Migrations in Africa. The Case of West Africa and Why There is not an “invasion” of Europe
The main objective of this work is to analyze the migratory dynamics that are carried out in West Africa based on the question that emerges from the dominant discourses regarding the alleged invasion of African migrants to Europe, especially after 2015. Since that year, the most frequent slogan has...
| Main Author: | |
|---|---|
| Format: | Online |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad
2024
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41616 |
| _version_ | 1811171480115871744 |
|---|---|
| author | Blanco, Pablo |
| author_facet | Blanco, Pablo |
| author_sort | Blanco, Pablo |
| collection | Portal de Revistas |
| description | The main objective of this work is to analyze the migratory dynamics that are carried out in West Africa based on the question that emerges from the dominant discourses regarding the alleged invasion of African migrants to Europe, especially after 2015. Since that year, the most frequent slogan has been that of “Large waves of refugees arrive in Europe”.
However, reality shows that there is no such invasion in absolute quantitative terms, but there is an increasingly racist and xenophobic discourse that speaks of the “migration crisis”, which alerts about an alleged invasion of Africans to the continent, when, in fact, almost 80% of those who emigrate from their countries go to another country on the African continent and only the remaining 20% “try” to cross to Europe. And this last figure represents an extremely small percentage of the population in relation to the European population.
Based on fieldwork in Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger carried out for a doctoral dissertation, the reflections on the problem posed are aimed at dismantling ideas widely disseminated by the media and certain academic fields in relation to migrations and sub-Saharan movements towards Europe, in many cases based on representations linked to “the flight from the continent”, “wars”, “ethnic conflicts” and “the invasion of migrants to Europe”, among others. |
| format | Online |
| id | oai:ojs.revistas.unc.edu.ar:article-41616 |
| institution | Universidad Nacional de Cordoba |
| language | spa |
| publishDate | 2024 |
| publisher | Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad |
| record_format | ojs |
| spelling | oai:ojs.revistas.unc.edu.ar:article-416162024-01-07T21:50:06Z Migrations in Africa. The Case of West Africa and Why There is not an “invasion” of Europe Migraciones en África. El caso de África Occidental y por qué no existe una “invasión” a Europa Blanco, Pablo Migrations- West Africa- invasion- Europe Migraciones África Occidental invasión Europa The main objective of this work is to analyze the migratory dynamics that are carried out in West Africa based on the question that emerges from the dominant discourses regarding the alleged invasion of African migrants to Europe, especially after 2015. Since that year, the most frequent slogan has been that of “Large waves of refugees arrive in Europe”. However, reality shows that there is no such invasion in absolute quantitative terms, but there is an increasingly racist and xenophobic discourse that speaks of the “migration crisis”, which alerts about an alleged invasion of Africans to the continent, when, in fact, almost 80% of those who emigrate from their countries go to another country on the African continent and only the remaining 20% “try” to cross to Europe. And this last figure represents an extremely small percentage of the population in relation to the European population. Based on fieldwork in Senegal, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger carried out for a doctoral dissertation, the reflections on the problem posed are aimed at dismantling ideas widely disseminated by the media and certain academic fields in relation to migrations and sub-Saharan movements towards Europe, in many cases based on representations linked to “the flight from the continent”, “wars”, “ethnic conflicts” and “the invasion of migrants to Europe”, among others. El presente trabajo tiene como principal objetivo analizar las dinámicas migratorias que se llevan adelante en África Occidental a partir del interrogante que se desprende de los discursos dominantes respecto de la supuesta invasión de migrantes africanos a Europa, especialmente después de 2015. Desde ese año, la consigna más frecuente ha sido “Grandes oleadas de refugiados arriban a Europa”. Sin embargo, la realidad muestra que no existe tal invasión en términos cuantitativos absolutos, además de profundizarse el discurso racista y xenófobo que habla de “crisis migratoria” para alertar sobre una presunta invasión de africanos al continente, cuando casi un 80% de quienes emigran de sus países se dirige a otro país del continente africano y tan solo el, aproximadamente, 20% restante “intenta” cruzar a Europa. Y este último dato representa un porcentaje de población extremadamente reducido en relación con la población europea. A partir del trabajo de campo en Senegal, Malí, Burkina Faso y Níger, realizado para una tesis de doctorado, las reflexiones en torno al problema planteado se orientan a desmontar ideas ampliamente difundidas por medios de comunicación y determinados ámbitos académicos en relación con las migraciones subsaharianas en dirección a Europa, en muchos casos fundamentadas por representaciones vinculadas a “la huida del continente”, “las guerras”, “los conflictos étnicos” y “la invasión de migrantes a Europa”, entre otras. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios sobre Cultura y Sociedad 2024-01-07 info:eu-repo/semantics/article info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion Artículos revisados por pares application/pdf text/html https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41616 10.55441/1668.7515.n32.41616 Astrolabio; No. 32 (2024): January - June: State and society in Africa today. Transformative dynamics and emerging actors; 158-186 Astrolabio; Núm. 32 (2024): Enero - Junio: Estado y sociedad en el África actual. Dinámicas transformadoras y protagonistas emergentes; 158-186 Astrolabio; n. 32 (2024): Enero - Junio: Estado y sociedad en el África actual. Dinámicas transformadoras y protagonistas emergentes; 158-186 1668-7515 10.55441/1668.7515.n32 spa https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41616/44503 https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41616/44504 Derechos de autor 2024 Pablo Blanco https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0 |
| spellingShingle | Migrations- West Africa- invasion- Europe Migraciones África Occidental invasión Europa Blanco, Pablo Migrations in Africa. The Case of West Africa and Why There is not an “invasion” of Europe |
| title | Migrations in Africa. The Case of West Africa and Why There is not an “invasion” of Europe |
| title_alt | Migraciones en África. El caso de África Occidental y por qué no existe una “invasión” a Europa |
| title_full | Migrations in Africa. The Case of West Africa and Why There is not an “invasion” of Europe |
| title_fullStr | Migrations in Africa. The Case of West Africa and Why There is not an “invasion” of Europe |
| title_full_unstemmed | Migrations in Africa. The Case of West Africa and Why There is not an “invasion” of Europe |
| title_short | Migrations in Africa. The Case of West Africa and Why There is not an “invasion” of Europe |
| title_sort | migrations in africa the case of west africa and why there is not an invasion of europe |
| topic | Migrations- West Africa- invasion- Europe Migraciones África Occidental invasión Europa |
| topic_facet | Migrations- West Africa- invasion- Europe Migraciones África Occidental invasión Europa |
| url | https://revistas.unc.edu.ar/index.php/astrolabio/article/view/41616 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT blancopablo migrationsinafricathecaseofwestafricaandwhythereisnotaninvasionofeurope AT blancopablo migracionesenafricaelcasodeafricaoccidentalyporquenoexisteunainvasionaeuropa |