Desiring mobility: child migration, parental distress and constraints on the future in North Africa

Experiencias de transición a la vida adulta de jóvenes que migraron solos. Un estudio en Aragón (España)

“…El grado de información recibido por los jóvenes sobre su itinerario social-jurídico es precario, y de las respuestas se deduce un aprendizaje "práctico" por su parte a medida que se sortea (o no) cada obstáculo sobrevenido. A ello se suma, como carga añadida a las 51 estrategias de los propios jóvenes, el contacto y la responsabilidad asumida con la familia de origen, que continúa en la edad adulta (Vacchiano, 2018). A este respecto no se ha podido constatar comunicación alguna (ni formal ni informal) por parte de los centros.…”

Governing adolescent mobility: The elusive role of children’s rights principles in contemporary migration practice

“…Caught between adult-centered migration laws and citizen-centered child welfare structures, adolescent migrants under 18 years are routinely left outside the reach of effective child rights structures, even when their claims to protection have substantial merit. They thus have difficulty enrolling in school, obtaining adequate health care, securing the care and mentorship they need to enjoy safe and fulfilling lives (Vacchiano, 2018).…”

“…In the former case, families decimated by war, by terrorist recruitment, or by drug violence see emigration of their children as a lifeline to generate an income stream for family survival and as a strategy for the next generation to secure safety and a future. In the latter, adolescents decide to leave home, with or without parental consent, to follow in the footsteps of already departed peers or pursue vague prospects of life elsewhere (Coutin, 2018; Timera, 2018; Vacchiano, 2018).…”

‘Nothing will ever be the same again’. Personal commitment and political subjectivation in the 20 February Movement in Morocco

“…Now, our interlocutors in Morocco recurrently qualify their social experience through notions like tkarfīs (suffering), fasād (corruption, prevarication), hogra (abuse and humiliation), iħbaţ (frustration), żulm (injustice) and 'unf (violence). Such terms, redundantly employed to describe the sense of inequity in everyday life, remind us of the words of those who aspire to emigrate (Elliot 2016;Menin 2016;Vacchiano 2018aVacchiano , 2018b. They describe the perceived imbalance between aspirations and possibilities and the lack of conditions (żuruf) that qualify as 'a decent life' ('aysh karīm) in today's world.…”

“…Against this backdrop, the combination of capitalistic pressures for accumulation and self-improvement, together with the reality of uneven opportunities at home has motivated youngand often very youngpeople of lower classes to pursue a possible future in a coveted and distant elsewhere (Vacchiano 2014(Vacchiano , 2018a. This happened before, after and also during the days of the revolt (Tazzioli 2017).…”