Migration in the Name of the Money : male and Female Migratory Experience of Rural Youth from Uganda to the Gulfs

Sammanfattning: Labour migration is a growing phenomenon around the globe, and it is rather self-evident that people move to achieve better life conditions or flee adverse circumstances. Significant in this growth is the mobile continent, Africa having substantial numbers of its people on the move. This study aims to explore the social, economic and cultural characteristics of male and female migratory experience of rural youth from Uganda into Gulf countries. For this aim, the following research questions have been developed: What are the main motives and objectives behind labour migration for men and women from rural Uganda to the Gulf countries?  Which processes did Ugandan rural male and female youth go through to get employment in the Gulf countries?  How did guest workers experience the living and working conditions in the Gulf countries?  How do migrants evaluate their time in the Gulf in relation to themselves and others? This study was operationalized in Nakaseke, a rural district located in central parts of Uganda. Semistructured interviews with former guest workers in the Gulfs are the primary empirical basis for this study. Participants in this study moved for economic reasons and experienced positive economic achievement as a result of their work in the Gulfs. The emotional, bureaucratic and financial facilitation from family and brokers is essential, but at times contributes to the vulnerability in the migration process, according to the empirical findings. Racial discrimination, social-, cultural isolation and poor working conditions were significant characteristics of the informants’ experiences. These experiences partly differed depending on gender. Despite these experiences, participants generally viewed their migration as a positive achievement due to economic progress. The world system theory, the new labour migration theory and Neo-classical economic together with push/pull factor approach, has been the theoretical framework of this study. A gender perspective has been consistently considered throughout the study.