A Mother’s Choice: Undocumented motherhood, waiting and smuggling in the Tunisian–Libyan borderlands

Anecdotal evidence suggests growing numbers of migrants intercepted at sea – referred to by the Tunisian coastguard as les rescapés (the rescued) – return to Libya via smuggling. In this article I empirically document the experiences of “rescued” migrant mothers who consider and/or purposely re-enga...

Full description

Saved in:  
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Chemlali, Ahlam (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
Published: 2023
In: Trends in organized crime
Year: 2023, Volume: 26, Issue: 1, Pages: 30-47
Online Access: Presumably Free Access
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig)
Journals Online & Print:
Drawer...
Check availability: HBZ Gateway
Keywords:
migrant women
Libya
Tunisia
Waiting
Border enforcement
Transit
Migrant smuggling
Motherhood

MARC

LEADER 00000caa a22000002 4500
001 1839407662
003 DE-627
005 20230318010951.0
007 cr uuu---uuuuu
008 230317s2023 xx |||||o 00| ||eng c
024 7 |a 10.1007/s12117-023-09481-6  |2 doi 
035 |a (DE-627)1839407662 
035 |a (DE-599)KXP1839407662 
040 |a DE-627  |b ger  |c DE-627  |e rda 
041 |a eng 
084 |a 2,1  |2 ssgn 
100 1 |a Chemlali, Ahlam  |e VerfasserIn  |0 (DE-588)1228353093  |0 (DE-627)1750115433  |4 aut 
109 |a Chemlali, Ahlam 
245 1 2 |a A Mother’s Choice: Undocumented motherhood, waiting and smuggling in the Tunisian–Libyan borderlands 
264 1 |c 2023 
336 |a Text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a Computermedien  |b c  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a Online-Ressource  |b cr  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a Anecdotal evidence suggests growing numbers of migrants intercepted at sea – referred to by the Tunisian coastguard as les rescapés (the rescued) – return to Libya via smuggling. In this article I empirically document the experiences of “rescued” migrant mothers who consider and/or purposely re-engage in irregular, high-risk returns involving crossing the Tunisian border back into Libya. Employing a feminist ethnographic approach, this paper explores how undocumented motherhood is experienced and shaped in the context of EU-sponsored counter-smuggling and border enforcement. Building on fieldwork in Medénine, in southern Tunisia, I also examine the considerations of migrant mothers “stuck on the move” concerning clandestine navigation and redirection in the complicated temporal and spatial context created by international organizations and EU-sponsored forms of “protection.” I argue that border enforcement and counter-smuggling policies not only impact everyday life and mobility for undocumented mothers and their children but, as gendered practices, also trap and confine migrant mothers and their children in a cycle of protracted vulnerability, indefinite waiting, and uncertainty in which opting to travel with smugglers becomes the best bet and last resort. 
650 4 |a migrant women 
650 4 |a Libya 
650 4 |a Tunisia 
650 4 |a Waiting 
650 4 |a Border enforcement 
650 4 |a Transit 
650 4 |a Migrant smuggling 
650 4 |a Motherhood 
773 0 8 |i Enthalten in  |t Trends in organized crime  |d Getzville, NY : HeinOnline, 1995  |g 26(2023), 1, Seite 30-47  |h Online-Ressource  |w (DE-627)32051806X  |w (DE-600)2014206-7  |w (DE-576)098304852  |x 1936-4830  |7 nnns 
773 1 8 |g volume:26  |g year:2023  |g number:1  |g pages:30-47 
856 |u https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s12117-023-09481-6.pdf  |x unpaywall  |z Vermutlich kostenfreier Zugang  |h publisher [open (via free pdf)] 
856 4 0 |u https://doi.org/10.1007/s12117-023-09481-6  |x Resolving-System  |z lizenzpflichtig  |3 Volltext 
935 |a mkri 
951 |a AR 
ELC |a 1 
LOK |0 000 xxxxxcx a22 zn 4500 
LOK |0 001 4291931808 
LOK |0 003 DE-627 
LOK |0 004 1839407662 
LOK |0 005 20230317051515 
LOK |0 008 230317||||||||||||||||ger||||||| 
LOK |0 035   |a (DE-2619)KrimDok#2023-03-16#C86EEF472DE609A4E06D79E0BBE4FB0B79BD2EC9 
LOK |0 040   |a DE-2619  |c DE-627  |d DE-2619 
LOK |0 092   |o n 
LOK |0 852   |a DE-2619 
LOK |0 852 1  |9 00 
LOK |0 935   |a zota 
OAS |a 1 
ORI |a SA-MARC-krimdoka001.raw