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Enjeux & débats

Narratives of an exodus

Local discourses on the largest wave of Mauritanian immigration to the United States
Elhadj Ould Brahim

Résumé

This article examines the recent surge of Mauritanian immigration to the United States through the metaphorical lens of lehwy likṣayr (“little short wall”), a Hassaniya expression symbolizing ease and accessibility. Migrants refer to the U.S.–Mexico border as hay Trump (“Trump’s Wall”), which has become a focal point for narratives of resilience and resistance. Using a combination of discourse analysis from social media and ethnographic data gathered from migrants before they encountered hay Trump, this study delves into the factors driving this unprecedented migration wave. Central to this analysis is the concept of the policing of migrants (Del Percio, 2018, p. 239), employed as a symbolic tool by religious authorities, intellectuals, and NGOs in Mauritania. This unifying narrative criminalizes migration while failing to address its structural causes. Despite efforts to marginalize migrants, the study shows how these primarily Bidan (self-identified “white” Arabophone) individuals exercise agency by reshaping the narratives imposed on them, using cultural expressions such as poetry, music, and storytelling to contest the barriers they face. Ultimately, it reveals how Mauritanian migrants navigate and resist both physical and symbolic walls, transforming their journey into an act of defiance that subverts the dominant discourses surrounding migration and power.

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Texte intégral

“It is unfortunate that the most beautiful place in the country becomes the airport that takes you out of it!”

Taleb Jidou Sid’Ahmed, Facebook post, April 2024.

Background

1Despite the emergence of the largest “exodus” in Mauritanian modern history, the Mauritanian government took almost two years to publicly address what is now seen as a migration crisis. In July 2023, the newly appointed Prime Minister explained in his parliamentary speech presenting the government’s general policy, efforts would be made

to help young people integrate better into professional life to significantly reduce migration abroad. This integrated approach includes strengthening the local economy, increasing awareness of available opportunities and the country’s economic capabilities, creating job opportunities, and improving access to quality education, including vocational training (As-sharq al-awsat, 2023).

2The government’s failure to respond to what Mauritanians observed as a massive increase in out migration extended to withholding statistical data collected by airports, travel agencies and the National Agency for Population Registration and Security Documents (ANRPTS) as well as avoiding any analysis of the reasons for the sudden surge. At the beginning of 2024, only foreign media outlets reported migration numbers. In January 2024, The New York Times conducted an investigation into the influx of African migrants in the United States, uncovering a new migration route outside the usual European trajectories. According to the investigation, the number of Africans arrested at the American southern border surged to 58,462 in 2023 from 13,406 in 2022. Mauritania topped the list with 15,263 migrants, followed by Senegal with 13,526, and Angola and Guinea, each with more than 4,000 migrants (Jordan, 2024). Prior to the official circulation of these numbers, Mauritanian journalists, politicians, and activists who discussed the surge tended to exaggerated the figures, sometimes doubling the official count.

  • 1 When not specified otherwise in this article, I use Bidan in a cultural sense to refer to a broad r (...)
  • 2 Statistics from the Honduran National Migration Institute (INM) show a similar gender migration rat (...)
  • 3 I am very grateful to Baba Adou for permission to use this data and for his insights and remarks. I (...)

3According to two samples used in this study, the majority of Mauritanian migrants in this wave consist of Hassaniya-speakers, the Arabic dialect of Mauritania (Bidan, self-identified “white” Arabophone. and Haratin, those Arabophones often understood to be of enslaved origin).1 The first sample, which I collected in May 2024 from 295 Mauritanian migrants across three sources in the U.S. (two in New York and one in Ohio), reveals the following distribution: Bidan account for 59%, Haratin for 24%, and Black African Mauritanians (Halpulaaren, Soninké, Wolof speakers) make up 16% of Mauritanian migrants. Thus, Hassanophones represent 84% of the total in my sample while women constitute only 2.2% of this migration wave.2 The second sample, based on a survey conducted by Baba Adou in July 2023 with 100 respondents, consists entirely of Hassanophones.3 However, the survey does not specify the ethnic or gender breakdown of these respondents.

  • 4 For example, migrants who could afford a Schengen visa followed a route from Nouakchott → Madrid → (...)

4Strategically, this wave of migrants employed various routes and tactics to reach the U.S.-Mexico border, depending on their resources, available transit points for Mauritanians to Central America, and trafficking networks in Central America and Mexico that facilitated their movement.4 Upon reaching the U.S. border, migrants are either placed in a detention facility until they secure a sponsor and post bond, or they are released under supervision and transported by bus to cities where they have provided the address of a relative.

  • 5 On this topic, see: SANTOIR, Christian J., 1975, « L’émigration Maure : une vocation commerciale af (...)
  • 6 Studies indicate that the urbanization rate increased from 25% in 1961 to 58% in 1975 and further t (...)
  • 7 Skilled Bidan migrants favored the Gulf states (KSA, UAE, Qatar) and other Arab-speaking countries (...)
  • 8 The number of Mauritanian emigrants abroad is reported to be 119,334. Emigrant destinations largely (...)
  • 9 A 2000 US census indicated 993 individuals with Mauritanian ancestry or ethnic origin, while a 2012 (...)
  • 10 See: النائب عن دائرة أمريكا يحي اللود يتحدث عن نزيف الهجرة الحالي للشباب الموريتاني: https://www.yo (...)

