amount of physical and mental damage; having run for bullets and evaded death several times, worked pushing carts, and on the field in the blistering sun, almost starved to death in a Libyan cell, and finally saved from drowning in the Mediterranean sea.

Table 1. Ways to reach Europe 19 Respondents in total

By plane 13 respondents West Africa route (via Canary Islands) 3 respondents

Mediterranean route (trans-Sahara) 3 respondents

Almost all respondents did not had the initially thought to go directly to Barcelona, however, by coincidence of circumstances they finally ended up here; some had friends or family living here, while others heard that Barcelona was a city of opportunities to find work. The differences between the trajectories taken by the West African migrants are very extensive. While Pose and Luki are from the same country, Nigeria, both took a different route to Italy. Pose had a visa, Luki did not. And now,

54 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten they are both illegal residing in Barcelona. Luki just left the asylum center in Bergamo where he was in the asylum procedure, and at the same time Pose left Italy to look for a better situation. Pose arranged a visa for Italy before he left from Nigeria. Furthermore he had a friend living there he explained me with his rationale to go to Italy ‘’it would be weird to go somewhere were you don’t know anybody, so yes, I had a friend there, he picked me up at the airport’’ (Pose; Date). Pose had a visa for Italy, however, than it is only possible to stay in another EU country for 3 months, and he already crossed this limit by staying here in Barcelona, thus he was residing illegally.

As Table 1 shows there are three main routes taken. The main amount of the respondents took the plane, they had a visa or relatives living in the specific country, on which I will elaborate in the following section (Making it in: creative around the system), and thus they can enter the European country by plane. However, for the undocumented migrants it is more difficult to enter the EU, as the story of Luki showed. A similar trajectory was taken by Luki’s buddy Walter, but also Sely. All three came from Nigeria; and all three took a different route to eventually end up in Barcelona.

After Sunday church (17-04-2016) Walter, Luki and I sit down at the Cameroon Afro Bar Capi in the Florida neighbourhood. I asked Walter if he got some time for me to just sit down and talk about some issues. Most of the time I meet Walter he is busy promoting on the Rambla; he does not have time then, so now here we are. Walter left Nigeria when he was 18 years old; ‘’there is too much suffering man, I want to look for a better life’’ is Walter’s main motivation (Walter; 17-04-2016). Luki already told me before that Walter did not take the same route as he took, Walter went via Morocco (see Figure 2, p. 59). However, before Walter did not have any money, so he worked and begged on the streets in Nigeria to pay the guy. ‘’Which guy?’’ I ask him, ‘’this guy who puts you on the truck’’ Walter says. With this truck Walter went from Nigeria for two days to Niger. There he had to change trucks, and continued for another two days to eventually arrive in Algeria. Even though it did not took as long as with Luki ‘’it was very risky’’ Walter says. ‘’Then we arrived in Oujda, in Morocco, where we walked through the bush’’ (Walter; 17-04-2016) he continues. Oujda is a city in Morocco close to the Algerian border and which lies 60 kilometers south of the Mediterranean Sea. I ask Walter where he walked to; Melilla, or Ceuta. He is surprised that I know the names of these places, and says he walked to Nador, which is a Moroccan city close to Melilla, approximately 140 kilometers from Oujda. I am both shocked and impressed that he walked all the way from Oujda to Nador, but Walter tells me that ‘’it makes me strong to travel by foot from Nigeria; physically and mentally’’, and there for ‘’white people are not strong’’ because they do not do this.

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Walter also left Nigeria with a truck, like Luki, and both went through the city of Agadez, which lies in the north of Niger and is considered a major assembly point for migrants from West- and Central African countries. However from here both took a different route. While Luki continued in the northeast to Libya, an increasingly important transit point for irregular migrants entering Italy. Walter took the route which leads northwest into Algeria and onwards to Morocco. From Nador (Morocco) he went on a rubber boat during the night trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea, however ‘’I was happy that a big boat of the Red Cross saved us, they took us to Spain’’ (Walter; 17-04-2016). The Red Cross took care of him with some food and a bed, but Walter made way to Barcelona. He is a bit unclear how this happened, and how he could simply leave. He tells me that ‘’from Nigeria I know Barcelona can accommodate many immigrants’’ (Walter; 17-04-2016), and thus he came here, without the right documentation.

I met Sely via the boys; Luki and Walter. Sely is not a familiar face to me, however I am to him. He saw me before at the Winners Chapel church. ‘’Yeah, well, I guess everybody saw me there, being the only one white guy’’ I tell him (27-05-2016). Sely laughs about it, and nods his head. Like Luki and Walter he now works as a promoter, however he does not really like it, even a bit afraid of doing it. He loves to work with media, there for he helps in the Winners Chapel church to get the text of the bible, the quotations, on the television screens so that everybody can read them. When he arrived from Italy he could stay at his sister’s place here in Barcelona. I meet with him the following day (28- 05-2016) to sit down and talk some more. Sely tells me that he arrived in Italy on the 28th of September last year (2015). He left Nigeria by ‘’box’’, which Sely explains is a kind of big pick-up truck. He went from Nigeria to Niger, then to Algeria, to finally arrive in Morocco, all by ‘’box’’, in one week; ‘’very fast and safe, normally people say it takes very long, but for me it went very fast’’ (Sely; 28-05-2016). However, when he arrived in Morocco Sely had nothing, really nothing, so he had to beg on the streets to survive for seven months until he had enough money to get a ticket to go to Libya (see Figure 2; p. 59). I am shocked that he is able to tell is so easy, without any emotions or sign of pain, but Sely does start to talk more quietly. Collyer (2006) argues that a significant number of migrants who intend to make it to the EU get indeed ‘stuck’ in transit countries like Morocco or Libya because of a lack of means to make the journey. Sely explains me that he had to go to Libya because ‘’it’s is cheaper to go from Libya to Italy than at Melilla or Ceuta’’ (Sely; 28-05-2016). Once he made enough money on the streets in Morocco he left to Libya were he started with nothing again. However, due to Sely’s ability to read and write he explains me that he worked as a secretary for this ‘’company’’ who does these ‘’trips’’ across the Mediterranean Sea. ‘’I work there for two months to

56 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten pay my ticket, after two months working there I get my ticket on the boat for free’’ (Sely; 28-05- 2016). This ‘’company’’ had to be a human traffic agency who arranges these illegal trips.

Thus after working there for two months Sely could leave Libya to Lampedusa. ‘’In a balloon. But we call ‘’zuzak, with 98 people’’ he says. Sely takes his phone and even shows me the picture of the ‘’balloon’’ which is just a very big rubber boat; it looks quite firm, however on the rough sea I do not believe it would be extremely safe. But Sely was happy with it, also because the trip went very fast. ‘’We leave during midnight, and only took us three hours. We got rescued, and around 6:30-7:00 we arrive at Lampedusa’’ (Sely; 28-05-2016), I can almost not believe it, this is extremely fast. From Lampedusa Sely got transported to a large asylum seeker camp in Bergamo, close to Milan, in the North of Italy. Like Luki, Sely had relatives living in Barcelona (his sister) and same wise; he left the camp to go to Barcelona. While Luki sometimes mentioned the idea of going back to Italy to finish his asylum procedure and because there he gets steady amount of money every week, Sely tells me that he intentionally wanted to leave the camp because there were people fighting constantly, and a consistent lack of clothes- and food. That is why he left the camp and took the bus to Barcelona.

‘’I start bare life here!’’ (Sely; 28-05-2016).

As can be understood from Sely’s as Luki’s story (introduction of chapter 4) they both found new pathways and created en route social- and financial capital in order to cross the next border (Schapendonk, 2011). While Luki first had to work pushing carts and later on worked on a farm to make money for the Mediterranean passage from Libya to Lampedusa, Sely worked at the ‘’company’’ arranging these boat-passages for two months. They both saw this opportunity, and took it with both hands, because there was nothing much else to do. If they wanted to continue reaching Europe, or in Luki’s case, simply to continue living, they should have taken these changes. At the one moment they were stuck in quite terrible situations (see Luki’s story, being kept in a detention-prison in Libya), while at another instance a chance to continue pops up. This shows that in some cases the trajectory is very turbulent (Schapendonk, 2011) and certainly not straight.

Furthermore, Luki and Sely got involved with a human trafficker. This involvement is commonly used. Düvell (2014) states that the limited options for legal migration push migrants into the hands of smugglers, who take a migration trajectory which often includes longer journeys and crossing several countries before reaching the EU. The chance of experiencing stopping in several transit countries is more likely as an irregular migrants as one who has the legal documents to enter an EU member

57 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten state. For those respondents it took more time to arrive at the place they are now than those who were able to arrange legal entrance.

Walter and Sely faced the choice to go through one of the Spanish enclaves Ceuta and Melilla during their trajectory; heavy guarded and fenced off Spanish dominions on the African continent, surrounded by Moroccan soil. It is not weird that they both ended up there at some point, because many West African migrants try to cross the European external borders at one of these enclaves, after all, they are closest to Africa (within Africa) and the West African migrants do not need to cross a dangerous sea to get there. However, even though the Mediterranean- and Atlantic waters are dangerous to cross, the borders at Ceuta and Melilla are not unhazardous either.

The increased patrol, control, and fencing of the border between Morocco and the Spanish enclaves Melilla and Ceuta in the last decade resulted in a decrease in the number of irregular migrants who make use of this route to enter the EU (Kuschminder et al, 2015). Since 1999, when the Strait of Gibraltar got increased in its border patrolling, the migration routes diversified in order to find another route to enter the EU. For many West African migrants the route via Morocco got to dangerous and difficult, and thus they changed their route towards Libya (Schapendonk, 2012); and this while Libya had traditionally been a destination country for migrants from Arab and African countries. However, after the Kaddafi regime ended, Libya became the most commonly used transit point for reaching Europe, mainly Lampedusa (Kuschminder et al, 2015). This explains the choice of Sely to go to Libya instead of trying to go via the Spanish enclaves of Melilla or Ceuta. In Libya there would not be that much border controls- and patrols, however, the sea journey would be longer in distance. Despite the heavily increased fortifications of the two enclaves, it did not stop Walter from leaving via them. Although, Walter did not climb the high fences surrounding Melilla, he got there on a boat to cross the Western Mediterranean sea.

Next to the overland trajectories of Luki, Walter and Sely, there were some respondents who took the oversea route to the Canary Island. Since the route along the West coast of Africa, through Mauritania and Morocco to Spain had become less favourable due to the increase in border patrol and control in the Western Mediterranean waters in the beginning of 2000, more West African migrants, especially those from Senegal, took a new route across the Atlantic Ocean towards the Canary Islands (Carling, 2007). From 2005 the border at Melilla and Ceuta got strengthened increasingly and thus many West African migrants took the route towards the Canary Islands; in 2006 there was a 600 percent increase compared to the year before (Castles & Miller, 2009). Since the late 1990s the Canary Islands have become a major destination for irregular migrants from Africa (Carling,

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2007). From the beginning of the 2000s the sub-Saharan Africans have been dominating the flow of migrants entering. While most of the flows to the Canary Island leave from Western Sahara or Morocco, the respondents I talked to all left from Senegal which is located further south.

Figure 2: Trajectories of Luki (left), Walter (middle), and Sely (right). All three left from Nigeria and took different routes to end in Barcelona. Luki via Niger-Libya-Lampedusa-Bergamo-Barcelona; Kevin via Niger- Algeria-Nador-Granada-Barcelona; and Sely via Niger-Algeria-Morocco-Libya-Lampedusa-Bergamo-Barcelona. Made by author with National Geographic mapmaker interactive.

This trajectory was taken by Yegge, Gatche and Massou, but again in different ways. Yegge left from Sant Louis, a city in the very north of Senegal, while Gatche and Massou both left from Dakar. Gatche ‘’G-Boy’’ is one of the few respondents who specifically chose to go to Barcelona as destination. He had two cousins living here that were working as manteros (streetseller), thus he could come from Senegal and join them with this work. Because Gatche did not have any contacts in other EU member states he went to Spain. ‘’With a boat’’ (Gatche; 22-04-2016) he came, ‘’from Senegal to Spain; 9 days in the boat’’. From Senegal with a big boat to the Canary islands. And from there to the Spanish mainland, he skips the details, but he does explain that it was 10 years ago, when he was 21 years old. He arrived here as an illegal, as ‘’Clandestino’’ he calls it (Gatche; 22-04- 2016). And because his cousins were working as manteros at the time, he became one too. Selling ‘’all stuff, but most shoes’’. Gatche was quite ‘’lucky’’ with the amount of days the boat took him to arrive on the Canary Islands, meanwhile Massou spend 40 days to arrive at the same place. ‘’Day and night, day and night’’ Massou explains (Massou; 23-06-2016), from Dakar to Las Palmas. He did not continue on the topic, but he was clearly feeling down, his big eyes were watery, he might not remember, or just does not want to remember; luckily he survived. Also Yegge left Senegal by boat, towards Las Palmas, however he left from Sant-Louis, a port city in the very north of Senegal, close to the Mauritanian border. Yegge did not pay for the trip, because as

59 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten he explains (20-06-2016), his cousin and friends were also on the same boat, and ‘’so I went too’’. He continues and clarifies that the boat was not big, a very small boat which sailed for many days and nights, how many Yegge does not remember anymore.

‘’it was very dangerous, every day every night, no stop, no land, only water’’ (Yegge; 20-06-2016). Eventually he arrived in Las Palmas, where he had to stay for 18 days until he was eventually transported with the plane towards the Spanish mainland by the immigration services. Many West African migrants like Yegge prefer this route rather as the journey across the Strait of Gibraltar because it is less expensive and they know that in the Canary Island the Spanish government will take care of onward transportation (Bárbulo, 2003; in Carling, 2007). The arriving migrants from West Africa cannot all stay on the Canary Islands, and thus transports the Spanish government many migrants occasionally towards the mainland.

Unlike any other Senegalese respondents, Mome is a very special case. Mome is a 23-year old Senegalese guy with an Italian residence permit. He is from Senegal, at least, his passport is Senegalese; he is born in Italy. The first time we meet (21-03-2016) is on the Rambla, we walk towards each other, and look in one’s eyes, like we are pulled towards one another, and start to talk. I am surprised to hear that he has a Senegalese passport when he is born in Italy, and thus I ask him why he did not take an Italian passport; ‘’that’s my root man, I know Senegal, it’s my place, I know my brothers’’ Mome replies, but I am still a bit confused. If he would have had an Italian passport he would not have to apply for a residence permit every time. The thing is, Mome was born in Italy when his mum went there to visit his uncle who lived there (in Genoa) while she was pregnant. Eventually, after his birth, they went back to Senegal, where he got his passport.

Mome’s family was not poor; he explains me that he went to Genoa (Italy) for his bachelor studies in Language & Civilization, which he quit after one year because his dad stopped working and thus could not afford the scholarship anymore. Furthermore, he tells me that before he went to do his bachelor in Genoa he did an English course in Malaysia. His dad was still working at the time and thus he could pay all costs for Mome. ‘’My dad wanted me to study banking and finance’’ (Mome; 27-04- 2016), and because the education in Malaysia is good and cheap, Mome went there. Eventually he came to Genoa to start his bachelor, while staying at his uncle’s place. For residing in Italy he tells me that he needed to ask for a permit, which he now got. Mome takes a plastic card out of his wallet and shows me his Italian permit. He says that his current permit will end in September so he needs to arrange a new one, but this time he wants to get a permanent one. I ask him if it is difficult for him to

60 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten get his papers in Italy. Mome laughs to me like I am making a joke ''Italy is fucked up bro; in 24 hours they can change something which is legal to illegal'' (Mome; 27-04-2016).

Based on the migration stories of the West African respondents the trajectories are very diverse, but do overlap in certain sense. Of the 19 inventory trajectories 13 West African respondents used the plane from their home country to arrive in Europe. The rest used the illegal routes overland or overseas to eventually arrive in the same continent, however this not only took more time, but also physically and mentally a lot more effort and pain. The difference in taken trajectories of the respondents mostly depended on the possibility for arranging a visa to enter the EU.

4.2 Making it in: creative around the system

As Mome (27-04-2016) explained, some issues regarding migration can change very fast, from legal to illegal, or the other way around; he did not explain specifically what issues. This is in line with the status of a migrant as Koser (2010) writes; somebody can quickly change its status from legal to illegal, and vice versa. There is a wide variety of routes into irregularity; those entering a country without authority, those who enter with legal documents but overstay their legal residence time, or those moved by migrant smugglers or human trafficking. While for some it is a deliberate choice to take this route, others find themselves suddenly in this situation, either way you end up in the same category; as an irregular migrant, as unwanted. For many developed countries the dominant discourse covering irregular migration is one which explains it as a criminal activity, characterized as illegal in all its aspects. The illegal migrant is, in this sense, one that is only attracted by the advantages of which they are not entitled too. Therefor people should not have sympathy for them who are denied all social benefits and protections (Koser, 2010). Moreover, Koser writes that the credibility of a nation and its immigration regulation depends on their ability to act and remove irregular migrants from their national territory. The repressive policies that followed in the recent years, to show EU’s ability to fight irregular migrants, did not prevent irregular migration, even more; they just diversified the characteristics and modes of illegality (Bloch and Chimienti, 2011).

So how do West African migrants arrive in Europe? As elaborated before, to enter legally depends on the possibility of arrange a visa, and thus for them it is easier to get in than others. For those who do not find a legal way it is extremely to enter physically; after all, it is a fortress. Even though its high

61 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten level of difficulty, all of the respondents have found a way to arrive here in Barcelona, in the EU. If one way or trajectory gets shut down they will find another creative route. Lamba for example. He has been a legal residence of Spain for six years now, because he arrived here in 2010. When I ask Lamba how he got to Europe he replies very easily ‘’when I met my wife in Senegal, she wanted to take me to Europe. She had the idea to go back to Europe’’ (Lamba; 27-04-2016). I am slightly confused; Lamba apparently notices my confusing and elaborates when I ask him about it. His former wife came to Senegal in 2006-2007, they married there and stayed in Senegal until 2010. On a certain moment she wanted to go back to Europe and thus she took Lamba with her. She was Spanish and so Lamba got a visa. Once arrived in Barcelona Lamba opened a shop ‘’with clothes, art, and jewelry from Senegal’’ (Lamba; 27-04-2016). He had to close the store eventually due to the crisis, Lamba says, and after that he got some problems with his wife: ‘’I got divorced, because I had trouble with the woman’’ (Lamba; 27-04-2016). Now, Lamba’s residence paper is overdue, and therefor he is in the process for renewing it, for another five years. He says he hopes he will get it back soon; otherwise he is not officially legal anymore. Fati married, just like Lamba, a Spanish woman. However, Fati is still together with her. I knew that Fati had a Spanish wife, because he added me on facebook and I saw some pictures of him with a woman. Thus when we are in the park sitting and relaxing, I ask him if he got married with her for love. Fati answers with a ‘’yes’’, but he has to think about it too long in my opinion (Fati; 29-05-2016). They married one year ago. I saw Fati’s wife once in the park, she looked a bit older than Fati. He does not have to worry about not having a legitimate residence permit and thus turning illegal. Fati with his Spanish wife. Retrieved from Fati Ndiaye’s facebook. While he will be together with his Spanish wife there is nothing to worry about.

Abduhllah did also marry a European woman, an Italian. He arrived by plane in Portugal ‘’last february the 8th, 10 years ago, I arrived in Europe’’ (Abduhllah; 19-04-2016), I am impressed he still knows the date this exact. He continues to amaze me when he explains that from Portugal he could easily travel to Italy, because it is part of the Schengen countries; he is one of the first respondents I hear talking about the Schengen agreement. Abduhllah elaborates that he had a friend in Italy while in Portugal there was nobody; therefor he took a bus for two days to Italy. This was one of the logics to got to Italy, but also because ‘’in Italy you find your job’’ (Abduhllah; 19-04-2016). But Abudhl

62 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten continues with a somewhat sad face that the first three years he lived there were extremely hard. He worked everywhere, on the streets, on farms; as an illegal. And, due to the quantity of controls, life was not easy. I do not know how Abduhllah did it, but he married an Italian woman. As with Fati, I asked Abduhllah if he married for love, ‘’no, not for love, to get documents, but I liked the woman a lot’’ (Abduhllah; 19-04-2016). He elaborates that they liked each other a lot, and to spend time with each other, and thus he asked her to marry for getting the papers. She did not seem to mind and wanted to help Abduhllah out; a common agreement he calls it. Eventually they divorced, but he got his documents for five years.

Sam, Lami’s friend, also married an Italian woman. However, his migration story starts already way before. He arrived in Europe in Sweden. ‘’My uncle lives in Sweden’’ Tova says and even shows me some pictures of his uncle and his cousins (Tova; 07-06-2016). Tova explains that he left the Gambia on a plane to Sweden where he spend some time with his uncle, but eventually left to Barcelona, to his brother. I am starting slowly visualize the situation. But I am still slightly confused where his Italian wife comes in the picture. He met her here in Barcelona some years ago and married her. I ask Tova if he then got a residence permit. ‘’I even got a nationality’’ Tova tells me (Tova; 07-06-2016). I wonder if he got a Spanish nationality, since he lives here in Barcelona but ‘’no, Italian, I get in Italy after I marry my wife’’ Tova replies to me in a way like I am not thinking clear (Tova; 07-06-2016). With his Italian nationality Tova got a double passport; a Gambian-Italian. With this, and his Spanish residence paper, he can work almost everywhere in the European Union. But now he is living in Barcelona with his wife and their baby. Again he shows me some pictures, now of his wife and their baby daughter. Tova tells me that he does not like to live in Italy, which is why he is here. He elaborates by saying that Italian people are a bit more close to others. The family of his wife is fine, they are open to him, but people in general are not that welcoming to him. And thus when he needs to work full-time during the summer at the beach in Malgrat del mar (close to Barcelona), his wife and kid go to Milan where the wife’s family lives for two months. Because ‘’to sit with the family all the time is boring’’ (Tova; 07-06-2016).

Not all West African migrants married a European woman to be able to enter and stay in the European continent legally. Ali, for example has his documents without having been married to someone here in Europe. He left from the Gambia to Switzerland. I am very interested in his story when he mentions he entered Europe via Switzerland, he is the first one taking this route. He left the Gambia ‘’to get experience in life, to see the world’’ (Ali; 14-06-2016). He elaborates by saying that ‘’in Gambia people do not suffer, it’s a good country. But I want to see life, to see people, to know more life, to find more better opportunity’’ (Ali; 14-06-2016), I cannot argue with that.

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A friend of Ale was arranging all the documents and via him Ale got a visa to enter Switzerland; ‘’so I took it!!’’ (Ali; 14-06-2016); it is a bit of weird construction, his friend arranging these documents, but he does not seem like he was bothered by it. Migrants from Africa, especially irregular ones, have little agency in terms of destination choice (Havinga & Böcker, 1999). Thus when Ale got this chance, he took it. He did not care where he was going, as long as it was inside the EU. More respondents of my research show that they accept any visas for entering the EU, and from there they will see what happens. Once Ale arrived in Switzerland he stayed there for two and a half year in the asylum procedure. I am a bit confused; he got a visa to enter Switzerland, but then ended up in the asylum procedure. However, ‘’they don’t want give me a Swiss document’’ (Ali; 14-06-2016). I guess he is still a bit sad about the fact they did not want to give him a Swiss residence paper because he says that ‘’nowhere life is easy’’ (Ali; 14-06-2016), and also now it is difficult to get his papers, even here in Spain. However, he finally left Switzerland to Barcelona because he had some friends and family living here, including his uncle. And now he likes it here, ‘’here in Barcelona people mix’’ (Ali; 14-06-2016). Ale has been living here for many years now, at the moment he does not have a job, but before he worked as a gardener and painter. He got the Spanish residence paper, which he does need to renew every five years. He does not have the same luxury as Sam.

West African migrants try to enter the EU in many different ways. Lamba got married in Senegal and simply took the plain to Spain, while Tova had relatives living in Sweden and thus could arrange a visa to go there, but eventually moved to Barcelona. There are many routes to take to enter the EU, legally or illegally. And as Koser (2010) mentioned, the change from legal to illegal or vice versa can happen very fast. When the West African migrants have entered ‘Fortress Europe’, they are in, they will not go back soon to Africa. They will rather stay and live in the shadows of illegality, or try their luck in another country to apply for residence. They did not come all the way, this dangerous journey, for a no, and then sadly return home. There is always a way and there will always be a way to get legal status. Most of the respondents who are residing legally in Barcelona have been living in the city for a longer time, while some of the West African migrants who recently, in the last year(s), arrived have more trouble getting their status legalized. However, not everybody is lucky, occasionally there are West African migrants who are living in Spain or Barcelona for a longer time and still are living with an illegal status.

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4.3 Mobility after arrival

Once arrived in Spain, the mobility of the West African migrants differs remarkably. The easy and most common answer to how their mobility situation looks like is related to their status. Those who are residing illegally in Barcelona did not move that extensively. Their mobility was defined within Spain, because for international travels, even within the Schengen member states, the necessary documentation is needed. Including the fear of getting caught, most illegal residing respondents stayed out of the authorities’ sight, and thus internationally they did not move. Those who have the right documents and are legal residence within Spain are allowed to move. These movements are normally very temporary periods of time, and most migrants tend to return to certain places due to their business- and social networks. These movements, or short visits, are mostly characterized by touristic motivations, or the will to visit family and friends; however some travelled for doing business, like Yki.

Yki is an older looking Nigerian guy who I met on the Rambla. He was promoting a coffeeshop, but if you really wanted he could get you some marihuana without buying the membership card, just from his stack. Unlike other promoters Yki looks a bit less fancy, wearing very used clothes. At the first instance he does not look very appealing to talk to, however after some seconds having spoken with him a huge smile appears and an enjoyable laugh comes out. After I have met him the very first time (17-03-2016) I do not see Yki until two months later (24-05- 2016). Because the first time we spoke I was directly interested in his story due to some of the life events he quickly told me, I ask if he has some more time this week, luckily he does. So three days later we meet, I have to be there on that exact time and that place, otherwise he will not cooperate. We meet on the Rambla, at the Joan Miro mosaic where he normally stands and walk towards the inside garden of the old library; Jardins de Rubió i Lluch. Yki left Nigeria many years ago, in 1998-1999, he got a visa for Spain and arrived in Barcelona. But soon his visa expired ‘’my 3-month visa expired. And when it get to that you need to stay, when you need a permanent stay, you need some residence. So I got my document, my Spanish documents in a town called Ceuta’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). However, Yki is sometimes a sneaky guy; he does not tell me the whole truth. When he arrived in Barcelona, he flew to Amsterdam to stay with some friends. He stayed there for two/three months after which he ended up in Ceuta. I do not know the details, but most likely he returned to Barcelona, after which he was send to Ceuta. In Ceuta the Spanish authorities confirmed Yki’s health, and thus eventually he got his Spanish residence, but only for a period of one year. This residence has to be renewed every year until you reach to five years; ‘’every time it expires you have to renew it. And that renewal is headache man’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). Yki says it

65 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten is very difficult to renew it, ‘’I believe the Spanish government can make it easier for people’’ (Yki; 27- 05-2016). Yki now has the paper and it will not expire soon, luckily for him, because when we discuss the topic I notice how depressed and annoyed he gets by just thinking about it; ‘’it’s definitely going to expire. The process, pppfff, things like this, my living, somebody just think too much about the paper and throw it away. Because, when you have too much headache about renewing the paper it makes you go crazy and for you know it you abandon it’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). When Yki received his first Spanish residence in Ceuta he did not go back to Barcelona, but instead he moved to Palma de Mallorca, where ‘’I worked two to three years in the construction’’ (Yki; 27-05- 2016). After his time in Palma de Mallorca Yki traveled around for some time, to Valencia, Lisbon, and Brussels, to visit some friends and family, after which he eventually moved to Amsterdam. In Amsterdam Yki had some friends he tells me, but he lived in several places. In Amsterdam he could ‘’make business’’ with some guys he knew. And for this business Yki had to travel to Curacao. I am getting a bit suspicious, now I really want to know what Yki did for a job, but he does not tell me. Instead, Yki continues to explain that he went to Curacao and on his return he was not allowed to enter the Netherlands. Yki tells me that he used the same airport, namely Schiphol, and the same documents; ‘’but when I came back to Schiphol, to the same Schiphol, I was arrested. They said I was using a fake passport’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). Yki gets up from the chair on which he is sitting and starts to talk louder: ‘’I was illegal travelling they said. So I asked, how is it possible that the same police from the same airport allowed me to travel with the same passport to Curacao, and now I am coming back and they are telling me it’s a fake’’; ‘’was it not fake when I travelled? They could not answer me the question’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). I cannot answer the question either, but I understand from what Yki is saying and how he is telling me that it must have been a terrible situation for him. The Dutch police locked him up in a small room at the airport for three hours; ‘’not for a different crime, no just for the passport sake’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). After the three hours Yki was deported to Spain. The Dutch police contacted the Spanish police to say that Yki was on that specific flight. And thus when Yki arrived in Spain he was brought to the boss of the local police; ‘’I explained to him, he asked me where it was, this fake document, but I said they took it from me. I had only the other papers which were left with me. So the man (the boss) looked at the Spanish residence, so he said I should just go, go home’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). ‘’Since then, I did not travel’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016), and thus Yki stayed in Spain. However, Yki did not sit still. He told me before he has two children. Yki’s children and their mother live in Valencia, Castellion. ‘’No, we are not married. But we have twins, we have baby twins. With a woman; one is a baby boy, and the other a baby girl: Esther and Gineo’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016), who are both 12 years old. Yki did not marry is not intending to marry the mother of his children. When I tell him that some West African migrants do marry a Spanish woman to be able to get the documents easier, he quickly

66 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten shakes his head with a big smile; ‘’but for me was different, I had my documents legally, from the police, before I met her. So I wasn’t with her because of the documents’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). Yki met the woman here in Barcelona and ‘’I fell in love with her for the sake of love, and that’s all’’ (Yki; 27- 05-2016). She came for holiday, Yki explains, and they met. She was here for exactly one week, ‘’and then, magic happened?’’ I ask. ‘’Yeah, boom, the magic happened, hahaha’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016), we both have to laugh.

