Below are the portraits of three migrants, two Senegalese living in France and one Ghanaian living in the UK, chosen from the eight portraits undertaken for this scoping study.
1. Portrait of Moussa
Background
Moussa is Soninké, Muslim, 29 years old and was born into a large family in Moudéry, a village of 8000 people in Bakel, Senegal. He lived in a large compound (Kunda) with his extended family, including the families of his father’s brothers and his three wives. Moussa has eight full siblings, six brothers and two sisters.
In accordance with Soninké culture, young Moussa cultivated the family’s communal land together with the other boys and young men and assisted his mother and the other women in the family with the cultivation of their individually allocated fields (which are situated on the periphery of the compound). The Sylla family cultivates a variety of crops including millet, rice, peanuts and mangoes. These are mainly used for subsistence purposes, but are sometimes exchanged for other goods such as sugar and oil. All the working members of the family contribute to the needs of the extended family.
Moussa’s father lived and worked in France for many years, but has currently retired back to Senegal. During his immigrant years he returned home yearly for a period of two months. With his earnings in France he has been able to build a good family compound for the extended family, with rooms constructed from cement bricks.
From a young age Moussa enjoyed going to school, despite a lack of support from his parents, who encouraged him to work on the fields with the rest of the family. He compromised and went to school on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, working on the fields on Wednesdays, weekends and school holidays. He obtained a good baccalaureate in Dakar, which provided him access to university studies in France.
Move to France
Moussa came to France to study in 1992. His studies were partially sponsored by his family, whilst he contributed with his own earnings from evening and weekend jobs. Moussa completed his university studies in management and information technology soon after he started working. He had temporary employment until 1999, when he obtained permanent employment as a career guidance counsellor with the Bagneux Municipality.
Life in France
Moussa has been in France for 12 years. Three years ago he returned to Senegal to marry. He currently lives with his wife, who works in a nursery school, and his two small boys, who were born in France in an apartment in Bagneux, a southern suburb of Paris.
Moussa generally enjoys life in France. It provides many opportunities to gain experience, to meet people from different cultures and to earn money. It also provides access to commodities which are not readily available in Senegal, such as computers. However, Moussa strongly emphasises that he came to France to work. If there were work opportunities in Senegal, he would return to be with his family, living the collective life of the Soninké.
Besides Moussa, there are six other extended family members currently living in France. They are all in regular contact with each other and form a support group amongst themselves, and with regards to the family in Senegal. This group also serves to assist any new members of the family arriving in France. During his leisure time Moussa often spends time with family members and other Senegalese friends from his hometown.
Although Moussa supports his family in Senegal, he acknowledges that he allocates some of his earnings to personal projects, which make life in Paris comfortable. He also saves money to build a “nice” house for his nuclear family in the compound when he returns home to Senegal.
Contact with Senegal: support and remittances
Moussa regularly phones his family in Senegal and used to return home twice a year. Since he is married and has children in Paris, he does not feel the need to return home so often.
Moussa would like to facilitate the immigration of his brother, but feels frustrated that he cannot assist him with the legal and administrative requirements. Recently it has become very difficult to immigrate and he believes that his brother will not find it easy to come to Paris.
The group of six family members living in France organises three-monthly remittances to Moudéry. El Hadji, Moussa’s oldest uncle in Paris, manages the collection and transfer of the remittances. These are usually sent by post, which takes 15 days to arrive, or sometimes they are carried by an acquaintance, who travels from Paris to Senegal. There have never been problems with the transfer of money.
Although remittances are sent three-monthly, not all group members pay up on a monthly basis. Moussa usually pays on a six monthly basis. Whenever a member of the immigrant group is out of work or has financial problems, the other members of the group take over his financial commitment to the family.
Currently the amount contributed by each member, is €100 per month, which amounts to €700 per month. However, the remittances vary depending on the needs of the family. El Hadji phones the family home regularly to get an update on the conditions and needs of the family, which he then conveys to the family members in Paris. Moussa indicated that since the harvests have been good this year, the remittances may decrease. Sometimes, despite a good harvest, it may be decided to maintain the level of the remittances in order to build up a reserve or to pay for extra consumables. This is discussed between the migrant group and the family in Moudéry.
Remittances are received by the head of the family compound and used for the collective needs of the extended family. They mainly serve to buy consumables and to pay electricity and water bills as well as school fees. They sometimes get used for repairs to the communal kitchen, the store room or for buying fertilizer.
