Migration in times of changing geographies of vulnerability: the reconstruction of Senegalese translocal livelihood strategies during the economic downturn in Italy and Spain

in: Afriche e Orienti 19 (2), 123-139

Volltext/Document

Whereas the role of migration as a coping strategy with vulnerability in the countries of origin has been widely examined, the effects of the loss of effectiveness of migration destinations (e.g. due to economic crises and changing immigration policies) remain insufficiently studied. This paper investigates how Senegalese migrants and their households have reacted to the economic downturn in Spain and Italy by reconstructing their translocal livelihood strategies. It draws upon a multi-sited ethnographic study conducted at four villages in Senegal and at two immigration destinations in Spain and Italy. The paper founds that households react to economic crises in their immigration destinations through the same mobility-based strategies through which they cope with livelihood crises in their places of origin. These strategies are furthermore permanently readapted to evolving geographies of vulnerability. The paper shows the essential role of translocality for the resilience of household members both at the place of origin and at the places of destination.