Yki currently does not have a passport; he needs to renew it, but he mentions that this is only his problem, so I do not have to worry about it. What he worries about more is the problem of not being able to find a fixed job. The most serious problem is when you do not have a job ‘’than your papers are slowly dying, they won’t renew your papers if you don’t have a job’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). It is like a vicious circle, because without a paper they will not give you a contract for a job, and without a contract you have no use in the country and thus it is harder to get your documents. At the moment Yki is in a somewhat difficult situation, he does not has a passport, neither he has a real job; however, he still has his residence. And he tells me that if he buys himself a new Nigerian passport at the embassy ‘’if I attach my (Spanish) residence to my passport I can travel anywhere I want to go’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016).

Danny also experienced a detention at the airport, but while Ike had his own authentic documents, Danny did something else. Most of the time, when Danny is on the Rambla, I meet him on the same spot; close to where the people from the Barri Gothico enter the Rambla, at the bar Patagonia. He is always wearing the most rapper- like hip-hop outfits, and so also this time. I tell him that the sun reflexes on his cap into my eyes, that it is too much. He has to laugh with his chubby face. He always looks like he is having fun. But when I ask him serious questions, he goes really into making him explain me his opinion. Today (21-04-2016) I asked him if he went to other places in Europe. Danny explains that when he just arrived in Spain he wanted to see his small brother who lived in Las Palmas. ‘’I took the passport and paper of my friend in Barcelona and flew to Las Palmas’’, I cannot believe that he did that, ‘’I told you I was a bad ‘’Bad boy’’ Danny, promoting on the Rambla. Picture by boy’’ Danny laughs at me (Danny; 21-04-2016). But Danny never author (21-04-2016) arrived in Las Palmas. To get there he had to first fly to Madrid, and

67 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten in Madrid the officer figured out that the passport and documents did not belong to Danny, ‘’so I was kept in detention for two days and they flew me back to Barcelona’’ (Danny; 21-04-2016).

Currently Danny got a Spanish residence and his Nigerian passport, and thus is able to travel around in Europe. When I ask him about if he feels free to move around in the EU, he looks at me like it is a dumb question to ask, because he does not feel any problem in moving from one place to another. He went to Germany, Belgium, Switzserland, many countries he explains, ‘’with my residence and passport I can travel’’ (Danny; 21-04-2016).

Unlike Yki and Danny, Abduhllah did not have any trouble with moving within Europe, and he has been travelling through the EU for many years now; every summer again. I met Abduhllah, Lamba’s good friend, via the Baye Fall. After each Baye Fall meeting at the Centre Civic the guys go outside with all their stuff and sit down at one of the small grass lawns at the Arc de Triomf. They would smoke some goods and have a talk about life and the coming weekend. I start to talk with Abduhllah about what he is doing and what he did last week. He tells me that last week he went to a big market close to Cornellia Centre (Metro line 5, blue) to sell his African shirts, jewelry and other goods. This is just for now, because during the summer he goes through Europe to all different kind of festivals, mostly reggae, to sell his products. He moves a lot during the summer, from festival to festival. I am very interested in how he does it and if he has any problems along the way. But how relaxed and laid-back Abduhllah is he tells me that everything is always going fine; ‘’no, no problem, we have our documents and license is fine, so no problem. When they stop us we just give everything, and then its fine’’ (Abduhllah; 12-05-2016). When he explains me I wonder how Abduhllah travels around. But Abduhllah does not do it alone, he has a friend who joins him, and ‘’my friend has a car’’ who is also from Senegal (Abduhllah; 12-05- 2016). During the summer they will be on the road together to all different festivals. The first one, Abduhllah tells, is in Vienna, Austria. After that they will got to Switzerland, France, Italy, then to Summerjam, which is a reggae festival in Köln, Germany. And never had he faced a problem with his documents.

From the respondents’ stories I can argue that the mobility of West African migrants after their arrival differs significantly, which mainly depends on two issues: their residence status, legal or illegal, and their financial situation, having a job and money or no job and thus no money. If both are fine they could move anywhere they would like. This would mostly be for a short period of time after they will return back to Barcelona. Those who do not have the right documents are not allowed to reside in Spain, so let alone moving in Europe. However, my research shows that some illegal

68 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten migrants still move around by means of using documents which are not theirs. Otherwise they would only move within Spain.

4.4 Continue or Settle down?

For many migrants Spain is just a country in between Africa and the richer EU welfare states like Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands, while for others Barcelona is their final destination, because it is not that strictly arranged as the northern EU states. Some argue that everything above the Pyrenees is the real Europe, meaning that Spain (and Portugal) is in between, it is still a bit of Africa. The autonomous region Cataluna, and especially its capital Barcelona, have been known for its economic prosperity through the years; mainly due to its high volume of tourists and the fertile agricultural grounds. But also it has a reasonably tolerant position towards migrants; therefor it has been a place where many West African migrants who arrive in Spain choose to live in (Schapendonk and Steel, 2014). Kuschminder et al (2015) writes that for some migrants, the primary entry points for irregular migrants into the EU as Greece, Italy and Spain, are their intended destinations. Furthermore, many irregular migrants decide to stay in the country they enter the European soil for some time before moving on. The Southern European countries tend to have larger informal economies, providing more irregular employment opportunities for migrants than North-Western European countries (Kuschminder et al, 2015: p. 48).

For most of the younger West African respondents, Barcelona is not necessarily seen as end destination. They do not mind being here for the moment, however, the idea to continue and move somewhere else in Europe is still alive. For example Pose; he is here temporarily. He got Italian residence papers, but does not seem to care too much about the rules applied to his residence. He is already living in Barcelona for more than three months, which is not allowed if you have an Italian residence permit. But Pose just goes where he wants to go, where he can find better living circumstances or a job for making money, the rest comes later. Luki, Walter and Sely, who all three are also under 30-years old, do not have the same lifestyle as their fellow countryman Pose. For them Barcelona is a good place to be at the moment. They wish they could go somewhere else, but due to social ties they ended up in Barcelona. Luki’s sister lives in one of the suburbs of Barcelona, and Sely also has a sister living here. However, for them the idea to leave the city still persists. For the older generation, 30+, the situation is in many cases slightly

69 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten different. Unlike Luki and Pose they do have a woman, wife, or even family with them in Barcelona. Fati for example is married and has everything quite settled down in Barcelona. His wife is from Spain, so she will most likely not move to another European country. Fati has a Spanish document, and thus is a legal resident here, if he would move to another EU member state he is not allowed to stay there longer as three months. The same applies to Tova; he has a wife and a daughter living here with him in Barcelona. Next to that he has a job in the summer months which he does every year, so reasonably steady. His wife is from Italy, and there for he has an Italian passport. So he might move to Italy, however he does not like the people there, so Tova would rather stay in Barcelona. He prefers his family to stay there too.

Bloch and Chimienti state that Spain demonstrates a high level of tolerance towards irregular migrants and irregular work, and regularizes the status of this population periodically (2011: p. 1277). This may be the reason that many West African migrants stay in Barcelona. Abduhllah is a case of continues movement, he is not settling down at the moment, but he got plans for the future. Barcelona is a kind of home base for him, together with Genoa. He stays at both cities and from there he moves around Europe. During the summer he goes from festival to festival in Europe, and once a year, maybe once a two years, during the winter he would go back to Senegal to work on his project and see his family and friends.

In the case of Yki, who has been living in Barcelona for a long time, it is not his preferred end destination. His passport got taken away by the Dutch border police under the guise of it being fake. Yki longed to live in another EU-member state, the Netherlands he mentions for example, because that is where he lived for four years. But on the other hand he is glad for currently living in Spain. However, Yki does mention Spain as a passing-through country to go to other countries:

‘’you know, if you are careful with the live you are living, but you want to improve it, you will make a choice, you know, and Spain is one of the countries that has always been very close to Africa, and people can always pass through to get to Europe’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016).

Europe has changed through the years and for many West African migrants it is not easy to simply pass through Spain to get into Europe. Spain is Europe, and seen as an end destination. Spain has become Europe’s principal immigration country (Carling, 2007); not just for legally, but also illegal migration.

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Concluding remarks

Based on the stories of the respondents my research shows that the way in which the West African respondents migrated towards Barcelona differentiates significantly, while it simultaneously overlaps in many cases. From very extensive trajectories overland by some of the respondents on the one hand, to simple plane flights in a direct line on the other hand. The way they differ shows the struggle to arrive, many have to readjust their plans en route and thus their trajectory takes longer as those who were able to arrange a visa via friends, family, or by marrying a European woman.

While the trajectory of entering ‘’Fortress Europe’’ might be very diverse, the motivations are mostly in common; the search of a better life. Not solely for themselves, but in many cases for the extended family back home. Find a job, make money, and thus create a better life. And if you cannot find it on one place you go to another, as simply as that, to find a better situation.

Once arrived in Spain, their mutual mobility varies from each person; however, this mostly depends on their legal/illegal status and financial situation. With both in good condition, moving should be very easy, while if both are in a bad state, moving across international borders, and sometimes even nationally, is seen as dangerous. Their power to move differs significantly; arranging a visa and being able to enter Europe by plane is on one of the highest levels, while having to cross the Saharan desert by truck and by foot shows the power of mobility is quite low. However, both trajectories end up in the same destination.

My research shows that all of the respondents were currently living in Barcelona without any short- term future plans for moving somewhere else in Europe. While Carling (2007) states that Spain acts as a transit country for unauthorized migrants arriving from the south, who then subsequently travel to other European countries, I rather agree with Schapendonk and Steel (2014) who argue that transit places can turn into destinations. Therefor I can state that Barcelona is not necessarily seen as a transit point, more like an end destination. Most of the respondents somehow ended up in Barcelona, due to social ties, or economic opportunities, and stay here for a longer time.

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Chapter 5 – Babylon

Introduction

To understand the way West African migrants survive in Barcelona, and to its greater extend, in the European Union, one should understand ‘’Babylon’’. Many West African guys I spoken with call Europe ‘’Babylon’’, which is used to indicate a strong and powerful, yet corrupted, unjust and oppressive society. They call the physical continent of Europe Babylon. The political, economic, and to some extend social system which covers Europe, the European Union, is seen as the system that covers Europe, and thus is called to be the ‘’Babylon system’’ by most respondents of my research.

All West African migrants I spoke with about Babylon explained that it is due to the system, its effects, and the way it works against them, which makes their life in Europe so difficult; which makes surviving this hard; and which makes them feel suppressed; but how? It is crucial to understand the notion of Babylon according to the West African respondents in order to fully get the picture of their situation in Barcelona. Therefor I will explain the notion ‘’Babylon’’ in relation with the European Union, which I will use in elaborating on how the West African respondents of my study undergo and experience ‘’Babylon’’.

Starting this chapter the concept of Babylon system will be elaborated, which is used by most West African migrants to appoint the white Western superior power which in this case is represented by the institutional European Union. Scholars have discussed the notion of Europe, the EU, its system in relation with migration, but never in the sense of Babylon. This chapter will elaborate on the Babylon System and how it is experienced by West African migrants in Barcelona. The Babylon System itself is not something which can be easily explained, but by means of the lyrics of Bob Marley’s ‘’Babylon System’’ and the insights of a handful of my respondents I will create an insight to this concept and how it is lived by my respondents which helps to understand the West African migrant’s experience in Barcelona.

West African migrants are often portrayed as threats; threats to the order of the Babylon System, which has led to a securitization of migration (Hyndman, 2012); securing who enters Europe. The life of many West African migrants in Barcelona is difficult, and overshadowed by their negative image, while all of the respondents in my study wanted to work. There is not much known about the real life of West African migrants in the EU. Living in a place where many people see you as a threat to their

72 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten security, welfare and identity can be troublesome. Barcelona, and Europe in greater extent does not only looks like Babylon for them, it also feels like it. It can be stated from my research that it is not merely felt by the West African respondents, it also affects their lives.

The EU is externalizing its borders, to keep the control and order more in line, which makes the distinction between being African or European very clear. Most respondents argued that they do not have the same power as European citizens, and they can feel it. They are still seen as ‘’others’’, which has deep and persistent historical roots, including the legacy of colonialism (Grillo and Mazzucato, 2008). This can be noticed by the still present level of racism in Barcelona towards black people. Not so much for the respondents who had a job and legal papers, but mainly for the guys who did not. They work on the streets, mostly illegal (promoting coffeeshops or ‘’hassling’’); furthermore they do not have the correct legal documents to reside in Spain. They are very careful with police patrolling on the streets; as it is better to be invisible to the police. Most of the West African respondents found themselves doing informal labour, because they have been put on the bottom of society mainly due to their illegal status, but it also includes their nationality and race; at least, this is how it is being felt by them.

Some respondents of my research connected the livable concept of Babylon with a certain form of slavery; political slavery. Slavery never really ended, and again the western white superior countries are picking the fruits from the current situation, and the difference from being black or white, African or European, are greater than ever. Van Houtum (2010) explains this aspect by means of the blacklisting; the European Commission made list which divides the world nationalities in two, those allowed in the EU without-, and those only allowed in the EU with a visa. Someone’s freedom of movement indeed differs depending on nationality, political decisions, and inter-state relations (Zapata-Barrero, 2013).

In this chapter I will elaborate on 1) Babylon as it is explained by Bob Marley in the song ‘’Babylon System’’ and by the West African respondents in this study; 2) the threat of (West) African migrants as perceived by the EU and how it tries to securitize migration towards Europe; 3) how Europe is experienced and felt as a real Babylon by the West African respondents; 4) that racism is still alive in the respondents’ lives; 5) how the structures of slavery are still standing, and how it affects the West African migrants; and eventually 6) that migration is part of life.

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Mome

Mome came to Barcelona to work in the coffeeshop ‘’Amnesia’’ which is co-owned by his cousin. He would like to find a job which fits his studies, Language & Civilization, but that is currently not possible. Mome’s cousin, Baba, told that in Spain there are more opportunities for him to find a job in the sector for which he studied. Seven months ago Mome arrived, but still he was working as a promoter, however, he did not seem to mind. Walking the streets with his black clothes, shiny cap, and a golden necklace; doing his business on the streets; that is how he survives.

I like talking with him, first of all we can understand each other very good because he has a high level of English, and secondly he has an outspoken opinion, especially on the subject of the European Union, but as many call it, the European system: ‘’Money makes the world go around, that’s how the system is and works’’ (Mome; 27-04-2016). I ask Mome about how he feels about the way in which an African passport is less ‘’strong’’ than a European passport for example, he starts to laugh out loud; ‘’with an African passport comes less opportunities, they forget them, all the people; its discrimination’’, Mome says. He is getting heated up, and slightly annoyed, not on me, but by the issues I make him think about.

‘’Why can people from Europe come to Africa without any visa, but if people from Africa go to Europe they need all papers, documents and visas?’’

I do not really know how to reply on this question. And thus I cut to the next relating topic I want to discuss and what Mome mentions before, the European system. I explain Mome that many West African guys I spoken with call Europe ‘’Babylon’’, which is used to indicate a strong and powerful, yet corrupted, unjust and oppressive society in the Rastafari religion especially. Mome laughs about it but has to disagree with the idea of calling Europe Babylon;

‘’no, not really, but the system is Babylon. Bob Marley already sang this how many years ago, and now you see its real world’’ (Mome; 27-04-2016).

5.1 Babylon System

What did Bob Marley sing? Bob Marley made a song which is called ‘’Babylon System’’; but what does it mean? As a reggae-fan I of course already heard of it before however, I did not indulge myself in understanding the lyrics and meaning behind it correctly. After I discussed this topic with Mome I

74 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten went back home and started to listen to the lyrics, and looked up and figured out the meaning behind it, now I could understand its relationship with the European system. Bob Marley (1945-1981), one of the 20th century’s most charismatic and challenging performers urged his listeners to check out the real situation and to rebel against the vampire, the ‘’Babylon System’’ (autobiography of Bob Marley; bobmarley.com). ‘’Bob had a rebel type of approach, but his rebelliousness had a clearly defined purpose to it’’, said Chris Blackwell, founder of Island Records and friend of Bob Marley. This rebelliousness of Bob Marley was not mindless; he was rebelling against the real situation and former circumstances in which he and many others found themselves (www.bobmarley.com/history). Bob Marley had a distinctive style of songwriting with a very political message. Through his music, he promoted freedom from poverty as well as freedom from social and economic oppression, and his songs still do. These circumstances, in which many black people found themselves and about Bob Marley sang, where in many cases the consequences of Babylon system’s existence.

‘’Babylon System’’, it is all in there; nice rhythm and a good melody (see Annex 3 for lyrics of Bob Marley’s ‘’Babylon System’’). A very relaxed song many would say, however the message behind the song and its lyrics, makes one think about the current situation. The song blames the colonizers for the slavery that was brought upon the African people; for taking their freedom and liberty away by making them slaves. In the song Bob sings about standing up for your right as human being, for not wanting to be suppressed by the ‘’big’’ global powers. These global powers, mainly Western states, institutes, organizations, cannot make the African people what they want them to be.

Bob Marley uses a metaphor of the ‘’winepress’’. The African slaves have been ‘’trodding on the winepress much too long’’, meaning that they have been oppressed by the system for way too long already, having been squeezed everything out, all their freedom and liberty. The Babylon system was built on slavery. Having ‘’been taken for granted much too long’’ by the people of the Babylon System. And for that the African people should ‘’rebel, rebel’’ against this system to regain their freedom. Another metaphor which Bob Marley uses in the song is comparing the Babylon System with a vampire. It sucks out the blood, the life, of the children, but also that of the sufferers; the African people. This vampire, the Babylon system, extends itself by building universities and churches everywhere in the world, to in the words of Bob Marley ‘’deceive the people continually’’. There for it is important to tell their children the truth about how the world works, and how the system is still suppressing them, not by means of chaining them in slavery, but by restricting them from entering and being part of the system. It is very paradoxically, while Bob Marley sings about rebelling against the Babylon System, against those who suppress them, for many African migrants entering the

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Babylon System is seen as an opportunity to find a better life. In Europe there are more opportunities to make money and help their family back home. However, the Babylon System is still referred to as the system which is built on slavery, and in the contemporary world on the global free market economy system; capitalism. For many African people capitalism is the modernized successor of former slave trade, instead of people going from the global South to the North, goods are shipped; extracted from the African continent and brought to the capitalistic societies, who accelerate the Babylon System.

The term Babylon is associated with an oppressive and unjust society (Beyer2016; altrelegion.com). In Rastafari it is commonly used in reference to Western and white societies, which exploited Africans and their descendants. The followers of Rastafari, Rastas, accept much of the Bible, although it is believed by them that much of the Bible’s message has been corrupted by Babylon (Beyer 2016). Rastafari’s origins are strongly rooted in empowerment movements defending the rights of black people, of which most believe in encouraging mutual cooperation and existence among all races.

At the end of 1978 Bob Marley made his first trip through Africa, especially visiting Kenya and Ethiopia, which is seen as the spiritual home of Rastafari; where the roots of the all people, and thus also the African people, originate; the ‘’Father’s land’’. In the same year, Bob and his band The Wailers, toured through Europe under the tour-name of ‘’Babylon By Bus’’. This meant that Europe was seen as Babylon by Bob Marley. When I started to hear the use of the word ‘’Babylon’’ and ‘’Babylon System’’ by some of the West African migrants I spoken too, like Mome, I was determined to understand more in-depth what this means to them. The fact that the Babylon System still exists, not by means of slavery, but in different aspects, and is being used by the Rastas is extremely interesting. When I would ask my respondents about the Babylon System most of them would take it with a grain of salt, however, if I would express my deep interest in this subject and ask if they could elaborate on the topic in their own words and experiences many would turn more serious and get frustrated by how the Babylon System had an impact on their lives.

As for example, when I asked Yegge about the Babylon System he first has to laugh, but when I tell him I am quite serious and that I want to know what it is and means to him in his own words he turn to me and says that the current situation is the problem (Yegge; 20-06-2016). He explains that the situation of each person is different ‘’some are poor, some rich, some study, some not study, this is a problem’’. Because not everybody gets the same opportunities in this system, inequality is increasing and the Babylon System will remain and only get stronger. Yegge: ‘’we have to change this situation.

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We have to be brother of each other, we are all brothers, we have to give to each other’’ (Yegge; 20- 06-2016), I cannot agree more with Yegge, but this is not the way it is. Yegge continues by explaining to me that we need to use our brains to see that the current situation is shit, and really needs to change. But what is the problem? ‘’It’s all about the capital, the money. Capital is about money’’ Yegge tells me, but I cannot understand this problem according to him: ‘’when you are here and you are member of Europe you have one idea of Europe’’, and thus I see it wrong. I just have one idea of the EU, that the EU is good, open, liberal, which has been told to me. But ‘’I am from Africa, I have another idea of Europe’’ (Yegge; 20-06-2016). I am not in the position to understand, because I am part of the system. I do not know I am, but unconsciously I do participate in the system’s engine and therefor would not be able to fully understand the African point of view. Also Ale told me more or less the same, he could not explain the Babylon System to me ‘’because you are in the system, you have to stand outside of the system to understand it’’ (Ali; 20-06-2016). However, in his words it: ‘’it is all money; with the money you can live good life here. With the money you can get the documents, but with no money, and no documents, life is difficult’’ (Ali; 20-06-2016).

Money is very important to have in this Babylon society otherwise as Ale stated, life is difficult. Yki does not want to make too many of his words dirty about the European society. Even though we know each other for some time now and have met several occasions I guess he does not feel really comfortable with saying negative thoughts about the EU and the Babylon System; ‘’I don’t want to give any negativity’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). And thus Yki calls the world we are living in one which is based on ‘’economic interest’’. When I tell him he can say anything he wants he loosens up a bit and starts to explain that ‘’you are welcome when you have money’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016).

Since I added Ibba ‘’tomba tomba’’ Sané, Lamba’s flatmate, as a friend on Facebook, and he accepted my friend request, we sometimes talk via the messenger. I still want to do an interview with him, because he seems like a very interesting guy, so on a certain moment I ask him if he has time tonight, right now. Most of the time the guys do not really have appointments or a strict agenda, neither has Ibba, he tells me he got time for me now. It takes more or 30-40 minutes for me to arrive in the city center where I know Ibba lives, he is namely a housemate of Lamba. He tells me to meet him at the coffeeshop he regularly goes, in Carrer de Sant Pau, in Raval. Once I arrived, he has to go in for a minute, to get some ‘’stuff’’. After we walk towards the Rambla del Raval, where it is always so much calmer as on the ‘’big’’ Rambla. While the Rambla is more for tourists, this one in Raval is more for the locals. We sit down on some benches and start to talk.

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We talk about all different issues; why he left, how he came here, what does now, and about the future, but maybe most interesting are Ibba’s thoughts on the differences in freedom of mobility between African- and European people. ‘’The Europe people have the money and the paper, they can. It’s the political mundial’’ Ibba explains (Ibba; 02-05-2016). I understand what he means, the political system which makes ‘’African people are not important’’. It is simultaneously sad and interesting to hear what he has to say, and thus I ask him what he thinks is the problem. Ibba explains that it has actually been going on for way longer, already from when Europe was colonizing Africa; ‘’the Europe countries are the rich countries, so they come together, in a rich union of Europe. And the countries that are poor are left out, fuck them! These people are poor.’’ (Ibba; 02- 05-2016). It’s the European Union, the European system what keeps these poor people out. Many West African migrants I talked to mention the saying of ‘’Babylon System’’, I now know more or less what it means, however I want to ask Ibba if he thinks the EU is a Babylon system. ‘’Yeah man, Europe is very Babylon system’’, he continues ‘’people think about money, and money, time and money. If you don’t have money, you do not matter’’. However he explains that the European people cannot live without this Babylon system, but neither can they live without poor (African) people.

‘’People need the Babylon system; they need rich people, but also need poor people. They need poor people to stay poor. Europe wants Africa to stay poor, to maintain it poor. They extract (he makes the movement of extraction) the natural resources of Africa, Africa has most resources in the world’’ (Ibba; 02-05-2016). It is sad to hear, but funny at the same time. It reminds of the song, ‘’Babylon System’’ in which Bob Marley sings about the Babylon system as the vampire, sucking everything out; out of Africa how Ibba explains. The EU is extracting, or robbing, whole nations of their natural resources under the guise of promotion of free trade (Bauman, 1998).

Not only is the EU ‘’robbing’’ whole African nations of their natural resources, it seems like they try to restrict the movements of the African people. While in the current state of globalization distances do not matter anymore, the world is intensifying its global interconnectedness (Held, McGrew; 2007), and thus distances are experienced different than before. The world is shrinking in it sense of space and distances, however, time is a measurement that will continue to exist and will not change. Bauman (2002) explains the issue in the light of a space-time paradox. The people who can move anywhere momentariness are the ones who rule and who take time more into consideration as space. They rule and dominate the people on the other side of the spectrum which are stripped of their ability to move whenever. Relating Bauman’s theory to this research the residence of Babylon (citizens of the EU) would be more affected by time, because to them space does not matter

78 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten anymore, since spanning every distance is instantaneous (Bauman, 1998). However, for those West African migrants who entered Europe illegally, space was a more troublesome issue as time, since for them it was extremely difficult and hard to cross distances, especially when the idea and realization of physical borders (by means of fencing and control) is more alive and strengthened day by day.

When Ibba and I finally get up he asks me if we shall get some sandwiches. I already had dinner so I kindly decline, but I am also pretty tired; I want to go home and sleep. Ibba is a bit surprised, but understands. He actually did not plan anything tonight; he had all the time in the world for me. Time is money, and there for, Ibba does not fit in Babylon. He did not schedule anything for tonight; he lives in the moment, without a planning, without a program, but within a certain space, in Barcelona. Clearly, he still did not adapt to the Babylon rhythm of having no time, but let’s hope he stays this way.

While Bob Marley wrote the song many decades ago, the Babylon system keeps staying alive, and only makes itself stronger; look at the European Union. Rich countries come together in a union which keeps the poor developing, and mostly African countries out. To be somebody in the Babylon system money is a necessity. For most of the West African respondents this is a problem, because they do not have it, and thus this makes them not important, makes them deplorable. The Babylon system keeps them suppressed, keeps them ‘’trodding on the winepress’’.

It might be a bit confusing to understand the difference between the ‘’Babylon system’’ and ‘’Babylon’’. Babylon is much used by the West African respondents to appoint the physical place, to many Babylon is mainly Europe (and in lesser extend other Western countries), however it can also relate to the oppressive society. The Babylon System is used to talk about the economic, political, and social system which is in place in Europe. This is mainly covered by the way the European Union works in making policies and arrangements which restricts the West African migrants with migrating.

5.2 West African migration: a Threat to Europe?!

In recent years a lot of extensive (media) attention has been given to the increasing irregular migration from Africa to Europe. Most of the media and popular discourses portray an apocalyptic image of desperate Africans fleeing from their home country due to poverty or war-torn reasons:

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‘’African migration to Europe is commonly seen as a tidal wave of desperate people fleeing poverty and warfare at home trying to enter the elusive European el Dorado’’ (de Haas, 2008; p. 1305).

Images of desperate African illegal migrants, feeling from war, poverty, environmental degradation and unemployment at home, or those living ‘illegally’ abroad without the right documents – often on the edge of Western society, have become the discourse of the great mass media as well as the right wing nationalist politic parties in the EU (Obi, 2010). African migrants as hopeless people sitting on fences trying to enter the Spanish enclaves Ceuta and Melilla, or the thousands of migrants congested in small boats trying to reach the Italian shores. While borders are portrayed in a positive way, as something necessary, what keeps ‘’us’’ from ‘’them’’. Although this is an absolutely simplified picture of the situation, many EU citizens commonly believe these extravagant discourses, which fuels their fear for a real ‘’invasion’’; and thus truly believe and associate the African migration as a threat.

