Centre for Migration Studies
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Item Evidence of Spiritual Capital in the Schooling of Second-Generation Ghanaians in Amsterdam(African Human Mobility Review, 2021) Kyei, J.R.K.O.; Smoczynski, R.; Setrana, M.B.This study investigates how spiritual capital accrued from religiosity influences the educational mobility of second-generation migrants in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. We propose that inherently, religiosity possesses resources that have consequences for the socio-economic and cultural life of the adherents. The study adopts ethnographic research methods including in-depth interviews, participant observation, and informal interviews in the religious field of African Initiated Christian Churches (AICCs) in Amsterdam. Fifty second-generation migrants participated in the research out of which thirty-five were women and fifteen were men. Nine representatives of AICCs were interviewed. All the research participants were purposively selected. The study found that although educational attainment is not a driving force for the creation of AICCs, religiosity has consequential effects on the schooling of second-generation Ghanaians. The study also found that spiritual capital accumulated through prayers, reading of Holy Scriptures, participation in religious services, and church commitment may facilitate or deter progress in the schooling of second-generation Ghanaians. The paper concludes that religiosity and schooling are not incompatible; rather, they are complementary in the integration of second-generation migrants into Dutch society.Item Transnational Practices And Integration Of Refugees In Ghana(University Of Ghana, 2020-11) Afrifa, H.K.K.Forced migration continues to impact on human populations in several geographical locations across the globe. Ceaseless wars and insecurity compel people to cross borders to seek refuge in different countries. Refugee situations, in general, present a significant challenge to refugees and refugee-hosting nations, especially those in developing countries. Studies in Ghana and sub-Saharan Africa have examined refugees’ livelihoods and challenges, the relationship between refugees and host communities in Ghana, and the security concerns raised by host communities due to protracted refugee situations in some contexts. However, not much research has been done in Ghana regarding how refugees maintain transnational ties with their country of origin and other third countries, while negotiating their integration in the host country. The objectives of this study, therefore, were to examine transnational activities of refugees in Ghana and their channels of communications; to explore the reasons why refugees maintain transnational ties with their country of origin and other third countries, and to find out whether their transnational activities influence their integration in Ghana. The Kunz’s Kinetic model of refugee movements and attitudes towards their country of origin was used as the theoretical basis of the study to determine their transnational engagements with their country of origin and other third countries as well as attitudes towards local integration. The Sequential Explanatory Strategy of mixed research method design was used for the study with a quantitative survey conducted on 470 urban and camp refugees in the Western, Central and Greater Accra regions; and the qualitative aspect , i.e. in-depth interviews were administered to 30 refugees, four officials of the Ghana Refugee Board and three opinion leaders within the refugee host communities. The quantitative data were analysed using SPSS version 20 and the qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. The study found that majority of the refugees left their country of origin due to political and governance conflicts; and that refugees engage socially, economically, culturally and politically with their country of origin and other third countries. The study also found that most of the refugees are technologically savvy and they utilized social media (particularly Facebook and WhatsApp) and telephone calls as channels of communication in their transnational engagements. Key reasons given for their transnational engagements included monitoring economic and political developments in their respective countries of origin, checking on welfare of kin and friends and seeking opportunities for resettlement in third countries. The study also found that only a few of the refugees were socially, culturally, economically and politically integrated in Ghana. The key challenges the refugees faced in their integration in Ghana included lack of employment opportunities, mismatch in skills to available job opportunities, language barrier, unfavourable economic conditions, discrimination in employment because of refugee status, lack of proper integration policy, and the refugees’ plans towards third country resettlement or voluntary return to the country of origin. Apart from the political engagements of refugees with their country of origin, which impacted on their political engagements in Ghana; and social and cultural engagements with third countries which impacted on social and cultural integration in Ghana, there was no significant association between their engagements with the origin and third countries and their integration in Ghana. Majority of the refugees opted for third country resettlement as against integrating in Ghana or voluntarily returning to their country of origin. The study recommends that refugee hosting nations