5Despite a history of nomadism in this Saharan country, mobility has traditionally been directed towards neighboring sub-Saharan countries such as Senegal, Mali, and Gambia, where Mauritanians engaged in lucrative activities like trade and pastoralism.5 The largest modern migration in Mauritanian history was internal, known as “l’exode rural” - massive urbanization caused by years of regional drought in the late 1960s and 1970s.6 This environmental crisis not only reinforced existing migration destinations but also opened up new routes delineated by ethnicity towards the rest of Africa, the Gulf, and the Maghreb, as well as Europe and North America. Black African Mauritanians, mainly Soninké-speaking and Halpulaaren, tended to migrate to Europe, particularly France and Belgium, while Bidan Arabophones who consider themselves “white” or “Arab” preferred Arabic-speaking countries.7 Official declarations or silence regarding immigration numbers became political tools both domestically and internationally.8 Migration numbers to the US are not explicitly included in the figures that do exist but are accounted for within the 6% of Mauritanian migrants accounted for worldwide.9 The first elected MP of Mauritanians in North America (2023) estimated the Mauritanian population to reach 15,000 before the recent migration wave10.

Sources and methodology

6Starting from the confirmed statistics for an ongoing phenomenon, this article adopts a multifaceted approach to understand the complex dynamics behind this migration surge. It integrates quantitative and qualitative research methods to study into the social, demographic, economic, and cultural factors driving this unprecedented wave of migration. The quantitative aspect of the research utilizes 3 sources of data. First, data I collected in May 2024 from 295 Mauritanian migrants. Second: statistics from the Honduran National Migration Institute (INM) and third, the survey conducted by Mauritanian researcher Baba Adou in July 2023. This data combined provides insights into the demographic composition of the migrant population, including age and gender distribution. Complementing the quantitative analysis, the qualitative approach employs methodologies from ethnography, social media, symbolic interactionism, and discourse analysis. Ethnographic work for this article began in November and December 2022, when this migration wave attracted public attention, and continued from January to May 2023 in Nouakchott. During this seven-month period, I conducted interviews and general observations with various migration candidates, including friends, students, and workers in both private and public sectors. In May 2023, I traveled from Nouakchott Oumtounsy Airport, transiting through Istanbul Airport alongside hundreds of migrants, including two individuals I had interviewed earlier. This methodological framework allows a more nuanced exploration of the linguistic and narrative dimensions of the migration phenomenon. The article draws on the concept of discourse as understood through Foucauldian theory, where migration as particular thematic field generates a meaning dissonance between warring political, social and religious agents. It also incorporates an anthropological perspective, viewing discourse as a reflection of social construction and negotiation (Tylor, 2013). This approach explores how knowledge about this phenomenon is socially constructed and negotiated through different linguistic and narrative configurations, such as linguistic statements or classifications, adages, and poetic and sarcastic avowals that stabilize meaning in specific socio-historical contexts (Keller, 2013). The article is organized into three main sections that correspond to narratives associated with the migration wave. The first section, Semantics of the Journey, analyzes the discursive construction of the migration wave and explores the selection and preferences of naming conventions associated with it. The second section, Bidan Culture’s Unfavorable Position towards Migration, examines how Bidan cultural norms influence discourses that reject the migration wave. This section also investigates how religious and political discourses engage with and contest this phenomenon. In contrast, the final section, Bidan Culture’s Favorable Position towards Migration, explores counter-narratives that affirm Bidan cultural approval of migration. It highlights how different cultural norms and values inform these migrants’ narratives.

Semantics of the journey

  • 11 Media emphasizes the role that social media networks play in this influx. See “Thousands more Mauri (...)
  • 12 On Mauritanian public and private media landscapes and social media connectivity, see: OULD BRAHIM, (...)

7The intensity of the ongoing season of Mauritanian migration to the north, to use Tayib Salih’s renowned novel Season of Migration to the North, serves as a striking indicator of this massive exodus. The hyper social and media connectivity of Mauritanians has shaped the recent migration wave. Discursively, those who have left, those awaiting their turn, and those who have remained have all narratively circulated their experiences. Physically, the wave has been publicized, organized, and either successfully accomplished or failed. With high internet penetration rates across Mauritania, even in the interior, out-migration has become a topic of everyday conversation transcending class, ethnicity, and language.11 The recent transformation of the public sphere, where the boundary between reality and virtuality has blurred, can be traced back to the advent of WhatsApp audio messages, Facebook Live services, TikTok’s popularity, and other social media platforms in Mauritania. Ten years of tension between ex-president Mohammed ould Abd al-Aziz (2008–2019) and opposition parties drastically altered the use of social media. The emergence of social media “influencers” and the changing landscape of media platforms, coupled with the lack of public media infrastructure to accommodate new social, cultural, technological, and demographic realities, have transformed the national public sphere in ways yet to be studied.12

  • 13 Interview held in a café in Nouakchott in February 2023
  • 14 This narrative and biographical approach has developed significantly in recent years, expanding int (...)

8Drawing on Thomas Fouquet’s concept of l’exil imaginaire, I argue that this migration wave was discursively constructed long before its physical manifestation. Mauritanian migrants embark on a virtual journey to America, establishing mental connections through stories, images, and anecdotes from those who have already arrived, those on their way, or those preparing to leave. This imagined exile often precedes the physical departure. As Mohamed (24 y/o), now in North Carolina, described: “After six months of hearing stories from people I know and don’t know, I almost feel like I’ve already arrived.”13 This notion of imaginary exile challenges the purely geographical understanding of migration, positioning the migrant as between spaces—neither fully at home nor yet in exile. The desire to leave and return is shaped by ever-shifting imaginaries, making migration a sociological as much as a geographic displacement (Fouquet, 2007). Thus, the strategic planning of departure is inseparable from the imaginative narratives that shape it, rendering the migrant’s journey a fluid interplay of mental and physical mobility. In this context, (im)migrants not only shape the migratory experience as physical movement but also as a linguistic and discursive phenomenon. As Cécile Canut argues, the narratives of migration give voice to those directly involved, moving beyond speaking for them (Canut, et Guellouz, 2018, p. 11)14.

