Migration for Begging: Experiences of Nigerien Migrant Parents and their Accompanied Children in Accra, Ghana

Abstract

This research explored the Phenomenon of “Migration for Begging” among Nigerien migrants. The dominant view of the migration of street beggars has so far paid attention mainly to the Organised Criminal Networks with profit motives as the major facilitators of beggars with less focus on the Personal Networks that help in facilitating the migration of this type as well as the trajectories. This study fills this gap by examining beggars from Niger by specifically looking at who qualifies to migrate for begging, why they migrate, how they migrate, what they come to do apart from begging and their migration outcome. A mixed method approach was used to study Migration for Begging among Nigerien migrants in Accra. The study techniques included mainly survey questionnaires and in-depth interviews. A total of one hundred and thirty-six (136) respondents were sampled for the quantitative study while twenty-seven (27) parents and twelve (12) children were selected for the in-depth interview after following the due ethical procedures. The findings show that to qualify for social network support, a migrant must possess some qualities which include having children to migrate with. Secondly, personal networks were found to influence migrants’ experiences regarding their journeys and access to financial resources plays a huge role in migrants’ choice of route and journey experiences. The study found that migration for begging is mainly facilitated by Personal Network support rather than Organized Criminal Networks. Again, migrant parents were identified as having control over their earnings and that of their children. The role of the personal network was largely to support and not to exploit migrants. Though the majority of respondents were found to be supported by their personal networks, a significant number migrated on their own without personal social network support. Using the Migration and Livelihood Framework, this study found that the variables age, job opportunity, housing, income/wage, personal network and remitting were statistically significant at 0.05. The Multinomial Logistic Regression model concluded that the older migrants become they are more likely to experience the same migration outcome, likewise, those who migrated for better job opportunities compared to those who did not. Again, those who reported having personal network support experiencing the same migration outcome are higher than those who did not have social support. Also, comparing the baseline (better migration outcome), it was found that as migrants grow older, they are less likely to experience worse migration outcomes, while the probability of those who own their own place of residence experiencing worse outcomes is higher than those who are squatters. Again, the probability of migrants who had personal network support experiencing worse migration outcomes is higher than those who did not have support. The Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) concerning quality education emphasises the role migration can play in providing children with access to better education. The study recommends measures towards educating migrant children in Ghana and the need for both Ghana and the government of the Republic of Niger to ensure that migrant children are off the streets to the classroom. Also, providing schools in rural communities in Niger to have children educated and providing access for those who are already here, will lead to improved standards of living for Nigeriens and ultimately, breaking the chain or stopping migration for begging among Nigeriens.