This perception of seeing the ‘’other’’ in the black African migrant has deep and persistent historical roots. These views of the black migrants even work in countries which were not colonial powers themselves, but are constantly reinforced through media discourses of dependency and devastation (Grillo & Mazzucato, 2008). Obi (2010) states that the EU is as it where thriving on a ‘’political economy of fear’’, because people are afraid of what this ‘’stranger’’ brings to their country. Migrants are quickly associated with transnational crimes and acts of terror against the host- countries, therefor, they have increasingly become targets of socio-cultural anxieties, just because they are the ‘’other’’ (Obi 2010).

The EU, or the Babylon System, has the desire to protect themselves from these ‘’others’’, the strangers, or in this case, the (West African) migrants. Van Houtum and Pijpers (2007) would argue that the EU has come to resemble a gated community in which the political control and management of immigration is, to a large extent, the product of fear: ‘’the fear of losing the comfort zone, which entails the fear of losing economic welfare, public security as well as social identity’’ (van Houtum 2007: p. 292).

In the recent years the migration flow is being constructed as the migration ‘’crisis’’, which makes it sound as something problematic. The fear and threat (West African) migrants bring creates a moral panic, which spreads among a large number of people that feel some kind of evil, in the personification of the migrant, threatens the well-being of their society; their security, welfare, and identity (Bauman 2015). These migrants, or strangers for ‘’beyond the wall’’ of fortress Europe, tend to cause a lot of anxiety. This has led to a securitization of migration (Hyndman 2012). Migration is

80 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten not seen as a humanitarian issue which needs the Europeans Union’s help, but as a security concern which need to be kept outside. Due to the moral panic in this migration ‘’crisis’’ a fierce response is needed. It is slightly controversial, that in a ‘’world without borders’’ (Obi 2010), (West) African migration has been subject of securitization. The humanitarian consideration made place for the restrictive and security equivalent. While West African migrants want to find a wonderful new world with freedom, peace and opportunities, they receive an opposite reality which tries to keep them out due to the risk they could carry, the risk for the security, welfare, and identity of the host country.

It is incomprehensible to be seen and treated this different tries Sely to explain: ‘’we are all the same, we all have the same blood’’ (Sely; 27-05-2016). He elaborates that it is not directly about the bigger picture, Africans not being welcomed in the EU, but the small things he experiences on a daily base which makes this clear. He explains about when he once wanted to sit down in the Barcelona metro, the person next him directly took her bags and put them firmly under her arm, after which she moved away. He looks astonished while telling me this story, why would he steal the woman’s bags. Sely arrived in Italy, where according to him ‘’are more black guys’’ (Sely; 27-05-2016) and thus ‘’people here are afraid of black people’’ more as in Italy, because they are not so familiarized with them.

Yki would not argue that people are afraid of Africans but they are simply not welcome in Europe. Africans are seen as a threat to the economy, they do not bring anything to the EU; they just take. The people entering the EU and establishing themselves here should bring something with them. This can be knowledge, or simply a lot of money to invest. ‘’You see, the world we are living in today is a world of material, which anywhere, anytime, with material, with money you are welcome’’ Yki argues (Yki; 27-05-2016) and continues to explain that this is the reason why tourists for example are welcomed here while migrants are not ‘’because they (the tourists) come here to spend money, and immigrants here come to make money’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016).

Next to this, Yki does argue that some aspects of racism are still alive. On the moment when he came back from Curacao (see chapter 4) to the Netherlands he was denied access, because his passport was fake according to the Dutch border-police. This shock, of not being able to enter, really restricted Yki to move he explains, partly due to aspects of racism, but mainly due to the lack of trust in African people. ‘’lack of trust in African people yes. When I look at people I feel the lack of trust for reasons I don’t know, and I don’t want to know, because myself, I love people, I mind my business, I just want to do my things, and whatever the next person thinks about me is not my problem’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016).

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Lacan (2004; in Van Houtum, Pijpers, 2007) explains that this fear of discomfort and uneasiness in the home space comes from the perceptions of being overwhelmed by nameless but potentially large flows, masses and streams of migrants; an ‘’invasion’’. The fear of losing material gain, economic welfare or public security, or even the fear of losing a community’s self-defined identity by this ‘’invasion’’ is a real public anxiety (van Houtum, Pijpers, 2007). This ‘’Invasion’’ however, is a myth, according to de Haas (2009), who wrote the eponymous article; ‘’the Myth of Invasion’’. An increase in migration flows is possibly at hand, but this does not incline a real invasion. De Haas argues that currently the migrants who enter the EU are not the poorest of their country, because they have to have a decent sum of money to cover the costs of travelling or paying the trafficker. However, the EU is handing out financial means to a quantity of third countries including some in West Africa in order to spur development through aid and trade, which is believed to remove the need to migrate, but will actually only give the poor citizens the opportunity to migrate too (de Haas 2009).

In Spain, immigration was the most important concern for the Spanish citizens in 2006 (Zapata- Barrero 2007). Zapata-Barrero further argues that there are still very negative attitudes towards immigrants, which are mainly provoked by the government’s inability to show its citizens that it is capable to control its borders. And for many European citizens this is one of the most important aspects, being able to control the EU’s external borders. The fear and moral panic exists and will not disappear anywhere soon. The explicit links between migration from Muslim countries and terrorism for example are rapidly emerging. Suspect ‘’black’’ (African) countries are perceived as social spaces that have the potential for breeding grounds of criminal activities and which could possibly export these elements, terrorist, and undocumented immigrants into the more privileged social spaces of the world, like the EU (Shamir 2005). In order to control the movements of these dangerous elements in which undocumented migrants are categorized the EU is trying to make effort to externalize the outer border across frontiers.

The externalization of the EU includes the outsourcing of the border to non-EU countries, as well as the spatial extension of where the EU governments and forces can patrol, thus a literal expansion of their borderline (Casas et al, 2010: p. 71). The process of border externalization started in 2006 with the first conference in Rabat conducted by the initiative of Spain. Now, a few Euro-African intergovernmental conferences later, strategies have been made to cooperate on joint strategies to reduce poverty and co-development in African countries as key points to reduce migration flows.

Here the link between migration and development has been articulated through two sets of measure: firstly trying to outsource the border controls through a sharing of responsibilities in the

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‘’fight’’ against illegal migration from African countries, which was considered a short to medium term goal; and secondly, the promotion of co-development, with result to make possible migrants stay where they are, which was seen as a long term objective (Koff 2014). The GAM framework of the EU not only involves neighbouring countries like Morocco or Libya, in the active participation of sharing the security concerns and containing the African migration flow; it also involves third countries – of origin or transit – in the burden of controlling migration (Casas et al, 2010). During the last Euro-African meeting, in Valetta (November 2015), the European Commission showed its intention to make partnerships with key third countries of origin like Nigeria and Senegal or transit countries like Tunisia and Libya (European Commission, 2016) to achieve less migration towards the EU. The EU migration design transformed from the policing of a line that demarcates sovereignty over territory and the people in it; toward a strategy of migration management that begins to understand borders as fluid management of ‘’routes’’ followed through origin-transit-destination countries (Casas et al, 2010: p. 75). The third countries that agree with the EU started economic cooperation and integration with Europe; as there was nothing else they could do as accept (Boswell, 2003). These third countries were encouraged or obliged to apply the EU standards of migration management or to enter in agreements for readmitting irregular migrants. We have to understand however, Casas et al (2010) states, that these emerging practices of externalization of border management can have potential far-reaching consequences for future concepts of sovereignty and jurisdiction.

A border tries to mark a difference (Zapata-Barrero 2013). It highlights the internal dynamics of inclusion and exclusion with the border as a line, which should not be crossed, definitely not by the outsider. And due to making these lines in the sand, making difference of what is yours/mine, good/bad, it creates ‘’otherness’’. The core political approach of making a border is actually solely based on power, to contain and maintain one’s own security, welfare and identity (Zapata-Barrero 2013). The making of an own safe territory, the EU, inside the gates of the community must be understood as an act of purification. The European citizens do not want to be threatened in their ‘’own’’ safe space. Using a territorial strategy, states Sack (1986), embodies power, displaces migrants, and contains a certain space; in this case that of the EU. Zapata-Barrero et al (2007) questions how to balance human rights with the strong control of borders. The possibility of being able to control the EU borders and take care of human rights of everybody is extremely small, as it is close to impossible.

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West African migrants are still regularly seen as a threat to Europe’s security, welfare, and identity (Bauman, 2015). They are no Europeans and thus often seen as the ‘’other’’, which has deep and persistent historical roots. By means of media discourses of dependency and devastation (Grillo & Mazzucato, 2008) these views are reinforced. The European citizens should fear what this ‘’stranger’’ could bring to Europe. Therefor the EU, or Babylon System, has the oppressive need to protect themselves from West African migrants. This relates to the way Van Houtum and Pijpers (2007) argue the EU is becoming a gated community; closed from ‘’strange’’, foreign, threatening influences. Some West African respondents explained that Europeans are indeed afraid of black people, because they are not familiarized with them, because they are indeed strange. In the southern states of the EU people are likely to be more adjusted to the presence of black people, and thus they are opener to West African migrants. This is mainly the case in Italy, because many African migrants tend to enter Europe via Italy. However, the Spanish citizens might not be as familiarized with black people as Italians, but still more as the north European countries.

5.3 Feels like Babylon!

The European Union is not just the continent of Europe anymore, it reaches way further. The EU will only make more agreements or partnerships with third countries to contain the migration influx from there. Yegge agrees with this fact when we start to talk about the issue: ‘’yeah man, the control is all over the world’’ (Yegge; 20-06-2016). The agreements the EU made, and most likely will make in the nearby future, with the African countries are as if the EU’s external border is being expanded. I see Yegge, one of the most happy and positive people I met during the fieldwork, slowly turning somber, serious and even slightly angry:

‘’The system fucks me. I don’t have power, the system is all against me!’’ (Yegge; 20-06-2016).

Yegge stands up when he says it, he does not yet scream but I can see he is controlling himself not to shout. He has been living in Barcelona for many years now; he speaks a decent word of Spanish and even some Catalan. Yegge tried to integrate, but still he does not feel at home, he says that I will never be the same as home. Yegge lives in Babylon, and just like Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’ he tried to integrate in some ways, by learning the language for example, but Yegge will never fully assimilate. The Babylon System has such an effect on Yegge that he expresses his feelings by saying the system is all against him, and he is without any power to do something. It is vicious, bad, wrong, not good, and

84 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten mainly based on economic interests instead of moral norms and values. Yegge feels it, he feels Europe is like Babylon.

Lami would agree with the words of Yegge. Even though Lami lives in Spain for many years now, has a job and a residence paper with which he can travel around from place to place, he still argues that: ‘’the system is not good’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016). It is not the people, because almost all West African respondents state that the people in Europe are often good and treat them nice, but the system, the way the EU works against them; West African migrants. Lami is now inside the Babylon System, in the EU, and has a legal residence paper, thus he does not feel the restriction to mobility anymore, but Lami does state that:

‘’they want to control us, not only here in Europe, but also in Africa’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016).

It is not just about having the right or wrong paper; it depends on more things: where you come from, what you do, and mainly if you have the money. With money you can do a lot, Lami explains, because a visa costs money. If you do not have money, you cannot buy a visa; a legal entry ticket to the European Union. Lami continues to say that with the right documents you can go everywhere you want: ‘’but in Africa it is not the same. In Africa you need a visa to go somewhere’’ (Lami; 28-05- 2016) pointing out the difference in where you come from and which way you go. He looks at me and takes me for an example: ‘’if you go to Africa you don’t need a visa, you can just go, but if I want to go to Europe I need a visa’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016). I know Lami did not mean it like that, but I do not like the fact that he points it out in this manner, because it makes me feel lousy and a first-class European citizen in a bad way.

European citizens do indeed have a certain kind of privilege when looking at the way they can move in- and outside of the EU and comparing it with the trajectories West Africans need to take for being able to enter ‘’fortress Europe’’. Gatche would call it a Babylon System. When I ask him about his thoughts on differences between people from Europe and migrants from Africa living here he gets up from his chair and almost starts to yell: ‘’not normal man, not normal. We are all human, we all live. Blood in my heart, they have too, all human, all live, so why can’t I move to places I want?’’ (Gatche; 22-04-2016). Gatche was already very happy when he got his paper, he thanks God for it, however this paper only gives him access to work legally in Spain: ‘’so I cannot ask for job in other countries in Europe, only in Spain. This is the bigger problem. Most people only get paper to stay in Spain’’ he explains to me (Gatche; 22-04-2016). Because he has been living here for many years now I ask him if it might not be possible to ask for a Spanish passport which would make travelling perhaps easier, but Gatche is quite sharp and directly replies stating that ‘’everything you ask is shit, it all costs a lot of money’’. This financial issue does not stop everybody, many West African migrants try to cross the

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European borders without the right documents, however Gatche explains ‘’it’s dangerous, and if they catch you, it depend. Depending on who you are they bring you to Spain, or want you to return to Africa’’ (Gatche; 22-04-2016).

It is important to know whether someone is here as a legal- or as an illegal migrant, as a clandestino. Clandestinos, or illegal migrants, often tend to make themselves invisible to the authorities to avoid deportation writes Blus (2013), and thus also become invisible for the system and rules which are in place to protect and ensure human rights to everybody. They are vulnerable in many ways: their children have limited access to education, none or limited availability of state provided services as healthcare, and they are subjected to exploitation in the work place (MRCI report n. 5; p. 52). If the clandestino finally finds a job he is often exploited, paid very low wages and threatened with being reported to the police if they say something or complain (PICUM, 2010).

Like it was in the case of Yegge. When Yegge arrived in Spain 10 years ago he did not receive his documentation and/or residence permit. To survive he had to find a job, but because he did not have any papers finding a legally paid job was very hard, so he found an illegal job in Tarragona. There he could work in the port, with the boats. Because of his previous work as fisherman in Senegal I expected him to be working as an fisherman here too, but no, he was allowed to repair the material for the fishermen, the nets etc. Yegge tells me he did this job for almost 5 years because he could not find anything else. Furthermore, it paid almost nothing; ‘’just enough to survive’’ (Yegge; 20-06- 2016). ‘’Because I didn’t have my paper, the boss sometimes did not pay me. He said it’s a chance for me to work to get my papers’’; ‘’he makes use of my situation’’ explains Yegge. Eventually Yegge got his papers and he directly left to Barcelona. I am sad to hear this story, and I am sorry for Yegge. That people make use of somebody else his situation, to not pay them where they worked for, just because they do not have the right paper.

Everybody should have rights; however it seems like illegal migrants do not have any. They would not and do not matter in the Babylon system, because they cannot add anything of significance to it. Their life has no meaning, Bauman (2004) would argue that their lives are ‘’wasted lives’’, defining it as somebody who simply does not matter, somebody with a life which can be wasted, nobody (in the EU) would care. The story of Yegge shows this side. He has been lucky to get his documents now, but before got exploited by his employer by not getting paid and working long shifts. It is clear that Irregular migrants often do not have the right to have rights because of their illegal status and thus do not have a voice politically. Currently most of them are invisible for the system. On the one hand they want it to remain invisible, because of the chance to get arrested by the police and be evicted

86 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten from Spain. However, many want to be visible in order to receive the beneficiaries of the system like health care and the rights at the work place when they have a permanent job. Fati argued that ‘’Europe is sick’’ (Fati; 10-06-2016). Europe tries to control the West African migration flow before it would even start. Fati is married with a Spanish woman since 2014 and has been living here in Barcelona from when he arrived in Europe. He had some small jobs in between, as a painter, and a handyman, but now he roams the streets and the parks to do his business and do ‘’hassling’’; making some money on the side. He does not have anything against the European and Spanish people, especially not his wife and those living here in Barcelona: ‘’people here a good, no Babylon’’ (Fati, 29-05-2016). It is just the system of the European Union what bothers him, the way the governmental and European institutions work against him. He feels powerless, because he just wants a job. He explains that he is looking for a job, Lamba is looking for a job, even you (he points at me) are looking for a job, Fati mentions. But he does not have one: ‘’that is Babylon, the people are good, the system is not’’ (Fati; 29-05-2016). The way the Spanish government, and the European Union, works is against Fati, he feels powerless.

Also Mayko argues that it is not about the people who make the life here that difficult for African migrants; ‘’most people here are very nice, it is the government that is the system, but in the government are people’’ (Mayko; 20-06-2016). In the government are people indeed, but it is not them which affects his and other respondents’ lives, but is it the way the Spanish government and the European institutions deal with African migrants. I like to talk with Mayko, he strikes me as a well-educated guy, and most importantly, he is very calm. He talks on a very nice volume and is interested in what we are discussing. I explain to Mayko about the arrangements and cooperation- deals the EU is making with third countries in West Africa to fight the illegal migration. It expands the European borders to the migrants’ countries of origin. ‘’That’s true’’, Mayko stops for a moment and lowers his head downwards, ‘’it’s more difficult, very difficult to come here, and then it’s very difficult to live here, because nobody wants you here.’’ (Mayko; 20-06-2016) It is sad to see Mayko like this. However, when I ask him if he believe is will ever change in the future he turns and looks at me with a strict face (eyebrows down) and says slightly louder that ‘’there is no change, no easy go’’ (Mayko; 20-06-2016), and he does not believe it will be coming soon.

Over the recent years more conferences, like the Valetta Migration Summit, have been held to try change the situation for migration towards Europe by means of developmental- and humanitarian aid; starting in the countries of origin of the (West) African migrants.

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Zapata-Barrero et al calls it a ‘’diplomatic offensive to persuade African countries to control their borders and accept repatriation in exchange for development cooperation’’ (2007: p. 89). How much of this is persuasion, or a so-called ‘’partnership’’, is unfamiliar; knowing the power differences between both European Union on the one hand, and specific third countries on the other. The face the EU is showing is a Janus-face as van Houtum (2010) would call it. On the one face development aid and humanitarian assistance for third countries, but on the other face a security-obsessed economic and cultural zone; and both faces are related. The EU promises their neighbouring- and partnership countries it will develop and become more democratic and economically strong. The EU does this in order to eventually be able to protect themselves from the ‘’threats’’ coming from these third- or transit countries, by which largely irregular migration and terrorism is meant. The threats are turning out to be ‘mobile’ threats (Obi 2010) that can move from their country to the EU, and therefore they should be blocked, contained and neutralized in the beginning.

This is the way the European Union works, in order to protect themselves of ‘’so-called’’ threats coming from the African continent. While the concept of Babylon might be used in a light-hearted way in the sense of singing and laughing about it by many of the West African respondents, when asking them more specific, most of the respondents would turn serious and explain that the Babylon system is against them and makes them feel powerless. They feel that by not being able to find a job, having to do small informal temporary promoting jobs, if they can find one. They feel like they are being controlled. They feel nobody wants them here. They feel the system is alive, and against their presence within it.

5.4 Racism on the streets

Gatche tells me that life as an African here in Spain is difficult. A decade ago, when Gatche arrived, it was easier to find a job, and they let many Africans in, for a limited time. However, now it changed Gatche reccons, ‘’first they will call white people, then people from Peru, Chile, Colombia, and finally black people, that’s racist man’’ (Gatche; 22-04-2016). This is part of the issue why immigration in Spain is so problematic, Gatche elaborates. According to him many Spanish people still have a racist mind:

‘’when you are a black boy, they think you should go back to your own country’’ (Gatche; 22-04- 2016).

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People apparently do not think a black person should be residing here in Barcelona, or in greater extend, in Europe. This contradicts with what other West African respondents mentioned before (see Fati and Mayko), however it might be an experience Gatche had when he worked as a mantero. These guys, mostly from Senegalese origin, like Gatche, try to sell products on the street, on their blanket; their ‘’manta’’. When Gatche arrived in Spain he could start as a mantero here in Barcelona because his cousin also did. These guys, who are trying to sell products mostly ranging from Nike shoes to Gucci bags, or FC Barcelona ‘’Messi’’ shirts to Ray-Ban sunglasses (all fake), do this without a legal permit. This is in discontent with the established stores who try to sell the same products. And therefor, they are not welcome on the Barcelona streets, only on certain spots where the police can control them. This happened in the port of Barcelona, where hundreds of manteros would open their blankets on the street, without walking around. The manteros would be concentrated in that specific area, and thus the police could keep them in their vision. When a mantero, or a group of guys (‘’manteros’’), try to put their blankets on not allowed places, like the Rambla, within minutes there will be policemen chasing them away. The manteros will quickly take their blanket, carry it on their back, and swiftly move underground in the metro, where they cannot be seen on the streets, they will be invisible for a moment. Because not shortly after one of the manteros will have a peek upstairs, on the street, to see if the police are gone; if yes, they can make themselves visible on the streets again, even if it is just for a few minutes. It is a cat-and-mouse game in real life. This tension, between the manteros and the police, is visible to everyone.

The first years Gatche lived in Barcelona he was working as a mantero. These first years he did not have a legal residence permit. Many of the manteros are in the same position. They are undocumented or irregular; most of them simply overstayed their visa, which transforms their status from being legal to residing illegal (Koser, 2010). But also guys like Luki, Walter, Sely, Marty, and other West African migrants do not have the proper documentation to reside legally in Spain. This impacts their lives significantly. While those respondents who had their papers are allowed to reside legally in Spain, and thus normally do not have many problems with police, the West African respondents without documentation are more careful for getting in contact with the authorities.

Marty has been living in Barcelona for over 10 years, but still he is residing as an irregular migrant, without any documentation to reside legally in Spain. I meet him sometimes on the Rambla while his is ‘’working’’ as a promoter for coffeeshop Amnesia. When we meet we always have a talk and every time I ask him different question so that I can know a bit more about him and how life is going. It is early in the afternoon (15:40) and thus the ratio promoters/policemen is in his disadvantage because most police work during the day, therefor most promoters do their promoting-business during the night when the ratio is opposite; less policemen and more promoters. Marty tells me that he is not

89 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten really afraid of the police, but he always tries to move around them when he notices their presence. I do not know to which extend I can believe him, because when you are avoiding the police it is because you do not want to be seen by them. He explains that the work he does is not illegal; he does not sell any drugs on the street, he simply promotes, however he has been arrested some times and kept on the police office, after which he could eventually leave. I am surprised when Marty tells me that next to his promoting job he is doing a cooking course. He wants to become a cook and find a job in a restaurant somewhere. This course is being offered by the municipality, I do not understand and thus he gets his wallet to show me the card of the municipality to explain to me better. On the moment he was showing me this card two policemen come walking by and one of them looks over Marty’s shoulder to see what he is showing to me. When Marty sees me looking at something else he turns around and is directly annoyed by the policeman. Marty is quite upset and angry with the policeman and they start arguing. The policeman thought Marty was selling me drugs or other illegal goods. After the other policeman came and a friend of Marty they are fine and leave. I ask Marty why they do this. He was clearly very annoyed and told me it is always the same: ‘’because you are white and I am black’’ (Marty; 07-04-2016); ‘’ok, but we are just friends, anybody can be friends’’ (author; 07-04-2016). On that moment he shouted something to the policemen, which made them turn around and have a more intense and stronger discussion. The friend of Marty was able to come in between and finally it was over. Marty was angry and sad; I could slightly hear it in his voice, telling me that this happens again and again, always the same. All black people here in Barcelona were being affected with racism against them. I ask him how it is with white people in Africa; ‘’all happy’’ (Marty; 07-04-2016). That is one of the reasons he wants to go back, he cannot live like this, in white men’s world, in Babylonia.

For the manteros and the promoters on the Rambla getting in contact with police has become a reasonably normal affair. While I am still quite surprised, Walter and Luki make me understand that this is simply the way it is. They know the police are watching them and thus they have to be very careful. On a certain moment, after having chatted with Luki (13-04-2016) for some time I make my way towards Placa Cataluña when I hear some people shouting in my direction, ‘’hey!!’’ and ‘’ola!!’’. Within a few seconds there are four policemen standing around me, two of them in uniform, and two of them undercover (dressed casually). I feel surprised, as well as invaded and slightly insecure, because I do not know what they want from, while standing around me with four people. They quickly notice my Spanish is not good, and thus there are two of them who speak in English; ‘’what where you doing with those guys?’’ (13-04-2016). apparently they observed me talking with Luki and were suspicious, so they followed me. I explain that he is my friend and we were simply talking. The

90 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten policemen do not (want to) really believe me. They ask what Luki does, explicitly asking if he works for a coffeeshop. The way the policemen ask and mention the word coffeeshop, I answer negatively on the question. However, they still are finding a hard time to believe me and say; ‘’you are not in any trouble, just say what you were doing?’’ (13-04-2016). I try to explain the policemen again that we were just simply talking because we met frequently here on the Rambla. Then I turn around the roles of who is asking questions, and ask the policemen why they were doing this, I felt weird that someone was observing me, especially four policemen. They simply answer that it is their job. Still I am not satisfied with their answer and ask them; ‘’just because I am white and he is black you think there is something going on?’’ (13-04-2016). They do not seem to like me asking this question and quickly tell me it has nothing to do with color, after which they insist on me leaving. I return to Luki to tell what happened, he does not seem surprised or amazed, but mentions it is very normal that the police keeps watching them, and therefor he has to be careful. But, Luki continues, he is not doing anything illegal, he is not selling drugs on the street, just promoting (Luki; 13-04-2016).

It is a combination of factors which make the racism on the streets towards African migrants so visible and alive. Manteros are trying to make a living by selling products on the street, without a permit to do so. Promoters are on the streets trying to make people come with them to coffeeshop or party clubs, without a permit to do so. Both groups consist of a majority of African migrants, of which many are residing illegally in Spain. When black guys are seen doing illegal business the police knows who to observe and keep controlling. However, both groups do not like to do this job, they have to, in order to survive. Khosravi (2010) argues that most of the illegal migrants try to stay away from crowds and public places. They would avoid the city center, especially during the day. During the night they would prefer to stay indoors in order to remain invisible, unless they had to go out for work. This can be partly related to the West African migrants in Barcelona. Many times I met the coffeeshop promoters on the Rambla during the late evening or night, because then the police control would be less as during the day. However, the manteros sold their products to tourists mainly during the day, and thus they had to appear in public crowded places in broad daylight. They prefer to be invisible in Spain, but to make money, they have to get out of the shadows and get visible by the work they do. A handful of respondents told the story that they had been arrested by the police and taken to the office, to spend the night in jail. They would tell me this with a slightly frustrated face, but in a way that everybody had once experienced this, like it was reasonably normal. For those West African respondents with legal residence papers would eventually not had to worry being evicted out of the country. However for those residing illegally this would be a different story, but

91 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten just a few of the respondents spoke about the fact they could be sent back to their home country after being arrested for the job they were doing. Most of the West African respondents in this study work in the informal labour economy, because the jobs they can get is determined by a conjunction of nationality, ethnicity, gender, age, and especially important, their legal status; if you lack your papers you are placed at the bottom (Khosravi, 2010). They have no legal existence, solely physical. Because they are living at the bottom of the society they live in, the feel excluded and oppressed. Some of the West African respondents have named the word ‘’racism’’, racism against them for being black and coming here to work. It is a difficult situation, because the work they do is not really allowed by the authorities. This makes them being suppressed. Furthermore, police knows that the majority of manteros and promoters are black, which makes any black person suspicious.

All West African respondents with whom I discussed the topic of racism say it is alive and felt by them. Especially those who do not have the correct set of documents to reside legally in Spain feel their presence, as illegals, is not appreciated in Barcelona. From my own experiences, from simply talking to my respondents, I noticed that authorities are more suspicious with black people roaming the streets. For many of the migrants a way to avoid control is to stay hidden and become invisible, however, for the work they have to do to survive they need to step into the danger zone where they can be seen. Because they do not have the ‘’correct’’ set of papers, including the right nationality and legal residence paper, many West African migrants are placed at the bottom of society, in which they cannot find a way out except for doing informal labour practices.

5.5 ‘’Political Slavery’’

From time to time I take myself to the park de la Ciutadella, because I know that there are quite some West African migrants spending time there, especially during the weekend. However I prefer to go there during the week, so it is easier for me to get into a deeper conversation, as in the weekend it is too busy and the guys are busier with each other. As I elaborated in chapter 3 ‘’Business in the park’’ I met with Lami from the Gambia. A very easy-going relaxed guy who is not that present on the forefront, but more comfortable on the background. I sit down with him, and we start to talk like we know each other for long time, and do this every weekend. Next to Lami there is Sam, a friend of him, also from the Gambia.

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Just before Lami was telling me about how much he would like to go back eventually, because in Africa life is better, also due to the European system. The conditions he faces here are more difficult to handle; including his family and friends who are still living in the Gambia which does not make it easier. So I ask him if he thinks the European system is a Babylon system, because some other respondents tell me so.

‘’It is the Europe political system which is bad, maybe it is Babylon System yes’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016).

