Irregular Senegalese emigration to Spain. Issues, causes and current situation

Abstract

In recent years, irregular migration, which is forbidden and highly controlled, has increasingly attracted the attention of numerous researchers: sociologists, geographers, demographers, political scientists, and jurists. This is still the case today, following the many attempts of would-be migrants, some of them boarding pirogues from the African coast to reach a country close to the European continent, others aboard trucks and pick-ups to make their journey across the Sahara Desert. These various, somewhat desperate attempts are most often reported in the local and international press, revealing a growing worldwide media coverage of the issue. It is this form of irregular migration, carried out by sea in dugout canoes, that our paper will attempt to explore. Particular attention is paid to irregular emigration by sea from Senegal to Spain. The fi rst part of our presentation will focus on the issues involved in this irregular migration to Spain. In the second part, we will diagnose the various economic, social, political, and cultural causes behind departures from Senegalese shores. More precisely, we will try to provide some answers to the question: Why do young people take the path of irregular migration to Senegal?