9Mauritanian migrants’ have already imagined the infamous Trump wall, humorously reduced with Bidani irony to a Lwy Likṣayr, or “little short wall,” whether or not they ever encounter it in reality. As individuals await their turn to embark, the tales of those who came before them swiftly reach them, molding their perception of the journey that lies ahead. In this sense, migration to the United States becomes a semantic odyssey encompassing transitions, transfers, crossings, smuggling, and leaps, arrival and deportation. Thus, it is not solely the magnitude of this immigration wave that grants it prominence but rather the quality it possesses.

  • 15 Borrowed from classical Arabic, ghorba can mean “emigration”, “alienation”, or “desolation”.

10In Hassaniya language and literature, the terms ghaiba, zowga, and to a lesser extent, ghourba used historically to refer to emigration.15 Ghaiba (“absence”), is most often used by Bidan to refer to their periodic individual travels for a variety of reasons—familial, commercial education or medical—and mostly inside their own geographic region. Zowga, meanwhile, connotes bitterness and fear, forced exiled as does its Arabic root, zowga (“serve”, “deviate”, “depart from”). Both forced and voluntary zowga can be politically or socially driven. Despite its nomadic tradition, Bidan culture distinguishes between nomadism, known as hayat l-badiya (“bedouin life”), as a voluntary way of life, and zowga (forced “exile”). In tribal and inter-tribal conflicts, political dissidents often find themselves compelled to seek exile. In this context:

the term zyg (pl. zouwwág) refers to individuals who depart from their socially affiliated place, thereby relinquishing the support they once had, to seek refuge elsewhere and enroll in a different protection system. By extension, they become viewed as “foreigners”. Throughout the history of the Sahara, mobility of affiliations and localizations has been the norm (Bonte, 2008, p. 151).

11Forced exile, often perceived as a predominantly male experience, deeply impacts women as well. This reality is vividly captured in a well-known female poetic lament:

Maharr ez-zowga w lani vi gbili,
Mani maashouga w la mooujabili

How bitter is forced exile and not being in my home,
Neither loved nor seen by a secret admirer

12Offering another motivation for migration, Francesco Freire suggests,

there are only two ways to accomplish an effective change of [social] status: either a new genealogical project is created (thus silencing another), and consolidated possibly over the course of a century, until the traces of a servile origin are lost, or a new statutory framework is created through a radical residential change, by getting away from the place of origin (Freire, 2014, p. 442).

  • 16 On the mobility and escape stories of formerly enslaved female haratin see: OULD BRAHIM, Elhadj, « (...)
  • 17 On this subject, see BOULAY, Sébastien, 2020, « Nation, contestation et création dans l’Ouest sahar (...)
  • 18 The original expression delle maa trig denotes an easy and/or unequivocal departure. The Arabic ter (...)

13This latter method has historically been particularly relevant for the enslaved, although it involves the risky act of lehroub or “running away”.16 In the sociocultural geography of the Bidan, another migratory term known as shetat (“diaspora”) refers to the dispersion of Sahrawis across Moroccan-occupied territories, the Tindouf refugee camps, and elsewhere.17 In contemporary Hassaniya, the act of migration is called tersav (“jumping”), a term that imposes both a descriptive evocation of the trespassing of Trump’s “little short wall,” a prescriptive delegitimization of the act itself. Tersav, in its local use, connotes physical or verbal aggressiveness and evokes “theft” and “psychosis.” Describing the current migration wave as rasav heit Trump (“jumping Trump’s wall”) implies the physical labor of the journey through a simple, though negatively charged, act of tersav. Another semantic term circulating among migrants is delleh, derived from the Arabic tedella, meaning “to descend” or “to hang down”. In Hassaniya, the use of the term in the context of migration dates from approximately 2016, based on a social media survey I conducted.18 Hrab, or “escape”, is yet another term used to describe this act. The two terms rasav and delle share a connotation of achievement and materialization. As we will see later, all of these migration concepts / patterns are deployed narratively in visual and textual texts produced by and on this migration wave. Ghourba, hijra, ghaiba, and zowga are deployed interchangeably according to the way the experience or story is seen or framed.

The unfavorable position towards migration in Bidan culture

  • 19 On cultural history on risk and danger see: DOUGLAS, Mary, 1992, Risk and Blame: Essays in Cultural (...)

14This subsection explores negative cultural attitudes towards migration among the Bidan, examining how these attitudes may serve as both deterrents and catalysts for migratory endeavors. Because the Mauritanian state continues to deny the acute nature of the current migration pattern and to suppress talk of it as a “crisis”, migrants themselves have largely dictated the narrative framing of this ongoing migration wave. I have been able to identify three major kinds of narratives among Mauritanian Bidan describing the present surge in out-migration, all reflecting prudence and fear: discursive constructions of 1) danger and risk; 2) patriotism and nationalism; and 3) honor, nobility, piety, and asceticism.19 The Mauritanian government and its ideological apparatus (religious figures, media, and civil society) constructed and circulated these three narratives, especially as awareness rose among local and international media, diplomats, and elected officials.