I can clearly see that his emotions are getting expressed, his facial expression changes from being in a relaxed mode to a more worrying face and thus I ask if he is annoyed by this. Lami keeps very calm, as he always is, and says it is not like this but ‘’when you look . . . (he waits a second) . . . they don’t want African people to be free’’, and continues after he swallows and starts to shake his head:

‘’it’s a mental slavery; a political slavery’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016).

While Lami just shows a hint of his worrying emotions on this topic and keeps extremely calm, his friend Tova cannot do the same and yells directly after Lami finished his words: ‘’YES, political slavery!!’’ (Tova; 28-05-2016).

In the song ‘’Babylon System’’ Bob Marley sings about the life of the black people who have been suppressed by the ‘’white’’ powers for centuries, having its roots in the Atlantic slave trade. Of course when Bob Marley made the song, back in 1979, the slave trade was forbidden, however the suppression of the African people had remain. In this sense it did not change that much at all. The physical slavery did disappear, but the mental- and political slavery, as Lami and Tova call it, survived and still exists.

The perceptions of seeing the black Africans as ‘’others’’ has deep and persistent historical roots, including the legacy of the slave trade and colonialism write Grillo and Mazzucato (2008). Their powers are still present in the former colonialized countries, this keeps the Babylon System continuing to stay alive and only grow. Extending the EU external border to the countries were the West African migrants originate from makes the freedom to move a political issue, and actually enslaves migrants to stay put. Slavery is a big word, and maybe not the correct term for addressing this problem, however it mentally affects the African people who do seek the opportunity to migrate. Their rights to move have been gradually stripped from them, and thus by means of EU politics, are very restricted in their mobile abilities, especially for migrating to Europe.

In the conversation I had with Ezemiguel (15-04-2016), the spokesperson of Espacio Inmigrante, it appears that many people who go to the collective have problems with mobility restrictions. He

93 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten explains that it first of all depends on where they set foot on European soil and thus the country they should officially ask for asylum or residence permits, and it depends on what kind of paper they receive. In the case of Spain people can receive three different kind of permits: 1) to only stay in Spain and not move around in the EU; 2) to reside in Spain, be able to travel to other countries, but not allowed to work there; 3) being able to work and reside in any EU Schengen member state. Most of the West African respondents have a number 2 paper, none of them has a number 3 paper; this is too exclusive. Many migrants are afraid that when they will move in the EU illegally they will get arrested and put in a detention center or in the worst case, send back to the country of origin. Espacio Inmigrante tries to reach those who are called the ‘’invisible’’, who are brutalized by the system and about whom nobody is talking, just because they do not have or cannot get the right papers. ‘’You exploit their lands, you force them to For most migrants it is extremely difficult to obtain a emigrate, you shoot them at their borders, you mutilate them with sharp sticks, you number three residence permit. This mainly depends on lock them up in CIE (Spanish detention where you come from says Ezemiguel, he in fact centers), you put them on the edge of death . . . and when they protest . . . you migrated from Argentina, and got his paper easier; call them violent’’; the faith of African migrants. Retrieved from Espacio ‘’people from ‘’white’’ countries get it way more easy’’ Inmigrante’s facebook. (Ezemiguel; 15-04-2016).

Walter is facing this problem; he wants to have an international passport, an European passport. His Nigerian documents do not fit this picture. He does not like to talk about this issue, I can notice it, and however, he keeps very calm. It does not make him angry or annoyed whatsoever, and he just replies: ‘’its faith, its destiny, it’s not my fault’’ (Walter; 15-04-2016). I feel quite stupid; I wanted him to react in a different way. I wanted Walter to be angrier with the injustice he is living with, because he is black and from Africa.

It is indeed not Walter’s fault; freedom of movement differs depending on nationality, political decisions, and inter-state relations, writes Zapata-Barrero (2013). The fact is Walter’s country is on the ‘black’ list of the European Union. The EU has composed a so-called ‘white’ Schengen list and a ‘black’ Schengen list (See Annex 2, European Council, Common List, Council Regulation 539/2001). This list clearly shows which national citizens need a visa to be able to enter the EU. While the ‘white’ list only exists out of 60 out of 195 countries, mainly from Western countries, the ‘black’ list exists

94 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten out of a larger part, 135 out of 195 countries, which include all West African nations. This list has made an unambiguous di-visionary borderline on the planet (Van Houtum, 2010), separating those who are welcome and those who are not. And thus the EU unjustly discriminates people, in terms of access, by their country of origin. This shows the desire to control and reclaim space, power, and identity, which makes the EU, in the words of Van Houtum, a border machine (2010, p. 964). It regulates who is considered legal input and who is considered unwanted input, and thus a threat to the Babylon System, hence redundant and deportable people, or how Bauman would describe them, as ‘’wasted lives’’ (2004). Even if they succeed to enter the fortress Europe, the EU still relies on old methods of using detention centers and camps, which keeps the migrants in quarantines (Shamir, 2005). The drawing of borders, how the EU does by making a list like this, is related to the European domination, which already existed in its colonial past (Zapata-Barrero, 2013), and thus has only changed in its appearance, but not in its core.

‘’Babylonian people (Europeans) want us to hate ourselves’’ (Danny; 07-04-2016).

Danny is pretty pumped up when we are discussing this topic. We are sitting on the square (Placa de Sant Josep) behind the famous market La Boqueria which is located at the Rambla. First we were both sitting but after some time Danny stood up to be able to use his body language better. Danny is not a stupid guy, he knows quite a lot and that is why I really enjoy talking with him. Sometimes he is a bit exaggerating. He explains to me that ‘’everything comes from Africa’’ (Danny; 07-04-2016). It is not just his own country, Nigeria, which is so resourceful, but every country in Africa has these natural treasures. Look at the Gambian resources, he takes as an example, 80% of it is shipped off to France. I do not know if it is true, but I do believe that these practices are still happening. Danny continues and explains that actually 50-80% of all African resources are taken away;

‘’modern colonialism today; white superiority’’ he calls it (Danny; 07-04-2016). When I ask him if he really believes that white people still feel superior, he gets really active and almost yells to me that ‘’yes’’, he does. Especially here in Europe white people do not like blacks at all, they prefer Arabs above them. Even though what happened in Paris and Brussels, they prefer Arabs more, and Danny cannot explain why. ‘’Everybody should have the same rights. Everybody is equal’’ (Danny; 07-04- 2016).

Everybody should be equally treated; however, it does not happen. As explained before, Bauman (2000) mentions that freedom of movement and power are intertwined, and with these privileges come certain rights. EU citizens have more power, more freedom to move, and more rights. Their travels are encouraged; the freedom of movement within the EU Schengen member-states is

95 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten encouraged. ‘’Traveling for profit is encouraged’’, while ‘’traveling for survival is condemned’’ (Bauman 2002: p. 82. It is because the EU society is a Babylon system society which is based on consumerism. Everybody has to consume in order to really live, and if you are not able to consume, you do not belong here, in the EU. Bauman writes that the people who are unable to consume but still try to enter are ‘’purely and simply fenced off without having been asked their consent, barred access to yesterday’s commons, arrested, turned back and facing a short sharp shock when blundering into the off-limits regions’’ (1998: p.21).

For them it is almost impossible to enter the EU without papers, while for many EU-citizens the new enjoyment of travelling exists out of moving without papers. ‘’some of us enjoy the new freedom of movement sans papiers. Some others are not allowed to stay put for the same reason’’ (Bauman, 1998: p. 87).

West African migrants experience a Babylon system in Europe which works with a sense of Political slavery. It makes the migration of West African migrants extremely difficult, especially when a list has been made on which a clear division in ‘’black’’ and ‘’white’’ countries, it not only emphasizes the borders of the EU, but actually makes a di-visionary borderline over the entire planet (van Houtum, 2010). European domination over the world has only changed in its appearance (Zapata-Barrero, 2013), but not in its core; a kind of slavery still exists. All the West African respondents who talked about this issue felt that their power is undermined and suppressed by white supremacy, while everybody should have the same rights.

5.6 Migration is Life

Via Facebook I found the small organizations/collectives I heard or had been before, like Sindicato, Casa Solidaridat, and Espacio Inmigrante. I followed them here and so got to hear of this event at the Goethe Institute in Barcelona. The Goethe Institute is a German NGO in order to promote international cultural cooperation. This week there would be all different kind of seminars, lectures, and workshops under the subject of ‘’right to move’’/’’libertat de movimiento’’ (23-05-2016).

One seminar especially grabbed my attention, that one of Toni Serra (a.k.a. Abu Ali), and individual video maker/artist, as he was introduced. He has done projects about all different issues, and this time about the right of movement, but with special focus on the border as a center ‘’La Frontera como Centro’’ (23-05-2016). The border is not just a line in the sand, ‘’it implies a way of crossing borders’’ Toni says. The current situation is a worrying one, there are being many violations of human

96 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten and civil rights. These violations are conducted and created by citizens who do not want others to enter ‘’their’’ country. ‘’There is a constant aggression in social and political terms’’ Toni explained. The problem is the Capitalist system (Toni; 23-05-2016), which justifies the way of consuming of many, and the violation of rights for the many others. In this system borders have a central position.

Toni explained that the Southern European external borders geographically lie in Spain, Italy, and Greece; however, the feeling of the European border starts way before. Due to the lucrative deals made between the EU and migration-transit countries in the north of Africa, like Morocco and Libya, but also lately with Turkey, the feeling and existence of the EU border is gradually extending (Toni; 23-05-2016). And this is the system what the EU obtains; usage of the borders.

While ‘’everything is in constant movement, all living things’’ (Toni; 23-05-2016), this system of borders and bordering denies people to move. Bauman (1998) discussed the same issue and stated that in the prospect of mass migration it will be extremely difficult to, without feeling guilty, deny migrants their right to go where they see future opportunities. Furthermore, to advance in providing migrants with convincing rational arguments that migration is a dreadful decision to take, is an immoral thing to do by those who want to stop migrants.

‘’One needs to deny the others the self-same right to freedom of movement which one eulogizes as the topmost achievement of the globalizing world and the warrant of its growing prosperity’’ (Bauman 1998; p. 76).

Toni called the western civilization the civilization of death, because while everybody says it is the best, the most developed and modernized, it kills many people and destroys most of Mother Nature. The Babylon System is only good for those who live in it, for the EU citizens. While everybody and ‘’everything is in constant movements, all living things’’ (Toni; 23-05-2016), to make people stop moving, stop them from migrating, means stopping them to live, because as Toni said:

‘’migration is life’’ (Toni; 23-05-2016).

While migration is related to life, borders are related to death Toni elaborated; this is an ontological way of thinking about borders, death as the ultimate border (Zapata-Barrero 2013). In an interview with Van Houtum (08-08-2015, De Volkskrant) he argues that a civilization can be recognized by its borders, meaning that you show the outside world who you are by your behavior at the borders; that is what determines your identity. If you have any ideal of civilization, you should make it visible for others. Looking at the European external borders, it is clearly visible that the EU’s identity in the sense of borders is a harsh one.

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Today no one in our world feel responsible; we have lost a sense of responsibility for our brothers and sisters . . . the culture of comfort, which makes us think only of ourselves, makes us insensitive to the cries of other people, makes us liv in soap bubbles which, however lovely, are insubstantial; they offer a fleeting and empty illusion which results in indifference to others; indeed, it even leads to the globalization of indifference. In this globalized world, we have fallen into globalized indifference. We have become used to the suffering of others: it does not affect me; it does not concern me; it is none of my business. (Pope Francis, 8 July 2013 during his visit to Lampedusa, writes Bauman, 2015). The EU tries to exclude the view, the smell, and the sound of the migrants who try to reach Europe. Every day people see the pictures of death people on the shores of the European external borders, or capsized boats with hundreds of people drowning. European citizens got insensitive to this suffering of others as Pope Francis (see above) mentions. Most people try not to care about those ‘’others’’ from beyond the wall. Migrants without the right documentation live in an in-between space, being stuck in limbo, without possibility to move anywhere legally. However, no matter how high the wall between where the migrants are and where they want to be, migration will continue. Migrants adapt to the new rules, invent personalities or misidentify themselves by throwing away their papers, zig- zag their ghostly ways into the EU (Van Houtum, 2010). Many try to cross the borders illegally to which most of them will disappear in the arrived Babylon society as someone who does not want to be seen by authorities. They live their lives without any real freedom; trying to survive.

Concluding remarks

Babylon, or the ‘’Babylon System’’, is crucial in understanding the way West African migrants try to survive in Barcelona, and in greater extend, in the European Union. The song of Bob Marley (‘’Babylon System’’) creates a good understanding of how he explains the suppression by white superior powers on the black people. The respondents’ vision on this concept is very similar, however they explain that to be part of the Western society money is a necessity; if you do not have it, you are not important. You may be even seen as a threat to the security, welfare, and identity of Europe (Bauman, 2015). Because West African migrants are no Europeans, they are ‘’other’’, strange, and thus a threat, which due to media discourses is only reinforced. The EU therefor has the oppressive need to protect themselves from West African migrants, which makes Europe a kind of gated community (van Houtum and Pijpers, 2007).

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Babylon is not just something Bob Marley sings and about West African migrants laugh a bit about when asking. No. It is felt by them. Most of the West African respondents turned serious when addressing this topic and asking about the way it makes them feel. They feel powerless and like the system is against them. This can be felt in the way how extremely difficult it is for them to find a legal long-term job. Some would argue that they are feel like they are being controlled; not only here in Europe, but it already starts in Africa. Babylon is alive, and not appreciating their presence within it.

All of the West African respondents with whom I discussed racism say it is still present in their lives. This is especially felt by those who are residing illegally in Spain. They feel their presence in Barcelona is not welcome. While the police and other local authorities know that black migrants often find themselves on the streets doing informal practices, they are way more suspicious with them. To avoid the control of police, migrants try to stay hidden and turn invisible. However, they need to survive, which includes making money on crowded public places where they can often be seen. West African migrants, especially those without legal residence permit, are placed at the bottom of society. They do not find other ways of survival as doing informal practices, which again makes them suspicious towards police.

To many West African respondents Babylon is based on a sense of political slavery. The European domination over the world has only changed in its appearance, but not in its core practices (Zapata- Barrero, 2013). The respondents who talked about these issues mentioned that they feel undermined and suppressed, while we are all human and should have the same rights. The issue of political slavery can be made very clear by the European Council list on ‘’black’’ and ‘’white’’ countries (van Houtum, 2010); which divides the world by making one large borderline on those countries who need- or do not need a visa to enter the European Union. Obviously, all West African countries are on the ‘’black’’ list. This makes the mobility of West African migrants very restricted, while everything is in constant movement and migration is life (Toni; 23-05-2016).

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Chapter 6 – Survival

Introduction

West African migrants do not live in Barcelona, they try to survive; all respondents would argue so. Survival can be described as the way West African migrants try to mentally and physically keep strong and continue living in Babylon; not only for themselves, but in many cases also for their family in Africa (see Chapter 1 for elaborate explanation ‘’Survival’’). This chapter elaborates on the survival aspect of the West African respondents in Barcelona. The previous chapters explained the background and context of the West African respondents, the migration aspect and the West African migrant’s elaboration on Babylon, which is crucial to understand the way they survive in Barcelona. For most of the respondent in this study the survival is not solely for themselves. Many were trying to make money in all different ways in order to keep living, but also in order to send money back home. They survive for their bigger family. This has been one of the main motivations to leave their home country, so that they could help their family in their country of origin. The survival of West African migrants is very hard and problematic. Finding a job and making money is extremely difficult in the current situation, especially for those who do not reside legally in Spain. It is a vicious cycle; without a legal residence paper no job, and without a job no legal residence paper. Of the 19 in-depth interviews with West African migrants, six were living illegally in Barcelona; as clandestino. The song ‘’Clandestino’’ of artist Manu Choa explains the way West African migrants enter the ‘’heart of Babylon’’. I will explain the meaning of the song, which relates in almost all aspects with the life of some of my respondents. In the remaining part of the chapter I will elaborate on the aspects which help the West African migrants surviving in Barcelona. What helps all West African migrants to relief their burden and put their thoughts on something else is their religious belief. It does not only make people of their same background and society come together, but it also creates a kind of mental support to keep surviving. Except from the West African migrants’ religious belief, music is a major component which helps them. Some solely listen to it, whereas, a handful of the respondents made their own music in order to find the happy-sad feeling of making music while singing autobiographical lyrics which explains their life towards- and inside Babylon. They can put their thoughts, feelings and emotions in there; which makes those West African migrants who engage in making music cope mentally better with the survival in Barcelona.

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This chapter creates and understanding of the survival of West African migrants and the aspects which help and keep them surviving in Barcelona.

Sobrevivir no es un delito!!

24-05-2016

‘’Sidil Libertat, Sidil Libertat!!’’ (free Sidil, free Sidil); I hear people screaming when I just finished talking with Yki on the Rambla. Up on the Rambla from Placa de Catalunya I see a crowd of people (+/- 250) walking down towards the market La Boqueria. Most of them are black, but also Pakistani- looking men and some Spanish are included. I do not recognize any people until I see a group of people I remember from the meetings I attended at the Espacio Inmigrante and the Casa Solidaridad. Of course I am interested in what is happening and so I walk with them towards the San Jaume square. While walking many people at the sides of the street or in the shops are looking what is happening. Of course; a few hundred black people walking and shouting down the street with signs and microphones, there is something going on. Most of the people at the side of the street directly take pictures/videos of this The manifestation on the Rambla with signs stating ‘’free manifestation. Many people stay inside the Sidil’’; ‘’no humans are illegal’’; and ‘’it’s not a crime to survive’’. Picture by author (24-05-2016) store, stop where they are, or are moving out of the street; there is not much joy on their faces, more astonishment, like ‘’what is happening here?’’. Once we arrive at San Jaume square the people make half a circle and sit down on their knees or squat in front of the Barcelona city hall. There is quite the amount of policemen present. Also the special force police with a couple of police vans have joined the party. The people are mainly screaming ‘’Sidil Libertat’’, however, sometimes the sentence ‘’Policia Racista’’ is shouted too.

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When I am looking around the people who are present I am surprised to see Roger behind me. I ask him if he thinks this manifestation will do any good for the migrants participating. But Roger replies very pessimistic: ‘’they are being used. Nothing will happen, this won’t work’’ (Roger; 24-05-2016). After having another look around the people that are present I miraculously find Lamba. I did not expect him here. He is standing a bit at the back, with his hands across each other, in a passive mode. I ask him why this is happening. He tells me that a migrant, called Sidil, attacked the police and now is in jail; therefor the people do this manifestation, for Sidil’s release (Lamba; 24- 05-2016). In the front of the crowd there is a microphone instillation where people can come forward and say something to the whole group. One of the speakers talks about Africans being humans, like everybody else, and not animals. Most of the speakers receive loud applause when telling their story Sitting and listening to the speakers at the Placa de Sant Jaume. There is a banner on the city hall which says or opinion about the issue. Then I see ‘’Refugees welcome’’, while many migrants manifest. Picture by author (24-05-2016) Gatche, I am quite surprised, but then again, he walks around in the city center the whole day. I also ask him what is going on. Gatche tells me a slightly different version as the one Lamba told me. Sidil is a Senegalese migrant who defended himself against the police, and got arrested for fighting back. Now he is in jail, Gatche explains, and the people here want justice for him, because it is not fair what happened to him. Maybe it’s the drop which flooded the bucket, the arrest of Sidil, and now this manifestation is to show the injustice happening to the migrants in general; ‘’this is life’’ Gatche says (Gatche; 24-05-2016). While many signs, written down on carton or white blankets, state ‘’Sidil Libertat’’, others tell ‘’Sobrevivir no es un delito’’ which means ‘’it is no crime to survive’’. It is not the first time I read these writings or signs; it is one of the main sentences used by the Senegalese manteros and also got mentioned by Espacio Inmigrante and in Casa Solidaridad. Since when is it a crime to try to survive, because that is what these migrants do. The manifestation ends very peacefully with all people praying on the square. It was mainly about the arrest of Sidil but actually about so much more. After months and years of surviving, being oppressed by the European system and having been portrayed as possible threats, these migrants now showed themselves on the street with full strength. They made themselves very visible to everybody; maybe that is why most outsiders were so astonished.

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6.1 Strive to Survive

Migrants live from the street. They take what the street has to offer them by means of opportunities for making money; the manteros try to sell their products to the tourists, many women walk the streets at night, offering their bodies for pleasure, and the promoters try to get people into party clubs or coffee shops; it all happens on the street, in order to survive. They survive by ‘’hassling’’ or ‘’doing small business’’; this can include a wide range of practices which are most often situated in a grey- or illegal area. Akyeampong (2000: p. 207) says ‘going abroad to ‘’hustle’’ is the stuff of popular culture’. Africans do it, and they know how to do it. By means of their experiences in Africa they learned the art of ‘making do’ in whatever situation they find themselves, and this skill is taken, and often used, wherever they go (Grillo & Mazzucato, 2008).

Most of these practices are illegal, and being generally practiced by illegal migrants. Because jobs with real contracts are already very difficult to obtain by West African migrants who have a legal residence permit, for those who are living illegally in Barcelona getting such a job, is seen as impossible. Of the 19 respondents I had been able to interview in-depth; six were living in Barcelona without legal residence permit. Of these six none had a legal job with a contract. They came to Barcelona due to social ties and/or the belief there would be opportunities for getting a job and thus a better life. However, the only job they could find was in the illegal sector, on the street; there they could try to survive. Promoting is not directly illegal, neither is the existence of a coffeeshop; however, most of the promoters I met on the Rambla promote their coffeeshop by trying to take people there, without a permit to being doing this, which makes it illegal.

Pose, one of the promoters I met on the Rambla, always looks quite dashing; with a jacket, a colorful shirt, nicely cut hair, and a smile on his face. I meet and talk with him regularly on the Rambla while he is actually ‘’working’’; doing his promoting. Before he was neglecting me a bit, but who can blame him, I intrude him when he is trying to make some money, to be able to survive. Therefor every time I see him I ask him just a few questions. Normally I ask with the same questions like ‘’how are you doing’’; or ‘’how is business?’’, this time (Pose; 25-04-2016) I ask Pose ‘’how is work going?’’. He looks at me a bit suspicious and then says slightly irritated: ‘’work? This is not work, this is survival’’, and he continues his argumentation by saying ‘’I am a streethooker’’. I can see that Pose’s facial expression which shows signs of sad- and angriness.

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We met another time (Pose; 15-04-2016); I asked him how his family and friends would react if they know what his doing. Pose is in fact a very Christian person, who told me his migration trajectory could be compared with that of the biblical story of Abraham. Abraham was told by God to leave his country, and thus he left from current Israel to Egypt. However, Pose left Nigeria for the ‘’Promised Land’’ of Europe. And now Pose is promoting coffeeshops, something against his religious belief. Pose tells me that he does not like to be promoting coffee shops, but he does not have a choice: ‘’I am ashamed of doing this, smoking is bad, weed is bad, and what do I do? I take people to smoke; that is bad’’. He would be in serious problems if his family would know. But does not have a choice, for Pose this is the only way to make some money, to live from hand to mouth. ‘’I need to survive’’ Pose continues; ‘’if I could promote something else, like my church, I would be happy to do it, talking with people about church and taking them there, taking them to something what I love, but promoting coffee shop is just for survival’’. Promoting for his church would be voluntarily and thus Pose could not live by doing that, in order to survive he has to do the ‘’streethooker’’-work he does not want, but pays.

While Pose is trying to survive by promoting there are plenty of people on the street begging for money so they can keep living. Another time I met with Pose (30-03-2016) a Syrian beggar walks towards to both of us and ask for money for his family. He is holding a picture of him with his two kids and wife. I follow Pose’s lead, and thus we both do not react too much. The beggar keeps insisting to give him something, but on certain moment Pose shakes his head and looks angry, so the man leaves. Eventually because of this incident, Pose start talking quite emotional: ‘’it does pain in my heart, to see that much beggars’’, pointing at the Syrian man, but also beggars in Barcelona in general. ‘’People suffer on the streets, here and there’’, he explains and continues by saying that it is not fair how life is divided. While some people die every day, others have billions of dollars, why do they not help each other.

‘’How can you be sitting there Telling me that you care - That you care? When every time I look around, The people suffer in the suffering In every way, in everywhere.’’ (Bob Marley; ‘’Survival’’)

People around Pose and me, in Barcelona, are suffering on the streets. Maybe Pose is also one of them. He dresses fancy and looks healthy, but he is suffering inside by the shame of promoting

104 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten coffee shops, doing a job he does not want to do. The other promoters do not have it easy either, Walter and Luki also are trying to survive on their own way. Many times I met with Walter he told me he is so hungry, and that he does not have food at home, just some soup; ‘’I live from hand to mouth’’ (Walter; 16-04-2016), meaning that he currently lives on the short term, the money he makes will be spend on food, rent or other stuff. He does not have a long term financial plan (yet). Pose, Luki and Walter, they all find their own way of survival; in their insecure lives without the right documentation and papers they have to do like this. They have to use the street as means for survival. This makes their lives very insecure, because sometimes they earn enough for paying rent, buying food, and even sending some money back home; however it is a day to day struggle. Sometimes they make money, but sometimes nothing. ‘’It’s a world that forces lifelong insecurity’’ (Bob Marley; ‘’Survival’’). In the European system they do not life a secure life, because of the lack of right documentation and thus not being able to find a fixed job with contract. The EU forces them to live an insecure life.

Even though they live an insecure life Danny says a black man does not give up (Danny; 07-04-2016), they will continue. They will strive to survive. He explains that while European people would rather commit suicide than beg or sell stuff kneeled on the street, African people continue to survive. To take your own life is the luxurious easy way out Danny says. And even though ‘’Here in Europe the Europeans want us to hate ourselves, they try to don’t care about you, so you will leave, or kill yourself’’, but suicide is no option. He is one of the survivors, one of the black survivors:

‘’We're the survivors! Yes, the Black survivors!’’ (Bob Marley; ‘’Survival’’)

And Danny is not just surviving for himself. He tells me that he needs to take care of many people back home in Nigeria (13-05-2016). It is not solely survival for himself and his family here, but also for his mother, his aunt and her children, and his brother. They rely partly on what Danny is able to send them. I ask him if it feels like an obligation to do so, but he declines. However, when I ask if it feels like a problem to him, he agrees: ‘’yeah, I don’t just take care of my life, but of all my family, my bigger family’’ (Danny; 12-05-2016). He cannot just think about himself, otherwise he would have been able to start and maybe finish his study in engineering here in Barcelona. But no, he sends quite a lot of money back to his family in Nigeria. I explain Danny that in the EU people mostly think only about their closest family not that extended. But he cannot help it; ‘’that is the African mentality’’ to help your extended family and thus send money back to Nigeria; ‘’otherwise I would live a good life here’’ (Danny; 13-05-2016).

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Danny is just one example of the many West African respondents who not solely needed to take care of their own lives, but also for (part of) their family back home. Grillo and Mazzucato (2008) elaborate on this issue stating that some families oblige their family members to live across multiple sites. This represents a choice for which they explicitly choose, which could Maykoimize their income or reduce economic costs by spreading themselves across different locations (Stark & Lucas, 1988).

Most of the guys I spoke to have the feeling they want to survive on their own, without too much help from other people; they do not want others to pity them and treat them as beggars who cannot do it on their own. They are strong black man, who will take care of themselves. Sely for example, he is currently living at his sisters place, but told me that as soon as he has enough money he want to get his own place, he wants to take care of himself. It is a bad thing to be living from your sister. The same for Luki, he does have his own place, but before, when he arrived in Barcelona, he got money from his sister and her husband who live outside of Barcelona. Also he got clothes and shoes from them. Both guys were lucky to have relatives already living here who could help them with some basics; however, surviving is to be able to take care of yourself at least. On a certain moment in live they cannot depend on others too much anymore, they have to make their own living. Like Yegge’s dad told Yegge once he was 18. Yegge told me that his father explained to him that when you are 18 and thus a grown up man, you have to survive on your own, so no more money from your parents. After 18 years it is time you give them something back (Yegge; 20-06-2016). Yegge left his parents’ house and started working in the port city of Sant Louis (Senegal) to survive on his own and send money back to his parents. One day Yegge took a boat from Sant Louis to the Canary Island in order to finally arrive on the Spanish mainland and thus the European continent.

