Departamento de Ciência Política e Políticas Públicas The dynamics of migration and their impact on the country of origin: A case study of Senegalese labour migrants on the Cape Verdean island Boa Vista and their relatives at home Philipp Jung Dissertação submetida como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Estudos Africanos Orientador: Dr. Ulrich Schiefer, Professor Auxiliar, ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa Co-orientador: Doutor Stephan Dünnwald, Investigador Auxiliar Centro de Estudos Africanos – ISCTE-Instituto Universitário de Lisboa Junho, 2013 Acknowledgment First and foremost, I would like to thank all the people in Cape Verde and Senegal, who supported me during my field work. All the Senegalese, who were willing to share a part of their life story with me, belong my gratefulness. Their openness and kindness facilitated my work significantly. A special thanks belongs to Tapha and Max, who assisted me in Boa Vista, and to Famará for his immense effort in Senegal. The Senegalese hospitality was amazing, and I want to thank all of those, who invited me in Sal Rei and Senegal to their homes. Anna, Peter and Lígia sacrificed their time, read my work, corrected errors, gave important comments, or helped me with graphics. I cannot thank them enough for their effort. I sincerely thank Prof. Dr. Ulrich Schiefer and Dr. Stephan Dünnwald for their supervision and helpful suggestions. The research was part of the project African societies facing global dynamics: turbulences between external intervention, migration and food insecurity financed by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) and I am very grateful to have had the opportunity to write this MA thesis within the project. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, whose support made this research possible. I I. Abstract Since the beginning of the new millennium Cape Verde has become a destination for a growing number of migrants from continental West Africa, especially from other ECOWAS member states. After migrants from Guinea-Bissau, Senegalese build the second biggest community of ECOWAS migrants. This thesis addresses migration processes between Senegal and the Cape Verdean Island Boa Vista. The focus lies on migration motives, migration patterns and aspects, which influence the choice of Cape Verde as destination. Furthermore it analyses the flow of remittances and how the situation of the migrants on the island Boa Vista influences this monetary flow. Finally, the influence of these remittances on the lives of the migrants’ families in Senegal is examined. Households in Senegal spend a high percentage of their income on food, and they often depend on the support of migrated household members. Families try to minimize risk of food insecurity through the diversification of income resources, and migration is one coping strategy to do so. Empirical data from research in Cape Verde and Senegal are used for the analysis of the above mentioned factors. This thesis seeks to add knowledge about remittances in the environment of intra-continental migration in West Africa, and more specifically about the relatively new and until now barely researched phenomenon of immigration to Cape Verde. Keywords: Migration; Senegal; Cape Verde; Remittances; Food Security II II. Resumo O crescimento económico e a extensão do sector do turismo sobretudo nos últimos vinte anos fez de Cabo Verde um destino para um número crescente de migrantes da África Ocidental, especialmente de outros estados membros da CEDEAO, desde o início do nova milénio. Senegaleses formam a segunda maior comunidade de imigrantes da CEDEAO, depois de migrantes da Guiné-Bissau. Esta tese aborda os processos de migração entre o Senegal e a ilha de Boa Vista, Cabo Verde. A tese foca na análise dos motivos da migração, padrões de migração e os aspectos que influenciam a escolha de Cabo Verde como destino. Além disso, o fluxo de remessas e como a situação dos imigrantes na ilha da Boa Vista influencia esse fluxo monetário são analisados. Por fim, examinamos a influência dessas remessas na vida das famílias dos migrantes no Senegal e como elas são gastas. Dados empíricos de pesquisas de campo em Cabo Verde e Senegal são utilizados para a análise dos factores mencionados acima. Esta tese busca agregar conhecimento sobre as remessas de dinheiro no ambiente de migração intracontinental na África Ocidental, e mais especificamente sobre o relativamente novo e até agora pouco pesquisado fenómeno de imigração para Cabo Verde. Palavras-chave: Migração; Senegal, Cabo Verde, Remessas; Segurança Alimentar III III. Index I. Abstract ............................................................................................................... II II. Resumo ...............................................................................................................III III. Index ................................................................................................................... IV IV. List of figures ...................................................................................................... VI V. List of photos ...................................................................................................... VI VI. Abbreviation ........................................................................................................ VI 1. FROM SENEGAL TO CAPE VERDE AND BACK: AN INTRODUCTION ............. 1 2. RESEARCH QUESTION ..................................................................................... 3 3. METHODOLOGY ................................................................................................ 5 3.1 RESEARCH DESIGN ....................................................................................... 5 3.2 FIELDWORK BOA VISTA / CAPE VERDE ...................................................... 6 3.2.1 RESEARCH SITE AND CONDITIONS .................................................................... 6 3.2.2 DATA COLLECTION ............................................................................................... 6 3.3 FIELDWORK SENEGAL .................................................................................12 3.3.1 RESEARCH SITE AND CONDITIONS ...................................................................12 3.3.2 DATA COLLECTION ..............................................................................................13 4. A THEMATIC REVIEW OF LITERATURE ON MIGRATION ...............................15 4.1 MIGRATION THEORIES .................................................................................16 4.1.1 MIGRATION AS A RESULT OF INDIVIDUAL CHOICE AND PUSH AND PULL FACTORS ............................................................................................................................16 4.1.2 MIGRATION AS A HOUSEHOLD DECISION AND COPING STRATEGY .............18 4.1.3 MIGRATION SYSTEMS, NETWORK APPROACHES AND TRANSNATIONAL SPACES...............................................................................................................................20 4.2 MIGRATION AND DEVELOPMENT ................................................................24 4.2.1 REMITTANCES, INCOME DIVERSIFICATION AND POVERTY REDUCTION ......25 4.2.2 REMITTANCES AND INVESTMENT .....................................................................28 5. A FRAMEWORK FOR MIGRATION FROM SENEGAL TO CAPE VERDE .........31 5.1 SENEGAL .......................................................................................................31 5.1.1 ECONOMIC AND DEMOGRAPHIC FACTORS .....................................................31 5.1.2 MIGRATION ...........................................................................................................32 IV 5.2 CAPE VERDE .................................................................................................34 6. RESULTS ...........................................................................................................36 6.1 MIGRATION FROM SENEGAL TO BOA VISTA .............................................36 6.1.1 REGION OF ORIGIN AND SOCIAL CHARACTERISTICS .....................................36 6.1.2 MIGRATION ROUTE .............................................................................................39 6.1.3 MIGRATION DECISION .........................................................................................40 6.1.4 MULTIPLE MIGRATIONS: AN BIOGRAPHIC OUTLINE OF THE MIGRATION CAREER OF TWO MIGRANTS ...........................................................................................50 6.2 WORKING AND LIVING IN SAL REI: SENEGALESE IMMIGRANTS LIVING BETWEEN UNCERTAINTY AND TRANQUILLITY ...........................................................52 6.3 INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MIGRANTS AND FAMILIES IN SENEGAL ........61 6.3.1 STAYING IN CONTACT OVER DISTANCE ...........................................................61 6.3.2 THE FLOW OF REMITTANCES ............................................................................63 6.3.3 THE USAGE OF REMITTANCES ..........................................................................67 6.3.4 ONE HOUSEHOLD, TWO COUNTRIES ................................................................71 7. CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................75 Bibliography .........................................................................................................................79 VII. Appendix 1: Questionnaire ................................................................................