Discursive constructions of danger and risk

15I have been able to register the use of the risk and danger narrative in the Bidan ethnographic register through a discourse analysis of quotidian discussion of this particular out-migration influx and about risk-taking in general. For example, in Hassaniya, Bidan employ the expression m’bewshlin b hayathum to describe those who decide to migrate as “gambling with their lives”, calling attention to a religious subtext where gaming with money or property (Hassaniya: t’bewshil) is considered illicit. The official High Council of Fatwa and Appeals issued two fatwas (legal opinions) related to this migration wave after the government broke its silence on the issue. Typically, risky acts are interpreted in light of the verse “And don’t throw yourselves into destruction with your own hands.20 However, the relative safety of the American routes challenged the discourses portraying the migrants as reckless or self-destructive.21 Rather than a focus on the risks inherent in the migrants’ journey, activities the immigrants might engage in after their arrival were characterized as dangerous. In this regard, the Council issued its first fatwa in the summer of 2023 about the permissibility of the kind of work taken on by Mauritanian youth in non-Muslim nations.22 In reality, the fatwa addressed the larger issue of migration but focused on the question of work in this context. The Council issued a second fatwa a couple of months later, in October 2023, stating:

16The conclusion of the fatwa is that there is nothing wrong with traveling to abodes of

  • 23 Ibid.

the West or other abodes of infidelity if the Muslim is safe in his religion and able to perform his rituals. Regular entry and exit controls must be respected. 23

  • 24 The public use of this term by an official institution in Mauritania is striking given the country’ (...)
  • 25 Ibid.
  • 26 Commentators accused Ould Dedew of siding with the current government with the fatwa composition. S (...)

17Employing Islamic concepts such as bilad al-kufr (abodes of infidelity) compared to bilad al-Islam (abode of Islam), the fatwa remarkably demands the acquisition of legal entry to these countries.24 This legal recommendation subtly convicts migrants who already made the journey, including the person who asked for the fatwa. The Council also reminded the inquirer of Islamic law’s position against the consumption of pork and alcohol: “the Muslim must seek what is lawful in his earning, and to avoid what is forbidden, and it is not permissible for him to immigrate to a country where what is forbidden is widespread.25 In addition to religious restrictions on risky work, such as selling religiously forbidden (haram) goods, Mohammed El Hassan ould Dedew, a prominent leader of the Mauritanian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, issued his own fatwa via WhatsApp in December 2023, forbidding women, in particular, from attempting to jump the wall to join their husbands in the “abode of infidelity”. The fatwa states that “it is not allowed for women to take risks to seek worldly benefits in the lands of unbelief. The journey involves great risks of prison, jumping walls, etc. It is categorically haram for women to do it, if not for some men, too.”26

18The government was not alone in promoting a narrative of danger; the United States embassy in Mauritania also joined a campaign that involved civil society and related official bodies. It sponsored an “International Conference on Migration” in Nouakchott in February 2024 where the US ambassador emphasized the perilous nature of the Trump Wall adventure, citing the “extreme hardship and severe danger” faced by migrants, including “exposure to harsh conditions, rape, robbery, encounters with criminal gangs, and significant loss of personal savings.”27 Both the Mauritanian government and the US embassy mobilized newly created NGOs that specialized in combatting “irregular” migration. These NGOs, particularly the Association Mauritanienne de Lutte contre l’Immigration Néfaste, established in March 2023, publicized stories of failed immigration attempts to discourage new candidates from attempting the journey. The organization even shared the story of an immigrant who tragically passed away from a heart attack in Mexico on its Facebook page. The accompanying photograph shows members of his family surrounding the deceased’s coffin, after repatriating his body to Mauritania in August 2023 (Figure 1). Some criticized this photograph as disrespectful of the deceased’s dignity, especially as the caption described him as “a victim of brainwashing.”

Figure 1

Figure 1

Salif Ba’s (1988–2023) coffin with the NGO president (right, in a suit jacket) and members of the deceased’s family.

Source: https://tinyurl.com/​tepe49vb

19Among the tales of migration that ended in failure, Ahmedou ould Ahmed Loula’s story stands out. A musician (Hassaniya: iggawen), he found himself behind bars in July 2022 for daring to criticize the Mauritanian president on Facebook. After a brief sojourn in the US, he returned to Nouakchott, allegedly funded by Izza mint Cheikh Ayyah, an emerging female Sufi figure, renowned for her generous support of Bidan griot families.28 Ahmed Loula’s return, given his celebrity status, generated discussion in Mauritania (Figure 2). His return was captured on film and showed him performing a prayer at the Senegalese border upon arrival. In addition to the official Fatwa Council and Ould Dedew, notable figures such as Mint Cheikh Ayyah and the Salafi preacher Yehdih ould Dahi joined the ranks of those opposing immigration. Ould Dahi even launching an initiative to loan cars to young individuals on credit, a venture widely publicized on social media (Figure 4).29 Essentially, discussions about the dangers and uncertainties of this journey did not gain traction until later, following isolated incidents like kidnappings, ransom requests, accidents, and sadly, deaths. Surprisingly, the mobilization of religious fatwas against migrants was not limited to these religious figures concerning this particular issue: a group of imams and ulemas (religious scholars) had previously issued a declaration condemning the unlawful deaths of two Black citizens, Soufi ould Chein and Oumar Diop, while in police custody. The statement employed the typical xenophobic official narrative, accusing immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa of participating in the riots that followed these deaths. The scholars and imams condemned “those who ride the wave of protests, including politicians who exploit the situation to incite racial tensions, as well as newcomers who may not have vested interests to protect and might not possess legal documents. This calls for a review of immigration and residency procedures.”30 They further urged the authorities not to act as “guards of the West’s borders by detaining irregular migrants.”31

Figure 2

Figure 2

Ould Ahmed Loula praying after his return to Mauritania

Source: https://tinyurl.com/​4ec54ztt

Figure 3

Figure 3

A young Mauritanian immigrant performing a prayer upon arrival at Trump’s Wall

Source: https://tinyurl.com/​5dehepze

Figure 4

Figure 4

Yedhih Ould Dahi announcing his initiative to counter youth immigration by offering mortgaged cars

Source: https://tinyurl.com/​429k6afu

Discursive constructions of honor, nobility, piety, and asceticism

20Narratives of honor, nobility, piety, and asceticism were also employed to dissuade individuals from embarking on this adventure. Large numbers of Mauritanian migrants end up working in Yemeni-owned corner stores, for delivery services, or in restaurants, all occupations they would avoid in their own country. Bidan cultural values disdain manual labor, viewing it as disgraceful. Critics of the migration wave reproach these migrants for engaging in work that contradicts the noble spirit and values of the Bidan.32 Online commentary particularly concerned questions of class and gender, joking about the men seen cooking and cleaning. For instance, two Facebook users sarcastically commented (Figure 5) on the tasks they perform in their migration destinations–Germany and Canada: “They said exile makes men. I swear to God, it made me a housewife who does laundry, cooks and cleans the house. I just need a man to propose to me.”33 As we will see later, gendered discourses on masculinity, femininity, and homosexuality are readily mobilized in this migration context.

