Conferences and debates
Index / Activities / Conferences and debates / Sub-Saharan Migrations in the Maghreb
Sub-Saharan Migrations in the Maghreb
From September 17, 2012 until September 26, 2012
Casa Árabe, Casa África and Casa Mediterráneo organize and host from September 24 to 26 this symposium on migratory fluxes in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
During the symposium, the present social and economic reality of the sub-Saharan migrants will be tackled and the book “El Magreb y las migraciones subsaharianas: el papel de asociaciones y sindicatos” [Maghreb and sub-Saharan migrations: the role of associations and trade unions] will be launched. It is published in Spanish by Casa Árabe and in French by the FES Foundation in Tunisia.
Migrant fluxes from Western Africa have changed along the time, and now Maghrebian countries are no longer just origin or transit regions, but also the destination of these migrations. There were said to be between 1 and 2 million migrants in 2009, both legal and irregular workers, who had settled in North African soil. Just in Libya, the biggest host country of the region, before the 2011 conflict estimates showed that there were around 1.3 million migrants from sub-Saharan countries, mainly with Niger, Chad, Mali, Nigeria and Ghana as origin.
Some of this migrants stay in the Maghreb due to the hardening of European Union migration policy; other do because from the beginning that had the aim to settle in these countries, captivated by its growth dynamics and social change. Despite its growth and social impact in hosting societies, these migration trends have not been studied in depth. The situation has become even more complex with the blossom of the Arab Spring, because internal conflicts and transitional policies have caused new displaces persons and refugees going towards neighbouring countries, or even repatriations to the south of the Sahara.
The book El Magreb y las migraciones subsaharianas: el papel de asociaciones y sindicatos [Maghreb and sub-Saharan migrations: the role of associations and trade unions] offers a compilation of studies related to the sub-Saharan migrations in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia. This book presents a collection of studies on sub-Saharan migrations in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia, along with other cross-sectional analyzes devoted to its impact on European migration policies. It also offers a compendium of stories of life documentary, interviews and testimonies of African immigrants and social actors associated with them (associations, unions and local newspapers). It includes contributions from Sami Adouani, Mustapha ben Ahmed, Ali Bensaad, Hassen Boubakri, Rafael Bustos, Khadija Elmadmad, Laurence Hart, Nadia Khrouz, Emmanuel Mbolela, Amadou Mbow, Olivia Orozco, Gemma Pinyol, Yassine Temlali and Lothar Witte.
LAS PALMAS PROGRAM: Casa África, September 24
Casa África headquarters, c/Alfonso XIII, 5, at 19.00.
Conducted by: Luis Padilla Macabeo, Secretary General of Casa África and Olivia Orozco, from Casa Árabe.
Guests taken part in: Hassen Boubakri, professor of Geography by the University of Susa, and Juan Montero, philosopher, specialist in African affairs and supervisor of the African Lecture Room of the Unesco Chair in Gran Canaria.
MADRID: Casa Árabe, September 25th
Casa Árabe, c/Alcalá 62, at 19.30.
Conducted by: Eduardo López Busquets, Director General of Casa Árabe and Lothar Witte, Director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Madrid.
Guests taken part in: Hassen Boubakri, professor of Geography by the University of Sousse and Rafael Bustos, professor of International Relations at the Complutense University of Madrid.
ALICANTE: Casa Mediterráneo, September 26th
Building Germán Bernacer at the University of Alicante, at 12.00.
Conducted by: Almudena Muñoz Guajardo, Director General of Casa Mediterráneo, Karim Hauser, from Casa Árabe and Lothar Witte, Director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Madrid.
Guests taken part in: Hassen Boubakri, professor of Geography by the University of Sousse and Juan David Sempere Souvannavong, chair professor of the University of Alicante.
