sub-Saharan Migrants Research Articles

Pre-hospital time delays in imported malaria diagnosis in hospitalized sub-Saharan travelers and migrants: not only on the patient’s shoulders

Pre-hospital time delays in imported malaria diagnosis in hospitalized sub-Saharan travelers and migrants: not only on the patient’s shoulders

Constructing with ruins. José Ignacio Linazasoro: buildings for marginalised places in Madrid

Spain’s large cities have long suffered from decay and crime in the central areas, and the impoverishment and depopulation of smaller towns located in the crown. Madrid is such an example. The Lavapiés neighbourhood was a site of rampant unauthorised building practices. Formerly a shelter for sub-Saharan migrants, it is now among the best known to the tourist masses, which, however, mask its delinquency and social deterioration. Instead, the rural hamlet of Valdemaqueda has shrunk to its current number of six hundred inhabitants. Its economy is limited to religious pilgrimages, thus risking the disappearance of the local community. José Ignacio Linazasoro (1947), a Spanish architect living and working in Madrid and winner of the International Brick Award and of the Piranesi Prix de Rome, took on the task of ‘healing’ the Lavapiés neighbourhood and the Valdemaqueda hamlet through the integrated construction of two ruins with strong civic value.

Inequalities in health literacy between European population and newly arrived male sub-Saharan migrants in Europe.

Increases in migration pressure from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe have increased in recent years. Despite this trend, the health literacy needs of migrants in host communities have not been sufficiently studied. This research aims to explore the health literacy of migrants newly arriving in Europe and compare it with the health literacy levels of the European population, utilizing data obtained from the European health literacy survey. A convenience sampling cross-sectional study was conducted at the Temporary Immigrant Stay Center in Melilla (Spain) in June 2022 using a validated French and Arabic version of the 16-item European health literacy survey questionnaire. A total of 106 sub-Saharan migrants ≥ 18 years of age were surveyed. The general health literacy index of the migrants was 30.02 points (on a scale of 50), placing it in the 'problematic' level. Of the participants, 57.54% had a limited ability to obtain, understand and apply health information and make appropriate health-related decisions. The largest gap compared to European citizens was observed in skills to understand information related to disease prevention. These results reinforce that migrant status is a social determinant of low health literacy and suggest that health professionals should extend their educational role to this vulnerable group.

Health-Related Quality of Life Among Irregular Sub-Saharan Migrants in Northern Morocco.

Due to its geographical proximity to Europe, Morocco experiences a significant influx of migrants from neighboring Sub-Saharan African countries. Attempts to cross the Strait of Gibraltar make Northern Morocco a stopover for Sub-Saharan migrants. However, faced with increasingly restrictive measures from European Union countries, many of these migrants are compelled to turn this transit into a prolonged stay in Morocco, often in irregular status and facing challenging socio-economic conditions that threaten their health and their quality of life-related to health. This study aims to assess the level of health-related quality of life and its determinants among irregular Sub-Saharan migrants in Northern Morocco using the 36-Item Short Form Survey (SF-36) measurement scale. A total of 526 irregular Sub-Saharan migrants residing in the cities of Tangier and Tetouan were recruited using snowball sampling. A socio-demographic information sheet and the SF-36 scale were used to collect data. Subsequently, the data were entered and statistically analyzed using Statistical Product and Service Solutions (SPSS, version 21.0; IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Armonk, NY). Numerical variables were summarized as mean ± standard deviation and categorical variables as frequency and percentage. Non-parametric tests, including the Mann-Whitney U test and Kendall's Tau-B, were used to measure the association of physical and mental component scores with sociodemographic variables, for a significance level set at p < 0.05. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to identify factors determining health-related quality of life, using odds ratios (OR) and a 95% confidence interval (CI) for p < 0.05. Participants were aged between 18 and 50 years, with a mean age of 29.7 ± 7.6 years; 80% were single, and the majority were male (63.7%). In terms of education, 57.2% have a secondary level. The physical (PCS = 46.5 ± 9.03) and mental (MCS = 35.5 ± 9.9) summary scores were low. PCS and MCS were lower among subjects aged ≥ 36 years compared to those aged 18-25 years (p = 0.000). Women had lower PCS than men (p = 0.002). The migrants having more than three years in Morocco had lower MCS compared to those recently settled (p = 0.002). PCS and MCS were lower among participants who were assaulted compared to those who were not (p = 0.000). Multivariate logistic regression results showed that age, type of habitat, and assault significantly affected both PCS and MCS scores. Gender is a significant determinant for PCS and duration of stay in Morocco for MCS. The quality of life of Sub-Saharan irregular migrants appears to be low, particularly concerning the mental health component, highlighting the need for priority interventions in this area to improve their health status.