Figure 5

Figure 5

Facebookers joke about the kind of work they undertake abroad that they would not do in their home country

Source: https://tinyurl.com/​yc6htxpb

21Similarly, old diasporic clichés, such as immigrant involvement in selling—or even consuming—pork, alcohol, and drugs, walking and bathing dogs, and washing dishes, are widely resurrected by government supporters to discredit the new immigrants on social media. The language of shaming became particularly pronounced after the new migrants organized a protest in front of the New York hotel where the Mauritanian president stayed during his participation in the UN General Assembly in December 2022 and September 2023. These protests marked the first non-partisan activities organized in the United States, with hundreds of Mauritanians protesting against the president, whom they held responsible for their decision to migrate.34 This rhetoric of shaming and criminalization also found expression in a rap song by an obscure Mauritanian band produced by the abovementioned organization against immigration.

22The lyrics of the song, as composed in Hassaniya, Pulaar, French, and English:

Text 1

(Nonmusical refrain in English)

To all the people of our lovely country of Mauritania.
We are against all migration to any country in the world. Mauritania forever.

(Hassaniya)

Stay in your country amongst your family
My brother that is the best for you
You won’t complain nor be abused
You embark on waves and jump walls.
A wise man never loses sight
Won’t be tricked by glamour and wealth
Damn to a path that leads to disgrace
How many cartels and thugs
Selling alcohol and weed
The consequence is jail and shame
We shall fight unemployment
Amongst youth and adults
An advice for you, woman:
Say no to migration
Go back to your country; it needs you
Your neighbor and family all love you
Take it easy, income is guaranteed
Mauritania is a state of law

(Pulaar)

Youth of Mauritania, I call upon you
Work and living are in our country
Youth of Mauritania, stand up,
Don’t migrate and leave your country

(French)

To all the people of Mauritania, we are here
Always against all sorts of immigrants
Since a long time
You all should stay with your parents

(Hassaniya)

Migration is an epidemic
Illegal migration has plagued nations
Our nation is full of blessings
My country is Mauritania. 35

  • 36 See Dr. Hamahoullah ould Salem’s intervention (minute 35) and Dr. Moktar ould El Hassen (minute 53) (...)

23Even among Mauritanian researchers, the same notions of honor and morality permeate discussions about this phenomenon. For instance, during a panel on this topic in July 2023 in Nouakchott, two university professors invoked arguments of honor and nobility against the migrants, alongside a conspiracy theory that purportedly the West aims to empty young nations of their inhabitants and indoctrinate them with its “ism” ideologies.36 A striking aspect of this discourse is its reflection of reverse racism and bigotry typically experienced by immigrants themselves in their host countries. However, in this case, this prejudiced language originates from the migrants’ country of origin and its intellectual elite, directed against their own nationals and their host culture and population alike.

24The remarks of “learned” individuals validate both religious and official political discourses regarding migrants, reinforcing narratives of humiliation and disgrace that shape migration patterns. By framing migrants as transgressors of societal values through notions of honor and morality, these authorities cultivate dual pressure, pushing individuals to leave in search of environments free from rigid cultural judgments while simultaneously instilling feelings of shame. This dynamic deepens the psychological and social dimensions of exile, as illustrated by Fouquet’s l’exil imaginaire. Consequently, migration becomes not only a response to economic or political factors but also a reflection of an internalized discourse of exclusion and dishonor, complicating how migrants interact with their home and host societies.

  • 37 A comparative study on the migration patterns of the various groups composing Mauritanian society w (...)

25This culturalist argument provides insight into Bidan migration patterns, as opposed to those of the country’s other language groups, because it shows how migration is understood to entail humiliation and disgrace.37

Patriotism and nationalism within Bidan culture

26Literary and non-literary sources from Mauritania reveal a Bidan cultural preference for immobility over restless wandering, and yet, current discourses against migration place value on stability and rootedness. Literary motifs such as homesickness and longing for loved ones, found in both shiir vasih (classical poetry) and leghne (vernacular literature), serve to uphold this cultural value. Central to a spatial philosophy found among Bidan is the saying ligzal imut v jidbu (“the gazelle shall die in its arid land”), praising the Bidan virtue of loyalty to place. Today, poetry, folk songs, rap music, and personal narratives of migration reinforce the theme of an unwavering belief that one’s homeland is always the best, even in the face of scarcity and mistreatment. A well-known verse attributed to the Sharif of Mecca, Abu Aziz Qatada ibn Idris (d. 1221), reflects these sentiments of the bond between individuals and their homeland.

Text 2

My country, even if it oppressed me, remains dear,
And its people, even if they give me little, are honorable.

Biladi w in jarat alaya azizatoun
w ehli w in dannu alaya kiramu
.

27Numerous poetic compositions echo the proverb, such as that pronounced by Sidi Mohamed ould Cheikh Sidiya (1832–1862). In this poem, he mourns the loss of a well that sustained his community, forced to abandon the well when it ran dry.