Besides sending money to the collective family, Moussa has helped his brothers to start their own business. He bought second hand books (novels, bestsellers) in France and shipped them to Senegal, where his brothers have been operating a paying library. This has been financially very successful, and Moussa’s brother managed to start a taxi business with the profits they made. While continuing with the library business, they now manage two cars with drivers, which provide taxi services in Dakar. The taxi service earns them €10 a day.
Moussa has also been able to link his current job with the needs of his country. He is involved in a training project for “problem youth”. This concerns the training of two groups of young people respectively in constructing computers and in developing solar power equipment. Moussa has arranged for the manufactured goods from those courses to be sent to his hometown.
Moussa belongs to an association villageois, which consists of immigrants in Paris from the same village, who contribute to a fund for development projects. There are currently approximately 400 immigrants from Moudéry in France, of whom 300 are in Paris. Together with the Paris group he has set up an association called Union Des Jeunes De Moudéry Pour le Développement. Members provide monthly contributions, and when a specific project is envisaged, they provide an extra contribution. For example, an extra €60 was submitted by each member for the development of a health centre. The committee of the organization meets monthly to discuss project development, contributions and the functioning of the organization, the development of projects and the need for contributions. Initiatives for development arise in the association and are then presented and discussed with the village elders in Moudéry. Subsequently a project plan is developed, and money is collected and transferred to the project in the village, where the treasurer manages the money. The association has already realised a school, a health centre, a post office and a borehole in their village and is currently developing ideas for the following projects:
Training in health management and enlargement of the school, for Senegalese people in France.
The development of a co-op for the collective use of agricultural equipment.
Moussa explains that in the early days of the association, the elders in the village were sceptical about the efficiency of the young people as project managers. However, having witnessed the success of the initial projects, they gradually began to take an interest in the work of the association. According to Moussa, contemporary young Senegalese people are enterprising and he feels that with his association they will prove to his village that young people can make a contribution.
Return to Senegal
Although he is happy with his life in France, Moussa indicates that he would like to go back home as soon as possible. He will eventually go back to Senegal, preferably before his retirement. He feels that he still needs to acquire more work and life experience in France in order to contribute to Senegal on his return. He also wishes to prepare thoroughly for his return, making sure that he has a decent house for his family in the compound.
2. Portrait of Aly
Background
Aly is Diola, Muslim, 46 years old and comes from Diégoune, Senegal. His mother and father are deceased, he has one elder brother in Belgium and two sisters and two brothers still living in the family home. His siblings have an agricultural subsistence livelihood supplemented with the remittances from Aly.
As a young boy, Aly assisted the family in cultivating the land. After he finished primary school, he took an apprenticeship with a local baker. However, he soon left his hometown and travelled through many countries in Africa including Togo, Gabon, Congo, Zaire, Cameroon, Nigeria and Guinea, where he did a variety of jobs. He intended to travel to Angola to work in the diamond industry, but could not because of the unstable political situation in Angola. When Aly’s parents died, the family land was divided amongst the children. Aly obtained private ownership of his share of the land.
Move to France
In 1979 Aly came to France in order to make a better life for himself and to be able to assist his family back home. He financed his trip with his personal savings. He was initially employed as a store man in a paint store. Some years later he returned to Senegal to marry and brought his wife with him to France.
Life in France
Aly lives with his family in France, where his three children were born. He has official French citizenship. When the company he previously worked for in Créteil closed down, Aly and his family moved to Châtelet en Brie. Aly currently works as a labourer in a company of car spares, and his wife works at the municipality. When Aly first arrived in France he felt welcomed, but the mood has changed. Life in France has become harsher and more expensive; racism has increased, and it seems as though “everybody is out for himself”. Aly and his wife now feel they would like to return to Senegal.
Aly’s big ambition in life is agriculture. He would like to acquire enough land in his hometown to be able to live comfortably from the sale of his produce. He also dreams of setting up a small tourist facility near his home, from where he would develop an ethno-tourism business, allowing tourists to experience his land and the local culture. However, he currently does not possess enough capital to buy sufficient land, and without employment opportunities in Senegal, Aly feels that it is better for his family to remain in France in order to accumulate more capital. The advantages of living in France are the opportunities for work and experiences, which make life more interesting.
Aly spends his leisure time with family and friends. His main social contacts are with other Senegalese from his extended family, who live nearby and with people from his hometown, with whom he regularly meets.