Impact of species hybridization on the clinical management of schistosomiasis: A prospective study

BackgroundSpecies hybridization represents a real concern in terms of parasite transmission, epidemiology and morbidity of schistosomiasis. It is greatly important to better understand the impact of species hybridization for the clinical management. MethodsA prospective observational study was carried out in sub-Saharan migrants who were diagnosed with confirmed genitourinary schistosomiasis. A tailored protocol was applied, including Schistosoma serology, a specific urine LAMP tests for schistosomiasis and an ultrasound examination before treatment with praziquantel. A scheduled follow-up was performed at 3, 6 and 12 months to monitor treatment response, comparing patients carriers of Schistosoma hybrids with carriers of only genetically pure forms. ResultsA total of 31 male patients from West Africa were included in the study with a mean age of 26.5 years. Twelve (38.7 %) of the patients were carriers of Schistosoma hybrids. As compared with patients infected with S. haematobium alone, hybrid carriers had lower haemoglobin levels (13.8 g/dL [SD 1.8] vs 14.8 g/dL [SD 1.4], p = 0.04), a greater frequency of hematuria (100 % vs 52.6 %, p = 0.005), a higher ultrasound score (2.64, SD 2.20 vs 0.89, SD 0.99; p = 0.02). However, the presence of hybrids did not result in differences in clinical and analytical responses after treatment. ConclusionsThe presence of Schistosoma hybrids seems to cause increased morbidity in infected individuals. However, it does not appear to result in differences in diagnostic tests or in clinical and analytical responses after treatment.

Chasing scorpions across North Africa: Ethical reflections on life story research with Sub-Saharan migrants

In this Research Note, two researchers present their reflections on the ethical challenges they encountered while collecting life stories of sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco and the Disputed Territory of Western Sahara. The reflections are based on field notes and excerpts from unedited transcripts of daily debriefing sessions that the researchers undertook together. The sessions were audio-recorded and transcribed into written notes. The materials reveal their thoughts and feelings as they grappled with the ethics of keeping their research participants (“Narrators”) safe, working with community organizations on the ground, attempting to conduct interviews as humanely as possible, while also managing and concealing their own emotions.

The ‘inherent vulnerability’ of women on the move: A gendered analysis of Morocco’s migration reform

Abstract Beginning in the 1990s, Morocco increasingly became a de facto host country for sub-Saharan migrants and asylum seekers originally intending to reach Europe. While the government’s treatment toward these groups was characterized by informality and violence throughout the early 2000s, Morocco embarked on a reform process in 2013 that included a regularization process for irregular migrants. During the regularization process, the Moroccan government automatically granted all women applicants residency status due to their presumed ‘vulnerability’. This paper asks: What are the implications of assuming that women are ‘inherently vulnerable’? Drawing on in-person interviews and an analysis of policy documents, this article adds to the gendered migration and refugee literature by demonstrating that supposedly humanitarian policies toward women can also victimize them, stereotype male migrants and refugees as threatening, and strengthen the patriarchal role of the state and its ability to carry out violence in the name of protection.

The Portrayal of Sub-Saharan Migrants in the Moroccan Daily Press: The Cases of Aujourd’hui le Maroc and Assabah

The Portrayal of Sub-Saharan Migrants in the Moroccan Daily Press: The Cases of Aujourd’hui le Maroc and Assabah

Following the Fish

Abstract This visual essay explores the Catalan exhibition Following the Fish/Toppi jën wi at the Venice Architecture Biennale (2023). The exhibition concentrates on the various geopolitical, economic, and historical forces that have driven many sub-Saharan migrants to flee their homes for the EU, placing them in complexly perilous sites of socio-legal-economic and cultural conditions, ones fraught with danger but also operating in hope with many lessons for EU cities and their civic, public spheres. The exhibition is a collaboration between the Barcelona architectural collective Leve and the organization Top Manta, a Barcelona collective and fashion design manufacturer that creates communal and legal opportunities for migrants who sell their wares on blankets in public squares.