Most of the respondents do not directly see it as an obligation, but feel the need to send remittances back to family in their home country. This makes the survival of West African migrants in Barcelona very difficult. However, also the status of the individual migrants affects the way they are able to life and survive in Barcelona. For those who have a legal residence finding a job and making means end is already difficult, so imagine for those respondents who are residing illegally. Both groups are engaged with each other in the everyday life, as I observed in the daily practices of my respondents; besides they also connect with Spanish citizens as well. Coutin (2000; in De Genova 2002) mentions that their illegality may be irrelevant to most of their day-to-day activities; it only becomes an issue in certain contexts. Their ‘’illegality’’ is a juridical status that entails a social relation to the state, which often is seen as something criminal (De Genova, 2002). These views on illegal migrants are responsible for the everyday forms of surveillance and repression many of the respondents felt; not every day, but in certain contexts or moments. For example when some of the

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West African respondents work on the Rambla as coffeeshop promoter, they are very careful and tend to avoid the police as much as possible. Mainly due to the fact that they can get stopped and searched in front of everybody on the street; this makes them feel ashamed and embarrassed. Sely, who just started working as a promoter, elaborates on this issue that after he got stopped and searched by the police once he is now afraid to go to work again. When I meet the guys (27-05-2016) both Walter and Sely are clearly annoyed. They explain that the police stopped them because they thought Walter and Sely were doing coffeeshop business. The police interrogated them, however, they could not prove anything and thus after half an hour both guys got their ID back and left. The next day I meet with Sely and ask him about the experience of the day before. He elaborates he felt really embarrassed: ‘’I feel ashamed by that, all people see me, I didn’t want to work on the street for that evening’’ (Sely; 28-05-2016). However, he is not able to find another job; ‘’when you don’t have document, no work’’, Sely explains. But he needs to do the promoting, to be able to survive for himself, and for his family back home; ‘’need to assist my mum’’; ‘’and here I can assist her better by sending money’’ (Sely; 28-05-2016).

Most of the West African migrants have been living in Barcelona for some time now, but many of the respondents still did not incorporate into the new social group or society. They try to find a group of their own countrymen or people within the same social group, as Lutterbeck (2013) mentioned. For many of the West African respondents, it was the social ties which led them to Barcelona. Within these social ties they get familiarized with social groups and communities known from their home country. As elaborated upon before (see chapter 5) the way West African migrants live their life depends on their status, which again reflects how visible they can make themselves on the streets. Being very visible in the daily life can increase the possibility of illegal migrants to get arrested; especially if they indulge themselves in illegal practices like selling products without a permit, or dealing in drugs. According to Khosravi (2010) Illegal migrants can generally be defined in three categories; overstayers who remain after their visa expires; failed asylum seekers who remain in the country after their deportation order; and people who entered the country secretly and thus are unknown (invisible) to the authorities. This last group, are those who entered in a clandestine manner. From the West African respondents in my research, there were six out of 19 who were living illegally, without any residence permit. For them surviving is extremely difficult, it is a day to day struggle.

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6.2 Life as Clandestino

Tuesday the 19th of April I give Abduhllah a call, after all I told him I would, and he seems like a guy who has a lot to tell. Abduhllah is a very big guy tall guy, a bit older (39), but occasionally has a relatively young mind. The times I spoke with him he can explain me good the questions I ask and gives me a bit of a father feeling, I feel quite safe with him. Maybe because he is so big, tall, and with his long black rastas he might scare the necessary people away from bothering him.

We meet at the Lesseps metro stop and from there we take the metro to Barceloneta, the beach. It’s the middle of April, we are not going to swim, but Abduhllah says he likes to go to the beach to clear his mind, to think, and enjoy the view of the open sea. Before entering the beach Abduhllah stops ‘’let’s buy something to drink’’ (Abduhllah; 19-04-2016), and buys some cheap whiskey for us to drink; how else can we clear our minds. There at the beach we meet Failou and some guys Abduhllah knows, one of them, an older black guy, joins us by sitting in the sand.

This is Roger. Roger is an old (+/- 60 years) man from Senegal. His dreads and beard are slowly starting to turn grey. He has been here in Barcelona for many years now, Abduhllah tells me, ‘’since the beginning of immigration’’ (Abduhllah; 19-04-2016). I started talking with Roger because he seemed like an interesting guy with a long story. Roger is a typical case; he said he feels free, however he is not; he does not make clear what he means with it and when I ask for clarification no real answer comes out. Currently Roger does not have any work; he left his family and his country, and makes me understand he does not have any obligation to anyone else. This could be the freedom he feels. Roger explains that the whole immigration is a shit game: ‘’I can’t stay anywhere. I can’t stay in Senegal, I can’t stay in Europe, where do you want me to go?’’

When Roger arrived in Spain he eventually worked as an immigration coordinator, together with the Spanish government and other institutions. He takes out a recent newspaper out of his bag and shows me the front page. There is a picture of a guy on the front of the rumpled newspaper with the text ‘’panama papers’’. I ask Roger who it is. ‘’Soria’’ he says. José Manuel Soria was a Spanish politician and businessman. He was the mayor of Las Palmas, Gran Canaria, until eventually he was elected for the national congress and even served as Spain’s minister of industry, energy and tourism from 2011 to 2016. A few days before, on the 14th of April he resigned after being linked with offshore companies in the Panama Papers (Minder, 2016; New York Times). That is why he was on the cover of this newspaper. During the time he functioned as mayor of Gran Canaria, Roger said, he had to work with him; ‘’but he is shit’’ (Roger; 19-04-2016). Roger namely worked as an immigration coordinator for the Senegalese migrating to the Gran Canaria. What he exactly did Roger did not

108 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten want to explain, but he did say it was a job in which he needed to betray his own people; the Senegalese.

I ask Roger what he is doing currently; ‘’surviving’’ he replies. ‘’this is jail, I can’t move anywhere’’. On a certain day the police came, stopped him, and took his documents and papers because they said he was illegal: ‘’they stole my documents, everything’’. Roger continues by explaining the last year he lived here (he points a place somewhere in the sand) on the beach, in a tent. I am not sure how to react, but I ask if he feels like he lives a free life.

‘’I have no chains on my feet but I am not free’’ (Roger; 19-04-2016).

At the moment he was living in the city, everywhere: sometimes on the beach, sometimes with friends, sometimes on the street. So for the time being Roger was a person without papers, without documents, living as an illegal, as a ‘’Clandestino’’.

‘’Clandestine’’ in English means ‘’kept or done in secret, often to conceal an illicit or improper purpose’’ (Oxford dictionary), which refers to the way migrants try to enter the specific country, in a secret way, around authorities and fences. In this sense the Spanish derivative of ‘’clandestine’’, ‘’clandestino’’, is the word for somebody On the Barceloneta Beach with Roger (left), Fati (green without papers, who entered- and resides shoes) and Abduhllah. Picture by author (19-04-2016) illegally the country.

On a certain moment Roger start to sing a song which is named ‘’Clandestino’’. I know the song and ask Roger: ‘’it is the song Clandestino, do you think it’s true?’’. Roger cannot agree more: ‘’yes man, I am Clandestino’’ (Roger; 19-04-2016).

Clandestino is a song from the eponymous album of artist Manu Chao. This album and song made him world-famous. Across great parts of the globe he is seen as a superstar and one of the most important musicians in the world; especially in the Latin nations, his statue can be compared to that of the Beatles and Bob Dylan combined (Cartwright; the Guardian; 2007), some even state that he is the natural heir to Bob Marley. With his guitar he plays Latin and African melodies over driving rhythms, from reggae to blues, he does it all. With most lyrics in Spanish, but also English, French, and Portuguese texts are used in his songs Manu Chao often tries to explain serious matter and concerns in his lyrics, like Clandestino, the song Roger was singing. Cartwright (the Guardian, 2007)

109 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten did an interview with Manu Chao in which he explains that the title track Clandestino is a meditation on migrants to the West. ‘’I wrote it about the border the border between Europe and those coming from poorer nations. Look around – maybe 30% of the people in this street are clandestine. It’s a decade since I wrote it, and things have gotten worse. The Berlin Wall came down and we all cheered, but now wall are going up: Palestine, the US, and the EU. Look at the number of people who die trying to cross from Africa into Europe’’ (Manu Chao, in Cartwright, the Guardian, 2007).

It is ironic to hear Roger sing the song in Barcelona, Manu Chao’s home town. While for many people the song might have just the right set of chords, rhythm and melody, for Manu Chao and many clandestinos like Roger the song has a deeper meaning. Manu Chao released the song already in 1998, but it is so relevant and the issue he sings about is still so alive. Below the Spanish lyrics of the song and the English translation.

Clandestino Clandestine

Solo voy con mi pena I come only with my punishment Sola va mi condena There comes only my conviction Correr es mi destino Running is my fate Para burlar la ley In order to deceive the law Perdido en el corazón Lost in the heart De la grande Babylon Of the great Babylon Me dicen el clandestino They call me the Clandestine Por no llevar papel 'cause I don't carry any identity papers

Pa' una ciudad del norte To a northern city Yo me fui a trabajar I went for work Mi vida la dejé I left my life behind Entre Ceuta y Gibraltar Between Ceuta and Gibraltar Soy una raya en el mar I'm a just a rake on the sea Fantasma en la ciudad A ghost in the city Mi vida va prohibida My life is prohibited Dice la autoridad Says the authority

Solo voy con mi pena I come only with my punishment Sola va mi condena There comes only my conviction Correr es mi destino Running is my fate Por no llevar papel 'cause I don't carry any identity papers Perdido en el corazón Lost in the heart De la grande Babylon Of the great Babylon Me dicen el clandestino They call me the Clandestine Yo soy el quiebra ley I'm the sellout of law

Mano Negra clandestina Clandestine Black Hand Peruano clandestino Peruvian Clandestine

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Africano clandestino African Clandestine Marijuana illegal Marijuana illegal

Solo voy con mi pena I come only with my punishment Sola va mi condena There comes only my conviction Correr es mi destino Running is my fate Para burlar la ley In order to deceive the law Perdido en el corazón Lost in the heart De la grande Babylon Of the great Babylon Me dicen el clandestino They call me the Clandestine por no llevar papel 'cause I don't carry any identity papers

Argelino, clandestino Algerian Clandestine Nigeriano clandestino Nigerian Clandestine Boliviano clandestino Bolivian Clandestine mano negra illegal Black Hand illegal

The song tells a kind of story, that of the Clandestino. He comes to enter the ‘’great Babylon’’, but get lost there, in the heart of Babylon. As explained in chapter 5, Babylon refers to the Westernized powers, and in the case of this thesis, the EU as institute and/or system. For many Babylon is used in order to make reference to the big corrupted cities as the antique city of Babylon. Manu Chao could mean the mega city of Barcelona, which according to him is corrupted and does not care about its clandestinos. The clandestino is convinced to go to the EU for finding a better life. But when he arrives the truth is different as he thought it would be. He can only run in order to deceive the law as the song tells; to get out of the authorities’ hands. Because the clandestino does not carry any identity papers, he is illegal.

He went to the north, to the EU, to find a job, make money and provide for his family in his country. He left everything behind, his whole life, his family, everything. On a certain moment the clandestino had to cross the Mediterranean Sea in order to arrive on the Spanish mainland. As explained before, in the northern tip of Morocco there is the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, where many migrants try to enter Spain. Manu Chao sings about the dangerous sea journey between Ceuta and Gibraltar which the clandestino made to enter the European mainland. This piece of sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, is also known as estrecho del muerte (strait of death), but it does not stop the clandestino from trying (Zapata-Barrero et al 2007). And now, he lives as a ghost in the city, nobody wants to deal with him, nobody cares about him, he is a nobody. ‘’Soy una raya en el mar’’, as a ray in the expansive sea, a small insignificant individual in the big Babylon world. Because he does not have the right set of documents, his life is prohibited, says the authority, he should not be here.

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In the chorus of the song Manu Chao names some countries of where most of the clandestino’s originate from; mainly the African continent, but also South America is quite common as there are many Latin American immigrants in Barcelona and Spain. Manu Chao’s song Clandestino creates a kind of empathy with the struggling Peruvians, Bolivians, Nigerians, and Africans in general with no papers, whose ‘’vida va prohibida’’; life is forbidden (Culshaw, 2013). What is also interesting to explain is the use of the word Mano Negra. This name, ‘’Mano Negra’’ (Black Hand), was Mano Chao’s old band before he focused on his solo-career. In the story of the song Mano Negra refers as the black workers who work in the shadow; ‘’Mano Negra clandestina’’. They are here illegal, thus ‘’Mano Negra illegal’’, but they do keep the industrial motor going (Sklair, 2002). Manu Chao tries to plug into a bigger picture, empathizing with the lost and oppressed.

A clandestino is stuck in a difficult situation; they remain in the host state without authorization despite having been refused asylum or complementary protection (Blus, 2013). In addition the migrants who overstayed their visas or never obtained an immigration permission are considered to be residing illegally. Terms like ‘’illegal’’, ‘’undocumented’’, ‘’unauthorized’’, ‘’clandestine’’ are used in literature to describe these migrants and the situation they are in. Blus (2013) explains that the term ‘’illegal’’ might be problematic because in this context it contributes to the construction of unauthorized stay or border crossing as criminal offences and so the imaging of the migrant as an ‘’illegal human being’’.

When you are an ‘’illegal human being’’ you find yourself in breach of immigration law writes Blus (2013). Other terms as ‘’undocumented migrants’’, ‘’migrants in an irregular situation’’, and ‘’irregular migrants’’ can be compared to it, however it is important to recognize that these categories and immigration statuses are not static and so some people find themselves in an irregular situation one day (for instance, by overstaying their visa), but are determined legal another day (by being accepted in the asylum procedure) (Blus, 2013). The migrant status can change rapidly. A migrant can enter a country on an illegal manner, however, after he can regularize his status, by applying for asylum or participating in a regularization program. On the other hand, a migrant that entered on a legal way can become illegal when he overstays his visa or work permit. To switch from a regular to an irregular status, or vice versa, can be very ease, however, when someone enters an irregular situation it can be for different reasons. It does not necessarily have to mean someone is going to work as illegal labour migrant from West Africa (Koser, 2010). It makes a difference whether someone is here as a legal- or as an illegal migrant, as a clandestino. Clandestinos, or illegal migrants, often tend to make themselves invisible to the authorities to avoid deportation writes Blus (2013), and thus also become invisible for the system and rules which are in place to protect and ensure human rights to everybody. They are vulnerable in many ways, for example they can be subjected to

112 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten exploitation in the work place (MRCI report n. 5; p. 52). If the clandestino finally finds a job he is often exploited, paid very low wages and threatened with being reported to the police if they say something or complain (PICUM, 2010). As elaborated before, in this study 19 West African migrants have been interviewed in-depth, of which six were living illegally in Barcelona, as clandestine one could say. Their status reflects on the way they are able to find a job. The West African respondents living with a legal residence permit were already having trouble finding jobs; imagine those respondents without a residence permit. For them finding a legal job was almost impossible. Most jobs require the documentation of a migrant that he/she is allowed to stay in Spain. Living your life as an illegal, a clandestino, in Barcelona is not easy, it is a survival. Perhaps an even more difficult survival as the West African migrants who are residing legally; at least they can apply for official jobs.

Some of the West African respondents had been or are still living as clandestino; this is a very difficult and hard situation for them. Trying to survive as an illegal in ‘’the heart of Babylon’’ makes a migrant very vulnerable in many ways. The song of Manu Chao, written almost more than two decades ago, is still extremely relevant in the life of West African migrants in Barcelona. It explains the way certain illegal migrants entered- and live in the heart of Babylon. For a significant part of the West African respondents in this study, their lives can be related to that of the Clandestino. Finding and getting job is close to impossible because they have no legal papers of residence, they live in breach of immigration law (Blus, 2013). This makes their lives extremely hard and troublesome.

6.3 Religious Belief

When Walter arrived in Barcelona last year he got in contact with Winners Chapel Church; a Christian church were many Nigerian nationals go to. Walter received 200 euros from the Winners Chapel church when he arrived, this money he used to settle down and start his life. When I see him put a note of five euros to the offertory during the church service, which is relatively lot especially considering he sometimes says he is quite hungry, I ask him why he gives that much money to the church. Walter explains that it is for a good cause, because it helps people who were in the same situation as he was when he arrived here. So now he wants to pay it back (Walter; 17-04-2016). Many migrants typically look for co-nationals or members of their community or (extended) family when arriving in a particular city or on their way towards a certain end-destination (Lutterbeck, 2013). In these situations, the migrant may receive help not only with temporary accommodation and work, but also with organizing their onward journey. This happened to Walter. When Walter

113 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten arrived in Barcelona he received financial aid from the Winners Chapel to start his life here. However, Walter did not only receive the money he was also welcomed in the church’s community as one of them. Now Walter goes to Winners Chapel church almost every Sunday, from 10:00-12:00, to pray and listen to what the priest has to say. Walter and Luki are Christians, like many other Nigerian promoters (Danny, Pose, Sely, Baba). When Nigeria was a British colony the Christian belief was spread over the country. After Nigeria got officially independent in 1960 the British influences faded away, however, the Christian belief and religion remained with the Nigerian people; more than half (58%) of its population is Christian (CIA, 2016). Walter believes in God; he made everything he explains, ‘’my ancestors, my parents, he made me’’ (31-03-2016). I am a bit more skeptical and explain to Walter that I do not directly believe in God and Christianity, but I do believe that the norms and values of being a Christian are good and very important to everybody, does not matter if you believe or not. We both agree on this, but Walter keeps on believing and to him many events and happenings have God as explanation.

I joined Walter and Luki on a Sunday morning to the Winners Chapel church in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat, a neighbourhood outside the city center of Barcelona. This morning the priest final speech was about a miracle. He said that this week a miracle would happen. I put it to the test and ask Walter if he truly believes a miracle will happen, just because the priest said so. ‘’yes of course, but you have to believe in it. If you don’t believe, its not going to happen’’ (16-04-2016). He knows God will help him, because with God’s help anything can happen: ‘’tomorrow will be better than Walking together with Luki in today, I pray to God’’; ‘’I pray to God for getting my documents’’. To the Florida neighbourhood after Sunday church service. me it is quite clear what he needs to do, Walter needs to go to (16-04-2016; picture by Walter, Madrid, to the Nigerian embassy to get a passport, and then ask for retrieved from Luki’s Facebook page ) a residence paper, I do not see God in this scenario. But when I say this Walter nods his head: ‘’yeah, but God can help me’’. Luki now goes to the same church as Walter, the Winners Chapel church. Before he was going to a few other churches, he even went to a Mormon church because two American women invited him to join them there. Here the church service was given via a television he explains me, with the priest on the television (Luki; 04-04-2016). Before I went with Walter and Luki to the Winners Chapel church I told Luki that I do not really believe in God. He is a bit surprised and slightly shocked, how could I not

114 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten believe in God? God saved him from everything what happened to him; when the ‘’balloon’’ (rubber boat) was taking water, slowly sinking, and the motor stopped working, it was God who fixed the hole in the boat and made the motor work again (Luki; 12-04-2016) During the church service both Walter and Luki would be praying and have total focus on the words of the priest and their thoughts. While I would sit there with my eyes open observing Walter, Luki, the priest, and the other people in the room, they would have their eyes shut, listening to the priest, praying in themselves, and raise their hands when the priest told them so ‘’say a Hallelujah’’ (16-04- 2016). A moment without worries when they are in church, only thinking about the priest’s words and read the sentences and phrases quoted from the bible which appears on the television screens. These sentences and phrases are from the bible and put on the screens by Sely. He also goes to Winners Chapel church and even works there. He stayed with his sister, and she took him there. He always had an affinity with media, so there he could do some media things by getting the text of the bible, some sentences and phrases, on the computer screens so that all people in the audience can see them. There is where he saw me before, in Winners Chapel church; ‘’yeah, well, I guess everybody saw me there, because I was the only white guy’’ I tell him (Sely; 27-05-2016). Sely laughs about it. But Sely does not only go to church to work with the computers but because God is in his everyday life. It was God that made the trip from Libya to Italy this short in time: ‘’God is there for me’’ (Sely; 28-05-2016). The boat he was on was fine, while there was another boat which left simultaneously but got some defects. ‘’I love God very much’’ says Sely.

From Pose I now know he is a strong believer in Christianity. He thinks that God is in everyone, he is always talking to you, because he is the voice inside telling you what is good, while the voice telling you what is wrong is that of the devil. Pose wants to make God great: ‘’God knows everything, he knows when you live, and he knows already when you are going to die, you cannot change nor do anything about it, God knows already’’; ‘’its God’s will’’ (Pose; 13-05-2016).

Like Walter, Luki, Sely and many others, Pose also goes to church; every Sunday. Most of the time Sunday is the day of God, so the guys would normally not go to promote on this day, it is more used to relax and clear the mind. However, on Sunday 15th of May I meet Pose on the Rambla. I ask him if he went to church today. Actually an unnecessary question, because ‘’yes, of course’’ Pose replies. I tell Pose that in the Winners Chapel church the service takes from 10:00-12:00 and ask how long it takes in ‘’his’’ church. Just one hour more, from 11:00-14:00. For me that is quite a significant amount of time to pray to God I tell him, but Pose already has his answer ready ‘’hahaha, nothing is long in the presence of God’’.

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As explained before (chapter 3), the differences between the Winners Chapel church and the Baye Fall sound-proof room are striking, so is the participation among the people present at these places. Walter and Luki at the Winners Chapel church would sit, listen to the priest, sing along with the music of the small band, and pray in themselves; a rather passive interaction. Lamba, Abduhllah, Fati and the other Baye Fall guys would drum, dance, sing, shout, sweat; very active interaction amongst each other and the higher powers they would sing for. With the hand on their ears they would sing in themselves. This would be so loud, maybe the high priest in Senegal had to hear them, and so intense that most of the guys, me included, would start sweating quite a lot. Abduhllah’s white t-shirt would start to turn transparent because of the sweat, but also Lamba’s face would get sweaty because of the high intensity, and thus the air in the small sound-proof room would smell really manly.

It impressed me in both situations. At the Winners Chapel church how obedient Walter and Luki were: listening to the priest, doing what he said, singing along, and praying in themselves with their eyes closed, while on the Rambla they would act more like tough guys, especially Walter. Two different worlds, one at church were they could think about something else in a safe community and atmosphere; on the Rambla were they needed to survive and thus be stronger.

At the Baye Fall group it was so different, just a handful of guys instead of the hundred at the Winners Chapel church. However, the few men here would give so much energy in these two hours by dancing, drumming, and singing. In such intensity I almost had not witnessed before. Not only the way the Baye Fall guys engage in the weekly get together, but also how they talked about Baye Fall in its entirety. ‘’Baye Fall Beggèèe’’; Fati would say, meaning ‘’be Baye Fall’’. Abduhllah explained me that Baye Fall not just their belief is, but it is a way of life, you have to act like Baye Fall, be- and do good. When the guys see- or meet each other and shake their hands they say Baye Fall meeting at the Centre Civic with Massou nd ‘’Baye Fall’’ or ‘’Baye Fall Beggèèe’’ to each other. (middle), Lamba (2 from right) and author (left). Picture made with author’s device. It is a token of respect to one another, to show and tell the other person this is the way their lives should be lived, in the sense of the Baye Fall. The Baye Fall group of Lamba I got in contact with was just a small part of a more extended Baye Fall community in Barcelona. On the 4th of May I saw the more extended community at the Baye Fall house in the neighbourhood Besos Mar, North-East of the city, for which Lamba invited me. Abduhllah (04-05-2016) told me that on this day Cirintouba, one of the most important Baye Fall

116 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten disciples, gets honored, a special celebration day for him. The Baye Fall house was more like an old garage from the looks of the outside, but from the inside it has been transformed into a place of gathering and worship for the Baye Fall community. The combination of Rastafari and Islam comes more forward, in an improvised place. While I need to take my shoes out to get inside, where there are people praying on the colorful carpets on the floor, some of the guys are smoking their weed just outside of the building. When I enter I need to take out my shoes because it’s a holy place. Inside there are many people, around 30. Some guys are frying dough, and there is a counter where there are a handful of women cooking. The biggest space of the place is an open area covered with carpets on the floor, like you would see in a mosque. At the wall there are many pictures of older guys, all with rastas, and there are the Baye Fall colors white and green. It looks like a space where people can pray. Some are indeed praying with their heads on the ground, going up and down. Some are talking in themselves with the black and white wooden necklace in their hands, while others are reading from religious books. I get welcomed by one of the guys who is wearing his traditional dress, and he asks if I want some coffee. The coffee is nice, I had it before at Lampe’s place and at Baye Fall, very sweet but tasty, and he offers me one of the Inside the Baye Fall house, people sitting, talking, cooking, and praying. Pictures by author (04-05- small dough-balls the men are frying; it is a 2016). crunchy sweet ball of pastry. Together with Abduhllah I sit down and I observe what is happening around me. The atmosphere is very open, and people welcome me with open arms. I did not knew that the Baye Fall community in Barcelona was this extended. The first moment I enter I feel a bit as an intruder, the only white guy in the whole place, and not dressed properly I think. Actually there are just a few guys who are dressed traditionally; some have a colorful shirt like Lampe and Abduhllah, while others are wearing their normal clothes. I do not know what to do exactly, and I notice people looking at me. But due to previous events like this, I do not feel too uncomfortable, and the fact I know some of the guys who see me as their friend, it makes me feel better. Abduhllah says that this place is paid by all the Baye Fall people, to rent it, so everybody is welcome.

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As elaborated before, Baye Fall is a group within the Islam faith. While I am in Barcelona, one of the main pillar events of the Islam, the annual Ramadan, starts. It surprises me that the Baye Fall guys do not take this so seriously, while for many Muslims it is very important to fully dedicate themselves to this event. When I was with Yegge (20-06-2016) I asked him about this, he explained me that he does not do it, and actually he never done it. He is Muslim, ‘’but that doesn’t mean I have to do Ramadan’’. Yegge is Baye Fall, and that is slightly different. It is a lot of the same as with the Islam, but a bit different; ‘’same same, but different’’ Yegge (20-06-2016) mentions. The main reason why Yegge does not devote himself to the Ramadan is because of the Barcelona/European environment. He explained that it would be very difficult here, because not many people do Ramadan in Barcelona, and there are so many distractions. In Gambia, where he is originally from, it would be way easier. Even though he does not give himself to the Ramadan Yegge is fully sure ‘’I am a Muslim, in my heart and in my mind’’, and continues his argumentation ‘’Ramadan is to show you are being Muslim with all the body, with heart, the mind, the mouth, the eyes’’ and ‘’here in Barcelona I couldn’t do that’’ (20-06-2016).

Most of the Senegalese guys from the Baye Fall group did not participate in the Ramadan this year; some had done it some years before though. However, of the Gambian guys almost everybody I spoke with is fully dedicating themselves to it. While being in the park I could see the guys spending their time relaxing, sitting, talking, and doing some small business as they call it, but they would not eat. While I was talking with Mayko (12-06-2016) he said he had to leave on a certain moment. He would slowly start preparing his food for dinner, because he was doing the Ramadan. So when it was time for dinner he wanted to start eating directly. During the Ramadan Mayko would neither eat, smoke nor drink. He was doing some business in the park, selling some marihuana, but he did not smoke it himself, not during the day in the Ramadan. During the night it was allowed, ‘’before I go to sleep’’ (Mayko; 12-06-2016). Mayko his friend, Ali, was only biting on wooden sticks during the day to keep his mouth busy with something (20-06-2016). These guys were also not Baye Fall, they were really Muslim. If I would mention that I met and talked with Senegalese guys who are Baye Fall they would laugh a bit. One of the Gambian respondents, Sam, explained me why (07-06-2016). Cirintouba, the highest priest of the Baye Fall was a really wise man he says, like a prophet, but not as great as Mohammed, ‘’that’s impossible’’. Baye Fall people indeed do not do Ramadan. According to Tova they take the easy way out, ‘’they have no obligations, don’t need to pray’’, all because Cirintouba already did this.

Sam’s friend, Lami, tells me that Cirintouba is ‘’not a prophet like Mohammed, but a big priest’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016). He explains me this with a smile on his face and frowning eyebrows, like it is something funny and slightly ridiculous. Lami, is Muslim, like 75-80% of Gambia and continues by saying that

118 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten thanks God, or Allah, for everything, ‘’I thank God for everything’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016), after all, Lami still has a job. ’’I am a real Muslim’’ emphasizing the ‘’real’’ Lami says (Lami; 28-05-2016), however he does state that he cannot say he is a good Muslim, because he smokes and drinks. He also does not go to a mosque, ‘’before I did, but now not anymore. I do pray every night before I go to sleep, I know in my heart I am a real Muslim’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016).

Most of the West African respondents try to live transnationally, being here, but also there, in their home country. Here in Barcelona they occasionally live in self-enclosed worlds. According to Grillo and Mazzucato (2008), this is a place, a kind of enslavement within and environment, where ties based on origin and religious affiliation come together; a place to feel at home. This could possibly be a response to an increasingly hostile environment, and thus it is portrayed as a safe haven where the people entering can continue to be themselves, and maintain their own social, cultural, and religious practices and identity. The opposite of enclavement is the search for, or practice of, inclusion. A handful of the respondents in this study show that they like to create a kind of combination. Being able to speak Catalan and being socially active in the host community, but simultaneously still maintain their original identity which is practiced with West African migrants of the same background. They try to combine the ‘’here’’ of Barcelona, with the ‘’there’’ of their home country (Grillo & Mazzucato, 2008).