Contact with Senegal: support and remittances
Aly regularly phones his family in Senegal and attempts to visit Diégoune as often as possible. He last visited his hometown in 2000 and is intending to visit again in 2004. When in Senegal, Aly says he takes particular care not to look like “the rich man from Europe”. He usually walks around barefoot in a T-shirt, and takes time to explain to people in the village that life in France is difficult. He impresses on them the need to develop their country from within.
Aly sends monthly remittances to his family. His oldest brother takes care of the money, which is used to buy food and to help pay for the electricity bills and school fees. Occasionally the family requests additional financial help in emergencies, for instance when somebody is ill or has had an accident.
Aly is the adjunct secretary of the Association des Sénégalais de Diégoune en France, founded in 1990, which aims to contribute to the development of Diégoune. The association consists of immigrants from Diégoune living in Paris, who contribute to a fund for development projects in their village. It also serves as a support group for the immigrants in Paris. Aly knows that he can rely on the association to assist him in case of financial or other needs.
There are currently about 30 people in the association and each member contributes three times a year. This adds up to about €1000 per year. Besides contributions from the members, the association organises social events in order to raise funds. Generally such events raise about €800. The Association des Sénégalais de Diégoune en France is connected to other parts of the overall Association des Sénégalais de Diégoune, which has sub groups wherever there are Senegalese immigrants from Diégoune, as well as representatives in Dakar and in the village itself. Aly emphasises that for Senegalese people, their place of origin is of great importance. One’s village of birth remains an important aspect of one’s identity. As such efforts to uplift one’s village of birth is of utmost priority throughout one’s life.
Initiatives for development projects arise from discussions between the migrants, the village elders in Diégoune and the representatives of the rural council. Once an idea is approved, a project plan is developed and money is collected and transferred to the project in the village. The Association des Sénégalais de Diégoune en France has already built a school, an exam centre for the village and surrounding villages and two maternity wards. There are also plans to create a post office within convenient walking distance.
Aly believes, however, that the Association needs additional help and promotes the idea of ‘jumelage’. This involves the twinning of Diégoune with one or more towns in Europe or America. He envisages that representatives of the twinned towns would meet, discuss development priorities in Diégoune and subsequently provide financial and/or other aid for the village. He has witnessed the success of twinning in the village of Baïla, where, as a result of its twinning with a town in France and Germany, various development initiatives have been realised. Aly also feels that a successful twinning project would relieve the immigrants to a certain extent of their financial duties. Recently the association in France is finding it difficult to organise successful social events, since migrant families are struggling to make ends meet in France, leaving little finances to contribute.
Aly still cultivates his land in Senegal and is in monthly contact with the people who manage the land for him. He grows a variety of crops including peanuts, rice, manioc, sweet potatoes, maize and mangoes. During the harvest periods he is involved in negotiating the price of the produce with the buyers. He has inherited a herd of cattle from his father and he employs people to care of his cattle. The herd provides milk and occasionally meat for sale.
Aly would like to set up more business ventures in Senegal, but he believes that running a business from a distance with a local partner often causes problems. The local partner may not always realise the hard work of the immigrant and as a result not contribute equally to the business venture, rather relying on a continuous flow of cash from the immigrant. Therefore Aly decided to delay developing enterprises till he is back in Senegal.
Return to Senegal
Aly definitely intends to return to Senegal. Having built a house in Diégoune, he is preparing for his return by maintaining agricultural activities on his land. He is not certain when he will return. He would like to obtain enough funds to realise his dream of cultivating a large area of land and developing his tourist venture. Aly does not know if his children will accompany him back to Senegal when he eventually leaves.
3. Portrait of Betty
Betty is a 34 year old teacher from Sutton, Surrey, and working in East London. She is married to a Ghanaian who works as a Chartered Account. Betty is Ashanti and her husband is Akans.
Betty comes from the city of Takoradi-Sekondi, Western Ghana region. Takoradi and Sekondi are two cities very close to each other and therefore referred to by both names. The population of Sekondi is approximately 84,000 and Takoradi nearly 90,000, making them the two largest cities in the region which has a total population of 2,037,000. Betty’s father originally came from Awaso, a rural village.
Betty has 2 brothers and 1 sister, all older than her. Her father has several wives so she also has half brothers and sisters. Her father is retired now but started in the cocoa business for export, where he employed people to work on the crop. He later worked as a building and timber contractor: he built his own sawmill and shipped timber as well as working on government contracts to build roads. Most of the timber concessions came from his home village of Awaso.
One brother is working in the timber industry but not in his father’s business; B’s other brother is in the mining industry in Takwa. Her sister is a seamstress and housewife, married with 4 children.
