AEGIS CRG ‘Africa in the World’ workshop: African Migration. Political Framings and Tactics of Resistance

Countries all over Europe seem to increasingly converge in their strong anti-immigrant political discourses, as exemplified by ‘best friends’ Wilders, Orbán and Meloni. Taking this  reality as our point of departure, in this workshop we will have a closer look at the political framings of African migration in Eastern and Western Europe and how they relate to political, social, and economic dynamics in these countries. We will also extend our comparative focus to African migrant receiving countries in other parts of the world, such as South Africa, China, and Columbia: how is African migration framed in these settings and why? The second objective of the workshop is to explore how these political framings and related anti-migration policies are resisted, countered, and circumvented – by African leaders, by African migrants, and by local, national, and transnational solidarity and activist initiatives.  The contributions to this workshop will enable to trace communalities and differences in anti-migrant rhetorics, identify points of porosity, and draw a multidimensional and transnational map of countering initiatives – allowing space for thinking the world differently.

This workshop is organised by AEGIS CRG Africa in the World.

Organisers: Mayke Kaag (ASCL) and István Tarrósy (University of Pécs).

The event will take place both in Leiden in person and online. Online attendees will receive the link to the online platform one day before the start of the event.

Programme:

9:00 Welcome and Introduction by Mayke Kaag (African Studies Centre Leiden & University of Amsterdam)

9:30-10:30

• Chair: Istvan Tarrósy (University of Pécs)
• Akinyinka Akinyoade (African Studies Centre Leiden): New Directions of Intercontinental Migration from Africa
• Discussant: Judit Kiss (University of Pécs)

10: 30-11:00 Tea/coffee break

11:00-12:15

• Chair: Mayke Kaag (African Studies Centre Leiden and University of Amsterdam)
• István Tarrósy (University of Pécs): Consistency and Inconsistency in the Hungarian Immigration Policy. Billboards, Scholarships and Africa
• Hajer Trabelsi (University of Pécs): The New Gateway to Europe? Tunisia as an Emerging Transit Hub for Sub-Saharan Migrants
• Discussant: Abdourahmane Seck (Université Gaston Berger, Saint-Louis)

12 :15-13 :00 Lunch

13:00-14:45

• Chair: István Tarrósy (University of Pécs)
• Apostolos Andrikopoulos (University College London): Contesting the Sham Marriage Narrative: Legality, Masculinity, and the Negotiation of Reciprocal Dependency in Nigerian-European Cross-border Marriages
• Jonathan Echeverri Zuluaga (Universidad de Antioquia): Between Misrepresentation, Indifference and Empathy: Perceptions and discourses of Africans on the Move as They Cross Colombian Territory
• Rishuai Chen (African Studies Centre Leiden): Navigating the Contradiction: The Everyday Ethics of African Migrants in China

14:45-15:15 Coffee/tea break 

15.15-16.45 Film (tba) and discussion

16.45-17.00 Conclusion and closing by István Tarrósy and Mayke Kaag

17:00 Drinks

Abstracts in order of appearance:

Akinyinka Akinyoade - New Directions of Intercontinental Migration from Africa – Starting with Statistics

One of the myths of international migration is that ‘development will reduce migration’. Using the Human Development Index (HDI) and international migration data, we will examine directions of intercontinental migration from Africa for the period 2015-2019 to test the assertion. The year 2015 is taken as the beginning year of assessment following the spate of ‘fortress Europe’ in political discourse and 2019 is taken as the cut-off peak year in the level of development due to the unheralded Covid-19 that brought in its wake visible decline in human development and important changes to international migration. In the interval, what can statistics tell us about the directions of intercontinental migration from Africa?

István Tarrósy - Consistency and Inconsistency in the Hungarian Immigration Policy. Billboards, Scholarships and Africa

This contribution intends to set the scene for the Hungarian case by presenting the anti-immigration policy context via the national billboard campaign, political communication and such connected issues as societal perceptions and reactions, and will embed the presence of Africans in Hungary. It will shed light on several inconsistencies in a rather consistent policy framework. The cases of government scholarships and guest workers will be highlighted in the discussion.

Hajer Trabelsi - The New Gateway to Europe? Tunisia as an Emerging Transit Hub for Sub-Saharan Migrants

Though traditionally known as a country of emigration, the last decade has transformed Tunisia to a crucial transit hub for Sub-Saharan African migrants attempting to reach Europe via the Central Mediterranean route. Tunisia´s geographic proximity to Europe coupled with its relative stability, less effective border control and shifting migration policies have rendered the country a key stop for irregular Sub-Saharan migrants. However, Tunisia's growing role in irregular migration brings multifaceted and daunting challenges, including economic instability, escalating anti-migrant sentiment, and mounting pressure from the European Union to tighten border controls and curb the burgeoning migrant flows. In response, Tunisia has ramped up border enforcement, sparking polemical crackdowns and growing human rights concerns including racial discrimination, detentions and forced expulsions of undocumented Sub-Saharan migrants. Stranded mainly in the capital and the coastal cities of Sfax and Sousse, these migrants suffer not only from jeopardising living conditions but also from hostility and xenophobia. This paper explores the driving factors behind Tunisia’s emergence as a chokepoint, the political and social challenges it faces, and the humanitarian implications of its migration policies on Sub-Saharan migrants’ “community” in the country. Furthermore, it examines the EU’s role in shaping Tunisia’s approach to migration and the broader consequences of Europe’s externalization of border control. As Tunisia increasingly acts as a country of embarkation for migrants aiming to reach Europe, this study accentuates the need for more effective and comprehensive policies that balance security concerns with the protection of migrant rights.

