Abstract
Understanding the nexus between poverty, inequality and decision-making under uncertainty in migrants’ journeys across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe remains a significant challenge, raising intense scholarly debate. Several suggestions have been offered on how to reduce migrants’ journeys across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe in several guises, including the formulation and implementation of proper social, political and economic policies in Africa. Despite all odds and challenges, migrants from Africa cross state boundaries and stay in transit state(s) for limited periods, en route the Mediterranean Sea to Europe. Underpinned by different migration theories and conceptual frameworks, our study applied a qualitative methodology to examine why migrants decide, under uncertainty, to cross the Mediterranean Sea from their countries of origin to the ultimate destinations in Europe. While focusing on the life experiences of purposively selected migrants from West Africa, the research seeks to address the underlying factors of irregular migration. The result of this empirical study clearly illustrates that limited access to opportunities, poverty and unemployment amidst precarious development challenges and the youth population bulge, exacerbate Africa’s migration crisis. The study finally brings into focus empirical observations and provides suggestions for stakeholders’ engagement in addressing African migration challenges.
Highlights
Migration in Africa, like other parts of the world, is a long-standing practice, spanning centuries
25 interviews were conducted with refugees, asylum seekers and return migrants as well as with employees from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
Decision-making under uncertainty is a consequence of several choices and a set of different outcomes
Summary
Migration in Africa, like other parts of the world, is a long-standing practice, spanning centuries. The diversity of mobility among Africa’s population elucidates the significance of migration for Africa’s development (Adepoju, 2000). West Africa, as the name implies, is the westernmost part of Africa, bordered to the north by the Maghreb and North Africa, to the east by Central Africa and the Atlantic Ocean to the south and west respectively It comprises 16 independent states, namely, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Côte d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone and Togo. Beyond the considerable number of intra-African migrants and other non-African citizens crisscrossing West Africa, the countries of the region serve as both origin and transit for large numbers of migrants, en route to Europe
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