Text 3

La ʿamruka mā tartābu Maymūnatu as-Suʿdā
Bi-annā taraknā as-saʿya fī amrihā ʿamdā
Siwā annanā kunnā ʿabīda mashīʾatin
Wa-lā ʿāra fī an yuʿjiza as-sayyidu al-ʿabdā

Wa-tudhrī ʿalaynā ar-rāmīsātu ghubārahā
Fananshaquhu min ḥubbi iṣlāhihā wardā
Wa-yashrabu kullu n-nāsi ṣafwa miyāhihim
Wa-nashrabu minhā aṭ-ṭīna naḥsibuhu shuhadā

By your life, O Maymuna of happiness, you do not doubt
That we left our endeavor in her affair deliberately
Except that we were slaves of the well
And there is no shame in the master’s overcoming the slave

And the dust of the shooters is scattered upon us
So we inhale it lovingly, considering it as roses
And everyone drinks the purity of their waters
And we drink from it the mud, thinking it honey

28This poetic theme in Classical Arabic resonates with folk songs lamenting the demise of a dying baobab tree or reminiscing about a saline well that once served as the community’s primary water source. For instance, a nostalgic song laments the malu bel teydouma (“is not this the old place of the baobab?”)38

29In Text 4 below, the singer joyously celebrates rediscovering the old location of lemeylih, a briny well and vows to quench his thirst from its waters despite it being salty.39

Text 4

Oh, my goodness, there is Lemylih,
O brothers, here is Lemylih!
We shall all drink from it

Yallali raaii lemylih
Yakhouti raaii lemylih
Denne necherbu minnu

30Similarly, Text 5 mourns the narrator’s helplessness in the face of the deteriorating condition of Lembeyrim, another familiar well that has also turned salty.

Text 5

I swear to God.
If I had any effort,
I would not drink from Lembeyrim,
Lembeyrim causes sickness.

Wallah l adhim
Lukint li b jihdi
Ma nechreb lembeyrim
Lembeyrim y’guendi

31In a striking subversion of Ibn Idris’s verse from Text 2 above, a Hassaniya adaptation challenges the conventional narrative of patriotic devotion. Instead of extolling the virtues of one’s homeland, this reinterpretation confronts the harsh realities of oppression and meagerness experienced within the country of young migrants who challenge the patriotism narratives propagated by the government and its ideological apparatus. The revised verse, as depicted in (Figure 4) and (Text 5), acknowledges Mauritania’s flaws as a nation, offering a different reflection on the complexities of national identity and loyalty. This text produces a subversive counter-narrative, which will be presented in the upcoming section.

32Proverbs such as illi hna la ad mahu mbareck ma hu laag (“the immobile person, if not blessed, is certainly not ill-omened”) and nus maa lihna zaki (“half share with immobility is fair enough”) underscore the perceived security and contentment of those who choose to stay put. A former minister of culture echoed this sentiment when he suggested that investing the resources spent on migration could lead to economic improvement for both individuals and their country.40 Such expressions also warn mahu vi gbilu habsha taglaa lilou (“the one who is not at home risks losing everything, even to a turkey”), reflecting the vulnerability experienced by migrants on their journeys to Trump’s wall and in their new lives in the United States.

Figure 5

Figure 5

A young Mauritanian boy posing with a national flag in al-Hurriya (“Freedom”) Square in Nouakchott with a caption expressing his frustration (Text 6).

Source: Facebook page.

Text 6

My country, even if it oppressed me, it is mean,
And its people, even if they give me little, are disgraceful

Biladi w in jarat alaya mahduratu boujetin
w ehli w in dannu alaya mentuvina rihati

The favorable position towards migration in Bidan culture

33The Bidan ethnographic register also presents various statements that encourage individuals to move and change their spatial configuration. Whether using terms such as ghourba, hijra, ghaiba, zowga, or haraka (“movement”), the cultural inclination towards movement and mobility has significantly shaped current migration narratives. The term haraka, signifying mobility in Arabic, was a prominent discursive feature as migrants spoke about their American dream before and after its realization. New immigrant Oumar Sy used the concept of haraka to motivate those newly arrived: “For the newcomers, I have one piece of advice. Do not surrender; don’t say you cannot make it. You won’t find a job because of the high number of people, that is wrong. How many people were in New York before you? You will definitely make it. Just move! In movement, there is blessing, T’harakou! Vi lharaka Baraka,”41 The expression Vi lharaka Baraka is also used in Hassaniya, but typically to motivate people to engage in physical movement, with one of its meanings being associated with sports. However, the expression has undergone a semantic shift to convey the modern meaning of mobility, as this migrant used it in his motivational statement.

  • 42 Escaping enslaved women also used haraka to frame their escape from subjugation. On this subject se (...)

34In an Islamic context, migration itself is identified with the Prophet Mohammed’s own migration from Mecca to Medina to escape oppression and injustice. Bidan culture, being defined in party by Islam, also sees migration as a resolution to oppression and persecution.42 The Hassaniya saying, Trab ma tubanaam (“land/space should not be considered a cousin”), evokes the constructed nature of human relations to land by emphasizing that this relationship is not based on blood. Another expression, kil ghaiba tzid heiba, w kil mihna tzid akal (“every journey amplifies reverence, while every plight augment wisdom”) emphasizes the transformative power of movement and hardship. As this current wave of migration unfolded, its duality became apparent - both a blessed journey and a harrowing ordeal. Below, a celebrated poetic verse echoes this theme of reverence, illustrating a yearning for recognition and honor.

Text 7

I swear to Allah the generous
Tonight, if I find a camel
I by night would leave this land
Where I am not revered

Wallahi adamt ljewad
Ya Layla lu rayt jmel
Deni nesri an thi leblad
Li vihum ma
nubajal

  • 43 The foundations of various migratory literature are also influenced by a similar trend in Arab lite (...)

