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Going to the City … and Coming Back? Turnaround Migration Among the Jola of Senegal

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2011

Olga F. Linares
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Abstract

The Jola of Lower Casamance in southern Senegal are involved in ‘turnaround’ (or circular), rural to urban migration. Using data from three Jola communities located in different geographical and cultural sub-regions, this article compares the dynamics of migration among the villages and explores variations along gender and generational lines. Special emphasis is placed on the number of young unmarried girls and boys who return to the village during the rainy season to help their parents with agricultural work. It has been argued that the movement of people from the countryside to the city has had a negative effect on local food production. ‘Turnaround migration’ mitigates to some extent the impact of the rural exodus on rural communities. It has important implications of its own for the future of agriculture in the various Jola sub-regions.

Résumé

Les Jolas de la Basse Casamance, au sud du Sénégal, connaissent une migration rurale-urbaine circulaire. A partir de données sur trois communautés jolas de sous-régions géographiques et culturelles différentes, cet article compare la dynamique de migration au sein des villages et explore les variations selon des critères de sexe et de génération. Il met particulièrement l'accent sur le nombre de jeunes gens non mariés qui retournent au village à la saison des pluies pour aider leurs parents aux travaux agricoles. Certains ont affirmé que le mouvement des populations de la campagne vers la ville a eu un effet négatif sur la production vivrière locale. La migration circulaire atténue dans une certaine mesure l'impact de l'exode rural sur les communautés rurales. Ses implications sont importantes pour l'avenir de l'agriculture dans les sous-régions jolas.

Type
Research Article
Information
Africa , Volume 73 , Issue 1 , February 2003 , pp. 113 - 132
Copyright
Copyright © International African Institute 2003

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