All of the West African respondents in this study believe; most of them in Baye Fall, Islam or Christianity. This mainly depends on their nationality; the respondents from Senegal and the Gambia were more likely to be Muslim or Baye Fall, while those coming from Nigeria were Christians. The differences in belief are great; however both Christianity and Baye Fall create a kind of community in which the migrant feels at ease, and in which they can experience the feeling of home. As Lutterbeck (2013) mentioned, many migrants do indeed try to find people with the same background or from the same society. The belief makes the respondents live in a certain way, a Baye Fall way or in a Christian manner. It makes them believe that there is someone looking after them, which can help them surviving in Barcelona.

6.4 Malegría

The very first time I went to Parc de la Ciutadella was on a Saturday (16-04-2016). The park was filled with people. There was some kind of market going on; it started already all the way from the

119 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten monument the Arc de Triomf to the park. In the park itself there were many people relaxing and trying to sell some small home made products. The Thursday before Lamba and the other Baye Fall guys were talking about going here and coming together, I asked Lamba if it was ok if I would join them; but ‘’of course’’. Thus on Saturday when I entered the park and saw it was so full of people, I did not know where to start. I walked around and called Lamba, but he did not answer. Eventually I heard the same kind of drum music and singing I witnessed on Thursday, and so I followed the sound towards the people making it. Unfortunately it was not Lamba and his Baye Fall guys, but other black men hitting the drum, singing and dancing, including other participating white people. It was nice to see them joining together by dancing singing and music on this beautiful day. Finally I found Lamba, by coincidence actually; another smaller group of black guys playing music and singing were the right Baye Fall group. They were also playing music on their drums, singing and even throwing in some dance moves. There was almost no moment without music or singing. If they would stop drumming or singing themselves, there was always someone with the right music on his phone; this would mostly be somebody shouting the Baye Fall lyrics, or some reggae artists. Not just this Saturday the Baye Fall guys were there, I met them in the park quite often, especially Fati. On a weekly day Fati would be hanging out there regularly in the afternoons to do some ‘’small business’’ (trying to sell marihuana), and always there was some music Top: Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’ (purple shirt) singing in the park for the audience. Down: chilling in the playing on his phone. This music would be more park with Ibba and other guys. Pictures by author (12-06-2016) reggae-orientated with artists like Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, but so many more. Not only Fati and the other Baye Fall guys enjoyed this music, the Gambian men I met in the park, like Mayko and Lami, were avid fans of the reggae beats and singers too. They also played this music on their devices. For many of them music is an important feature in their lives. It is not just the music played, the beat, the melody, the instruments used, but also the meaning behind it with its lyrics. Like the songs explained before, ‘’Clandestino’’ or ‘’Babylon system’’, they might have a nice rhythm and sounds, but perhaps even more important they bring certain messages of their lives in music. However, it is not only the passive interaction with music;

120 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten many of the West African migrants I met are actively busy with making their own music. They write their own lyrics and songs, which in many cases portrays an autobiographic image of their lives. While many guys like Fati would play the music via their devices in there, the Parc de la Ciutadella can be considered to function as an open air playground for starting artists as well. Many times I saw and heard people singing. With an external amplifier, a microphone and some pre-made beats, most often reggae oriented, some guys would show their rapping- and singing skills. One of them is Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’. For most West African migrants I spoken with their main reason for leaving their home country and migrating to Spain was because of economic reasons; making money for themselves and their family back home. However Ibba Ibba with his own ecological grown ‘’tomba tomba’’ came to Spain to sing; ‘’I love to sing, I want food in his former house in Balaguer. to sing, but my family didn’t want me to sing. My mother and Retrieved from Ibba Sané’s facebook. father wanted me to work, not to sing’’ (Ibba; 02-05-2016). He left his family, friends and country behind to pursuit his dream of becoming an artist; a huge life changing decision. Before he came to Barcelona he worked on a pig farm close by Toledo, and after he went to Balaguer, a small city close to Lleida, where it is full with agriculture due to the exceptional fertile ground. A lot of West African migrants work there in the agricultural business, and so did Ibba, only he had his own ‘’campo’’ (piece of land). Furthermore, he told me he lived there for five years. It surprised me, because most migrants working there are seasonal workers who leave after the season and they do not have their own land. Ibba elaborates for me and says he could use this land from the ‘’jefe’’ (boss). He lived here together with his Dutch girlfriend, in a small house with their own garden producing a lot of vegetables and fruits. In addition he had a small garage where he could make

Ibba in the garage where he could work in things of iron, because that was his profession before Balaguer. Retrieved from Ibba Sané’s he left Senegal. He shows me pictures of it all, the facebook. vegetables, the fruits, the garage, the house, even his dog. Now I am not surprised anymore, but confused, and ask Ibba: ‘’looks like a good life, with a house, a ‘’campo’’, a woman. So, sorry, I don’t get it, why did you leave Balaguer to come to

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Barcelona?’’. But I could have expected the answer: ‘’to sing, I cannot make a career there. I went to Barcelona, but the Holland girl didn’t want to come with me. So I leave her’’. He explains that Balaguer is such a small city with no progress for him to become a singer, and he wants to sing. In Barcelona Ibba sings, in the park, on the street, but also in the metro; in Catalan, Spanish, sometimes French, but mostly Catalan he says. His nickname, ‘’tomba tomba’’, is derived from one of his songs in which he sings you have to ‘’tomba tomba tomba’’, try try try, in order to eventually win. Maybe because of his time in Balaguer and having grown vegetables and fruits himself he is very into ecological biological food, therefor another song is about the ‘’sabor de tomate’’, taste of the tomato. Ibba lets me hear the song and elaborates that the song is about the difference in the taste of a chemically- and ecological- produced tomato. It impresses me that he is able to make a song about these issues, but Ibba says that he is really involved in ecological products. Ibba integrated very well, he knows very good Spanish and Catalan, and while we are talking on the Rambla de Raval many people great him. Maybe because of this he got some TV promotion time on Cataluña channel 3 in the program ‘’todo humano’’. He is a local well known artist who performs everywhere in the city, but mainly in the park, on the street and on the metro. Ibba’s dream is also to become a musician, and, to get his documents. Because he has not seen his family in a long time. When I ask him what his parents now think about him trying to pursuit his dream as a musician he explains that his mum sees him singing on the internet and tells him on the phone that she likes what he does.

While Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’ sings about the taste of a tomato on relaxing laid-back reggae beats, Gatche is more like the Tupac of Raval, he sings on harder beats, rapping and spitting his lyrics. He wants to show off and likes that he has the tough-guy image; a real rapper from the ghetto. Gatche is perhaps the respondent with the most outspoken character. He prefers to be called with his artist name; G-Boy Konvict, but just G-Boy is fine. I met Gatche on the first Baye Fall meeting I attended (14- 04-2016). Some days later (22-04-2016) I call Gatche if he has some time to have a talk, yes he does, so we meet at the Rambla del Raval. He is waiting for me; it is cool to see him, and he is having a big smile, which makes me feel better. I do not know where ‘’G-Boy Konvict’’ with his gang in the Raval neighbourhood. Retrieved from Gatche he is taking me, but apparently we walk towards his Guediawaye’s facebook place, and on our way, which is just 400 meters, he meets several people. Everybody knows him, a real boy from the hood. Then he stops and enters a small door into the dark, I follow Gatche and step form the broad daylight into the darkness of his

122 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten house. When I enter my eyes have to adapt a bit to see what is going on. I guess there is no extraction, because all the smoke and smell is stuck inside. When I look around I see a few guys sitting in the living room, which is also the kitchen, which is also the entrance place, all in one. Some old couches, non-matching chairs, the kitchen is a mess, with some hot electric plates and no cupboards. There is stuff everywhere. On the television there is some Senegalese Muslim show being watched by 4-5 guys on the couches who are smoking; tabacco and some a bit of weed. I ask him if I can take a piss, he looks a bit pensive, but eventually tells me to go upstairs. While I am in search for the bathroom I see many beds and matrasses, five or six in one room. The bathroom is improvised as well, with a hose in the bathtub, however amazingly the toilet flushes.

Most of the West African respondents’ lives are orientated towards West Africa; because that is where their family, friends, belief, etc. comes from (Grillo & Mazzucato, 2008). They live a bachelor existence in multi-tenanted accommodations with other single men of the same nationality, and try to make visits to family back home once a year. So does Gatche; looking at his apartment and everyone in it I can clearly notice that he lives together with other Senegalese bachelors. They watch the Senegalese tv channel and shut themselves off in the dark away from the Barcelona city life.

When I come back downstairs I do not know where to sit down; shall I sit between some of the guys on the couch? I take a small stool and sit next to Gatche. He is having a silly discussion with one of the guys who is watching television; the guy wrote something down on the green wall with white paint; ‘’Bamba’’ apparently. I cannot read it very good, because it has been done very sloppy, and this is the issue Gatche is telling him, that nobody can read it. He even asks me on a certain moment what I think is written down, but I say I do not want to engage in the discussion; nobody else of the guys present seems to care about the discussion. After some minutes it feels a bit strange to start asking Gatche questions and make a conversation while five other guys are watching TV in the same room, but it does not stop me. Gatche ‘’G-Boy’’ likes to rap, occasionally I was present when he started to spit his lyrics out of the sudden, which was cool to hear, but he also wants to show off and likes the attention he gets. He is a boy of the street, of Raval neighbourhood, of the ghetto. While on the street he shows the people how tough and strong he is, he actually has quite a small heart. Gatche wants to know about me and the project I am doing: how I am doing and he wants to help with my project, he is sincerely interested. Furthermore, he also works for ACNUR, the Spanish UNCHR (United Nations refugee’s agency), a few mornings a week. He promotes the organization on the street to ask people if they want to help refugees in need. He makes it sound like he just does it for the money at first instance, but he explains me later that he wants to help people who are in the same situation he has been in.

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Gatche is from Senegal, and left from there by boat towards the Canary Islands. ‘’from Senegal to Spain, 9 days in the boat’’ Gatche tells me (Gatche; 22-04-2016). It was 10 years ago, when he was 21. He came to Spain and specifically to Barcelona because he had some cousins here working as ‘’manteros’’, and thus he could do the same job once he arrived. He would sell all kind of products from his ‘’blanket’’: ‘’all stuff but most shoes’’ Gatche working for the ACNUR. Retrieved (Gatche; 22-04-2016). In his years as ‘’manteros’’ he met a from Gatche Guediawaye’s facebook Spanish girl, which whom he later, in 2009, married. In the same year, Gatche tells, he got his residence paper, if this is coincidence or if this is by marrying a Spanish citizen he does not say. I can see, when we discuss the topic, that he was very relieved when he got the residence; ‘’thank God I got the paper’’ (Gatche; 22-04-2016). The marriage was only short term, because after two years in 2011 they divorced. ‘’She was trouble man, that’s why I just stay with her until 2011. She was shit man, I need a god person, who think about the life, about doing good’’ were the reasons Gatche explained to me (Gatche; 22-04-2016). Even though it was only for two years, he was going through a difficult time, and thus went back to Senegal to stay some time with his family and friends. Eventually Gatche went back to Europe, but this time he went to Paris: ‘’after some time, I went to Paris to stay for some time with friends and family, and work a bit’’ (Gatche; 22-04-2016). However, after some months he came back to Barcelona, where he now works at the ACNUR, but besides this official job he is doing some ‘’hassling’’ and of course singing. Because that is Gatche’s dream, to become famous with his music: ‘’that would be awesome’’ he replied when I asked if he wants to be famous one day by making his songs ‘’this year my album is coming out, so I hope I can perform over Europe, in France, Germany, maybe even Netherlands’’ (Gatche; 22-04- 2016). Gatche or G-Boy writes song about all ‘’G-Boy Konvict’’ with his gang. Retrieved from Gatche different kinds of issues, but which are Guediawaye’s facebook close to his heart. He especially makes songs and raps about his life here in Barcelona; ‘’what we are having here with immigration’’ (Gatche; 22-04-2016). He continues and explains that he also made a song about the 9-days boat trip which he took from Senegal to Spain. Gatche uses it to express his feelings and emotions, and tell his

124 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten story and that of others who are in the same situation as he is; in the Babylon System and trying to survive.

The taste in music preferences differs from each person, also among the West African migrants. Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’ will never give up reggae, Gatche sticks with his old school R&B. Danny, from Nigeria, is more influenced by artists like Akon, who make Hip-Hop music. In Nigeria, Akon is portrayed as some kind of God, not just Danny loves him; Walter, Luki and Sely adore him. I once tried to say that I prefer ‘’real’’ rap music like Tupac or Eminem, rather than the auto-tune sound of Akon. I should not have said that to Luki and Walter. Even though he is not from Nigeria at all, and has an United-States passport, he is black, and that is enough reason to love him, and perhaps dream about standing next to him. For example, P-Square, the brothers Okoye, are Nigeria’s most famous Hip-Hop artists who have done some songs with help of Akon, thus the dream Walter, Luki and Sely have is still alive. However, they are not making any music, unlike Danny; or shall I call him by his artist name: FesBrandy. Danny always walks the Rambla in shining clothes with sunglasses, caps and lads of jewelry like big necklaces. I always tell him he looks fancy, because he does. He thanks me but says he always wear this kind of clothes. When I asked Danny if he done some other jobs in the time he has been living in Barcelona he said that he is also a singer/songwriter. I am impressed and ask if he is famous in Nigeria, he keeps very modest: ‘’yeah, well maybe yes’’ (Danny; 07-04-2016). Danny, a.k.a. FesBrandy, makes afro beat and Hip- Hop related music, and sometimes he has to sing and perform in Danny ‘’FesBrandy’’ in fancy clothes promoting on the Rambla Barcelona. I wonder out loud if it is maybe more profitable if he with in the background Walter would return to Nigeria, because he is more famous there. But (brown coat). Picture retrieved from Fesbrandy Fesbrandy’s no, Danny disagrees. Yes, maybe with his artist career he could Facebook. make a lot of money, however, life is not only about making money. As an artist he could perform until a certain age, but not when he is old. ‘’I want to know more things, to study, because that is life- long knowledge’’ (Danny; 07-04-2016). When you study you can make a career for life Danny explains to me, being an artists is just temporarily. Maybe it is because Danny is already a bit older, 43 years old, and has a family. He has to be realistic to himself and to his family. When I return home after having interviewed Danny I of course look up FesBrandy on youtube. There is one song which has a

125 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten few thousand views: ‘’Rise Again’’. The video has been shot in Barcelona, with all the imaginary attributes a Hip-Hip song has to have: dancers, a big motorbike, champagne, fancy clothes with big shining necklaces and sunglasses; however, everything is slightly smaller scale as Akon would do it. The song itself, ‘’Rise Again’’, is about how you should get up and rise again after you have fallen, fully sung in auto-tune, but with a catchy melody. For many West African migrants music is an important feature in their lives. It gives them an opportunity to sing about what matters to them and what life gives them, or takes. The differences are extensive; while Gatche G-Boy makes songs about the dangerous boat trip from Senegal to Spain, Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’ sings about the distinctive taste of an ecological tomato, and Danny ‘’FesBrandy’’ tells to rise again; but all three sing about their lives, about the struggle to ‘’try try try’’ to survive, about the live inside Barcelona, Europe, Babylon.

Reyes (1986; in Baily and Collyer 2006) already emphasized the importance of studying the music of refugee populations: ‘’the disruption and loss of control, the traumas of escape, and the trying circumstances surrounding survival in a new and possibly hostile environment. . . ‘’ (p. 169), which can partly also be related to the music West African migrants make in Barcelona. From a cultural point of view, migrants are very interesting to do research on, because they are physically living in another culture which is not (yet) familiar to them, in which they are most likely to be in a minority (Baily & Collyer, 2006). For many West African migrants return is difficult, this makes feelings of isolation or even imprisonment in the host society, in Barcelona, very alive. Baily (2005) states that music is bound up with identity and memory in a special way. It does not only a means for identification of an ethnic or social group, but it can also have emotional meaning and can be used to create an identity in a particular powerful manner. Baily and Collyer (2006) argue that in many cases music may be used to feel and recreate the culture of where migrants came from, to remind them of this place. However, ‘’migration can lead to cultural innovation and enrichment, with are indicative or symptomatic of the issues facing the immigrant, and which help one in dealing with a new life in a place of settlement and in the articulation of new identities’’ (Baily & Collyer, 2006: p. 174).

Manu Chao is not from West Africa, but he does sings about the same issues as these guys do. ‘’Correr es mi destino; Perdid en el corazón, de la grande Babylon’’: To run is my destiny, lost in the heart of the great Babylon (Manu Chao – ‘’Clanestino’’); the survival of (undocumented) migrants in the European system. The power of this song, writes Culshaw (2013), lays partly in its Malegría. This is a neologism of Manu Chao which mixes the words ‘mala’ (‘bad’) and ‘alegría’ (’happiness’) and expresses the happy-sad bitter-sweet quality in both life and music, how they go together, and what

126 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten you get when writing about music of life of West African migrants in Barcelona. The lyrics the artistic West African respondents write, sing, and transform in a song expresses their emotions and feelings. ‘’lyrics are the element of music most similar to creative literature and they can be analysed in similar ways to shed light on processes of transnational cultural production’’ (Baily, Collyer; 2006, p. 168). However, music is far more than lyrics alone. It has a power to evoke memories and capture emotions and feelings in such a way that we can all identify with migrants.

The West African migrants in Barcelona listen to- and make music, simply because they enjoy it, but also to express their feelings and emotions. It can be related to their identity and memory in a special way. Furthermore, by means of making songs, some of the respondents create their own opportunity to sing about the survival to- and inside the unfamiliar society. For some this creates a Malegría feeling; happy to make music, but the issues singing about can be sad knowing it is their life they are singing about.

Concluding remarks

This chapter explains one of the major parts of the research question, namely the survival of West African migrants in Barcelona, but shows that it has many relating aspects. All of the West African respondents would argue that there current situation in Barcelona is one of survival. Their migration history and current status in Spain influences extensively the way they can live their life. For those who are legally residing in Spain finding a job is difficult. The West African respondents who did not have the privelidge of living legally in Spain are even having more trouble finding a job; and thus often end up in making their living from the street. Here the informal economy is very much alive, however, it does not create a steady income, it is a day-to-day struggle. Six out of the nineteen respondents were residing illegally in Spain, they are clandestino. The song of Manu Chao, ‘’Clandestino’’, which was made almost two decades ago, is still very relevant and embodied in many of the West African migrants in Barcelona. The song explains the way certain illegal migrants entered- and live here; they live outside the immigration laws (Blus, 2013), which makes their lives extremely troublesome and difficult. They are surviving in the ‘’heart of Babylon’’; not only for themselves but many mentioned that they also have to provide for their family back home. The only jobs they can find are of an informal kind; promoting coffeeshops on the Rambla, or trying to sell some marihuana in the park. Many of them do not like to do this kind of job, but it is the only they can get. For the Christian respondents promoting coffeeshops is often against their belief.

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For all West African respondents their belief takes in a major part of their life. It does not only make them belief there is someone looking after them, which will help them surviving in Barcelona, but it makes people of the same background or society come together. The differences in the two main beliefs, Christianity and Baye Fall, are extensive, however both create a kind of community in which the migrant feels at ease, and in which they might experience a sense of home. Furthermore it impacts the way the live their lives, in a Christian or Baye Fall manner. Next to the belief of the West African respondents, music is another main component which influences their lives. Baily and Collyer (2006) explain that many migrants may be robbed of much of their dignity, do not have sufficient means to survive, live impoverished lives, and/or have to take poorly-paid and low-status jobs. Their self-esteem and self-identity is decreasing. Hereby music can even have important therapeutic outcomes, for both individuals and groups. A significant amount of the respondents even made their own music, simply because they enjoy it, but also to express their thoughts, feelings and emotions which are often based on autobiographical experiences of migrating- and living in Babylon. This often ends in Malegría (happy-sad) songs.

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Chapter 7 – Mamma Africa

Introduction

This chapter will explain the discussion of West African return migration from the EU to Africa more in depth based on the future migration desires and aspirations of the respondents. It is important to understand the future perspectives of the West African migrants on their lives in order to fully see the picture of why and how they are surviving in Barcelona. For most of the respondents in this study their current situation is just temporarily, they came to Europe with an idea and often even with a plan to go back after 5-10 years. However, for a few of the West African respondents the life in Barcelona, and Europe, is an opportunity to start all over again, make it here and hopefully be able to stay here. In this chapter I will start elaborate on return migration and the different ways for West African migrants to return, as a failure, a conservatist or as an innovation (Cerase (1974). For most of the respondents the idea to go back is very much alive and some already work on their return. While the majority of the West African respondents were sure about their return to Africa and their home land, a handful of the total group of respondents argued they would like to live and stay in Europe; to find the right opportunity to create a better life. However, these are future prospects, and thus not everybody was entirely sure about what would happen. While most respondents intended and explained the idea to eventually return to their home country, some of the West African migrants I spoke with are ‘’stuck’’ in Barcelona. They cannot go back, or simply do not want to go back. Babylon, in all its great and terrible ways, keeps the West African migrants in her hold. Some are stuck because they do not have the money, documents, the will or reason to go back, while others intentionally want to stay in Barcelona. Eventually this chapter ends with explaining the exodus of West African migrants to Africa. Exodus refers not only to Bob Marley’s song and most famous album, but it means the mass departure of people; in this case that of West African migrants in Europe back to their home countries in Africa. Almost all of the respondents intended to go back to their home country. Their roots are there, it is their father’s land, as some stated. But also the feeling towards the Babylon they were living in during this study made them aware of the differences between the vicious and corrupt Babylon and their beautiful Africa; Mamma Africa.

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Mamma Africa

I am in the parc de la Ciutadella, the city park of Barcelona. From time to time I go to the park to look for possible West African respondents to talk too, but then I see Fati. It is always cool to see Fati, he is always very enthusiastic to see me ‘’George, George!!’’ he shouts when he sees me. Fati is one of Lamba’s best friends and also part of the Baye Fall group, thus I see him occasionally. I go to sit down next to him and we talk a bit. In the park there are quite the amount of black men, mostly from Gambia and Senegal, but I also met some from Tanzania, Ghana, and Guinea-Bissau. Most of these guys in the park hang out a bit, talking, ‘’hassling’’ (dealing in soft drugs), and drinking some beers. On a certain moment Fati is calling this old (+/- 70 years) Pakistani woman who is walking in the park: ‘’Mamma, Mamma Africa’’ (Fati; 29-05-2016). The Pakistani woman is always there. Every time I found myself in the park she was there, walking around with a heavy bag full of beverages (like beer or coke) and ice to keep them fresh. Mamma Africa, which is her nickname, is working for one of the small Pakistani shops (very small supermarkets). She walks in the park during the afternoon and early evening to sell the drinks in her bag; 1euro each. You can negotiate a bit, especially when she knows you and you buy a lot of her, you might get a discount. I guess Fati is a regular costumer because he can buy five beers for just four euro, for me it is 1 euro each, no matter the quantity. Mamma Africa will pass by every 10-15 minutes asking if you want more beer. You could also take your own beer in the nearby night shop, but they will not be as fresh and cold as the ones Mamma got them. The sight is a bit sad. In my opinion she is too old to do this kind of work. This heavy bag filled with beer- and soda cans and ice she walks around with a curved spine. Perhaps she is also trying to survive. I wonder why do Fati and the other guys in the park call her, a Pakistani woman, Mamma Africa? Does she sell the guys this fresh beer like a kind of relief, to drink away some of the daily problems, or perhaps she makes the guys think about their home country, about Africa.

7.1 Return Migration

An eventual return is something which made many of the West African respondents leave their home country in the first place. They were motivated to leave their home country to find a better situation for themselves and their relatives back home, but to after some years of hard working return home. Sadly this fictional image of the European experience is not real for most of my respondents in this

130 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten study. I will elaborate on the fact that most West African migrants I interviewed did not intend to stay longer as necessary, and actually wanted to go back to their home country; either with pride or failure.

According to Black & King (2004) it can be stated that West Africa has been one of the world’s regions who got most affected by ‘brain drain’ of skilled professionals – the moving away of skilled professionals to other more developed parts of the world, within and outside of the continent. It looks like most regions in Western Africa have to deal with an increase in emigration to other parts of the world, and mainly to the EU. None the less, emigration is not all bad, there are some reasons to think about- and discuss the good aspect of emigration from Africa; migrants are often seen as moneymakers for their family at home. One of the major development problems in Africa is the lack of capital and investment (Tiemoko, 2004), and in this case, migrants are seen as generators for capital for investment by sending remittances. For most of the West African respondents the idea to migrate to the EU is a 5-10 year plan. The plan exists of going to the EU to make money, send it back to family/friends, and eventually come back to make a project, or simply retire and enjoy life. The West African respondents in my study show that most of them did not do higher education like university. Almost all of them went to elementary- and high school, however the latter was not finished by everyone. Therefor I am not sure to talk about a serious ‘’brain drain’’ in this case.

As mentioned before, for most of the West African respondents the feeling and idea to go back to their home country is very much alive. This is the same with Lami. He told me that eventually he also wants to go back home, to the Gambia: ‘’yeah man, the life there is much better. In Europe many things change all the time, the good life is in Africa’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016). He explains that almost all the countries in West Africa are relative safe countries, unlike other countries in the rest of Africa, thus he did not leave the Gambia as a refugee, for his safety. As told before, Lami is quite lucky because he has a steady job, and thus is able to send some money back home to his family. He tries to send money to his mum every month, when he has some extra left. ‘’I life a simple life here, just rice and bread with water. If I have extra money I send to mi mum’’ (Lami; 28-05-2016). Lami says that the life in Africa is simply better. I found it hard to believe, but he explains that while the quality of life, like hospitals and schools are perhaps better here in Barcelona, his family and friends, his roots, his thoughts are with his country; with the Gambia. For this reason Lami is determined to go back. Why would he stay in a country were the quality of life might be better in terms of health- and educational services, but all his social life is in the Gambia.

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I tell Lami that some West African migrants try to marry with a European woman which makes the process of getting their documents easier. Lami is not interested in this kind of practices, he has a job and he wants to return to his country eventually. He does not want to start a family here, he prefers to find a wife and make children in Gambia, where he is from.

Unlike Lami in many aspects, Walter does like the idea of marrying a ‘’white’’ woman and so being able to stay in Europe definitely. We even talked about my family, and he got to understand that I have two sisters. This is of course very interesting to him, and thus he keeps on persisting me to ask them if they are up for a ‘’real black man’’ (Walter; 17-04-2016). When we discuss his motivations for leaving Nigeria to migrate to Europe he is quite clear: ‘’to make money, for a better life, and to maybe get married, so I can stay’’ (Walter; 17-04-2016). When I hear Walter answering like this, I try to play in on his feelings by asking if he would really do that, marry for getting his documents; ‘’don’t you want to marry for love?’’ (author; 17-04-2016). Of course, ‘’for love is better’’ Walter replies and thus if he can find a European girl which he loves, that would be the best; ‘’your sister would love me’’.

From my research I can argue that a significant amount of the West African respondents helps their family back home, mainly by sending remittances. So is the case with Lami and Walter and most other West African respondents. Walter was 18 when he left Nigeria because he ‘’there is too much suffering man, I want to look for a better life’’ (Walter; 17-04-2016). Not only for himself, but Walter also left Nigeria for his family. If he has spare money he will send it back to his family, to his two brothers and sister; his mum sadly past away already. Even though many West African migrants make the choice to leave their home country in order to find opportunities for a better life for themselves and their family back home, the impact is relatively small. In many cases, the migration motivations are not solely based on the individual, but he/she represents a whole household or family (Tiemoko, 2004). The West African respondents in my study often said that they are not here in Barcelona only for themselves, they also want to help their family back home, however, I cannot argue if they represent their whole household family as Tiemoko states. It sometimes depends on the position they have within their family. Sely (26 years old) was happy if he could send some money to his family back home, which would just take care of his younger brother being able to go to school, while Danny (43 years old) sent money to take care of his mum and other relatives. A difference in responsibility or obligation might come with the difference in age. According to Tiemoko (2004) migration, and especially voluntary migration, has little impact on economic change and development in the country of origin of the migrant. While the level of international remittances is significant and increasing, its impact is very small or even negative. Cerase (1974) explains that it is primarily due to the overwhelming importance of the ‘return of

132 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten failure’ and the ‘return of conservatism’ among those who return. A ‘return of failure’ means that the specific migrant returns to his home country because he did not succeed to his and others’ (mainly family’s) expectations, he possibly did not find a job, or did not make money to send back, thus a failure to himself and his family. ‘Return of conservatism’ inclines a migration back to the country of origin of the migrant due to social and religious reasons. He does not like the environment he is living in, he has no friends or family living there, neither people with the same religious background. Furthermore, he often already planned to return home on the moment he left. These two groups are very unlikely to bring change to their home environment upon their return (Cerase, 1974). Only the last group; those migrants who represent a ‘return of innovation’ are able to bring change and contribution to development. The migrants from this group have earned enough money and gained advanced experiences in Europe to bring back and invest in their home country, which will most likely contribute to development. Sadly, the amount of West African respondents that can be appointed in this ‘’innovation’’-group is not that excessive. Tiemoko (2004) even states that in his opinion the whole migration, sending remittances and return, does not have great impact. The categories of Cerase (1974) are very interesting and useful in my research, because the West African respondents can be applied to these categories; however, it always troubles me to put people in a certain box. The same applies to the West African respondents in this study. Most of the respondents can be related to one of the categories, but it is unable to appoint them entirely to a specific category, they cover multiple categories. Furthermore, I believe that there are more categories to return. From my research I can argue that the overall factor of returning is not a ‘return’, but more a ‘leave’; they want to leave Europe, leave Babylon, leave the particular way of life they cannot relate themselves too.