35The terms heiba in the above idiom and tebjil in Text 7 evoke personal honor and human dignity.43 Migrants and their sympathizers thus relied on both the local context and broader Islamic history to justify out-migration through two primary narratives: 1) oppression and persecution and 2) manliness and dignity. These narratives will be analyzed in light of the previously presented discourses informed by the anti-mobility tendency in Bidan culture.

The narrative of oppression and persecution

36The Mauritanian migratory wave offers a different perspective on the economic and material conditions typically cited as factors explaining migration from the Global South to the Global North. According to Baba Adou’s survey of 100 respondents, 39% of his respondents justified their migration for political reasons. Meanwhile, 27% said they were seeking a better life, 23% cited economic conditions, 3% looked for better education and training, and 7% cited other reasons (Adou, 2023). In the data collected by this study, which includes 295 asylum seekers’ cases, Mauritanian migrants presented their asylum claims using one or a combination of six distinct justifications for their mobility: 1) slavery and racism based on descent; 2) human rights violations; 3) LGBTQ rights; 4) accusations of blasphemy under Article 306; 5) violations of national symbols laws; or 6) endogamy-based racism.

  • 44 In the 2024 Global Slavery Index, Mauritania ranked 3rd internationally among countries estimated t (...)
  • 45 On this topic see: N’DIAYE, Sidi, 2022, « Ce que nous voulons, c’est une Commission vérité et récon (...)
  • 46 According to Article 308 of the 1983 Criminal Code, “Any adult Muslim man who commits an impudent o (...)
  • 47 See UNHR, “Death Penalty: UN experts urge Mauritania to repeal anti-blasphemy law”. https://tinyurl (...)
  • 48 The current regime uses this vague title to suppress any criticism of the president, particularly c (...)

37Claims of enslavement and racism based on descent refer to the social conditions of the Haratin community, often defined as Hassaniya-speaking “black” populations of enslaved origin. Despite multiple abolitions and the criminalization of the practice of slavery in Mauritanian history—first in 1981, then in 2007, and finally in 2017—the practice arguably persists.44 The second claim of human rights violations (French: passif humanitaire) refers to the late 1980s and early 1990s, a period when serious human rights violations occurred, particularly against Afro-Mauritanian communities.45 The claims of LGBTQ persecution reference discrimination and stigmatization faced by this group in a self-proclaimed Islamic republic that officially criminalized homosexuality in 1983.46 Article 306 refers to a 2018 criminal code related to charges of apostasy. According to the article, “Any Muslim guilty of apostasy or blasphemy will be sentenced to death upon arrest.”47 The fifth reason to justify migration is the National Symbols Law, a repressive law adopted in 2021 to “protect national symbols and to criminalize attacks on State authority and the honor of the citizen.”48 Sixth, endogamy-based racism refers to social restrictions that the Bidan hierarchical social system imposes on inter-class, inter-ethnic marital, and carnal relations. All these de facto political, social, and legal restrictions facilitated the production and circulation of migration stories framed by narratives of oppression and subjugation.

  • 49 See « Cri de cœur en faveur des libertés publiques ». https://tinyurl.com/b8fzkuux
  • 50 Three cases involved the shooting of unarmed citizens, two of which occurred in the south of the co (...)

38Amongst these six injustices used to legitimize migration for those claiming asylum in the United States, the National Symbols Law was the most prevalent in literature addressing the reasons for Mauritanian migration. The hegemonic presence of this law speaks to the statistical reality of a sudden legalized resurgence of a police state and authoritarianism in Mauritania. Political repression of dissent, particularly on social media and of journalists and political activists, has reached an unprecedented level. According to a survey I conducted in collaboration with a human rights observatory from January 2020 to May 2022, arrests of activists and the repression of citizen protests happened every week.49 This repression extended beyond mere arrests and violent suppression of protests; it escalated to the killing of five citizens in five separate cases.50 The state repression and killings had a direct impact on the request for asylum and intensified narratives of oppression and subjugation.

  • 51 Hay Saken refers to a neighborhood in northern Nouakchott. Initially uploaded on the rapper’s YouTu (...)

39The literature on the increase in Mauritanian migration noticeably ignores other reasons for leaving. Partly, this silence can be attributed to a pragmatic recognition of the contentious nature of these topics, even among the victims who understand that the despotic National Symbols Law encapsulates all forms of injustice, including those that may have less consensus. The public directed its outrage at the Mauritanian President over the repressive law despite its intent to protect presidential power. President Muhammed ould Ghazouani (2019-), who, as mentioned above, encountered migrant protests while visiting the United States, became the target of migrant artistic and literary production, which would sometimes reference him by name. One notable example is “Hareb” (“Fugitive”), a poignant hip-hop song that describes feelings of injustice, loss, and helplessness. Composed and performed by Breyzi Panda Hay Saken, a lesser-known TikToker, the song received widespread acclaim for its lyrical flow, depth of meaning, and relevance because it addressed the everyday grievances of ordinary citizens, using the injustices highlighted by the recent migration wave as its theme:51

Text 8

Fugitive
A state that does not value my efforts
Does not deserve my presence
Fugitive
I am a fugitive, a fugitive
I will not smoke, I will not steal
Fugitive
I am a fugitive, a fugitive
Oh, oh, oh
Riding a boat, crossing the sea
I am migrating
I fear getting lost
I am educated, not ignorant
Successful, but my country
Wants to make me a looser
The country that does not value my existence, I will leave it
Every person gives value to themselves
And my country has not given me any value
Even if I present my certificates
Mediators will win over me
I have no recourse
My family is poor, and I do not embezzle
If it is about education, I have learned
Until I became old
Time has passed, and I am sitting patiently
Waiting for the shadow to reach me
I cannot continue cursing
And cursing is useless
I no longer care about death
If I drown in the sea, the fish will eat me
Oh, oh
I prefer to die once
Than to live in my country
Where I die every day
Oh, oh
I have no strength to shout
My voice will not be heard
Fugitive
After many tears
Fugitive
I have no choice but to migrate
Fugitive
From a state where my voice is unheard
Fugitive
I will not allow my stolen rights
I am a fugitive
I have no intention of ever returning
Fugitive
I seek the light of candles in the darkness
Fugitive
I have my diplomas, but hunger will kill me
Fugitive
I will not allow my stolen rights
Fugitive
Here they ridiculed my abilities
Fugitive
Nothing is left for me except my dignity
Fugitive
I will make the most of what remains of my life
Fugitive
Mauritania is not my country

40Sharing on Facebook (Figure 6) that the song moved him to tears, one migrant described how the song reminded him of the hardships endured during the immigration journey and in American prisons.

