Samenvatting

In the context of the most recent European policy initiatives towards putting a halt on illegal immigration from Africa, this article discusses the transnational environment of West African migrants and the dynamics of their migration routes. By following one migration story more closely and by relating this route with the experiences of other migrants the article gives a clear insight into the aspirations of migrants, the often intangible way their journeys are facilitated, as well as into the various results of asylum procedures in Europe. The author argues that a European migration policy should go beyond the securitizing of migration through strategies aiming at immobilizing African migrants. This policy will prove to be ineffective since the aspirations of African migrants are constantly fed by political instability and the transnational reality of globalization.