An Exploratory Perspective on Morocco’s Migration Policies

Without doubt Morocco has been transformed from a country of transit into a country of residence for sub-Saharan migrants. Their integration into Morocco’s social fabric has been a priority for different Moroccan governments presided over by King Mohammed VI as part of an assimilationist discourse that responds to the social, cultural and religious diversity of Morocco. In signing international agreements and treaties on the basic human rights and integration of migrants, since 2000 Morocco has been integrating migrants from sub-Saharan Africa and the Middle East socially, economically and politically. This integration is intended to bridge migrants’ aspirations and Morocco’s culture, social welfare, market and politics. Indeed, continuous migration is altering contemporary Moroccan society as well as the very exemplary way in which the successive Moroccan governments presided by their King have legally confronted such an issue. This exploratory review article methodologically reviewed articles published by academic journals in English and French while foregrounding the main themes of the recent Moroccan experience and policies with regard to migration. It also explores how Morocco reformed its policies to deal with undocumented migrants and how Morocco has changed axiomatic and formulaic perceptions of sub-Saharan migration. The findings from this study pointed out that Morocco’s experience with the regularisation of undocumented migrants has been approached in an inclusive and humanitarian vein. With agility and flexibility, Morocco has managed to strike a balance between the demands of civil society organisations for the application of just migration approaches and the international agreements to that effect so as to move on with integrating illegal migrants into the Moroccan economic, social or political fabric. In this sense, Morocco exemplifies this new urge to step beyond conventional understandings of migration that engulfs the world into two camps of those who always send and those who always receive migrants. Based on the results of this study, implications for future research are discussed.

A “Migrantisation” of Borderwork? Emergence, Work Status, and Careers of Peer Intermediaries in Morocco’s Migration Industry: The Case of Voluntary Returns

This paper explores the idea of a “migrantisation” of borderwork through the case of peer intermediation in the provision of information to migrants regarding voluntary returns from Morocco. Under what conditions are people categorised as sub-Saharan migrants being employed in projects led by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)? What are the trajectories, careers, and work status of these peer intermediaries? To what extent does peer intermediation shape social relationships and boundaries within the migration industry and migrant communities? Using ethnographic data and documentary sources collected during fieldwork in Morocco, the paper traces the emergence of peer intermediation and underlines its diversity through the in-depth study of three illustrative trajectories. It examines “migrantisation” in relation to issues of racialisation, work, and im/mobility.

Transformando a dupla ausência em dupla presença. A resistência dos jovens migrantes à subordinação: um estudo de caso em Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto e Milazzo (Sicília)

Abstract On the basis of the empirical findings of some ethnographic research, and drawing on Sayad’s concept of “double absence”, which is regarded as a pivotal key for the interpretation of the transnational nature of migrations, this paper heuristically introduces and discusses an alternative view. In fact, it aims to analytically reconstruct the practices put in place by young sub-Saharan migrants, including marriage, work and housing, instantiated both in their native and host countries, as a possible manifestation of their constant efforts to counter the alienating effects of “double absence”, by transforming it into “double presence”. The case-study forms part of an academic research programme which started in 2021 and is still ongoing; the ethnographic observations were carried out in Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto and Milazzo (Messina/Sicily) and include 45 qualitative interviews that were conducted from a longitudinal perspective.

Impacts of irregular migration on the mental health of sub-Saharan migrants

Background: Europe has become a difficult destination due to strict migration policies and border controls, making Morocco an immigration country. Morocco is currently at the center of the international migration debate because it not only hosts regular migrants but also must deal with the problem of irregular migrants entering its territory. Sub-Saharan irregular migration is full of challenges that might cause a delay for the migrants, announcing a death sentence for many others. The journey's hurdles are likely to cause a crisis in expectations, resulting in serious consequences on the migrants' mental health. Methods: We employed observation and participant observation and conducted in-depth interviews and a survey. Results: Our research study emphasizes that sub-Saharan migrants begin irregular journeys with high hopes, only to be disappointed by how unexpectedly cruel it turns out to be. We also pointed to specific physical and, more crucially, mental health problems that they end up with after survival, resulting in somatic disorders. Conclusion: Somatoform Disorder is the most common mental illness that sub-Saharan irregular migrants suffer from. The stressful memories of the past seem to influence their state of mind, making them feel physical pain in the absence of a physical explanation. Keywords: Irregular migration, sub-Saharan migrants, challenges, experiences crisis, mental health, somatoform disorder.

Depicting Migrants' Life in Moroccan Newspapers

Sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco have become a part and partial issue in Moroccan newspapers as their number has enormously risen. Media, in general, brings to the public most of the images, data, and facts about migrants. For this reason, the media's treatment of migration generates currents of opinion and attitudes towards these people. Furthermore, since it has been massively highlighted in Moroccan newspapers, many people would interpret migration from Sub-Saharan countries primarily from the messages from the Media. Therefore, the readers' images would be influenced by how the issue is depicted and portrayed in newspapers. This article aims to shed light on the way Moroccan newspapers deal with the issue of migration towards Morocco from Sub-Saharan countries and how their life was depicted after the launch of the new migration policy. With these objectives in mind, this study is based on qualitative data collection of news items and reports from four daily printed newspapers in Morocco. Relying on Content analysis has demonstrated a stereotypical misrepresentation and a slight change in topics coverage of 'black' African migrants in news narratives.