develop policies in consultation with international development partners and Western countries to support refugee resettlement in third countries in both Africa and the West; while host government also provides economic and social opportunities to support refugee integration in the host country.Item Translocal Activities And Rural-Urban Migrants’ Integration Processes In Accra(University Of Ghana, 2021-09) Boateng, E.Several studies have primarily examined migrants’ integration in western countries or immigrants from the other African countries. In sub-Sahara Africa and Ghana, there is existing evidence on rural-urban migration but the focus of these studies has not been on how rural-urban migrants engage in translocal activities and integration. Hence, there is paucity of research in Ghana on how rural-urban migrants engage in translocal activities and how they integrate in their destination communities. To understand this nuance and fill the gap, this study adopted a mixed method approach to examine the translocal activities and factors that influence the integration processes of rural-urban migrants. Primary data was collected from rural-urban migrants in Accra. A total of 409 rural-urban migrants were surveyed and 29 interviewees (including 26 rural-urban migrants and 3 key informants) were interviewed for the study. The study revealed that nine in every ten (95.4%) of the migrants have engaged in many translocal activities in their current place of residence, with 76.5 per cent engaged in economic translocal activities, but 90.5% of the migrants do not engage in political translocal activities. Also, about 86.8% migrants socially engage with people in their hometown. About half (50.9%) of rural-urban migrants were totally integrated in their place of destination. The results further showed that more than two-thirds (69.2%) of the respondents who were engaged in political translocal activities were integrated, however, there is no association between social translocal activities and integration among rural-urban migrants. Also, more than half (58.9%) of the respondents who were engaged in cultural translocal activities were integrated into their current place of residence. The results showed that the respondents reported high prices of food, high cost of utility bills, high cost of rent, difficulty in learning the local language at the destination area and difficulty in making friends as factors affecting them to integrate. In addition, dominant strategies adopted by respondents were joining religious bodies, making friends and acquaintances. Others were learning local language, engaging in translocal activities and joining social/cultural clubs. The study, therefore, concludes that the rural-urban migrants get support from family and friends who have already migrated to Accra. They still maintain ties and engage in translocal activities. These activities, coupled with challenges make it difficult for the migrants to fully integrate in their new destinationItem The Dynamics Of Immigration Policymaking In Ghana(University Of Ghana, 2021-12) Ayisi, F.The number of international migrants has been increasing in real terms, reaching 281 million by mid-2020, even amid the COVID-19 pandemic but is still estimated to be 3.5% of the world's population. Out of this figure, Africa is estimated to host about 14%, the third largest after Europe and North America. Ghana, a traditional migration country in West Africa, s019, has been designated as a net-emigration and transit country. As an intermistic phenomenon, international migration has increased the interest in global and regional migration governance, which was a preserve of the nation-state. Although the twenty-first century has been described as 'the age of migration', only 3.5% of the world's population is moving, with 96.5% remaining in their countries of birth. Studying immigration policy, a dual-purpose strategy has, as a result, gained currency recently but is skewed toward the Global North. Coming from policy diffusion, domestic political economy and institutional theories, this qualitative study examined the dynamics of immigration policymaking in Ghana. The findings indicate that immigration policymaking in Ghana though progressive has been bureaucratic, involving state and international actors. Secondly, immigration policies during the colonial era were less restrictive, became restrictive during the early independence era and more complex in this contemporary era. Thirdly, immigration policy in Ghana is driven mainly by security and economic considerations with diverse effects. The study, therefore, recommends the de-securitisation of migration, improvement of the linkage of immigration to skills, investment and a composite national immigration policy. Keywords: Immigration policymaking, intermistic phenomenon, dual purpose strategy, bureaucraticItem (Im)Mobility, Cognitive Migration and Return in Ghana(2021-12) Bekoe, A.AThe study explores cognitive migration and return using in-depth biographical interviews of 21 failed migrants in Accra and Kumasi to understand the role of the mind in imagining a future away from home; how the mind travels ahead of the body to the imagined destination, the different trajectories of failure encountered and their effects as well as the process by which the mind returns to the origin in pursuit of a homeward future. The study finds evidence for cognitive migration in Ghana. Secondly, the study establishes the salience of imagination as the true essence of cognitive migration and not necessarily the intense