Apostolos Andrikopoulos - Contesting the Sham Marriage Narrative: Legality, Masculinity, and the Negotiation of Reciprocal Dependency in Nigerian-European Cross-border Marriages

Over the past two decades in the Netherlands, there has been a noticeable rise in marriages between Nigerian migrant men and women from Europe’s periphery. This shift reflects a change in Nigerian men’s spousal choices: from Dutch citizen spouses of varied ethnic backgrounds to EU citizen spouses. Dutch immigration authorities suspect that the relatively easier path to legal status through marriage to an EU citizen (compared to a Dutch citizen) is the primary motivation behind many of these unions. As a result, they often view these marriages as “sham” and closely scrutinize the motives of the men involved. This rigid distinction between “genuine” and “sham” marriages rests on the flawed assumption that love and material interest are mutually exclusive. Drawing on ethnographic case studies, I argue that love and material interest frequently coexist in these relationships, just as they do in non-migrant marriages. Moreover, these cases demonstrate that Nigerian men’s dependence on their wives for legal status places them in a subordinate position that conflicts with their ideals of marriage and masculinity. Many navigate these asymmetrical dynamics by choosing partners from Southern and Eastern Europe - EU citizens who are often working-class migrants themselves. The socio-economic position of these European women in the Netherlands allows Nigerian men to express care in material terms valued by their wives, thereby subverting their subordinate position within the marriage and fostering a reciprocal dependency.

Jonathan Echeverri Zuluaga - Between Misrepresentation, Indifference and Empathy: Perceptions and discourses of Africans on the Move as They Cross Colombian Territory

Since the beginning of the 21st century, Africans of various nationalities have been migrating through South America, crossing Colombian territory on their way to Central and North America. Although their transit remains largely invisible, political factors such as border closures, and more personal ones such as running out of money cause their journeys to stop. While they wait, Africans on the move interact with locals. It is also during these moments that the media and state authorities (and NGOs acting on their behalf) create discourses about the identity and motivations of these border crossers. This presentation reflects on the perceptions and discourses around these foreign others as they have emerged in Necoclí, a town on the Colombian side of the border between Colombia and Panamá, perceptions and discourses that oscillate between misrepresentation, indifference and empathy. Colombia is a country that has never had significant flows of migrants into its territory. It has rather sent its nationals out. The transit of Africans, Caribbeans and South Asians to Central and North America is practically invisible to the state, pushed aside by other, more urgent issues to be made visible and resolved, such as the massive arrival of Venezuelans over the last decade. While the encounter between locals and Africans on the move in Necoclí allows for very different ways of recognising and engaging with each other, the state, media and NGOs reduce the identity and motivations of these Africans to stereotypes that undermine their autonomy.

Rishuai Chen - Navigating the Contradiction: The Everyday Ethics of African Migrants in China

African migration to China reveals a significant contradiction between state narratives and grassroot interactions. On the one hand, at the state level, political discourses such as the ‘Sino-Africa Friendship’ and the ‘China-Africa Community with a Shared Future’ emphasise the historical ties and ‘win-win’ cooperation between China and African countries. This political framework, to a certain extent, legitimises the presence of African migrants in China, positioning them as symbolic figures of Sino-African amity. On the other hand, however, socially structural exclusion and racialised imaginaries are encountered by African migrants in everyday life. Mass media coverage, online commentary, and everyday interactions continually reproduce anxieties about African presence, further reinforcing the everyday border and ‘Othering’ perceptions. Such places African migrants in a paradoxical position: celebrated as symbols of diplomatic solidarity yet stigmatised and marginalised in everyday life. This raises the question: how do African migrants perceive, negotiate, and navigate such contradictions? Two ethnographic studies on African migrants in the Chinese city of Guangzhou offer insights from the micro-level of ordinary ethics: first, in Sino-African intimate relationships, African partners seek to reframe their Chinese partners’ perceptions of ‘cleanliness’ to dismantle the social stigmas attached to Africans in China; second, within grassroots Sino-African trade, how so-called the trusted subjectivities are tactically negotiated in everyday interactions to address the fragility of trust. It is argued that the experiences of African migrants regarding these are inherently emotional, relationally entangled, and more importantly, ethically charged.