Scientific bulletin 322 - June 2009
3 % of the world
population, have left their
home country to try their
luck abroad. The numbers
are constantly rising, in
tune with globalization
and the economic crisis:
in 25 years, the number
of migrants in the world
has doubled. Escaping
from conflicts, following
a thirst for a better life,
nearly three-quarters of
candidates for exile come
from the countries of the
South.
How many of them will one
day return to the country
of their forefathers? The
plan to return definitively,
a myth held by migrants
from all horizons, is
constantly put back, rarely
materialized. This was the
main observation that
emerged from work by
CEPED (IRD, Université
Paris Descartes, INED)
and their partners1.
Multidisciplinary research
involved studying the
relations between
international migration,
returns to the country of
origin and development.
Money invested by the
diasporas is at the heart of
the debate. Although such
funds often have perverse
effects, they do contribute
effectively to the combat
against poverty, open
up access to education
or health and reduce
vulnerability, particularly in
relation to climatic hazard.
Moreover, in the strength
of new competences and
experiences, the migrants
who return to their country
of origin alter the social
and political hierarchies,
traditionalist values, and
health-related behaviour
and practices.
© IRD / Jacques Vaugelade
n foot, in trucks, by
Migrants, a boon for development?
O
boat, or by plane…
some 200 million people,
A migrant returns, complete with bicycle, new clothes and bag, etc. – Mossi area, Burkina Faso.
Lands of birth, transit or reception: all
the countries of the Earth are concerned. In North and South alike, international migrations are at the centre
of political issues and public debate. Researchers from CEPED (IRD,
Université Paris Descartes, INED) and
their partners1 have analysed their
impact on the development of the migrants’ countries of origin.
The myth of the definitive return
When a migrant leaves his mother
country he has just one idea in mind:
to return one day permanently to the
home country, with a better standard
of living, proving his social success.
A plan that rapidly takes the form of a
dream, a myth, constantly postponed
to the time of retirement, when the plan
associated with migration has been implemented, or indeed when the economic or political situation in the country
of origin will be more favourable. The
researchers found that, beyond the development of their society of origin, the
migrants modify their migration plan
according to their life in the country of
adoption: obtaining a job, insertion into
the social fabric, acquisition of social
rights or even citizenship, the building
-up of a family. Such factors lead the
migrant with time to change his relationship with his community. The exiled
individual can then find himself out of
synchrony with the family who stayed
in the country of origin owing to the
experience gained abroad, his perceptions, and the social and geographical distance. Many migrants in fact
never fulfil their plan to return and only
make comings and goings between the
country of origin and the host country.
However, although they wish to keep
their place, their legitimacy, and therefore the possibility, for themselves
and their children, one day to reintegrate into their community, they are
nonetheless constrained to maintain
the ties of solidarity. They will therefore bring financial support, most often
in favour of their family, health care,
schooling or aid for food and so on.
Institut de recherche pour le développement - 44, boulevard de Dunkerque, CS 90009
F-13572 Marseille Cedex 02 - France - www.ird.fr
You can find the IRD photos concerning this bulletin, copyright free for the press, on www.ird.fr/indigo
Luc CAMBREZY,
directeur de recherche à l’IRD
UMR CEPED (IRD, Ined,
Université de Paris Descartes)
Address :
CEPED
221 Boulevard Davout
75020 Paris
Tel : 33 (0)1 78 94 98 70
luc.cambrezy@ird.fr
Véronique PETIT,
chercheur à l’Université
Paris Descartes
UMR CEPED (IRD, Ined,
Université de Paris Descartes)
Address :
CEPED
221 Boulevard Davout
75020 Paris
Tel : 33 (0)1 42 86 45 87
veronique.petit@ceped.org
REFERENCES:
Migrations internationales
de retour et pays d’origine,
Véronique Petit. Paris, Les
Collections du CEPED
(Centre Population et
Développement), 2007, 205 p.
(RenConTres).
KEY WORDS:
International migration, return,
development
PRESS OFFICE:
Vincent Coronini
+33 (0)4 91 99 94 87
presse@ird.fr
INDIGO,
IRD PHOTO LIBRARY:
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+33 (0)4 91 99 94 81
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new behaviour with regard to health but
also such aspects as economic management. Finally, those migrants who do
return to their countries of origin, but
also those who remain abroad, no longer hesitate to get involved in political
issues relating to tradition: calling into
question the power and political role
linked to age, membership a caste,
prestige of a lineage and so on.
For the countries of the South, the
lands of origin of three quarters of
the world’s migrants, international
migrations represent highly important factors for development. Financial support for families, skills
and knowledge transfer, defence of
democratic values, redistribution of
political forces: in spite of a certain
financial dependence that sets in,
there are a host of positive impacts.
There remains the question of transmittal of the social bond: will the children
of migrants born in the host countries
continue to help their community of origin when they have access to a new
standard of living, new consumptionrelated demands and requirements,
another nationality, another culture?
Gaëlle Courcoux - DIC
Translation - Nicholas Flay
1. These investigations were conducted jointly
with researchers from Université Paris 7, the
CNRS, Université Marc Bloch in Strasbourg,
the Faculté des Lettres et des Sciences Humaines of Agadir in Morocco, the Centre for
Research on Nationalism, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism of London and the Africa Regional
Sexuality Resource Center at Lagos, Nigeria.
Registration of a migrant family returning to their
country of origin, Morocco - Roissy Charles de
Gaulle airport, Paris.
© IRD / Julien Brachet
CONTACT:
Migrants’ money:
a weapon against poverty
More than 160 billion dollars: that is the
sum sent every year by the 200 million
migrants in the world to the countries of
the South. This is three times the total
provided by public aid for development.
These money transfers are an important resource for many countries, such
as Turkey, Egypt or Morocco where
they are higher than the income from
tourism. However, this finance from
abroad puts the society of origin under a
kind of drip feed, without creating a true
internal development dynamic. Observers often confirm that this money does
not contribute to economic growth and
that it is wasted on expenses on luxuries. Yet, although it is true that it does
not always feed production-oriented
investments at regional or national level, it does contribute to social development by improving the standard of
living of individuals and families. This
source of revenue does in fact limit
the risks of sliding into poverty. It plays
the role of health insurance, finances
children’s education, enables people
to take precautions against climatic
hazards and other risks. Besides this,
migrants’ economic power represents
an important social issue. But its political weight is even more significant.
Migrants’ success abroad can first
change the traditional social hierarchy.
In addition, their migration experience
and life in another country enable them
to have school, academic and professional training and to learn values such
as democracy, male-female parity or
recognition of professional qualifications. That also enables them to adopt
© Univ. Paris Descartes / V. Petit
Scientific bulletin 322 - June 2009
For further information
Nigerian migrants returning from Libya. The
truck is heavily loaded up with men and
merchandise.
Gaëlle Courcoux, coordinator
Délégation à l’information et à la communication
Tél. : +33 (0)4 91 99 94 90 - fax : +33 (0)4 91 99 92 28 - fichesactu@ird.fr