planning and preparation that migrant aspirants undertake. The study shows that the effects of failing a migration project in situ, transcends monetary and temporal losses; cognitive migrants see failure as a disruptive event with life-altering implication for their wellbeing. To this end, psychology’s understanding of migrants’ social integration and psychological well-being can no longer be consigned to destination countries. Thirdly, the study finds the reconfiguration of imaginations not to be only a spatio-temporal process but a spatio-temporal-cognitive process. By clarifying how cognitive migrants return their minds to invest in a homeward future in the wake of failure, the study extends the current concept of cognitive migration to cognitive return migration and delineates the cognitive return migrant or the immobile cognitive returnee as a new immobility category. The study recommends the incorporation of immobile cognitive returnees into migration praxis to make migration an intrinsic part of broader social processes of development, social transformation and globalisation. Migration statistics, it is strongly recommended, must make cognitive return migrants or immobile cognitive returnees visible by counting them. Other policy implications have been fully discussed.Item Negotiating Return: Experiences of Ghanaian ‘Trapped’ Migrants in Libya, Qatar and Saudi Arabia(University of Ghana, 2020-10) Gyasi-Mensah, A.There is widespread concern about the number of Ghanaians who risk their lives by embarking on migration processes with the intention to enhance their economic outlook. Many of these migrants are often met with difficulties of return due to prevailing conditions at the place of location. Studies in the migration discipline have examined several aspects of the process of return migration. However, many of these studies have overlooked the aspect of migrants who are unable to return because they are heavily ‘trapped’. This study attempts to bridge this gap in literature through a qualitative study of ‘trapped migrants’ of Ghanaian origin. This study sought to examine the phenomenon of ‘trapped migration’ from Ghana to Libya, Qatar and Saudi Arabia to bring out the nuances of the experiences of ‘trapped migrants’ and their struggle to return. The study employed a purely qualitative methodology obtaining samples of migrants to the said areas who were ‘trapped’ by using purposive and snowball sampling techniques. A total sample of 30 ‘trapped migrants’ and information from GIS, IOM, as well as related studies were utilized constructively and interpretively in a thematic analysis. The study found that, data supports the existence of ‘trapped migration’ distinguished by the fact that ‘trapped migrants’ face extreme difficulties that thwart their every little effort to return. The characteristics of ‘trapped migrants’ showed that these were youthful individuals who were bidding their time for improved economic circumstances. The information they received about the prospects of the migration laid traps for their credulity because what they experienced when they migrated was not as palatable as the foreknowledge they received. They met episodes of undignified, dehumanizing, and abusive treatment, treatment essentially flouting fundamental human rights – just for wanting to work and make money as immigrant workers. The journey by road from Ghana to Libya is clearly too risky for the kind of prospects that awaits successful travellers – if they succeed. But at the crucial point where they wish to return, the conditions – financial incapability, arrest and detention, seizure of travel documents, and so on – would simply not let them. At the time of this study there were 9 out of the 30 ‘trapped migrants’ who were still ‘trapped’. Institutional effort to facilitate the return of the ‘trapped migrant’ was extremely limited. The study recommends the need for government to beware of the potential threat that ‘trapped migration’ presents to Ghanaians and demonstrate concern to address it. Ghanaian citizens abroad should be accorded the dignity, protection, and safety they deserve as citizens. Also, the government of Ghana should take steps towards bilateral and inter-regional agreements to protect Ghanaian migrants. Future studies should give objective and generalized accounts of the experiences of Ghanaians who are ‘trapped’ in migration using a more quantitative approach to find out the proportion of migrants who were assisted to return by other institutional efforts compared to those who returned by their own effort.Item Assessement of Ghana’s Diaspora Engagement Initiatives for National Development(University of Ghana, 2019) Enos, E.geared towards fostering the necessary linkages with the diaspora community and extracting some obligations for the development of their countries of origin. Empirical evidence has shown that there is a growing interest in the migration literature on the need to examine the efficacy of these diaspora engagement initiatives for national development. Drawing on Gamlen’s diaspora engagement typology and positioned in the USA, UK and Qatar, the study undertook an assessment of Ghana’s diaspora engagement initiatives to enhance their participation in the economy. Specifically, it examined the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of Ghanaian diaspora in the study countries: described the major diaspora engagement initiatives implemented over the past three decades in Ghana; examined the experiences and views of the Ghanaian diaspora on governments’ diaspora