Forces to migrate from Angola to the Netherlands

• Main Author: van Wijk, Joris
• Publication Date: 2005
• Format: Article
• Language: eng
• Source: Repositórios Científicos de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (RCAAP)
• Download full: http://hdl.handle.net/10400.5/2022
• topic: International Migration; Refugees; Political Asylum; Civil War; Angola; Netherlands

In this paper I will focus on the group of asylum seekers who entered the Netherlands since 1998 and explain why they left Angola and ended up in the Netherlands; a country without any historical or linguistic linkages to Angola. What specific reasons made Angolans leave their country and what rationale was behind their choice to come to the Netherlands? Different empirical studies on push- and pull-factors of asylum seekers have already been carried out (see for instance Barsky 1995, Doornhein & Dijkhoff 1995, Koser 1997, Böcker & Havinga 1997, Doornbos a.o. 2001). It is interesting to note that on the basis of interviews with keyinformants Böcker and Havinga (1997, p. 88) conclude that when it comes to choosing a country of asylum “Africans are often said to rely on networks of kinship, friends, political sympathism, tribe and village. This in contrast to asylum seekers from Asia who are said to more frequently use commercial organisations specialised in smuggling people in and out”. Most of the above mentioned empirical studies do not focus on asylum seekers from African countries, but rather on migration from Asia. Also in the research-field of human smuggling most of the empirical research focuses on Asia rather than Africa (see for instance: Chin 1999, Staring 2001, Salt 2000, Zhang and Chin 2002). Siegel & Bijleveld (2002) and Liempt (2004) point out that in general the influence of commercial human smuggling organisations on migration should not be overestimated. Because of this it is particularly interesting to elaborate on how Angolans gained entry to “Fortress Europe”. Did they indeed rely on networks of friends and kinship, rather than the services of human smugglers? What routes did they use? By thoroughly studying the specific case of one African country - Angola -, I hope new insights can be gained about push- and pull factors and the relation with human smuggling. To complete the picture of the migration-process of Angolans to the Netherlands, I also briefly focus on the unique way the Dutch government tried to counter the increase of asylum applicants from Angola by sponsoring the building of an orphanage in Angola.