Luanda – Holanda: Irregular Migration from Angola to the Netherlands

Abstract

Against the backdrop of push-pull and social network theories on migration and criminological theory on human smuggling, this article tries to answer the questions of why and how Angolan asylum-seekers migrated to the Netherlands since the end of the 1990s. The study shows that the migrants can be described as opportunity seeking migrants, rather than survival migrants. Most migrants made no use of typical human smugglers during their travel. They rather used assistance from their social network and made use of the services of middlemen, called esquemas, on an ad-hoc basis. In this article it is argued that ''archetypal'' large smuggling organisations in Angola have not evolved because of the existence of these highly informal networks. Support is found that both push-pull and social network theories can contribute to explaining irregular, asylum migration.

Deciding Where to go: Policies, People and Perceptions Shaping Destination Preferences

“…Jackson et al., ; Wiklund, ) which are often associated with other factors which make certain destinations more attractive, for instance by virtue of a common language and/or favourable visa requirements. Others suggest that these factors are less important: Van Wijk (), for example, shows that the Netherlands received more Angolan asylum seekers than any other EU country in the late 1990s, despite the absence of historical, linguistic or social ties, a fact he attributes to “reputational factors”.…”

“…These models have been criticised as being overly simplistic and economically deterministic, particularly in the context of forced migration. Not only do they make assumptions about the ways in which individuals respond to different factors, but they presuppose decisions are fully informed, neglect the role of intervening variables, and ignore or downplay a wide range of social factors (King, 2012;Van Der Velde and Van Naerssen (2015); James and Mayblin, 2016).…”

Striving for a Better Position: Aspirations and the Role of Cultural, Economic, and Social Capital for Irregular Migrants in Belgium

“…While some strive to obtain a good position in the labor market ( cf . Grzymala‐Kazlowska, 2005; Paspalanova, 2006), others aim at acquiring a legal status through marriage (Staring, 1998), regularization (Hagan, 1998), or asylum (Van Wijk, 2007). Leman (1997) distinguishes between those who primarily migrate to – usually temporarily – work and make money (employment illegality) and migrants who come to reside and legalize their status (residence illegality).…”

“…Some researchers choose not to study former asylum seekers as irregular migrants because they are not regarded as economic migrants. However, we agree with Black (2003:44) that the “theoretisation of the process and experience of ‘illegal’ migration could be considerably enriched by a greater focus on those whose migration does not derive from economic circumstances.” Moreover, Van Wijk (2007) has recently shown how applying for asylum can be a legalization strategy for economic migrants as well.…”

Resilience among Nigerian transnational parents in the Netherlands: a strength‐based approach to migration and transnational parenting

“…These families exist because migrating parents leave their children in the country of origin, either by choice or due to stringent migration policies in the receiving country. They also exist because children move across national borders alone or with only part of their family to flee war or seek better opportunities; because parents have sent their children back home either to reduce child-raising costs or to ensure that they are brought up in their traditional cultural environment; and because families form while the partners are residing in different countries (Appiah and Mazzucato 2014;Bledsoe and Sow 2011;Hashim 2007;Mazzucato and Schans 2011;van Wijk 2007;Whitehouse 2009;Zentgraf and Chinchilla 2012). Transnational families exist all over the world and have been around for a long time.…”