Presentation given at the Migrating out of Poverty Conference, 2017.

1. No choice or no chance? Decision-making and
narratives of migration among Eritrean and
Ethiopian adolescent girls in Khartoum
Dr. Katarzyna Grabska,
The Graduate Institute of International and
Development Studies, Geneva

2. Why migrating girls?
 Increasing numbers of girls migrating independently world-wide
But:
 Negative discourse about migration of girls below 18-years old
 International and national advocacy and policies describe often this type
of movement is exploitation, trafficking, and smuggling of young people;
girls seen as victims
As a result:
 Overlooking the own decision-making process and agency of children
and youth migration processes, as well as in understanding their specific
reasons for migration
 Problems with identifying children and young people’s own issues
related to migration and addressing their individual needs
 Girls’ agency as economic agents overlooked

3. Migration, adolescence, transitions:
Theoretical approach
 Migration of adolescent girls in the Global South through a
holistic approach that contextualises adolescents’ and
young women’s agency, choices and migration experiences
 Why adolescence?
Adolescence: it is a period of critical transitions when major life
decisions are taken, albeit in context specific ways
Intersections with different stages of life
Adolescence for girls usually viewed as sexual maturity and
marriage: but girls who migrate make economic and protection
choices
Adolescence and gender: a point of extreme gender differences –
how does migration impact this stage
 Youth transitions (Punch 2002) and migration: shifts in
social status and spatial shift

4. Fieldwork in Khartoum
Qualitative and ethnographic fieldwork in Khartoum: March 2014-
September 2015
Local partners: Ahfad University for Women; CEDEJ Khartoum
Migrant and refugee girls’ participation in fieldwork and their role

5. Methods
 Focus on Ethiopian and Eritrean adolescent migrant and refugee
girls: numbers and changing age dynamics of migratory flows
 Choice of respondents:
interviews with girls and young women who migrated for the
first time when they were between 13 and 21 years old;
interviews with those who migrated recently (within the past 2
years) and those who migrated earlier (some up to 25 years ago)
 Qualitative survey (48 ER, 16 ETH); Life histories (15, 10); Focus
groups discussions
 Interviews with family members in Khartoum, international and
local organisations, migrant groups
 Studying decision-making

6. Why migration to Sudan?
‘What eye refuses to see’ Gaim Kibreab
 Ethiopians:
as a destination, at times transit
close distance, long-standing historical connections
large migratory networks
informality of migration
 Eritreans:
different types of migration: old and new; destination versus
transit
networks, Sudan hosting Eritrean refugees since 1980s
relatively easy access: open border, refugee status
the vision of Sudan as a transit
the only place

7. Migration motivations and trajectories

8. Reasons for migration Eritreans (ER) Ethiopians (ETH)
Poverty 5 (er) 7 (eth)
Failed marriage 1 (er) 2 (eth)
Avoid getting married 1 (er) 3(eth)
Continue education 3 (er)
Wanting to help the family 7 (er) 12 (eth)
Death of one or both parents or sibling 9 (er) 2 (eth)
Desire for more freedom, including religious
persecution
1 (er)
Political situation: national service 8 (all Eritreans)
Conflict with parents/relatives/ due to boyfriend,
pregnancy
7 (er)
Following boyfriend-husband 6 (er)
Abused by parents/ relatives/husband 5 (er) 1(eth)
Other 2 (er), 3 (eth - war)
Parents’ divorce 1 (eth)
Supporting education of siblings 2 (eth)
Supporting a relative 1 (eth)
Following others who left to Sudan 2 (eth)

9. Bana, 21, from Eritrea,
in Khartoum since 3 years
In fact, when I decided to leave
Eritrea, I made a choice. I rejected the
current situation in which I was living
and lack of opportunities in Eritrea.
So, you can say, that when people are
leaving Eritrea they are making a
choice. They usually say, that they did
not have a chance (edil) in Eritrea,
that’s why they left….
We are here, we came here to change
our lives, and nothing has happened. I
am still a girl (guol), people still call
me menesay (sg. youth). I should be a
sabeyti by now (married woman). We
are missing our time here.

10. Migration motivations:
beyond human rights and poverty discourse
 Eritrea: political circumstances, national service, but also
aspirations, ‘no choice’ versus ‘no chance’
 Ethiopia: poverty in rural areas, but complexity of household
circumstances, local gender norms combined with labour
opportunities for girls
 Gender order and gender norms
 Family circumstances
 Decisions to leave: ‘thin agency’ (Klocker 2007)
 On their own
 Beyond brokers
 New ‘culture of migration’

11. Policy relevance
 Complexity of decision-making process – beyond victims, yet within
constraining gendered structures of globalised markets
 ‘thin agency’ yet a creative force for change
 In places of destination and of origin: Need to look at the specifics of
girls’ decision-making and adapt strategies that will ease girls’
experiences at home
 In places of origin: Providing meaningfull livelihood options for girls to
fulfil their roles as daughters and individual aspirations, but also to
imporve their status as girls within their communities
 Once in places of destination: provide access to services (health and
psychological) and education that can be combined with work
 Campaigns against violence against girls: for men and women