4 - African Migration: A Historical View
2022 No 4
“But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.”
--Hebrews 11:16
African migratory flows are much like the waters of the Nile, making their way down from the countryside and moving towards the cities. People succumb to the forces of gravity and join with others of different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds as they transition from where they once were to where they hope to be. Most will only traverse short distances as they contribute to the rapid urbanization of their region. Others will venture far, joining the ocean currents in their transnational journey to new continents. All, however, will experience change. That change can be rather dramatic, and the stories are almost always passed from generation to generation.
The history of Africa is replete with migratory stories and traditions. Some are ancient, recounting the movements of shepherds, farmers, traders, and religious leaders. They help to explain ethnic divides and territorial boundaries. They offer continuity for the successes and failures of African tribes, kingdoms, and empires. Across Africa, certain groups are highly migratory and have been so for millennia. For example, the peoples of the Middle Niger of West Africa have been trading salt in the North for gold in the South since before the 4th century.1 Many scholars have written on pre-colonial African migration patterns, and much more is yet to be revealed. That, however, is not our goal. Suffice it to say that the continent has a long history of such movements and that their stories reside in the memories of the people.
Recent history has only accentuated these traditions. The arrival of Islam in the 8th century, followed by Colonial Christianity in the 15th century, brought seismic shifts to African culture and religion. These global exposures created new trade routes between Europe, the Maghreb, and the Sahel.2 It was along these routes that large-scale transcontinental movements of people began. Of consequence was the emerging transatlantic slave trade. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, nearly 12 million Africans were forcibly removed from the continent and transported to the Americas. And while slave-induced migration had existed for centuries before this, nothing was ever of such scale or magnitude.3 Few would ever return, and most families considered their sons and daughters to be forever lost. The impact was profound, and the wound was felt and shared generationally on both sides of the Atlantic. These mass movements created significant losses for the communities left behind, which consequently generated the necessity for future migration.
By the 19th century, almost every part of the African continent had been claimed by a European power. Their objective was primarily economic. Colonial control led to large-scale indigenous movements to supply labor for the agricultural and transportation industries along the coasts. Forced monetization was born from a European desire to control their subjects. It brought a need for currency, which effectively ended most of the historical barter practices.4 People began to move to the cities and governmental centers in search of jobs to make money, pay their taxes, and feed their families. European languages soon became the lingua franca of the day, allowing for a broader dispersal of labor and commercial markets.
Thus, new stories were cemented into African tradition. Ethnic groups that had a history of migration continued to migrate, only to greater distances and for a more significant profit.5 Those who had been sedentary were often forced to choose between migration and poverty. Many would send their sons and daughters off to find a better life and then to support their families and communities back home. A new generation embraced the economic benefits of movement as their culture would become increasingly dependent upon the resulting remittances.
The early 20th century witnessed conflict on a global scale. European authorities conscripted many of their African subjects to fight in both world wars. Historians estimate that nearly 1.5 million Africans served as soldiers.6 After the wars, they came home with a much larger global view. These men had been to Europe and beyond. They had witnessed prosperity amid the tragedy of war. And most importantly, they recognized the opportunity to be a part of the post-war reconstruction effort. They had been there once and knew how to go back again. Only this time, they could take others with them.7
In the latter half of the 20th century, colonial powers would begin to release their grip on Africa. Most countries had secured independence by the 1960s. Despite the newly gained political freedoms, however, other dependencies and insecurities remained. It has not been an easy road, and many African peoples persist in poverty today.78And while certain European countries have maintained economic ties with their former colonies, almost all of Africa has sought to take advantage of the opportunities found in the West. Early open migration policies allowed for mostly unrestricted movements to the North.9 Improvements in transportation and international trade markets made circular migration economically feasible and profitable for most. Even as European borders began to close for new migrants in the 1970’s, laws permitting chain migration allowed those already present to continue to receive family members. These changes served to centralize resource pools, which in turn increased the remittances available to send back to their home communities in Africa.10 To say the least, migration became immensely profitable for many.
