Suchergebnisse

This book examines the connection between food and identity in the Nigerian diaspora community in Belgium. Encounters between people from different cultures do not lead to a simple adaptation of the diet, but usually give rise to some kind of fusion of new and indigenous food habits. The author questions the relationship between what Nigerian migrants in the diaspora eat, their self-perception and how they engage with outsiders. Starting with a historical introduction about the country, this study examines what aspects of the Nigerian food culture is retained and what has changed. This is reflected by the dynamics in the Nigerian homes, especially the gender roles. The new generation of Nigerians, who see Belgium as home, also hang on to a Nigerian diet that remains not only an important part of who they are, but is also used in the creation of cultural boundaries and group identities. However, the influence of the new environment is very present because each diaspora community, wherever and whenever, must adapt. Skills such as language and social norms are indeed necessary to survive in the new environment. Yet, food plays a prominent role: on the one hand, it contributes to the affirmation of Nigerian feelings, and on the other hand, food serves as a means of communication with the host country.

This book examines the connection between food and identity in the Nigerian diaspora community in Belgium. Encounters between people from different cultures do not lead to a simple adaptation of the diet, but usually give rise to some kind of fusion of new and indigenous food habits.The author questions the relationship between what Nigerian migrants in the diaspora eat, their self-perception and how they engage with outsiders. Starting with a historical introduction about the country, this study examines what aspects of the Nigerian food culture is retained and what has changed. This is reflected by the dynamics in the Nigerian homes, especially the gender roles.The new generation of Nigerians, who see Belgium as home, also hang on to a Nigerian diet that remains not only an important part of who they are, but is also used in the creation of cultural boundaries and group identities. However, the influence of the new environment is very present because each diaspora community, wherever and whenever, must adapt. Skills such as language and social norms are indeed necessary to survive in the new environment. Yet, food plays a prominent role: on the one hand, it contributes to the affirmation of Nigerian feelings, and on the other hand, food serves as a means of communication with the host country

This book examines the connection between food and identity in the Nigerian diaspora community in Belgium. Encounters between people from different cultures do not lead to a simple adaptation of the diet, but usually give rise to some kind of fusion of new and indigenous food habits.The author questions the relationship between what Nigerian migrants in the diaspora eat, their self-perception and how they engage with outsiders. Starting with a historical introduction about the country, this study examines what aspects of the Nigerian food culture is retained and what has changed. This is reflected by the dynamics in the Nigerian homes, especially the gender roles.The new generation of Nigerians, who see Belgium as home, also hang on to a Nigerian diet that remains not only an important part of who they are, but is also used in the creation of cultural boundaries and group identities. However, the influence of the new environment is very present because each diaspora community, wherever and whenever, must adapt. Skills such as language and social norms are indeed necessary to survive in the new environment. Yet, food plays a prominent role: on the one hand, it contributes to the affirmation of Nigerian feelings, and on the other hand, food serves as a means of communication with the host country.

Spain's history is undoubtedly intertwined with migration. While it may serve as an opportunity of refuge for countless migrants, it also remains a transit country and even a place of refuge for numerous other foreigners who find their ways in and through the country. These mixed migration motivations have consequently made Spain a remarkable country for immigration within the European Union. Since the second half of the 1980s, Nigerian migrants in their thousands, like their counterparts from other countries and walks of life, also discovered the country as a favorable destination. This often led them to choose to relocate and explore the available livelihood opportunities Spain offers. The large population of Nigerian migrants, their livelihoods, and their social lifestyles have negligibly been reflected in the academic literature for nearly three decades. For many potential migrants, life is believed to be sweet in Europe, even as issues arise, such as low skilled migrants needing to rely mainly on commercial sex work for their own survival. Because women dominate the population of most migrants of Nigerian origin in Spain and are often school drop-outs, the popular discourses of life for Nigerian migrants in Spain are thus the main lenses to look at the socioeconomic lives of Nigerian migrants as the core of this thesis. The research undertaken reveals an increasing presence of highly educated and skilled Nigerian migrants in Madrid, the capital city of Spain. It also affirms that the majority of the migrant population are engaged in livelihood activities other than commercial sex work, going against the popular discourses of Nigerian immigration to Spain. This study adopted an ethnographic methodological research approach, a qualitative interview method, and secondary sources of archival materials for data gathering.

Irregular migration continues to dominate discussions in Europe and America, due to the controversial nature of the means by which the migrants reach these destinations. Often, the expectation is that migrants denied asylum will return home. But given the human security concerns that drive them out of their countries and the perception of a better living in Europe, migrants find ways to remain in destination countries, even when their asylum requests are denied. Some flee migrant camps in order to escape removals and take up roles to earn a living in the informal economy with countrymen. This article argues that discussions of migration should take cognisance of the economic realities of African migrants.

With few exceptions, the European Council closed Europe for non-citizen travellers on 17 March 2020 because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Many African countries, including Nigeria, have placed travel restrictions on or completely shut their borders to both travellers who want to enter the country and citizens who want to leave. These decisions affect many intending migrants seeking a way to reach Europe. Health and socioeconomic uncertainties related to lockdowns, border closure, and in some cases travel restrictions directly affect the dynamics of decision-making by migrants. This article employs in-depth interviews and focus group discussions to explore the perception of Nigerians who intend to migrate considering the influence of Covid-19. The study focuses on Nigerian migrants but touches on Nigerians in transit who are trapped in Niger en route to Europe through Libya and Morocco. While border closure by most of the sending and receiving countries led to a decrease in the intention of migrants to travel, Covid-19 as a pandemic does not significantly influence migrants' decisions primarily because of its global presence, merely leading to delays. In conclusion, after border reopening, intercontinental migration is expected to increase in both volume and intensity.

Regret, a cognitive phenomenon capable of revealing a person's disposition about certain realities, is conceived as a tool to unpack Nigerian migrants' perceptions about the country. This paper examines discourse strategies of regrets' construction in the online discourses of Nigerian migrants. The data consist of eighty-eight responses of Nigerian migrants downloaded from the NAIRALAND where many Nigerians in the diaspora expressed their regrets about leaving the country. These were subjected to qualitative-descriptive analysis, using van Dijk's (2007) model of discourse strategies. The findings uncover two forms of regrets constructed in the discourse: positive and negative. The positive regrets' construction characterizes "not leaving early" regrets; positive self-appraisal and negative representation of the country. Frustration experience in the foreign countries and juxtaposition of specific circumstances in Nigeria to contemporary experiences elsewhere frame negative regrets' construction. These were constructed through discourse strategies such as presupposition, implication, lexicalization, hyperbole, illustration, metaphor and disclaimer. These Nigerians' use of language in this discourse indexes hopelessness, visionless leaders, lawlessness and economic hardship. The study concludes that while the views of Nigerian migrants may not be true, perhaps, the government may urgently look into these views and act to convince other Nigerians to prevent the exodus of prospective Nigerian migrants which could lead to brain drain.