Evaluation of Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) in Urine Samples for the Diagnosis of Imported Schistosomiasis.

Migratory flows and international travel are triggering an increase in imported cases of schistosomiasis in non-endemic countries. The present study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the LAMP technique on patients' urine samples for the diagnosis of imported schistosomiasis in a non-endemic area in comparison to a commercial immunochromatographic test and microscopic examination of feces and urine. A prospective observational study was conducted in sub-Saharan migrants attending the Tropical Medicine Unit, Almería, Spain. For schistosomiasis diagnosis, serum samples were tested using an immunochromatographic test (Schistosoma ICT IgG-IgM). Stool and urine samples were examined by microcopy. Urine samples were evaluated by combining three LAMP assays for the specific detection of Schistosoma mansoni, S. haematobium, and for the genus Schistosoma. To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy, a latent class analysis (LCA) was performed. In total, 115 patients were included (92.2% male; median age: 28.3 years). Of these, 21 patients (18.3%) were diagnosed with schistosomiasis confirmed by microscopy, with S. haematobium being the most frequent species identified (18/115; 15.7%). The Schistosoma ICT IgG-IgM test result was 100% positive and Schistosoma-LAMP was 61.9% positive, reaching as high as 72.2% for S. haematobium. The sensitivity and specificity estimated by LCA, respectively, were: 92% and 76% for Schistosoma ICT IgG-IgM, 68% and 44% for Schistosoma-LAMP, and 46% and 97% for microscopy. In conclusion, the Schistosoma-LAMP technique presented a higher sensitivity than microscopy for the diagnosis of imported urinary schistosomiasis, which could improve the diagnosis of active infection, both in referral centers and in centers with limited experience or scarce resources and infrastructure.

Comprehension of pharmaceutical pictograms in sub-Saharan migrants newly arriving in Europe: An exploratory study

BackgroundMigratory pressure from sub-Saharan Africa on Europe must also be addressed from a health literacy perspective. Sub-Saharan migrants newly arriving in Europe generally have lower literacy skills compared to the host community's citizens and special learning needs. Pictograms give health professionals a means of communicating medication instructions to people with no common language or who are illiterate, or both. ObjectiveThis work aimed to explore the comprehension of a set of United States Pharmacopoeia (USP) pictograms by sub-Saharan migrants newly arriving in Europe. MethodsA quantitative cross-sectional study was carried out. A voluntary survey was conducted among a population ≥ 18 years of age in a Temporary Stay Centre for Immigrants located in the Spanish city of Melilla (North Africa) in June 2022. The form included a selection of 10 USP pictograms to assess their comprehension. According to the International Organization for Standardization, a pictogram must receive 66.70% correct answers to be acceptable. ResultsFifty-one sub-Saharan immigrants participated in this study. None of the pictograms reached comprehensibility threshold. ConclusionPharmaceutical pictograms are ineffective in practice when they are not designed in a culturally sensitive manner.

Woodland loss differently affects seed dispersal by resident and migratory avian frugivores in olive grove-dominated landscapes

Seed dispersal by frugivores is a key ecological process underpinning the functionality of woodland patches and their capacity to maintain biodiversity in agricultural landscapes. Resident and migratory avian frugivores differ in temporal span of their local occurrence, as well as in mobility and territoriality. However, whether landscape homogenization by agriculture affects seed dispersal by avian frugivores differing in migratory strategy remains largely unexplored. We hypothesized a positive role of woodland patches on avian frugivore abundance and seed-dispersal frequency, and a differential impact of woodland loss and landscape simplification on resident and migratory frugivorous birds. We tested these hypotheses in 20 farms distributed along a gradient of woodland loss and olive cropland expansion in south Spain, considering woodland patches and olive fields as two habitats to survey avian frugivore abundance and frequency of seed dispersal. We confirmed that both the abundance and seed-dispersal frequency of avian frugivores were higher in woodland patches than in olive fields, and also that both decayed with decreasing woodland cover. This was largely mediated by a few European (winter) migrants and secondarily by some resident species. However, the woodland patches were unable to intercept sub-Saharan (summer) migrants in sufficient numbers as to make their contribution to dispersal of summer fruits meaningful. Woodland patches with higher seed-dispersal function were located predominantly in landscapes with high woodland cover and/or fruit availability. Moreover, a relatively high woodland cover in the landscape enhanced the seed dispersal function in woodland patches through a balance between high overall frugivore abundance and dispersal frequency, and some increased activity of resident and summer migrants. Our results also inform that the presence of particularly fruit-rich woodland patches can compensate the woodland cover required to maintain the function by enhancing the frequency of seed dispersal of all migratory groups. In contrast, to maintain the function of fruit-poor woodlands their cover at landscape scale should increase. Preserving and restoring woodland patches at landscape scale and enhancing their abundance and diversity of fruits could boost the activity of different disperser groups and their functional complementarity across agricultural landscapes.