The house the family lived in was owned by Betty’s father who also had other properties in other places, including Accra. Financially the family was well off. Some of the houses were for his other wives whom he would visit, staying with each wife and moving from one month to another. Other properties included accommodation which her father provided for his workers while other houses were rented out.
Her parents divorced when she was 3 years old and she grew up with her father and step-mother. Betty did not stay in touch with her mother after she left, although her brothers and sister did. Hence she has a very strong attachment to her father. It was only at the age of 18 that she made contact with her mother.
By tradition the decision and process of marriage or divorce is determined by mutual acceptance of both families, rather than in a court/state institution. This means that family ties are extremely strong but also that divorce is difficult since both sides must agree. Inevitably divorce is a last resort after both families have tried to resolve any problems. Also traditionally, since men are often financially stronger they are more likely to keep any children. The decision around child care and custody is also confined to the family rather than the courts. However, this is changing as more women are educated and become financially independent. Similarly polygamy is mainly a generational phenomena where women were financially dependent on men. As more women are being educated the trend is towards monogamous marriages.
Land
Betty’s father owned land which has been used primarily for building: this includes housing for the family as well as other wives and workers. Some land was used to build the sawmill and accommodate the machinery needed for timber cutting etc. Some land is empty and will probably be given to the children. There is also some land in the rural areas which was used for a cocoa concession a long time ago, but Betty is not sure if her father still owns this.
Leaving Ghana for Europe
Betty was the only sibling to leave Ghana and to go to University. Her siblings did vocational courses locally. She first went to university in Ivory Coast, paid for by her father, but the schools were regularly on strike which interrupted her education. She therefore applied to go to university in France. She went to study in Grenoble, SE France, where she first took an accelerated language course in French for one year at a private centre; thereafter she pursued a degree in French for 4 years, followed by a further 2 years for her Masters. The Masters course also included work experience (teaching) which Betty decided to do at an international school in Ghana so that she could see her family. As she was a student in France her visa was renewable on a yearly basis; the alternative was to commit to a ten year stay there.
Betty did not know anyone in France, neither friends nor relatives; nor did she know her way around. However, she did not have any problems adapting to her new environment and did not find it a cultural shock to be in a European country, apart from minor details such as the weather. She also spoke French, so was able to communicate well. The lack of an established Ghanaian community in Grenoble, as well as the absence of relatives/friends, meant that Betty mixed with diverse people from her early years there. This included students from a range of different countries as well as the local community. She therefore became used to mixing with different cultures and not limiting herself to the Ghanaian community. She also travelled to other European countries during her student days for short holidays and visits. She adapted well to her new environment, but this presented problems when she returned to Ghana as she felt that she did not fit in well.
After completing her Masters, Betty embarked on a Ph.D but did not feel comfortable with this. She completed the first year and took a teaching assistant position in the second year working for 12 hours a week as an English assistant in a secondary school. During this time she felt confused about what she wanted to do, and considered returning to Ghana to teach at the school where she did her placement, but there were no vacancies. She returned to Ghana for 2 months.
Although her father was supporting her during her studies, Betty worked at the weekends and in the holidays to earn extra money to be more independent. However, during this time her family did not visit her, although she maintained a lot of contact with them. She met her husband, a second generation Ghanaian, while on a visit to the UK to see friends, and then moved here on a settlement visa in May 2001. She came to England only because she wished to be with her partner.
Living in the UK
When she arrived, her partner had his own flat in South London, where she joined him. Since then they moved to Sutton where they have a house. They also have other properties which they rent out.
Betty started working in London in September 2001 when she found a job as an unqualified teacher: she had some experience of teaching from her Ghana placement during her Masters course as well as her teaching assistant position in France. She applied to do the Graduate Teaching Programme after her first year: the UK government has introduced a range of appropriate courses and incentives in the teaching profession in an effort to recruit more people, particularly those already working, to teaching. The GTP allows students to work and be paid, and to study at the same time. Betty has since qualified and now teaches French in a secondary school (10-16 year olds). She lives in Sutton, Surrey, which involves a very long and costly commute each day to her school in East London. She is therefore hoping to get another job nearer to home.
She also has a half brother here doing ACCA (accountancy). Her sister married before Betty left for France and both her brothers were still at home. However, they worked for her father so did not provide money for the household.
Social networks
Betty is used to adapting to new places, especially in Europe, and living in a multi-cultural environment, so she does not feel the need to assert her Ghanaian identity through membership of Ghanaian focussed organizations or groups. She enjoys meeting other Ghanaian people, but does not restrict her circle to them. France is preferable to the UK as the social life there is better: she considers English people “workaholics”.
