Transit migration is today a main geopolitical issue. The closed-doors policies pursued in Western Europe and the United States are having deep impacts on the migration situation in neighbouring countries of global South that are part of the migration chain. While political and academic discourse on transit migration mainly focuses on the challenges for, and responsibilities of, those labelled as “transit countries”, very little reference is made to the physical nodes of transit routes, the strategic hubs where a multitude of networks converge and intersect facilitating mobility, namely “transit cities”. These urban areas, are indeed the principal loci of international migration systems, used by migrants as antechambers and switching points where getting useful information on how to migrate further, finding anonymous accommodation, income opportunities, and the social support needed to recover from their previous travel and organize their onward journey. However their stopover is frequently longer than expected and, stranded at the borders of “fortress Europe” or of their “American dream”, many end up becoming permanent residents by default, with tangible impacts on the economic, social and spatial settings of supposedly “transit” cities. These migrants often have scarce economic resources and cultural, social and religious backgrounds quite different from that of local residents. Therefore the management of their urban inclusion, when foreseen, is difficult and marked by conflict, while their living conditions are increasingly characterized by alarming levels of marginalisation and vulnerability. With particular reference to the situation of Tijuana in Mexico and Istanbul in Turkey, where the author has recently carried out field research, this paper aims at exploring the challenges faced by the many cities that per se would not be main attraction poles, but are indeed confronted with growing migration inflows prompted by exogenous factors.
Migrants stranded at the border of their dream. Learning from transit cities in Mexico and Turkey
MARCONI, GIOVANNA
2009-01-01
Abstract
Transit migration is today a main geopolitical issue. The closed-doors policies pursued in Western Europe and the United States are having deep impacts on the migration situation in neighbouring countries of global South that are part of the migration chain. While political and academic discourse on transit migration mainly focuses on the challenges for, and responsibilities of, those labelled as “transit countries”, very little reference is made to the physical nodes of transit routes, the strategic hubs where a multitude of networks converge and intersect facilitating mobility, namely “transit cities”. These urban areas, are indeed the principal loci of international migration systems, used by migrants as antechambers and switching points where getting useful information on how to migrate further, finding anonymous accommodation, income opportunities, and the social support needed to recover from their previous travel and organize their onward journey. However their stopover is frequently longer than expected and, stranded at the borders of “fortress Europe” or of their “American dream”, many end up becoming permanent residents by default, with tangible impacts on the economic, social and spatial settings of supposedly “transit” cities. These migrants often have scarce economic resources and cultural, social and religious backgrounds quite different from that of local residents. Therefore the management of their urban inclusion, when foreseen, is difficult and marked by conflict, while their living conditions are increasingly characterized by alarming levels of marginalisation and vulnerability. With particular reference to the situation of Tijuana in Mexico and Istanbul in Turkey, where the author has recently carried out field research, this paper aims at exploring the challenges faced by the many cities that per se would not be main attraction poles, but are indeed confronted with growing migration inflows prompted by exogenous factors.
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