Comprehension of US Pharmacopeia and South African pictograms by sub-Saharan migrants who newly arrived in Europe

BackgroundPatient understanding of health information is crucial for successful pharmaceutical care. Pharmaceutical pictograms enable communication of medication instructions to patients who may not share a common language or are illiterate. However, cultural factors can impact the accurate interpretation of these visual aids. ObjectivesThis study aimed to assess and compare the comprehensibility of two sets of pictograms from different cultural backgrounds among sub-Saharan migrants recently arrived in Europe. MethodsIn June 2022, a cross-sectional survey was conducted at the Migrant Temporary Stay Center in Melilla, Spain. Participants were randomly assigned to interpret 10 pictograms from either the U.S. Pharmacopeia or South African counterparts, with a minimum of 50 participants per group. Following the International Organization for Standardization's testing comprehensibility criterion, pictograms achieving a 66.7% correct interpretation rate were considered acceptable. Health literacy was measured using a culturally validated sub-Saharan version of the European Health Literacy Survey Questionnaire (HLS-EU-Q16). Data analysis included Fisher's exact test or chi-square test (for qualitative variables) and the Mann-Whitney test (for quantitative variables). ResultsA total of 106 participants were included (51 in the U.S. pharmacopeia group and 55 in the South African group). None of the assessed pictograms met the comprehensibility criterion, and both groups exhibited high nonresponse rates. The South African pictograms were better understood than the American ones for all intended messages, with a statistically significant difference in overall comprehension (p = 0.002). Additionally, the participants' country of birth was a statistically significant factor for comprehension (p = 0.019). ConclusionsOur findings indicate that evaluated pharmaceutical pictograms cannot be validly used in newly arrived sub-Saharan immigrants in Europe. However, the significantly better comprehension of South African pictograms compared to North American ones highlights the importance of cultural alignment between pictograms and their prospective users for effective comprehensibility.

The Fine Art of Camouflage: Migrant-Drug Distributors Negotiating Police Interactions in Switzerland

Bogged down in exploitative jobs or unemployment, some migrants mitigate their precarious condition and forced idleness through involvement in petty crime, including low-level drug distribution. This article explores the daily lives of migrants who navigate asymmetrical interactions and relationships with police in ways that avoid detection of their illicit activities. Drawing from extensive ethnographic fieldwork and 18 biographical interviews with sub-Saharan male migrants active in low-level drug retail, I scrutinize how migrants negotiate the rules that are supposed to govern them. I am particularly interested in the ways in which migrants negotiate their legal status with the police, whose view of them is often heavily influenced by race. I demonstrate that relationships between police officers and migrants can be influenced by migrants’ deliberate mimicry of local norms, calculated conformity with informal policing practices, and influence over police officers’ moral judgment of whether they are deserving of police’s discretionary power to look the other way.

Counter-Narratives about Sub-Saharan Migrant Women in the Digital Public Sphere

This article looks at counter-narratives of sub-Saharan migrant women in the digital public sphere in Morocco. It aims to highlight the civic engagement of migrant social media activism. Whereas migration and media have been covered in other contexts, this study contributes to the debate in Morocco and North/Sub-Saharan Africa. It will tackle the topic of media migrant representation in Morocco, with a particular focus on women’s representation. It examines Hassan Yemcheu’s YouTube page, on which he uploads videos for the association Planet Migrant. This case study is significant because it provides rare content about the situation of sub-Saharan migrant women in Morocco in a male-dominated narrative space. Planet Migrant’s videos at times focus on migrant women’s entrepreneurship or domestic violence, an outlier from most other migrant narratives in Morocco. The methodology relies on textual analysis (Bainbridge 2010), which is supplemented with insights and comments derived from an interview conducted with Yemcheu about the processes, conditions, and content of his work. It will highlight ways of “talking back” (Hooks 1998) to gain some symbolic digital space through participatory/citizen journalism. Through this media intervention which stands against a backdrop of misinformation and limited coverage, Yemcheu capitalizes on digital storytelling to share stories about fellow migrants. Despite the small social media reach and limited engagement, the selected videos shed light on gender issues for sub-Saharan migrants in Morocco in their struggle to regain some symbolic power and socio-political agency.