Professor of Geography at the University of Sousse (Tunisia), he is an expert on international migrations regarding Maghreb’s region and the Mediterranean sea, in local and regional development. He was fellow researcher at the Research Institute on Contemporary Maghreb (IRMC by its French abbreviation) in Tunis, where he was the coordinator of a research program on «International Migrations in the Maghreb: Mobility and Networks ». He has written several studies and thesis on Sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia and Libya, as well as on trafficking, illicit and informal smuggling and transnational migrant and Tunisian trade networks.
Migrant fluxes from Western Africa have changed along the time, and now Maghrebian countries are no longer just origin or transit regions, but also the destination of these migrations. There were said to be between 1 and 2 million migrants in 2009, both legal and irregular workers, who had settled in North African soil. Just in Libya, the biggest host country of the region, before the 2011 conflict estimates showed that there were around 1.3 million migrants from sub-Saharan countries, mainly with Niger, Chad, Mali, Nigeria and Ghana as origin.
Some of this migrants stay in the Maghreb due to the hardening of European Union migration policy; other do because from the beginning that had the aim to settle in these countries, captivated by its growth dynamics and social change. Despite its growth and social impact in hosting societies, these migration trends have not been studied in depth. The situation has become even more complex with the blossom of the Arab Spring, because internal conflicts and transitional policies have caused new displaces persons and refugees going towards neighbouring countries, or even repatriations to the south of the Sahara.
The book El Magreb y las migraciones subsaharianas: el papel de asociaciones y sindicatos [Maghreb and sub-Saharan migrations: the role of associations and trade unions] offers a compilation of studies related to the sub-Saharan migrations in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia. This book presents a collection of studies on sub-Saharan migrations in Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania and Tunisia, along with other cross-sectional analyzes devoted to its impact on European migration policies. It also offers a compendium of stories of life documentary, interviews and testimonies of African immigrants and social actors associated with them (associations, unions and local newspapers). It includes contributions from Sami Adouani, Mustapha ben Ahmed, Ali Bensaad, Hassen Boubakri, Rafael Bustos, Khadija Elmadmad, Laurence Hart, Nadia Khrouz, Emmanuel Mbolela, Amadou Mbow, Olivia Orozco, Gemma Pinyol, Yassine Temlali and Lothar Witte.
LAS PALMAS PROGRAM: Casa África, September 24
Casa África headquarters, c/Alfonso XIII, 5, at 19.00.
Conducted by: Luis Padilla Macabeo, Secretary General of Casa África and Olivia Orozco, from Casa Árabe.
Guests taken part in: Hassen Boubakri, professor of Geography by the University of Susa, and Juan Montero, philosopher, specialist in African affairs and supervisor of the African Lecture Room of the Unesco Chair in Gran Canaria.
MADRID: Casa Árabe, September 25th
Casa Árabe, c/Alcalá 62, at 19.30.
Conducted by: Eduardo López Busquets, Director General of Casa Árabe and Lothar Witte, Director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Madrid.
Guests taken part in: Hassen Boubakri, professor of Geography by the University of Sousse and Rafael Bustos, professor of International Relations at the Complutense University of Madrid.
ALICANTE: Casa Mediterráneo, September 26th
Building Germán Bernacer at the University of Alicante, at 12.00.
Conducted by: Almudena Muñoz Guajardo, Director General of Casa Mediterráneo, Karim Hauser, from Casa Árabe and Lothar Witte, Director of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation in Madrid.
Guests taken part in: Hassen Boubakri, professor of Geography by the University of Sousse and Juan David Sempere Souvannavong, chair professor of the University of Alicante.
About Hassen Boubakri
Professor of Geography at the University of Sousse (Tunisia), he is an expert on international migrations regarding Maghreb’s region and the Mediterranean sea, in local and regional development. He was fellow researcher at the Research Institute on Contemporary Maghreb (IRMC by its French abbreviation) in Tunis, where he was the coordinator of a research program on «International Migrations in the Maghreb: Mobility and Networks ». He has written several studies and thesis on Sub-Saharan migrants in Tunisia and Libya, as well as on trafficking, illicit and informal smuggling and transnational migrant and Tunisian trade networks.