Most of the West African respondents in my research want to eventually return home, a few guys are determined to stay and remain in Europe. Return migration can happen for three reasons according to Cerase (1974); failure, conservatism, or innovation. In the remaining of this chapter I want to elaborate on the fact that just a handful of my respondents are most likely able to bring innovation and development to their home country and thus positive change for their family or home community, while most want to return due to conservatist needs. For some of the respondents it is not clear yet were they stand in terms of return migration, as a coming failure or innovation. However, some of the West African migrants in my study do not have any choice; return migration is not an option for them.

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7.2 ‘’Stuck’’ in the Concrete Jungle

A significant amount of the West African respondents in this study were living in Barcelona without any nearby future perspective of leaving the city soon. Some did not want to leave; they intentionally came to Barcelona to make something out of their lives, while others simply could not leave; they did not have the legal documentation to do so. Both stuck in Barcelona, both with other reasons. It is interesting to understand how both groups think about their situation in Barcelona; a situation which again influences the way they survive.

Not everybody is able or wants to go back to Africa; Roger is stuck in both situations. His documents were taken, so he cannot leave Spain legally, but he also does not want to go back to his home country, Senegal. He told me that he went back once, to see his family and friends many years ago (Roger; 19-04-2016). When he arrived his father asked him why he came back home, he should have stayed in Europe to make money to send to his family. On that moment a guy with a metal detector passes by, he is looking for lost coins in the sand. Roger uses him in a metaphor; pointing at the guy and explaining to me that his family uses him like that machine, to find money. After this one time he went back to Senegal Roger did not return anymore. He is stuck, here in Barcelona, because he cannot go anywhere. He does not have papers to cross the border, and actually, he also does not want to go back to Senegal. When I ask Roger what he is doing currently he can only say ‘’surviving’’. As elaborated before (see chapter 6) Roger cannot move anywhere: ‘’this is jail, I can’t move anywhere’’.

Roger is not happy, and he continues about the Spanish people. Most of them are very narrow minded he mentions. And, maybe more important, they are Christian or Catholic, which makes them want to help ‘’the poor’’. I do not think it is that bad, I tell Roger, but he turns slightly annoyed: ‘’the poor, they want to help them, they want you to be nobody; oohhh, let us help the poor. And you know why, they want you to stop existing, but I am somebody, they cannot stop me. That is why I want to leave, but where can I go?’’ (Roger; 19-04-2016). Roger thinks that by helping the poor the Spanish people make them feel like they do not exist, that they are better than them. But he remains to survive and exist here in Barcelona; he is strong and strives to survive, because he is also a black survivor. I do not know what to reply, but I ask him if he feels free. Knowing that his documents are taken away by the police it might be very difficult for Roger. As elaborated before (chapter 6) Roger mentions that he does not have chains on his feet, however he does not feel free (Roger; 19-04-

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2016). On the moment itself I thought it was an impressive sentence he uses, however, afterwards I found out that Bob Marley used the same words in his song ‘’Concrete Jungle’’:

‘’No chains around my feet But I'm not free’’. (Bob Marley – ‘’Concrete Jungle’’)

The song ‘’Concrete Jungle’’ is like most of Bob Marley’s music; ambiguous and not specific on purpose. Therefor it can relate to any number of things as interpreted by the person listening to it. In my opinion, and relating it to the subject matter, the ‘’Concrete Jungle’’ is the contemporary overpopulated, over-organized society (like the EU) in which people carry on their lives inside this bubble of capitalism. Due to the effects of globalization, the city is transforming in a man-made wilderness argues Bauman (1998); a manufactured jungle. Somewhere the good life has to be found. Here in the ‘’Concrete Jungle’’, the crowded city with its concrete towers, the life is harder for those without the right papers and money to participate in this ‘’Jungle’’. Roger and Bob both said that they do not have chains on their feet, but still they are not free, this could possibly mean that there is no way out of this mess; this European ‘’Babylon’’.

While Roger would like to move somewhere else, he mentioned he had a friend in Finland who told him that life there was way better (Roger; 19-04-2016), and thus leave Barcelona, Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’ intentionally choose to go to there. Barcelona is the place where it happens, the New York of Spain, where he believes his dreams can come true. You could almost make an autobiographical movie of Ibba’s life. Left Senegal on a boat to the Canary Island, than to the Spanish mainland where he first worked on a pig farm close to Toledo, after that to Balaguer where he entered civil life with his Dutch girlfriend in a house and biological own-grown food, but eventually made the choice himself to again leave everything behind and move to Barcelona; to make music. He intentionally choose to go to this ‘’Concrete Jungle’’ called Barcelona, because it does offer the small chance to become an artist, how little and unsecure it might be, that is what Ibba wants.

‘’In Balaguer I cannot become a singer. No progress of being a singer’’, Ibba stops for a second to take a shot of his ‘’little ganja’’ (joint) and then continues: ‘’and I want to sing’’ (Ibba; 02-05-2016). Ibba does not elaborate on the fact if he is stuck in Barcelona in the same sense Roger is, but he came here with a purpose. He is stuck voluntarily; to pursuit his own dream of becoming a singer or artist.

There is a clear difference between the respondents in the way Barcelona holds them here. Some, like Roger, do not have the papers to legally move somewhere else. Marty, for example, has been living in Spain for over 10 years now without any legal documents (Marty; 26-04-2016). He did not

135 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten see his family in all those years; ‘’I want to visit my family, I miss my family’’. In the 10 years Marty has been living in Barcelona he has not been able to get his legal documents. He is a bit unclear about the reason why, if he did not even try, or if was not able to enter the procedure. When I ask him about it he gets a bit annoyed that everybody is so legal and strict on these papers. Everybody has to have papers, while it is just a piece of paper. However, he eventually wants to have his own otherwise he cannot move back to Senegal to see his family: ‘’you have your rights, so give me also rights. Everybody has right on a paper, so give me mine!’’ Marty says quite direct towards me (Marty; 26-04-2016).

Like Marty, Massou is living in Spain for 10 years now. By coincidence I met Massou on my last night in Barcelona. I saw him several times before, because he is one of the ‘’Baye Fall guys’’, but we never really talked. On the Barceloneta beach boulevard he is standing in front of the big nightclubs to do some promoting he explains, including some ‘’hassling’’ of marihuana. We start talking and I notice that of all Baye Fall guys, Massou’s story might be one of the worst; Massou does not have any documents. He is stuck here. Furthermore, he does not have a steady income, leave alone a steady job. Massou is living here as a clandestino, almost as an outlaw simply because he entered Spain illegally and still did not acquire the correct legal documents. When I ask Massou if he feels free to move, he sadly shakes his head and says he does not feel free. However, here in Barcelona he does, but to move further no. He would like to go to England or Holland, but he cannot (Massou; 23-06- 2016). He worked a lot, especially in the agriculture, all over Spain, he explains; in Madrid, Valencia, and Lleida. Sometimes he goes back to Lleida during the beginning of the summer, to work, because he says there is plenty of work, but sadly not a lot of money. It is a difficult life for him. It is sad to notice that the conversation we are having goes from being happy for recognizing- and talking to each other, to a rather melancholic conversation when I ask Massou about these issues. Without documents, without money, Massou’s life is hard; especially being stuck on one place.

While for the respondents who did not have the legal documents the feeling of being tight down to Barcelona was very much alive, those who did possess a residence or even a passport would not face this problem in such extend. As Danny (Danny; 07-04-2016) explains he does not have the feeling of being tight down to just Barcelona. He has his residence permit and soon wants to get his passport if he has the financial means to buy one. However, he does visits his family ‘’yeah, one time a year I go back’’ Danny says. Also within the EU he has been in several countries, to visit friends and family mainly, and never he really had problems entering a country; ‘’I got the paper right’’. With his residence paper he can travel freely within the EU Schengen area. But he does recognize, if you do not have this paper, ‘’it’s almost impossible’’.

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Even though the West African respondents did not use the term themselves, it was quite obvious that a handful of West African respondents are stuck in Barcelona, stuck in the concrete jungle. There are many reasons why, however, they can mostly be divided in two groups; those who made their choice to go and stay here, and those who do not had a choice. The concrete jungle is a harsh reality for those without the right documentation to reside in it, but can offer opportunities for those who do have the right of residence. While some of the West African respondents intentionally came to Barcelona to seek the opportunity, others do not have another choice, they are stuck here.

7.3 Exodus: We are leaving Babylon!

It is not only the idea of wanting to return home, to their Africa, but also the fact of leaving Babylon. They do not want to stay in Europe longer as necessary. Many of the West African respondents have been sending remittances back to their family back home, but also they have been saving and developing businesses for when they return home. However, some of the respondents in this study do not make means end, and seriously think about going home, because they simply did not make it here; they have not been able to succeed. It is important to understand why most West African respondents want to Africa, to their home country.

One of Bob Marley’s most famous albums- and songs is Exodus: ‘’a mass departure of people’’ or ‘’the departure of the Israelites from Egypt’’ when saying ‘’The Exodus’’ (Oxford Dictionary; retrieved 27-09-2016). Bob Marley uses the story of the departure of the Israelites from Egypt back to their father’s land of Abraham in comparison with the journey the black people need to take according to him; back to Africa. It is the movement of the ’’Jah’’ people, the holy good people. ‘’Jah’’ is short for ‘’Yahweh’’, which is the proper name of God in the Hebrew Bible. In the song Bob Marley talks to ‘’his’’ people, the black people. They should look to themselves and the world they are living in, and ask themselves if this is what they want.

Yeah-yeah-yeah, well! Uh! Open your eyes and look within: Are you satisfied (with the life you're living)? Uh! We know where we're going, uh! We know where we're from.

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We're leaving Babylon, We're going to our Father land. (Bob Marley – ‘’Exodus’’)

They should create more self-awareness and realize this society of capitalism and materialism they are living in is not good. When you look around and think long enough it is almost certain that you will get unhappy with the injustices that exist in that society. Bob Marley argues in this song that the black people can escape their daily struggle of survival and the incorrect system that society has made by leaving Babylon. Babylon is the European society full of injustices. The black people should return to their Father’s land, sings Bob Marley, back to Africa. That is where they are from, remembering most ancestors who were deported as slaves to the former colonies in North and South America, but also the current migrants who left their home ancestral country and now live in the EU.

Africa, ‘’Mamma Africa’’, is the paradise; it is the Zion. In the Rastafari belief, Zion is the opposite of Babylon. While Babylon is ‘’the oppressing and exploiting system of the materialistic modern world and a place of evil’’ (Oxford dictionaries; retrieved 27-09-2016) Zion stands for ‘’a utopian place of unity, peace and freedom’’ (Oxford dictionaries; retrieved 27-09-2016). Mamma Africa, the old Pakistani woman, is not directly the notion of paradise, however she shows respect for the West African migrants, and gives them some kind of relief (in the shape of beer). The West African migrants appreciate and respect her too, like they do with their home, Africa, Keychain bought in Raval neighbourhood. in general. Africa, in the Rastafari colors (red, yellow, green), with the Rastafari Lion and ‘’Zion’’ For many respondents, the idea to eventually return to inscribed. Made on special African wood. Picture by author their father’s land, to Africa, is a future desire; an objective which needs to be met. The quality of life in general might be higher in Barcelona and the EU, better educational and medical care; however the life itself is painful. The positive- and high quality aspects of life in the EU vanish when knowing where the emotional- and mental aspects belong; in Africa. Their friends and family, their belief, their roots, their feeling, all is in the Zion of Africa. In addition, the so-called Babylon, the EU, is often mentioned as another reason to leave, due to its internal discrimination and suppression, which still exists. As elaborated in Chapter 5, the

138 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten feeling of living in Babylon is very much present in the lives of the West African respondents. They feel Babylon, and mention that it is not a place in which their presence is appreciated.

Danny (07-04-2016) explained that to him it is quite clear; he mentioned that people in Europe want African migrants to hate themselves. The European people would try to care as less as possible about them, so that they will eventually leave or get rid of themselves (Danny; 07-04-2016). ‘’Babylonian people want us to hate ourselves’’ Danny explained. And for this:

‘’I can’t live in white-men’s land forever’’ (Danny; 07-04-2016).

I asked him again to say it for clarification if I heard it correctly. It made me laugh on the one hand, but when I saw that Danny was very serious I felt slightly awful. I might not understand the idea behind it, why Danny would say something like this. Barcelona, Spain, Europe, it is the white-men’s land according to Danny; he does not intend to stay here longer as necessary. People still discriminate, and so Danny does not want to stay longer. Because Danny starts stating that the current EU is Babylon, so I asked him if he believes Africa is the Zion. ‘’yeah man, everything comes from Africa.’’ Not just his country, Nigeria, is very resourceful, every country on the African continent is. Most of these natural resources are taken away, in a lot of cases to former colonialist countries he explained; many Senegalese resources are shipped off to France. ‘’Modern colonialism today’’ Danny called it, by ‘’white superior’’. And this happens while actually the African people should benefit from these natural resources (Danny; 07-04-2016). Even though Danny would like to return to his home country, Nigeria, he now lives in Barcelona with his family; he showed me the pictures of his little son, the same fancy clothes, with caps and necklaces, just like his father. As explained before (chapter 6) Danny prefers to do a study here, because the quality of education is higher as in Nigeria. Finally he wants to return to Nigeria, he has too, but for now he has to stay here. Danny does not just stay here for himself, no, for his whole family. He occasionally sends money (remittances) back home, to his mum, his brother, his cousins, etc. they share the money Danny sends to them.

Fati on the other hand, is quite sure he wants to go back. Not to just Africa, to Touba more specifically, the capital of the Baye Fall belief, a city in the middle of Senegal. ‘’Touba is paradise’’ Fati explained (Fati; 10-06-2016). He tells that he wants to go there and visit all the mosques and pray to all the prophets and priests of the Baye Fall; that is his wish. Cerase (1974) would call this ‘return of conservatism’, which relates to migrants who always planned to return, because of their family and other social ties, and in Fati’s case, due to the huge influence of the Baye Fall faith of which the

139 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten center lies in Touba, Senegal. Next to the ‘return of conservatism, there is also the ‘return of failure’, for those migrants who fail to secure an income abroad, and the ‘return of innovation’, which relates to migrants who eventually return to invest in their home country, and contribute to development.

Abduhllah for example, he went back to Senegal several times, for visiting his friends and family, and for his project. Occasionally I join the Baye Fall guys, mainly Lamba, Fati and Abduhllah, after the Baye Fall meeting on Thursday’s. We walk from the arc de Triompf through the old city center across the Rambla to the Raval neighbourhood where we would buy some beers. Then towards the MACBA were we hanged out from time to time. Here, at the MACBA, we sit down and I can ask Abduhllah some more about his future project. Abduhllah explains to me that in the winter he prefers to go back to Senegal to work on his agro-tourism project. I am quite interested in what it exactly is, and thus I ask. Abduhllah explains that he has a dream to set up a small-scale ecological tourism business in Senegal (Abduhllah; 12-05-2016). Not a hotel, but more for smaller groups of people he continues, however, the focus should lie on the ecological aspects of the establishment, like growing his own fruits and vegetables, feeding cows and pigs. It should be self- sufficient. I am sincerely impressed, even more when he shows me some pictures of the Hanging out in front of the MACBA with Lamba, concrete structure and beginning of the Gatche (black shirt), Abduhllah (middle) and Fati (jeans jacket). Picture by author (12-05-2016) complex. He is currently saving some money so that he can pay the people working on it. And when he goes back there during the winter he also works on it himself. Abduhllah is quite clear that eventually he does not need to make loads of money with it, but most important is that it should be good, not too big, and he makes clear that the guests should be taken good care off. I do not know what to say, except that it is really cool, and if I ever go to Senegal, I would like to stay there, definitely. Abduhllah was not the only one investing in building a house in his home country, and according to Snrech (1998; in Tiemoko 2004) there are plenty of West African migrants who try to do the same, to invest in housing has been a major component of private investment of West African migrants.

Abduhllah is not the only one with future projects in mind for helping his country of origin with developing. Also Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’ told me about his ideas for projects in Senegal. Ibba’s desire is to become an artist, but besides that he would like to go back home too. If he would return he explains that he wants to live an ecological life with projects for conversation of water: ‘’in Senegal is

140 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten sometimes very much rain, and then later very dry. No infrastructure for conservation of water’’. He explains that back in the surroundings of Lleida and Balaguer where he lived and worked on the land the water conversation is very good arranged, and the ground is very fertile. ‘’Water is very important, in Senegal where it is tropical climate, water is very important’’ (Ibba; 02-05-2016), I cannot argue with that.

It is amazing to hear that these guys wants to do something back for their country, to make it better back home; for themselves, their family, their friends, and for their community. After all, their roots are in their country of origin as many told me, including Pose: ‘’it’s my country, my father’s country, my roots are there’’ (Pose; 17-05-2016), but he does not want to go now. His country, Nigeria, is one of the most corrupt on earth Pose explains, there is no chance for young people while everybody says that young people are the future of tomorrow. That is why Pose is still here, but eventually he will go back. Until then ‘’I drink out of necessity’’ Pose says (Pose; 17-05-2016).

For most West African migrants the future is uncertain, they do not know what will happen exactly; it is something they can only dream about. At the end of every interview/conversation I did with my respondents I always asked what they think about the future, in about five years, so that it is still within certain borders. However, for most of them it was a very difficult question. Abduhllah was quite clear with what he wants to do in the future, his ecological tourism business, but for Gatche it was not that clear to say the least, and therefor he would give an answer which perhaps is more within reach: ‘’I want to have a wife, and kids, and live next to mi mum, she is important to me, but now older, I want to see her’’ (Gatche; 22-04-2016). For Gatche it was more difficult as for Abduhllah. While Abduhllah has his own small business and travels around Europe to sell his products, Gatche stays in Barcelona, living in an apartment with guys who are in the same situation, trying to reach his artist potential which is a more challenging future goal.

Much like Abduhllah, Yki would also like to start a business in his country of origin, in Nigeria. Yki has a high affinity with camera’s and photography. In the perfect situation he would have a store in which he sells parts of the camera. He does not want to make pictures himself, although he does tell me he is highly attracted by the developing of pictures, in the dark room with the red light. If Yki could make his dreams come true, he would like to have a store in Nigeria, where he is from, and one here, in Barcelona (Yki; 21-03-2016). When I speak with Yki some weeks later (27-05-2016) his thoughts have not changed. ‘’I didn’t change my mind, but those things need capital, all the money I am trying to raise I am trying to save some money is for that purpose. I pray God help me to raise the money I am looking for. Then I go back to Nigeria and establish that business’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016).

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Yki is determined to do so, especially because his age is starting to play parts he explains. ‘’I am going to 40 years, I should be able to start running up my life and think about going back to my country, to construct something there and start a business’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016). He is now living a simple life, ‘’hassling’’ on the streets, making some money. I am afraid it is not enough to start a business; however, I do not know how much he saved. Yki did not expect his life would be so difficult when he arrived here he tells me: ‘’what I saw was hard job, difficulties, intimidations, racism kind of many times; these are things I did not expect believe me’’ (Yki; 27-05-2016).

In the case of Abduhllah, Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’, and Yki, the return migration will most likely involve some kind of innovation. Not solely for themselves, but also for their family. According to Hermele (1997; in Tiemoko, 2004) this kind of return, a successful one with the opportunity for innovation is rather rare. For most respondents the future is something far away. Of course they have dreams about what they want to do or become, Gatche wants to be a famous rapper. But for most guys it is something unexpected what will simply overcome them.

Like with Mayko, he does not know what to expect from the future exactly. At this moment he is in a difficult situation. He has not been able to go back to the Gambia since he left, which is five years ago. Mayko really wants to go back but ‘’finance is holding me back man’’ he explains (Mayko; 14-06- 2016). He came here to work for some years, make some money and then go back to the Gambia. Mayko does not strike me as an uneducated person. He studied business management on university level; however he did not finish it. But these papers or educations do not count here in Spain; he just wants to find a job, not very specific. Over the last years he sometimes worked as a waiter ‘’I need to survive man, sometimes I work in a restaurant as a waiter’’ (Mayko; 14-06-2016). Currently he is handing out his CV to some restaurants for a possible job as a waiter in the summer because then there are more opportunities due to the high season.

Furthermore, Mayko became just father for the very first time this year, with his Austrian girlfriend. Both the woman and his baby live in Austria. This does not make things easier. Mayko does not really like to talk about this issue; however I think it is really interesting. He still has not been able to see his own child who was born in February. It is June now. He tells me that soon, ‘’very soon’’ (Mayko; 14- 06-2016), he wants to go there. He shows me the picture of his baby and his girlfriend on his phone; he looks at the pictures too and smiles. ‘’I wanted to go last Wednesday to Austria, but she is a bit crazy, the woman’’ Mayko explains (Mayko; 12-06-2016) on which I reply ‘’well, Mayko, all women are a bit crazy he’’ (author; 12-06-2016) to which we both laugh.

Mayko says that now it is all about finding a job, if that succeeds his life would be way better, and he will have the money to go back to Gambia and to see his baby in Austria. But his situation is

142 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten troublesome, Mayko expected way more when he left the Gambia. He wanted a good life, a good living, to make some money and find a job, after which he could return to the Gambia and share his fortune with his family.

‘’and now, . . . how is life?’’ (author; 14-06-2016)

Mayko does not look happy when I ask it: ‘’maybe is better to go back if things are like this’’ (14-06- 2016) he says depressed; a ‘return of failure’; a failure to Mamma Africa.

Concluding remarks

Almost all of the West African respondent were surviving and trying to make the best out of their lives here, in order to eventually go back to their home country. Just a handful of the respondents was determined enough to stay in Spain, or move somewhere else in the European Union. For most West African migrants in this study a return to their home country would be an end to the survival life they had been going through while staying in Europe, but also and a new start when going back. A few of the respondents I interviewed had clear ideas and even business plans made for the future. These future perspectives differed from each person, however, all respondents wanted to help their family back home. Other plans included starting their own business or helping their home communities with development of certain aspects, like water availability. Some of these ideas were already brought into practice and thus reasonably concrete, while others were just loose thoughts or dreams. The dream to go back to mamma Africa however is one almost all respondents were determined to fulfil. I based the results of my research on the model of Cerase (1974) who categorizes a return migration in three groups; return of –failure, -conservatism, or –innovation. None of the West African respondents returned definitely to Africa, however some had been going back and forward to invest it in the future and bring innovation and development to their family. A return could also mean a failure, because the ideas and hopes what some hoped to achieve were not met. A significant amount of respondents argued that this current situation was not the one they hoped for, and thus it might be for the best to return home, to Africa. A last option of return could be due to the conservatist feeling migrants have; in a few cases the West African respondents wanted to go back mainly due to social- and religious reasons; including the sense of Africa being their father’s land, the land where their roots are.

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Even though the model of Cerase (1974) has been useful, based on the results of my research I argue that it is incomplete. First of all I found out that it is impossible to put the respondents in a single category. Secondly, among the West African respondents there was the feeling of wanting to leave Babylon. This feeling might not be a category on its own, as it is covering almost all of the West African respondents. The time West African migrants spend in Europe made them aware of the crucial difference between the beauty of Africa and the vicious and corrupt Babylon, where however, dreams can come true. While most West African respondents indeed argued to eventually return to their home country, a few of the interviewees could not or did not want to leave; they were ‘’stuck’’ in the concrete jungle of Barcelona. They would not like to go back home, could not go back home, or just wanted to stay in Barcelona. Some of these respondents did not had the money, documents, will or reason to go back, while others intentionally came and were determined to stay in Barcelona; to become somebody. Babylon, in all its wonderful as well as vicious ways, keeps West African migrants in her hold.

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Chapter 8 – Concluding Remarks

Introduction

In this final chapter I will conclude this research study. The main topics of the whole study will come forward in the final conclusion. However, before I will elaborate on the future aspect of the European-African relation. African migration to Europe is something unstoppable. Even though the EU is doing its greatest effort for making sure African people remain in Africa and do not try to take illegal trajectories there will always be a way as can be concluded from my research. The legal routes have been made very narrow and extremely difficult to take. The opposite of what the EU wants to achieve will most likely happen; illegal routes will only increase (de Haas 2009). According to several of the West African respondents it is the time for Africa. The relationship between Europe and Africa needs to change, however, this will take decades, and thus it is actually something they will not experience, but the next generation. Resulting from this study I would argue that Europe as Babylon will keep on existing, and thus it will keep on suppressing the African people. However, migration will not stop; it is part of the globalizing world. And thus (West) African people will continue to migrate to Europe. Finally, in the conclusion, all chapters will be shortly summarized and the most important points will be concluded with some ideas on possible future research in these areas or on these topics.

Slam Gueya

Like Guacher ‘’G-Boy Konvict’’, Ibba ‘’Tomba Tomba’’ and Danny ‘’FesBrandy’’, Yegge was also making his own music; as ‘’Slam Gueya’’. Yegge ‘’Slam Gueya’’ lived most of his live in Saint-Louis, Senegal. From 1999 he decided to embark on the Hip-Hip and reggae influenced track by writing his own lyrics and draw graffiti under the guise of urban art. Years later he began to sing and participate in joint urban projects, among ‘’brothers of the ghetto’’. In search for a better life and future Yegge ‘’Slam Gueya’’ left his Sant-Louis and migrated to Spain; a country of hope. Before arriving in Barcelona, Yegge ‘’Slam Gueya’’ first played in bands in Madrid and Tarragona. When he finally arrived in Barcelona he met people of an alternative community occupying stores who share the same passion for music, culture and art style. Very soon Yegge ‘’Slam Gueya’’ became a member of the Mount Zion Soldiers, a group within this community, who enabled him to give more taste and reason to sing and write.

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As resident of Barcelona for the last ten years, Yegge ‘’Slam Gueya’’ has travelled to Africa on a regular base, mainly returning to Sant-Louis, where he would perform on the annual Hip-Hop festival. His day-to-day experiences continue to inspire him with writing lyrics, in which he speak out against social injustices while at the same time promoting a positive message of peace among people of all races and religions. He sings in his native Wolof, but also in French, Spanish, English and Catalan, aiming to reach as many people as possible with his rhymes. Soon his first studio album will finish Yegge ‘’Slam Gueya’’ singing. Picture and release named; ‘’Clan’Destin’’. retrieved from Slam Gueya’s soundcloud (15- 10-2016) On his new album he made songs about all different issues. One of them called ‘’Caminante’’, which means ‘’walker’’ or ‘’hiker’’ but is meant to show the route some West African migrants need to walk to reach their destination. But also the song ‘’Live on Babilon’’ which actually does not need any explanation, but focuses on Babylon which keeps on existing in/as Europe. The song which attracted me the most, not just because I could understand (it was in English), but also due to its lyrics, beat, rhythm and especially meaning is the song ‘’it’s the time for Africa’’.

8.1 ‘’It’s the time for Africa’’

In the song ‘’It’s the time for Africa’’ Yegge sings that the time has come for Africa to stand up and fights for their rights. The current situation is not what Yegge wants, neither his fellow West African migrants dislike the Babylon environment. ‘’We have to change, we have to change this situation, we have to be brother of each other, we are all brother, we have to give to each other’’ says Yegge (a.k.a. Slam Gueya; 20-06-2016) while we are sitting in the park ‘’Jardins de Sant Pau del Camp’’ in the Raval neighbourhood. I ask him if this change, which he is talking about, if it is going to happen someday soon. Sadly Yegge argues that ‘’no, it will take a lot of time’’. It is crucial to change the current situation we are in. However, this is such a long term world project that it is up to the children and young people; ‘’children are very important to the world, maybe they will see the world different’’ (Yegge; 20-06-2016).

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The current situation is all about the capital and the money Yegge explains, and he elaborates that I simply do not understand. I, as a European have one idea on Europe, but ‘’I am from Africa, I have another idea of Europe’’. Yegge wants to help to improve the situation by making a better relation between Africa and Europe by means of music: ‘’public relation between Africa and Europe with music and social media yes. This is important, people should know each other more, because Europe and Africa are so divided, but we are all people, people should relate’’ (Yegge; 20-06-2016). ‘’It’s the time for Africa’’ argues that the new generation, the future generation will be more likely to solve the difficult situation many Africans are dealing with now. The movement of the people will only increase; people from Africa go and come, and mix and mingle everywhere. Africa will be more spread around the world says Yegge (20-06-2016). He is not able to solve the issue, he is very clear about it, neither is his generation. Currently Babylon still exists, and can only be changed by the new coming generations says Yegge (20-06-2016). However, the time and possibility for changing it is vastly shrinking (Bauman, 1998). The moment for ‘’the other’’, writes Bauman, pointing out the (African) migrants, to flex their muscles, make a fist, and show their strength is losing ground; soon the time to really make sure things will change will be over. Therefor to wait for the new generation might be too late. Yegge (20-06-2016) is right on the one hand, saying that due to globalizing conditions there is more interaction between different cultures, thus also between Africa and Europe, but the global powers will only suppress the developing counties more and more. Globalization unites as much as it divides (Bauman, 1998); it’s an irreversible process.