engagement initiatives as well as their participation in the diaspora programmes. The study relied on a mixed-method approach for its data collection. A total of 390 respondents were sampled. A questionnaire survey and in-depth interviews were conducted with respondents and institutional heads. One of the findings showed that just the extension of rights and privileges to the diaspora may not enhance diaspora participation in national development. lack of awareness of engagement policies and bilateral social security agreements between Ghana and the host countries, for instance, may continue to hinder diaspora engagement. The study concludes that while the Ghanaian diaspora engagement initiatives have had positive impact on national development in terms of remittances, investment, philanthropy and skills and knowledge transfer there are challenges in the implementation of these diaspora initiatives, including the symbolic nation building programmes and rights and privileges which inhibit active participation of the diaspora in the Ghanaian economy. The study therefore recommends that attention should be paid to diaspora consultation, institutional funding, and effective implementation plan and stakeholder consultation.Item Migrants’ and Non-Migrants’ Access and Use of Health Care in Ghana(University Of Ghana, 2019-07) Teye, A.The aim of the Sustainable Development Goal three (SDG 3) is to ensure healthy lives and promote the well-being for all humans in both advanced and developing countries. This makes accessing and use of health care a global concern and a basic right of all persons irrespective their migration status or location on the globe. Empirical evidence also reveals an increasing number of international migrants. Studies have shown that developing countries such as Ghana also becoming a transit and a destination place for migrants. Using a mixed method approach, the study conducted a survey of 116 migrants and 116 non-migrants residing in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Ten in-depth interviews and one unstructured expert interview were also conducted with selected migrants and non-migrants from the survey. The data collection was done between November and December 2018. Chi-square tests were used to determine statistical significance between socio-demographic factors, migration characteristics and access to health care. Determinants of access to health care were examined using binary logistic regression models. The qualitative interviews were used to validate and explain the quantitative findings. The findings indicate that, almost three-quarters (74.1%) of the migrants compared to less than a tenth (7.8%) of the non-migrants have never registered with a health insurance scheme in Ghana. A higher percentage of the migrants (50.9%) compared to non-migrants (33.6%) have no access to health care. Also, access to health care had a statistically significant relationship with migration status, origin of the respondent, the respondent’s level of education and the health care need of the respondent. The results also show that both migrants and non-migrants use the pharmacy when then are unwell and do self-medicate using either the pharmacy, herbs or medication from family and friends. The qualitative interview also revealed that, there exists price discrimination against migrants for health care services. The study, therefore, recommends a further study to explore and investigate issues on price discrimination against migrants in health care use in Ghana and also the migration policy of Ghana reviewed to include matters of migrants’ access to health care within the context of Ghana’s commitment to regional (ECOWAS and AU) and global development goals.Item “Who would not love to give birth in America?” The Intentions and Experiences in having American ‘Jackpot Babies’ Among Urban Dwellers in Ghana(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Allotey, A. A.Birth tourism to the USA is a form of mobility that is inextricably linked and symbiotically related to American birthright citizenship, international tourism and migration. Its popularity has grown around the world in recent years, including Ghana, where it is an open secret that some Ghanaian families have American ‘jackpot babies’. An American ‘jackpot baby’ refers to a child born on American soil to one of the foreign parents admitted as a short-term visitor or as a birth tourist solely to access the better opportunities available to American citizens. This interdisciplinary study investigates the intentions and experiences of having American ‘jackpot babies’ among Ghanaian urban dwellers and their implications for Ghana. Using survey and semi-structured in-depth interviews concurrently, data were collected from 260 urban dwellers from three major cities of Ghana – Accra, Cape Coast and Kumasi – who are yet to give birth in the USA and 13 Ghanaian families that have a total of 25 American ‘jackpot babies’, respectively. The adapted Leiper’s tourism system approach acted as an interpretative guide in the analysis. Among others, the study found that almost 83% of the Ghanaian urban dwellers sampled were aware that some Ghanaian women give birth in the USA. As a result, their awareness has influenced about 64% of them to have the intentions to have American ‘jackpot babies’ too. A logistic regression model disclosed that 35% of the urban dwellers’ intentions are explained by their socio-demographic characteristics. Thus, a little over three-fifth (60.2%) of these urban dwellers that had volitional control to have