Humanities & Social Sciences
The adventure
Violent borders, illegal migration and the uncertain quest for life in Morocco
by Sébastien Bachelet
Description
This ethnographic exploration of irregular migration from Western and Central Africa in Morocco deconstructs dehumanising narratives of a "migration crisis" and a "sub-Saharan problem" in politics of migration. The book provides an original focus on how migrants understood and experienced their entrapped mobility. The emic notion of "the adventure" at the heart of this study sheds light on a transformative, epic quest to carve out a better life and future. The book traces how young men from Western and Central Africa sought to assert themselves as agents of their own destinies, despite uncertain, illegalising processes. In steering away from aesthetics of despair and fearmongering narratives, the book brings new insights into inter-disciplinary debates (e.g. illegality, uncertainty, immobility, violence, suffering, transit, etc.). Such focus is essential to draw out the complexity and existential depth of (irregular) migrants' lives, journeys, and stories.
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Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo [DRC], Congo, Republic of the, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hongkong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, China, Macedonia [FYROM], Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Cyprus, Palestine, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Dominican Republic, Myanmar, Monaco
Endorsements
This ethnographic study examines the hopes, imaginaries, and everyday lives of young male migrants from Western and Central Africa who find themselves 'stuck' in Morocco. The book deepens and humanises understandings of sub-Saharan migration, exploring migrants' conceptualisation of 'the adventure' as an epic quest to carve out a better life and future in the face of violent, transnational politics of migration. The adventure sheds light on the moral, gendered, affective, social and political aspects of migrants' own experiences and representations of their journeys and struggles. Steering away from aesthetics of despair, victimhood and criminality, the book focuses on young men's efforts to face up to bordering practices to retain control over their lives and mobility. The adventure provides a crucial light on migrants' own experiences and understandings of their entrapped mobility in Douar Hajja and Maâdid, two peripheral neighbourhoods of the Moroccan capital Rabat. The book's focus on how migrants articulate and act on their entrapped mobility offers important insights to critically engage with prominent concepts like illegality in policy debates and scholarship. Such focus is crucial to unstitch the Eurocentric focus in analyses of migration articulated around 'crisis'. The adventure is a quest for 'une vie plus supportable' (a more bearable life), a hopeful and risky journey to become the person one aspires to be, to reach a place where one's dignity and rights might be respected.
Reviews
This ethnographic study examines the hopes, imaginaries, and everyday lives of young male migrants from Western and Central Africa who find themselves 'stuck' in Morocco. The book deepens and humanises understandings of sub-Saharan migration, exploring migrants' conceptualisation of 'the adventure' as an epic quest to carve out a better life and future in the face of violent, transnational politics of migration. The adventure sheds light on the moral, gendered, affective, social and political aspects of migrants' own experiences and representations of their journeys and struggles. Steering away from aesthetics of despair, victimhood and criminality, the book focuses on young men's efforts to face up to bordering practices to retain control over their lives and mobility. The adventure provides a crucial light on migrants' own experiences and understandings of their entrapped mobility in Douar Hajja and Maâdid, two peripheral neighbourhoods of the Moroccan capital Rabat. The book's focus on how migrants articulate and act on their entrapped mobility offers important insights to critically engage with prominent concepts like illegality in policy debates and scholarship. Such focus is crucial to unstitch the Eurocentric focus in analyses of migration articulated around 'crisis'. The adventure is a quest for 'une vie plus supportable' (a more bearable life), a hopeful and risky journey to become the person one aspires to be, to reach a place where one's dignity and rights might be respected.
Author Biography
Sébastien Bachelet is a Lecturer in Social Anthropology at the University of Manchester
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Manchester University Press
Manchester University Press is a leading UK publisher known for excellent research in the humanities and social sciences.
View all titlesBibliographic Information
- Publisher Manchester University Press
- Publication Date July 2025
- Orginal LanguageEnglish
- ISBN/Identifier 9781526177681 / 1526177684
- Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
- FormatPrint PDF
- Pages256
- ReadershipCollege/higher education; Professional and scholarly
- Publish StatusPublished
- Dimensions234 X 156 mm
- Biblio NotesDerived from Proprietary 6209
- SeriesNew Ethnographies
- Reference Code16423
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