Stuck in the Desert. Hampered Mobility among Transit Migrants in Northern Niger
Résumé
Migration to and through the Central Sahara has been affected in recent year by several factors, mainly political, that hamper the circulation of migrants. They find themselves forced to spend weeks or even months in towns in northern Niger before being able to pursue their way to North Africa. This contribution focuses on how obstacles to individual mobility affect migratory transit. After having shown how migrants experience and organise their daily lives in these towns in Niger, the experience of transit through the Sahara is analysed as a privileged moment for changing social status and transforming individual feelings of belonging.