American ‘jackpot babies’ were women aged 20-34 years. Also, the model revealed that the attitudes of the urban dwellers towards Ghanaian birth tourists to the USA were not a determinant of their intentions to participate in birth tourism to the USA. The study further found that having American ‘jackpot babies’ was not an easy endeavour as a Ghanaian urban dweller needs to have spousal support and the motility to be transformed into the travel to the USA to give birth. Besides, the successful birth of American ‘jackpot babies’ implies that these Ghanaian parents have formed Planned Binational Families (PBFs) where the lives of their ‘babies’ are shaped by paradoxical belonging. The study concludes that intentions to have American ‘jackpot babies’ were motivated by presumed better living conditions and opportunities offered to American citizens. However, these intentions provide evidence that urban dwellers in Ghana do not see their citizenship functioning as an opportunity-enhancing tool either for them, their children or families. Also, in their desire to have children with paradoxical belonging, Ghanaian parents of PBFs are oblivious to the challenges associated with having this form of belonging such as animosity among siblings with different citizenships, their American ‘jackpot babies’ developing identity crisis, and experiencing social exclusion. Furthermore, intentions and experiences in having American ‘jackpot babies’ will act as a precursor to migration from Ghana to the USA where the main implication is brain drain and the concomitant reliance on remittances from its citizens residing in the USA as a means to economic survival. The study recommends an effective political leadership in Ghana to create a socio-economic environment that permits human flourishing, wellbeing and equal opportunities for all Ghanaians and instils a sense of patriotism and selfworth for the country. Also, Ghanaian PBFs should seek professional counselling for all their members to deal with the challenges associated with having paradoxical belonging.Item Migration Identity and Land Rights: A Case Study of the Nubians in Kibra Nairobi Kenya(University of Ghana, 2019-07) Mohamed, F. A.Countries worldwide could either be origin, transit or destination countries, or all three. Migration can be voluntary or forced, and the resultant effects for migrants and countries involved presents diverse challenges. In this regard, migration is therefore an important area of study. Research has been done on issues related to migration and identity. However, little is known about the inter-relation among migration, identity and land rights focusing on a particular group of long-term migrants. Such a group comprise of Nubians in Kenya, precisely in Kibra, Nairobi. The community’s migration from Sudan was initiated and planned by the British colonials who were moving deeper into eastern Africa. The study does this by examining the evolution of Nubian identity, determining the association between their migration status, identity formation and access to land. Further, the study examined the colonial legacy of Nubians, a long-term migrant community and their integration process into the nation state of their destination country, Kenya. The continuities and changes in Nubian identity and implications for their citizenship and access to land. Other issues discussed include: internal rural-urban migration into Kibra and the impacts, competition for resources, statelessness, citizenship, discrimination, ethnicity, and marginalization of minority communities. The study was conducted in Kibra constituency, Nairobi in Kenya in the following five villages: Kambi Muru, Lindi, Makina, Makongeni and Salama. Overall, a questionnaire was administered to 279 respondents to collect quantitative data, FGDs, indepth and key informant interviews, life histories and observation methods were used to collect qualitative data. The findings indicate that identity is not static and its flexibility was manipulated to suit particular situations to the advantage of the Nubians during the preindependence and post-independence periods. Ultimately, their identity was expected to reflect that they were part and parcel of Kenya and its people. Migration and interaction with others led to changes in the culture of the Nubians which necessitated collective efforts towards preserving their cultural heritage. Moreover, the study revealed that in-migration to Kibra by the inhabitants was achieved mainly through chain migration from the rural to urban area with the main reasons being perceived employment opportunities. Out-migration by Nubians from Kibra is seen as upward mobility, however the out-migrant Nubians maintain a strong link to Kibra. The reasons for the out-migration include better living standards and environment for family, and security of tenure for land purchased outside Kibra. Nine out of every 10 of the interviewees had lived in Kibra for more than twenty years and about 73 percent of both of their parents were born in Kibra, further demonstrating Kibra as their home. To buttress this connection to the land, eight out of every 10 respondents stated they had no intention of moving out because Kibra is their ancestral home in Kenya. Previous development projects on upgrading of Kibra have not been beneficial to Nubians in particular, who lost land. Collaboration with the Nubians on further development on the land is recommended. The study recommends the development and implementation of policies to protect minority communities and enhance their integration.