The Back Way To Europe & Everything in Between : A Study of Migration Culture in The Gambia

Sammanfattning: Crossing the Sahara to reach Libya for the purpose of onward migration across the Mediterranean to Italy is what in Gambia is called “The Back Way”. The aim of this study is to examine the ambitions and reasons behind a migratory project from The Gambia to Europe. By identifying the key constituents of a migration culture, I can get a broader insight into why the celebration of migration is evident, and how the ‘story of Europe’ is shaped. I have interviewed Gambians who are geographically in different places and who all find themselves in different life trajectories, most of them connected to migration. My conversations about migration, “The Back Way” and Europe stretches from interviews with repatriates, aspiring migrants and non-migrants. I have also interviewed Gambians in the Diaspora. In this study, I found a strong societal expectation and hope towards both migration and the diaspora which in return caused certain diasporic behavior that painted a misleading picture of Europe. I also found a strong hope and resilient aspirations in terms of social status and recognition believed to be attained easier as a migrant coming back from Europe.