AEGIS ECAS 2007 - View abstract

Panel	75. Migration reshaping the landscape of African development: bridging theory-practice and sending-receiving gaps
Paper ID	119
Author(s)	Riester, Andrea
Paper	View paper (PDF)
Abstract	Pursuing a PhD project on return migration to Burkina Faso in parallel to working for the German Technical Cooperation GTZ on migration issues, I’m trying to bridge the theory-practice gap in this field on a daily basis. My topic in this paper is to inquire into the effect that the international spread of the discourse on the positive effects of migration on development has had on Burkina Faso as a developing country which deals predominantly with rural-urban and South-South migration. The currently dominant discourse on migration is that it yields great potential for the development of countries of origin and that this potential can be tapped by improving migration management. The assigned task of development policy within this approach is mostly seen in fighting the root causes of migration (poverty, unemployment, conflict, etc.) and enhancing the positive effects of migration (remittances, engagement of the diaspora, brain circulation). But development efforts are mainly promoted as an incentive for countries of origin to cooperate in the fight against illegal migration. Apart from showing, that the approach is not adapted to the Burkinabè case, I will demonstrate how the discourse nevertheless resonates in and shapes current Burkinabè humanitarian and development activities. Most notably, Burkinabè migrants who returned from Côte d’Ivoire since conflict broke out there in 2002 are increasingly seen by development organisations as a wholly new target group. Despite their diverse socio-economic backgrounds, they are assumed - along the lines of the Brain Gain debate – to having acquired special skills abroad which supposedly make them a very dynamic, innovative and promising group of actors for development projects. In discussing this tendency, I would like to advance a less optimistic view, pointing out the difficulties involved with treating returning migrants as a homogeneous group of actors with a specific set of characteristics. Furthermore, I will describe the division of labour between the official bodies dealing with Burkinabè migrants and donor agencies in the attempt to reintegrate over 360000 returning migrants. The CONASUR (Conseil national de secours d’urgence) is in charge of humanitarian aid and was therefore, together with IOM, involved with the emergency convoi opération Bayiri to repatriate Burkinabè from Côte d’Ivoire. This operation played an important role in the accompanying national campaign for solidarity with the returning migrants. The CSBE (Conseil Supérieur des Burkinabè de l’Etranger) is focussing on highly qualified Burkinabè abroad and consular services. The CONAPO (Conseil national de la population) finally tries to advance a coherent migration policy for the country. A Plan national d’appui à la reinsertion socio-economique des rapatriés has been drawn up to coordinate donors’ activities in the field of reintegration.

The migration-development nexus in Burkina Faso