Migration Causes and Challenges at the European Border in North Africa: A Practitioner-Based Grounded Theory

ABSTRACT

This investigation took place in Melilla, a European city in North Africa, and in the neighboring cities of Granada and Malaga, on the southern Mediterranean coast of Spain. As well as exploring an under-researched geographical area, the article also focuses on an under-researched group in the field of migration: first-line practitioners. Grounded theory research was conducted to develop a working model of practitioners’ perspectives surrounding causes of migration, and related challenges, at (and through) the European Union-Moroccan border. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were used to gather qualitative data from 19 first-line practitioners. Their perspectives suggested a complex set of causes underlying migration at an economic, individual, community, national, and geopolitical level. They also identified eight central risks, and challenges, for the migrant population during their journey to (and process of establishing their lives in) Europe. To reduce such risks, practitioners emphasized the need for safe migratory routes, quick institutional responses in the presence of unexpected phenomena (such as COVID-19), promoting and educating for empathy, and the development of more interregional solidarity on a national, European and international level. The paper concludes reflecting on the importance of these proposed responses in “out-of-place” European territories such as the city of Melilla.

KEYWORDS:

• First-line workers
• Southern European border
• Spain
• Fortress Europe
• Ceuta

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank all participants who contributed directly to this research to share their narratives with us. We are also grateful for the comprehensive comments of four reviewers and the journal editor, which have been extremely useful when revising the manuscript.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 In this paper, the term “migrant” is used to refer to any person moving from one place to another. The choice to take such an “inclusivist” position with regards to terminology, rather than separating “migrants” from “refugees”, stems from a desire to avoid the political and ethical judgements often implicit in the delineation of the category of refugee (see Carrasco Granger 2022, for a good summary). However, when a specific type of migration is identified or highlighted by us or by the interviewees, it is explicitly mentioned.

2 For more information about the project, see: https://project.perceptions.eu/.

3 It should be noted that the main objective of PERCEPTIONS is to study the existence anddevelopment of perceptions on migration amongst different groups, not to assess the “accuracy” or “inaccuracy” of said perceptions. As such, several members of the consortium (including the authors of this paper) preferred to work with the term “narrative”, as it isfelt to give more ontological and analytical distance and to avoid aligning with one group’s perception over another.

4 We use the term “perspectives” here in a broad way, to encompass specific ideas about the causes, consequences and challenges of migration, about the FLPs’ field of work, and also about wider narratives, such as the way this can be interconnected with society as a whole and their own worldview.

5 The data collection protocol was part of a wider investigation within the Project PERCEPTIONS, and data pertaining to Melilla, Granada was selected for the analysis with a different research question andmethodology that this paper describes.

6 Grounded theory as a method prioritizes two key processes: selective coding and constant comparison (Glasser and Strauss 1967). Selective coding, the last of three stages of coding, involves relating all existing categories to one overarching category, which in this case becomes the basis of a working theory. Constant comparison, a skill present in every stage of coding, involves a process of contrasting different sources of data to gradually develop similarities and differences between then.

7 The decentralised system of Spain is organised into 17 autonomous communities and 2 cities with autonomous status: Ceuta and Melilla. Autonomous communities are sub-national political and administrative divisions, which have their own representatives and legal, executive, and administrative power.

8 There are several other examples of this. One, as a legal professional in the study mentioned, was Morocco’s refusal to allow Moroccan workers in Melilla to renew passports during the COVID-19 pandemic.

9 On Friday June 22, 2022, one week before sending this article for review, Melilla witnessed the most dramatic migration-related event in the history of the city. At least 23 migrants were killed at the Nador-Melilla border, during an attempt by as many as 2000 people to jump the fence en masse to enter Spain. Only 133 people managed to do so, the majority of them Sudanese. These 133 people have now been received in the CETI, and have all requested asylum. It should be noted that, last year, 92% of Sudanese asylum seekers were granted refugee status in Spain (Ministerio del Interior 2021). In light of this event, we would like to add our own voice to the words of the UN General Secretary AntónioGuterres: “I (we) am (are) shocked by the violence on the Nador-Melilla border … The use of excessive force is unacceptable, and the human rights and dignity of people on the move must be prioritised.”

Additional information

Funding

This research was conducted as part of the PERCEPTIONS H2020 project which received funding from the European Union’s H2020 Research & Innovation Programme [grant agreement no. 833870].