Betty also belongs to an old girls’ association which she, together with some friends, have only recently established. Betty contacted an old school friend here in the UK, and through her, re-established contact with ten other girls from her school. For Betty’s school each year group prepares for a “speech day” when ex-students acknowledge the work of the school and the teachers, and also club together for a school project. For Betty’s year this will be in seven years’ time so the group has started to save now. The Association is formally registered and has three statutory officers (Chair, Secretary and Treasurer) and a Constitution. The President of the group links the year members across national borders and with the school to find out what is needed. The group in the UK meets about four times a year and effectively operates as a small NGO.
For Betty, contact with the old girls from her school was not imperative when she first arrived in the UK. However, with social background and school as common denominators, she believes the association will also operate as a social network which will help and support members in the future. This will include baby sitting for children and help with expenses if necessary
As a committed Christian, Betty does attend Church, but for her the Church provides a religious function only.
Remittances and return
Betty sends money to her father and her mother, and occasionally to her step-mother. She considered it a very important dimension of family life that children look after their parents in their old age. There is no pension system in Ghana and so it is left to the family to provide. Although there is no obligation to send money there is an expectation that working children will help out and ensure that parents do not lack for anything and are comfortable. Similarly, Betty considers it her responsibility to help her parents and that the remittance, regardless of the amount, is a reflection of that commitment.
Betty has two separate bank accounts where one has a standing order to the other each month for remittance purposes only. This way she ensures that she saves a specific amount (£50) each month which can be used to send to her parents; this money comes from her means rather than what remains after her own expenditures. Betty believes that she will always save for her parents even if her own expenses increase, her income decreases or both.
The money is sent regularly every two months, regardless of the exchange rate operating at the time. The amount remitted is not based on her salary. Betty saves the same amount each month for her parents according to what she believes is enough for her parents to live on, rather than what she earns. Betty made this decision on her own without any consultation with her parents. If her parents had particular difficulties, however, she would send more. Similarly, the amount sent would not decrease if her salary decreased.
Every two months, Betty takes the money to a remittance agency in South London and transfers it to a bank in Ghana for her parents. The fee for transfer is between £3-5 for every £100 sent. Betty is given a number which she phones through to her father and which is used for collection in Ghana. The complete transaction takes about five minutes.
Betty has not experienced problems with the transfer either in the UK or in Ghana: her parents have to access the money through specific banks but this has not caused any problems. Betty’s sister in Ghana collects the money for both parents and sends on the money to her mother. Western Union was considered too expensive and time consuming, although both agencies were thought to be very reliable.
Betty does not specify what the money is to be used for although she acknowledges that it is mainly used for consumption, particularly food. Rituals are a further expense: births, marriages and funerals which usually involve the wider community in the processes, are very important and very costly. Betty’s father has his own savings so Betty’s money is to help improve household income and provide for extras. Her sister and brothers also send remittances.
When she visits Ghana Betty only takes small presents such as T shirts and not large items or additional amounts of money.
Funding through school association
Associations are another means by which migrants contribute to Ghanaian development more widely. Betty’s old girls association has only recently been established, but it is saving for the girls’ “speech day” in seven years. Betty is not sure what the money will be used for, but the President of the group finds out what the school needs - e.g. computers, upgrading the library or building repairs.
Each association member pays “dues” of £5 per month, or £60 a year. The amount is based on the different salaries of each member and ensures that everyone can contribute equally and therefore feel equally valued. A bank account has been set up for the money. Some 75 percent will go to the school project, once it has been determined; ten percent goes on association support. However, money is not sent direct to the school to spend. The Association will make the purchases or organise what is needed to ensure that the money is used for the intended purpose. This way the Association contributes to the community and even beyond as pupils use their skills outside the school location.
Betty has not visited Ghana since coming to the UK, and her siblings have not expressed any interest in joining her here. Betty has considered other career options and would like to set up her own business: she particularly enjoys food and cooking and has thought about starting a restaurant or a juice bar. Her life is comfortable and she is happy here for the time being. While she is working she is acquiring skills, training and money that can be used when she returns to Ghana.
Betty and her partner would like to return to Ghana at some point in the future but this is not being considered at the moment. Betty would not consider returning until she and her partner have planned and set up a business there - this is preferable to moving and living in Ghana while trying to establish themselves; i.e. the return would be for specific purpose.