The new generation is the future is the same as Lami argues: ‘’people marry each other, from Africa and Europe, get children, the next generation things will change and be better for people’’ (Lami; 28- 05-2016). Bit by bit things already start to change, it will come eventually, however now, for Lami and his peers for experiencing this change it will be too late. I am impressed but it also saddens me slightly that this guy, Lami, knows and faces reality by saying he will probably not see the change he is hoping for, but he is ok with it, because he knows it just takes time. And this time will hopefully come.

Ali, a friend of Lami, argues that the future is in Africa; ‘’everybody will go to Africa’’ (Ali; 20-06- 2016). However, he is currently here in Europe, and thus I ask him why. Well, Ale explains that yes ‘’here is no future, no jobs, just lot of shit’’ (Ali; 20-06-2016), but he wanted to experience life, travel is experience he mentions. Ale says that the Gambia is a reasonably peaceful country and thus the life is not that bad, but he simply just wanted to travel. When we start to discuss the nickname of

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Europe by the majority of West African respondents, Babylon, Ale has to laugh. Especially when I ask him to explain to me in his own words; ‘’I cannot explain to you, . . . you have to stand outside to understand it’’ (Ali; 20-06-2016), however he does tell me that it is all about money. Without money, and without documents, life is difficult he mentions. Even though this is the harsh reality Ale says he ‘’give thanks for life, we have to give thanks for life’’ (Ali; 20-06-2016). Currently he is here in Barcelona, for almost eight years now. But soon he wants to go back to the Gambia, because after all, Europe is just a lot of shit to speak in Ali’s words, and he wants to have ‘’piece on mind, no worries on my mind, . . . now I have worries’’ (Ali; 14-06-2016).

It is a bit sad to see all respondents with whom I discuss the future (of themselves and of Africa), thinking and saying that a change in the current European-African relation will not happen soon, or not at all. While Yegge recently made the song ‘’it’s the time for Africa’’, stating that Africa should stand up and show its strength, Bob Marley did this already some decades ago; Africa Unite. It seems not as easy as it sounds. Europe might be Babylon, with a Babylon mindset, it does attract many African people due its opportunities for a better life, how slight the possibility. Africa is not united; countries as Senegal and the Gambia are peaceful, however, corruption still exists, the large amount of natural resources is extracted by the Western (colonial) countries, and the money does not end up to the people who need it the most.

As elaborated before (chapter 5), Babylon still exists, and the children, the new generation, should be told the truth. The truth about how African people are still suppressed and restricted from entering and being part of the European political, economic, and social system; the Babylon system. It is very paradoxically, while Bob Marley sings about rebelling against the Babylon System (in his song ‘’Babylon System’’, see chapter 5), against those who suppress them, for many African migrants Babylon is seen as an opportunity to find a better life. In Europe there are more opportunities to make money and help their family back home.

8.2 Live on Babylon

Even though according to many respondents the time of Africa is coming, they left their home country. They came to Europe to experience life and travel, but mainly to make money and seek opportunities for a better life for themselves as well as their family back home. They do almost anything to make means. Grillo and Mazzucato (2008) state that the willingness is of a great extent; they do what is necessary to earn a livelihood, accept hard work, which is poorly paid, and situated in

148 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten difficult conditions, especially when the employer knows the West African migrant is illegal. These jobs are often below the expectations that the migrants brought with them (Grillo and Mazzucato, 2008). It is a kind of paradox in capitalism, Khosravi (2010) writes, the migrant has the desire to work hard and make a contribution to a society which actually rejects any kind of responsibility for them. Europe only tries to exploit them on the margins of society. Many of the West African respondents indeed find themselves ‘’working’’ in the informal sector, which entrenches their marginalized status. When engaging in informal work migrants generally get isolated from the mainstream labour market and society (Khosravi, 2010; 103). They usually work with people from the same ethnic background and often do not speak the local language that well, which increases their vulnerability (Khosravi, 2010).

‘’The existence of a legal prohibition creates around it a field of illegal practices’’ (Foucault 1979; in de Genova, 2020: p. 422). Foucault observed that the existence of illegal migrants in a place will create a field of illegal practices around it, like for example in this case ‘’hassling’’ in drugs or promoting coffeeshops without a license. These On the Rambla with Walter (left), Luki (middle) and practices are mainly executed by migrants author (right). Both Luki and Walter really want to work, but do not know the language and are residing illegally; who are residing illegally in Barcelona, but this makes finding a real job extremely difficult, thus also by those who got their correct legal they do illegal practices; promoting coffeeshops without a license. Picture made by Sely (23-06-2016) documents; they often remained in the same sector of business, because finding a job (as an illegal or legal) is very difficult. De Genova (2002) explains that the state makes laws which in turn produce the ‘’illegality’’ of migrants. Just like citizenship is a juridical status for the ‘’normal legal’’ residence which entails a social relation to the state, being ‘’illegal’’ shows that the specific person has a negative identity with the state. Their lives as ‘’illegals’’ or ‘’undocumented’’ have been imposed by the immigration laws made by the Spain, or the EU in the larger extend. The West African respondents who lived as ‘’illegals’’ did not have a real legal existence, just of a physical kind. This does not make their lives in Spain easier. Furthermore, according to de Genova (2002) migrants living as ‘’illegals’’ cannot make real long term plans for the future, due to the insufficient availability of positive prospects in the job market.

According to the respondents it is all the fault of Babylon; the way West African migrants have to enter, the way they survive, the way they are treated, and thus the way their lives are just physical and not on paper, they are not legal subscribed in the Spanish or European system. As explained in

149 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten chapter 5, the presence of Babylon in their lives is of a significant level. The majority of the West African respondents would first wave the question away with a laugh, but when I would ask them more serious and show my sincere interest on this topic, how Babylon affects their lives, they would explain that it’s true. It is true that a sense of the former colonial slavery system is still alive, but then in a form of political slavery due to not being accepted by Spain, however, a part of the respondents experienced Babylon by being exploited by their employer due to their vulnerability of residing as an illegal.

While many of the West African respondents argue it is and should be the time for Africa, a change is not easy, because Babylon will keep on existing. It will not simply disappear. It is a paradox that still large quantities of (West) African migrants want to migrate to Spain and in the large extend Europe, even though many of them know they have to the dangerous ‘’clandestino’’ route. Babylon still exists, but the West African migrants know it is the place where is the money, the opportunity for a better existence. As Lamba said: ‘’everybody knows in Europe is the money, the people know you have money, because you are there’’ (27-04-2016), explaining the rational of going to Europe and the expectation people who are left behind have of you.

8.3 Migration will not stop

‘’Nowadays we are all on the move’’ (Bauman, 1998: p. 77).

As Lamba (17-03-2016) explained to me on the first day I met with him (see chapter 1), that everybody is a migrant; so does Bauman state that we are all on the move. In the current state of the world, in its intensifying globalizing process, migration plays a crucial part. The migration from (West) Africa does not seem to end or stop. The West African respondents in this study were determined to go to Europe, and thus arrived here.

While the European Union desperately tries to make the legal way of entering Europe more difficult and intensively entangled with certain laws, policies, but also with the migrants’ nationalities, illegal routes will most likely only increase. These migrants, who enter illegally, are often the catalyst of the increasing negative image European have. The anxieties have only increased together with the fear of more migrants, which are seen as the core ‘’problem’’ with the European management of the migration influx. Koser (2010) writes that irregular migration is a particularly emotive issue, one that can easily polarize someone’s opinion. The people that are concerned about national security and

150 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten border control are often opposed of the people whose main concern is the human rights of the migrants. Due to this opposition, it is a challenge to create an objective debate on the consequences of irregular migration, which are often magnified (Koser, 2007).

As elaborated before (chapter 5) according to Van Houtum and Pijpers (2007) the European Union is starting to resemble a ‘’gated community’’, with a desire to keep the outsider out, but even more to produce a purified, enlighted space for the insider. However, how can you call yourself enlighted when you only know the inside world which is very polarized and made to be like this. Bauman (1995; in van Houtum & van Naerssen, 2001) argues that precisely by the universal migration present in places, cities, countries, these places are still with us. He mentions that the city life in which many migrants come together can be simultaneously exciting and frightening; it creates an opportunity to live together with strangers, which makes life and migration so wonderful.

By now the European Union should understand that the harsh measures which are taken to stop illegal migration work inverted (van Houtum, Pijpers, 2007). The politics of more control, deportation and building higher walls against migration do not work. New ways will open up, more flexible, more expensive, and more dangerous. The opposite of a very closed border regime is to open all borders, which is a utopia, however the current policy ignores the aspirations of the (West) African migrants. These aspirations include seeking an opportunity to improve the quality of theirs- and their family’s lives, or simply to see and experience the world. Who are is the European Union to deny that right to the (West) African migrants; the right European citizens use regularly (as tourists). Migration remains to stay a very complex and intangible phenomenon, which is not being understood by everybody.

Overall Conclusion

In this concluding part I will point out the most important results of the research and its main research question; ‘’how do West African migrants survive in Barcelona, Europe?’’. I will elaborate on the aspects which are the fundament of the research, including; 1) migration stories of West African migrants to Europe; 2) Babylon, how it is felt, and what for affects it has on the respondents’ lives; 3) survival of the West African migrants in Barcelona and how they keep surviving, and 4) migration and/or aspiration plans for the future.

As mentioned before, migration is a significant part of each respondent’s story and often has impact on the way they are able to life in Europe. While motivations are in most cases overlapping, all West

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African respondents argue they are looking for a better life (for themselves and family back home) and hope(d) to find it here in Barcelona or Europe, the trajectories and ways of entering the EU are quite diverse. This diversity again shows the struggle to arrive, while the majority of the respondents was able to arrange a visa via family, friends or by marrying a European women, the rest had to take the long, expensive, dangerous and illegal route. Their current mobility status depends on their residence- and financial status. Those West African respondents with a legal residence and a financial healthy situation did not have any trouble moving internationally. Carling (2007) stated that Spain mostly acts as a transit country for unauthorized migrants arriving from the south, however I rather agree with Schapendonk and Steel (2014) who argue that transit places can turn into destinations. Barcelona in this case is not necessarily a transit point, but rather an end destination; most of the West African respondents lived there due to social ties or (economic) opportunities which a global city like Barcelona can offer. More research could be done in this area, why migrants end up in specific places, and the possibility for further migration.

The opportunities for West African migrants to establish themselves in Barcelona or Europe are extremely scarce, because most of the respondents state they still feel suppressed. African migrants, especially those arriving illegally, are still often portrayed as a threat to the security, welfare, and identity of Europe (Bauman, 2015). West African migrants are not European; they are strangers, and thus a threat. Therefor the EU has the oppressive need to protect themselves from West African migrants, and bit by bit starts to resemble as van Houtum and Pijpers (2007) call, a gated community. For all West African respondents in this study, Europe resembles more Babylon, which is crucial to understand the way they try to survive in Barcelona, and in greater extend Europe. Babylon is the corrupt and capitalistic society which suppresses the African people. The song, ‘’Babylon System’’, of Bob Marley helps to understand the meaning, and makes awareness of the white superior powers that control black people. Babylon is felt by the West African respondents in this study. They often feel powerless, and like the system is against their presence. Babylon is present in their lives and affects it, especially by those who are residing illegally in Spain. The West African migrants who are residing illegally in Barcelona try to avoid police, they try to stay invisible. The majority of the respondents in this study argue that Babylon is based on a sense of political slavery; they feel undermined and suppressed, while they should have the same human rights as everyone. Zapata- Barrero (2013) argued that the European domination over the world has only changed in its appearance, but not in its core practices; namely the suppression and exclusion of others. This can be made very clear by means of the black-and-white list made by the European Council argues van Houtum (2010); which divides the world between black and white, good and bad countries. I found this a very interesting topic, Babylon as a whole, which definitely could use more research. Especially

152 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten the way it impacts and affects the (West) African migrants’ lives, but also what it means to them and how they are able to feel it. I discussed some of these issues in this thesis; however, a deeper understanding of these aspects can be extremely interesting in seeing Europe from their point of view.

The main aspect of this research is the way West African migrants survive in Barcelona. All respondents would argue that their life is indeed a struggle of survival. Their migration history influences their possibilities and opportunities. While finding a job for the legally residing respondents was very difficult, the illegally residing respondents would not have a chance for finding a long-term contract job. And thus they often end up making their living from what the street has to offer. Informal economy is there for very much alive, it does not create a steady income, it is not what they expected to do, it is a day-to-day struggle, but it makes them able to survive. From the nineteen respondents, six were residing illegally in Spain, they are clandestino. The song ‘’Clandestino’’ which was made by Manu Chao almost two decades ago, is still very relevant and embodied in many of the West African migrants in Barcelona. This song tells the story of an illegal migrant who came from Africa and is not stuck in the ‘’heart of Babylon’’.

All the West African respondents have a religious belief which takes in major part of their life. It makes them belief they are not on their own, someone is looking after them, but it also make people of the same background or ethnicity come together which creates a sense of community. Next to their religious belief, music is another main component which helps and keeps West African migrants surviving. Not solely listen to music, what can have therapeutic outcomes (Baily and Collyer, 2006), but a significant amount of the respondents made their own music. They made music, simply out of enjoyment, but also to put their thoughts, feelings and emotions which were often based on autobiographical experiences of migrating and living in Babylon in their texts. This often ended up in Malegría (happy-sad) songs. More research on this issue would be of great value. Not only how (West African) migrants can relate to certain songs (as Clandestino), but also how they can express themselves in songs; how this helps them in their current situation.

For the majority of the West African respondents their lives here in Europe would be just temporarily, the eventual idea exists out of returning to Africa. A return to their home country would be the end of their survival life in Europe, but also a new start in Africa. While half of the respondents in this study had quite clear ideas on what they wanted to do (by means of business plans or family related developments), the other half did not have them, only loose thoughts or dreams; no concrete plans whatsoever. A very few respondents did not want to return to their home country. They were ‘’stuck’’ in the concrete jungle of Barcelona. Stuck as a clandestino in Barcelona, without reasons and

153 ‘Survival’ on the streets of ‘Babylon’ MSc Thesis Sjors Joosten meaning to go back, they would simply stay here. Some of these staying-respondents argued that Barcelona was an opportunity for them, an opportunity to become somebody. Because Babylon might be vicious in many ways, it is the place of opportunities, where dreams can come true.

However, a return to Africa, mamma Africa, was the dream which almost all respondents were determined to fulfil. According to Cerase (1974) there are three categories of return migration; as failure, as conservatist, and as innovation. A handful of the respondents were doing reasonably good, and thus were in the position to bring money back home and invest it. However, a significant amount of the West African respondents argued that the situation they were in was not the one they hoped for, and thus the best solution might be to simply return. This would mean a return of failure. The last option in the categories of Cerase is the return due to the conservatist feeling of the migrant; this was the case with a minority of the respondents, their return would be based on religious- and social reasons. However, based on my research I argue that the model of Cerase (1974) is incomplete, there is another reason to return which covers all of the categories, namely that of wanting to leave Babylon; not wanting to be here. The time West African respondents were spending here in Europe made them aware of the flaws and crucial difference between their beautiful mamma Africa and the corrupt Babylon. They would not go back to Africa, but forward.

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Zapata-Barrero, R. (2013) Borders in Motions: Concept and Policy Nexus Refugee Survey Quarterly, pp. 1-23

(2016) Bob Marley History Retrieved from: http://www.bobmarley.com

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Annex 1

Name Countr Main Trajectory into Means of Future (and y of occupatio Europe survival aspirations age) origin n Marty Senegal Promoter Plane to Islam - (33) Lamba Senegal Promoter Senegal – Spain (plane) Baye Fall Having a (36) clothes shop in Senegal, and one in Barcelona Yki (39) Nigeria Promoter; Nigeria Christianity; his Open a hassling; he family (in photograph sells weed Valencia) and camera on the shop; one in streets Nigeria, one in Barcelona Mome Senegal Promoter; Senegal – Genoa; Italy Islam; his cousin Make money, (23) /Italy hassling (plane) – Barcelona; (co-owner and go back Spain coffeeshop to his roots; Amnesia) Senegal Pose Nigeria Promoter Nigeria – Italy (plane) - Christian church Find a better (29) Barcelona situation Walter Nigeria Promoter Nigeria – Agadez; Niger Winners Chapel Family and a (20) (truck) – Algeria church; his real job, (truck) – Morocco girlfriend preferly in (truck) – Nador; Nigeria, but a Morocco (feet) – white woman Granada; Spain (boat) – would be nice Barcelona; Spain (bus) Luki (23) Nigeria Promoter Nigeria – Kano; Nigeria Winners Chapel Find a job (truck) – Agadez; Niger church; his and get his (truck) – Algeria sister/brother documents, (truck) – Libya (truck) in law (live finally wants – Tripoli; Libya (truck) outside of to have a – Lambadusa; Italy Barcelona) family and a (boat) – Bergamo; Italy wife in (bus) – Barcelona; Nigeria Spain (bus) Ibba Senegal Singer, artist Senegal – Madrid; Spain (reggae) music; Wants to be a Sane (plane) – Toledo; Spain singing; musician, and (30) (bus) – Balaguer; Spain help his – Barcelona; Spain family & community with ecological (water) projects Danny Nigeria Promoter Nigeria – Spain (plane) Christian Wants to do a (43) church; his study here in family (in Barcelona, Barcelona); and

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singing (as eventually FessBrandy) return to Nigeria Gatche Senegal Works for Dakar; Senegal – Gran Rapping (as G- Be a famous (31) ACNUR Canaria; Spain (boat) – Boy Konvict); rapper, (Spanish Spain (plane) Baye Fall return to UNHCR); Senegal to artist have a wife and family and live next to his mum Abduhlla Senegal Has own Senegal – Portugal Baye Fall Return to h (+/-40) mobile shop, (plane) – Italy (bus) – Senegal and goes to Barcelona; Spain make his eco- parks, tourism markets, project festivals to reality sell Roger Senegal - Senegal – Spain (plane) Drinking; - (+/-55) Yegge Gambia Artist; Sant Louis; Senegal – Singing (as Slam Become a (28) singer; Las Palmas; Spain Gueya); Baye singer, (boat) – Spain (plane) Fall improve public relation between Africa and Europe by music Fati (+/- Senegal hassling Senegal – Spain (plane) Baye Fall Return to 35) Touba (Senegal) the capital of Baye Fall Sely (26) Nigeria promoter Nigeria – Niger (truck) Winners Chapel Make a movie – Algeria (truck) – church; about his life; Morocco (truck) – Libya work with (truck) – Lampedusa; computers, Italy (boat) – Bergamo; music, and Italy (bus) – Barcelona; making Spain ( movies. Lami Gambia Constructio Gambia – Spain (plane) Islam; starting a Return to the (33) n worker family here Gambia and live there with his family Tova(+/- Gambia Works on Gambia – Sweden Islam; his family Return to the 33) the beach (plane) – Paris; France (Italian wife Gambia, most renting (plane) - Spain (bus) with baby; in likely without stretchers Barcelona) his European during family summer Mayko Gambia hassling Gambia – Spain (plane) Islam; his family Find a job, (32) (Austrian girl make money,

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with new born then return baby; in to the Austria) Gambia, or stay with his family in Austria Ale (29) Gambia hassling Gambia – Switzerland Islam Return to (plane) – Spain (bus) Africa, the future is in Africa

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Annex 2

Interview guide DRAFT:

This interview guide is not a strict format displaying some formulations and an order of questions. It is meant as a framework helping you to touch upon the same relevant issues during your fieldwork. Together with the excel sheets (see dropbox) and your diary, it forms the most important fieldwork guidance in the field. The issues raised are not related to your individual project, but only map the key questions of my Veni project (=your internship research). The different issues are often overlapping and can be caught when you try to reconstruct a detailed migration history of your respondent. Do not hesitate to contact each other (including me) with questions, best practices, new ideas, etc. I am looking forward to put this research into practice. Thanks for joining my team!

Some further instructions:

- As discussed, we are not very selective in our sampling. So even in cases your thesis focuses on ‘problem-related’ mobility (undocumented migrants/asylum) – try to have a broad sampling approach. Those who have papers now, might have been confronted with similar problems in the past. - Your engagement with migrants might be highly unstructured. Please try to document your conversations and encounters as good as possible. Make use of a DIARY (see dropbox) that keeps track on the different people you meet. This diary might also help you to enrich your empirical chapters with nice anecdotes, photos, observations and/or other in-depth illustrations of specific situations. - Recorded interviews are preferred, but they are not a goal in itself. You may ask your respondent if the conversation/interview can be recorded, but this request can best be raised when some level of confidence is already established. - Take your time to document your conversations and encounters. Interviewing and going to the field are of course key to this research. However, do not wait to store data and write down the interviews as you will lose a lot of ‘context’ / feelings / emotions etc. At the end of a full research day, you might not even recall the persons you have met. Be aware of that. In case of an unrecorded interview, it is wise to sit down after the specific conversation and work on your notes, specify things that have been said by your respondent and yourself. - It might be very useful to use additional ways to illustrate your fieldwork (photo’s of people and places / mental maps). - Please store the interview / field notes by uploading it on your personal folder in dropbox. Start with the abbreviation of country1, your own name and finally its contents (example1: SpSaskia1 Interview Dawda Senegal 2016-1-15; Example 2: NLJessica3 Interview Sara Ghana 2016-2-5)

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0. Personal characteristics

Main goal: to understand someone’s migration trajectory it is very insightful to know the background of the respondent. This includes:

- Country and place of origin - Age (although it is far less important in African contexts) - Ethnic background - Occupation / Level of education - Married? Family in co-presence, or family in transnational spheres.

Please do not take this as a list that you have to go through before the interview starts. It is just a reminder that this is relevant information that you come across during your encounter(s) and during conversation(s). Please pay attention to these issues.

1. Trajectory Patterns: Main goal: Try to understand the diverse spatial and temporal Patterns of migrants’ mobility (S-N, N- S, S-S, N-N movements).

This implies that you try to collect detailed migration histories (where have they moved to, for what reason, for how long have they been there, did they like it? For what reason). It includes those movements outside Europe and inside Europe. Evidently, this project is mostly interested in the second part. Do not raise a series of questions (as if you were a police officer), but try to follow the stories of the migrants. Often this information can be gained with very open and innocent questions e.g. Was it difficult to arrive in Europe? or: Have you been to other European countries? Let the migrant speak for himself, try to catch interesting aspects and come back to it later. When the migrant has shared some of the stories, you can think of follow up questions.

2. Motivations: Main goal: try to understand the multiple motivations of migrants for being on the move.

Again, a direct question: What was your motivation to move? Will probably not lead to the most insightful result. Try to understand your respondents’ story, let him ‘guide’ the conversation, and catch up interesting elements. A simple why was that? Or a confirming ‘so you were there only to visit this friend?’ might give some further information for you.

As we discussed during the interview session, motivations often overlap, and this is exactly what interests me. Motivations can also be rather abstract and unspecified. In general we distinguish these five types of motivation:

Economic motivation: finding job / looking for job / business travel, etc. Social motivation: visiting friends, family etc

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Political motivation: looking for safe places / moving away from xenophobia (b.v. in Italy ‘Prato’ is known as a left-wing city (like Nijmegen) protecting better the rights of migrants), etc. Cultural motivation: tourism / religion as driver for movement (pilgrimage), leisure, experiencing a place etc. Migratory status as motivation: Trying to apply for asylum in a third country / re-newal of papers (some migrants in Austria may move back to Italy to renew their asylum papers there)

Also pay attention to the fact that migrants are engaged in forced mobility: being transferred from one place to the other during asylum period for example. Actually it can be a very thin line whether a migrant is willing to move or forced to move (see for instance migratory status as motivation)

3a. Restrictions to mobility: Main goal: To understand the diversity of opposing factors that restricts migrant’s mobility. They can be perceived or real. At least pay attention to:

- Documented/undocumented migrants – what kind of papers do they have, and how does this impact their mobility (NB. Sometimes the lack of ‘stable papers’ create more mobility (e.g. when a asylum paper must be renewed in every 3 months)) - Border encounter (perceived/real): did they encounter border controls inside the EU / does the chance of being caught at the border refrain them from moving? - Forced immobility: Do they experienced a form of detainment (many migrants will refer to ‘prison’ or ‘camp’ when they talk about this issue, where how long, what happened there) . - Economic restrictions: lack of financial means to continue their travel. - Forced mobility: sent back to a certain country (Dublin regulations), or place (detention center, forced transfer)

Sometimes it works to start with this issue. A very politicized statement regarding your research might trigger respondents’ participation: e.g. your research addresses all the restrictions that migrants face in contemporary Europe.

3b. Factors transgressing mobility restrictions Main goal: try to understand the factors that help migrants to be mobile and to overcome certain barriers. Pay attention to at least:

- The role of social networks consisting of ‘strong ties’ (family and inner circle of friends) and ‘weak ties’ (acquaintances, via-via contacts etc) - The role of paid services (connection men / smuggling in the EU) - Other services. Some very ‘conventional’ services can enhance migrants’ mobilities: Eurostar buslines for instance, is one example. But also be sensitive to unexpected factors. In my recent fieldwork in Germany I noticed that some migrants simply use online hitchhiking services to move from A to B.

Please note that the lack of connections may also be a restriction to mobility.

4. Potential mobility Main goal: to indicate whether a migrant is likely to move in the near future (5 years)

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I decided to stick to the old three-fold typology, and to relate the first two to migration mobility (so indeed making a living somewhere else). SO the stayer is not likely to move to another place to live there, whereas the probable mover is. This

Probable stayer: being settled in the region, saying that he is willing to stay ‘there’. Additional indicators: having work/likely to find work / having family, and strong local social contacts

Probable mover: a migrant who is rather uprooted in a place, showing a drive to move soon to another country. Additional indicators: having a strong social network outside the country, knowing other places

Frequent mover: This is somewhat different from the other two types as it concerns a multi-local livelihood. In the other two types you see migrants making a living ‘in place’, while you might also meet migrants who are living a trans-local live in two or more places. In this latter case, they are frequently travelling between these places, and not likely to ‘settle down’ in only one place. (for instance: I met migrants from the Bijlmer who are moving every year to Spain to work in the agriculture sector; or in Greece I know one Nigerian who is spending his summer time in Corfu for the tourist business, outside this season he is moving back to Athens.)

With this last dimension of potential mobility we are able to investigate unexpected mobilities in the near future.

5. Information interview In all cases it is important to store the basic information regarding the encounter.

Date(s) of encounter/interview: Place(s) of encounter/interview: Code: (see excel sheet dropbox)

Please document some basic information regarding the interview/conversation in the excel sheet provided on dropbox. This helps me to create an overview.

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Annex 3

‘’Babylon System’’ – Bob Marley

We refuse to be What you wanted us to be; We are what we are: That's the way (way) it's going to be. You don't know! You can't educate I For no equal opportunity: (Talkin' 'bout my freedom) Talkin' 'bout my freedom, People freedom (freedom) and liberty! Yeah, we've been trodding on the winepress much too long: Rebel, rebel! Yes, we've been trodding on the winepress much too long: Rebel, rebel!

Babylon system is the vampire, yea! (vampire) Suckin' the children day by day, yeah! Me say: de Babylon system is the vampire, falling empire, Suckin' the blood of the sufferers, yea-ea-ea-ea-e-ah! Building church and university, wo-o-ooh, yeah! - Deceiving the people continually, yea-ea! Me say them graduatin' thieves and murderers; Look out now: they suckin' the blood of the sufferers (sufferers). Yea-ea-ea! (sufferers)

Tell the children the truth; Tell the children the truth; Tell the children the truth right now! Come on and tell the children the truth; Tell the children the truth; Tell the children the truth; Tell the children the truth; Come on and tell the children the truth.

'Cause - 'cause we've been trodding on ya winepress much too long: Rebel, rebel! And we've been taken for granted much too long: Rebel, rebel now!

(Trodding on the winepress) Trodding on the winepress (rebel): got to rebel, y'all (rebel)! We've been trodding on the winepress much too long - ye-e-ah! (rebel) Yea-e-ah! (rebel) Yeah! Yeah!

From the very day we left the shores (trodding on the winepress) Of our Father's land (rebel), We've been trampled on (rebel), Oh now! (we've been oppressed, yeah!) Lord, Lord, go to ...

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Annex 4

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