Children on the move in Africa : past and present experiences of migration

Children in Africa are heavily involved in migration but we know too little about the circumstances in which they migrate, their motivations and the impact of migration on their welfare, on wider society and in a global context. This book seeks to retrieve the experiences of child migrants, and to examine how child migration differs from adult migration and whether the condition of childhood pushes individuals towards specific migratory trajectories. It also examines the opportunities that child migrants seek elsewhere, the lack of opportunities that make them move elsewhere and to what extent their trajectories and strategies are gendered. Analysing the diversity and complexity of children's experiences of mobility in Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Sudan, Togo and Zambia, the authors look at patterns of fosterage, child circulation within Africa and beyond the continent; therole of education, child labour and conceptions of place and "home"; and the place of the child narrator in migrant fiction. Comparing different methodological and theoretical approaches and setting the case studies within the broader context of family migration, transnational families, colonial and postcolonial migration politics, religious encounter and globalization in Africa, this book provides a much-needed examination of this contentious and criticalissue. Elodie Razy is Associate Professor in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Liege (FaSS). She is the co-founder and co-editor of the online journal AnthropoChildren: Ethnographic Perspectivesin Children & Childhood . Marie Rodet is a Senior Lecturer in African History at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). She is currently working on her second monograph on slave resistance in Kayes,Mali. A timely interdisciplinary, comparative and historical perspective on African childhood migration that draws on the experience of children themselves to look at where, why and how they move - within and beyond the continent - andthe impact of African child migration globally. Children in Africa are heavily involved in migration but we know too little about the circumstances in which they migrate, their motivations and the impact of migration on their welfare, on wider society and in a global context. This book seeks to retrieve the experiences of child migrants, and to examine how child migration differs from adult migration and whether the condition of childhood pushes individuals towards specific migratory trajectories. It also examines the opportunities that child migrants seek elsewhere, the lack of opportunities that make them move elsewhere and to what extent their trajectories and strategies are gendered. Analysing the diversity and complexity of children's experiences of mobility in Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Sudan, Togo and Zambia, the authors look at patterns of fosterage, child circulation within Africa and beyond the continent; therole of education, child labour and conceptions of place and "home"; and the place of the child narrator in migrant fiction. Comparing different methodological and theoretical approaches and setting the case studies within the broader context of family migration, transnational families, colonial and postcolonial migration politics, religious encounter and globalization in Africa, this book provides a much-needed examination of this contentious and criticalissue. Elodie Razy is Associate Professor in Social and Cultural Anthropology at the University of Liege (FaSS). She is the co-founder and co-editor of the online journal Ethnographic Perspectivesin Children & Childhood. Marie Rodet is a Senior Lecturer in African History at the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). She is currently working on her second monograph on slave resistance in Kayes,Mali. A Timely Interdisciplinary, Comparative And Historical Perspective On African Childhood Migration That Draws On The Experience Of Children Themselves To Look At Where, Why And How They Move - Within And Beyond The Continent - And The Impact Of African Child Migration Globally.--publisher's Website. Preface / Benjamin N. Lawrance -- Introduction: Child Migration In Africa: Key Issues & New Perspectives / Elodie Razy -- An Ardent Desire To Be Useful: Senegalese Students, Religious Sisters & Migration For Schooling In France, 1824-1842 / Kelly Duke Bryant -- Girl Pawns, Brides & Slaves: Child Trafficking In Southeastern Nigeria, 1920s / Robin P. Chapdelaine -- Bringing A Girl From The Village: Gender, Child Migration & Domestic Service In Post-colonial Zambia / Sacha Hepburn -- I Will Never Become A Crocodile But I Am Happy If I Eat Enough: A Psychological Analysis Of Child Fosterage And Resilience In Contemporary Mali / Paola Porcelli -- Working As A Boy: Labour, Age & Masculinities In Togo, C. 1975-2005 / Marco Gardini -- Childhood, Space & Memory: Migrations Of The Métis In Madagascar's Central Highlands (nineteenth & Twentieth Centuries) / Violaine Tisseau -- We Were Mixed With All Types: Educational Migration In The Northern Territories Of Colonial Ghana / Lacy S. Ferrell -- India-south Africa Mobilities In The First Half Of The Twentieth Century: Minors, Immigration Encounters In Cape Town & Becoming South African / Uma Dhupelia-mesthrie -- Education, Migration & Nationalism: Mapping The School Days Of The First Generation Of Southern Sudanese Nationalist Leaders, C. 1948-1972 / Hannah Whittaker With Harjyot Hayer -- Child Narration As A Device For Negotiating Space & Identity Formation In Recent Nigerian Migrant Fiction / Oluwole Coker. Edited By Elodie Razy & Marie Rodet. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. This book seeks to retrieve the experiences of child migrants, and to examine how child migration differs from adult migration and whether the condition of childhood pushes individuals towards specific migratory trajectories. It also examines the opportunities that child migrants seek elsewhere, the lack of opportunities that make them move elsewhere and to what extent their trajectories and strategies are gendered. Analysing the diversity and complexity of children's experiences of mobility in Ghana, Madagascar, Mali, Nigeria, South Africa, Senegal, Sudan, Togo and Zambia, the authors look at patterns of fosterage, child circulation within Africa and beyond the continent; the role of education, child labour and conceptions of place and "home"; and the place of the child narrator in migrant fiction. Comparing different methodological and theoretical approaches and setting the case studies within the broader context of family migration, transnational families, colonial and postcolonial migration politics, religious encounter and globalization in Africa. [from the publisher's website]