Even though many of these migration corridors have become restricted if not closed today, there are pervasive stories of movement and success that proliferate African communities. The fruits of migrant labors are evident in the resident wealth of many and are symbolized by the houses in which they live and the cars they drive back in Africa. There abides a generation of older migrants who have returned home, and their stories reinforce the dreams and aspirations of African youth today. Others however, continue to live far from home. Using modern technology, they can communicate at will and often send messages of success in their host countries. These stories combine to create a strong rationale for migration back home, even if one knows that they will endure hardship or loss along the way.
One would imagine that the amount of money demanded by the smugglers, the discomforts of the journey, the suffering endured, and the loss of life would compel people to make different decisions. And yet they still come, believing that they will be the one who makes it, the one who finds success, the one who saves their family.
There are certainly those, mainly from the West, who would seek to stem the tide of migration from Africa to Europe. They somehow believe that closed borders, stricter controls, and perhaps even military prowess can take away the motivation to immigrate. One would imagine that the amount of money demanded by the smugglers, the discomforts of the journey, the suffering endured, and the loss of life would compel people to make different decisions. And yet they still come, believing that they will be the one who makes it, the one who finds success, the one who saves their family.
Policymakers need to understand that the concrete realities of migration cannot overcome the abstract perceptions ingrained in their deeply seated traditions. For the African, rational arguments will almost always become subservient to cultural expectations and the power of oral traditions that have been passed down through generations. Such is especially true when the arguments against movement are founded on Western constructs and then applied to African contexts. There is nothing wrong with desiring the best for one’s family and being willing to make sacrifices to provide for their needs. Most of us would do the very same thing. What is needed are policies that discourage irregular migration, offer legal options to entry, while reducing the profits of the traffickers and smugglers. Most migrants would follow those routes if they were available.
Although the church may have influence, she cannot dictate governmental policies. What she can do is offer compassion and care for those who are suffering. She can provide a source of hope that extends far beyond any dream of European wealth. As God’s people learn to love their neighbors and serve those in need, they can then help them find in Christ a desire for a better country, one found in the heavens above and in the presence of the only One who can truly meet their needs.
1 M. Augustus Hamilton, “Analysis of the Dynamic Relationship between Globalization and the Transmission of the Gospel: A Case Study of Soninke Transmigrants in Africa and Europe” (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, 2017), 127.
2 The Maghreb is the region of northwest Africa which encompases the countries of Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunesia and Libya. It also includes the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla. With the exclusion of Egypt, one can think of the region to the north of the Sahara desert. The Sahel, by contrast, is the region just to the south of the desert. As such, it includes parts of some fourteen different countries.
3 Richard L. Roberts, Warriors, Merchants, and Slaves: The State and the Economy in the Middle Niger Valley, 1700-1914 (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1987), 17-20.
4 See A. M. Simone, For the City yet to Come: Changing African Life in Four Cities (Durham: Duke University Press, 2004), 157. See also Hamilton, 166.
5 Claude Meillassoux, Urbanization of an African Community: Voluntary Associations in Bamako, American Ethnological Society Monograph, vol. 45 (Seattle,: University of Washington Press, 1968), 36. See also François Manchuelle, Willing Migrants: Soninke Labor Diasporas, 1848-1960 (Athens: Ohio University Press, 1997), 121-122.
6 Gregory Mann, Native Sons: West African Veterans and France in the Twentieth Century, Politics, History, and Culture (Durham: Duke University Press, 2006), 6-69.
7 François Manchuelle, “Background to Black African Immigration to France: The Labor Migrations of the Soninke 1848-1987” (University of California, 1987), 475.
8 ProvcalNet: An Online Analysis Tool for Global Poverty Monitoring, ed. World Bank, in the World Bank, http://iresearch.worldbank.org/PovcalNet/home.aspx (accessed October 23, 2021).
9 Van Mol C. and De Valk H., "Migration and Immigrants in Europe: A Historical and Demographic Perspective.," in Integration Processes and Policies in Europe., ed. Garcés-Mascareñas B. and Penninx R., vol. IMISCOE Research Series (Springer, Cham, 2016).
10 Ibid.