Figure 6

Figure 6

“Honestly, these words have hurt me deeply. 😢😔 I won’t lie, as I listened to the song, tears flowed from me because of the intense hardships we faced during the migration journey and in the American prisons.”

Source: Ahmedou Gomez’s Facebook account https://shorturl.at/​tbaby

  • 52 On gordjiguen see: LESOURD, Céline, 2020, « “Gorjigéen”, ces hommes-femmes, courtiers de l’amour - (...)

41Breyzi Panda Hay Saken was not the sole rapper to express indignation at the repressive political and economic conditions under Ghazouani’s regime. Another lesser-known hip-hop group named JMJ x Big Lay similarly found inspiration in the unfortunate circumstances that propelled this migration wave. Their song, titled “Silah al-miskin”, or “The Arm of the Poor” (Text 9), released in April 2024, garnered widespread attention for its powerful message. Their song garnered praise primarily for referencing President Ghazouani without mentioning his name, alluding to his broken electoral promise of sharing mishwi, grilled meat. Allegedly, he consumed the locally beloved grilled meat alone, leaving the younger generation with no option but to migrate. Additionally, the song addresses the justice system, highlighting the harsh conditions vulnerable groups face in courts and prisons. One notable aspect of the song is its comparison between the treatment of “real men,” referring to migrants and opponents of the president, and gordjiguenant (sing. gordjiguen), referring to gay people or effeminate male entertainers who are prominently featured during public inaugurations and ceremonies.52 This juxtaposition underscores perceived disparities in treatment under the ruling regime.

Text 9

Mr. President, I remind you
The youth migrated and ashamed you
They did not accept to live under your rule
Because you broke your promises
You ate mishwi alone
Pay attention to your country
If you did your people is your support
The arm of the poor is
Accountability and awareness
We look for mean for the people
That suffer unemployment
I saw a mother crying about her son in the court
The state supports gays and imprison men

The narrative of catastrophe and manliness

42The reference to “gays” in “Silah al-miskin” smoothly transitions us to the second framing narrative: that of manliness and dignity. While the previous narrative of oppression and persecution carried a tone of sadness and seriousness, that of manliness was sardonic. The quantitative magnitude of this migration wave, coupled with its predominantly Hassanaphone demographic and its extensive documentation on social media, amplified its presence as an everyday topic of conversation for Mauritanians. Some discussions focused on the generational factor driving the wave, as data has shown that the majority of migrants are between the ages of 21 and 40 years, while others emphasized the ethnic nature, citing the dominance of Bidan in migration numbers.53

  • 54 Earlier events in 1966 and 1989 that provoked racialized violence evoked similar claims.
  • 55 See: “The European Commission launches new migration partnership with Mauritania”: https://tinyurl. (...)
  • 56 https://tinyurl.com/yzh7urs5
  • 57 وقفة منظمة من بعض أفراد الجالية في واشنطن بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية ضد اتفاقية الهجرة مع https:// (...)

43These discussions extended to include racist views regarding the transnational theory of the “great replacement” whereby racially “white” citizens would be outnumbered eventually by those considered non-white. In the Mauritanian context, this meant that the large number of Bidan departures threatened Bidan political and cultural hegemony in a country with at least four other racial and language communities.54 The “great replacement” theory re-emerged just as the European Commission launched a “migration partnership” with Mauritania worth 210 million Euros in March 2024. The stated aim of the partnership was to assist Mauritania in managing a counter-migration flux of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.55 Conspiracy theories claimed that the partnership was meant to settle black Africans in the country, potentially upsetting “the demographic balance” and posing a “threat to national security,” as described in a joint statement signed by many opposition parties.56 Fears about this deal even extended to the United States, where a group of newly arriving migrants protested in front of the Mauritanian embassy in Washington, DC, condemning the agreement.57

  • 58 Scholarly examinations of Mauritanian literature, particularly novels, have remarked on the general (...)

44Thus, explanations about the ongoing migration flux have shifted from those focusing on socioeconomic push factors to those warning of an existential threat to the nation, specifically its Bidan population and culture. This view also draws from a pre-existing theme found in Arabic and Bidan Hassaniya poetry called al-bukā’ ʿalā al-alāl, or “weeping over the ruins.” This poetic register, dominant in Bidan leghne poetry, mourns separation and estrangement from home where “home” is defined not only as the existing encampment but also that which only exists as ruins. Melancholic in tone, this poetry mourns the departure of former residents of Bedouin camps and reminisces about an idealized past. The Bidan exodus to the United States was similarly lamented.58 Discourses of catastrophe also began to emerge just as the migration wave hit its peak. Social media influencers contributed to the hyper-visibility of the phenomenon online in ways that both trivialized and dramatized emigration. Anyone who could afford a “three-star” migration, a term referring to a more luxurious and comfortable journey, embarked on the journey.

45Anecdotes and travel accounts from departees included dark humor, generating an apocalyptic narrative about migration. Dubbed al-taghreba al-muritaniya (“Mauritanian alienation/exodus”), the migration wave was described concerning older historical departures of Arabs from their homelands: two eleventh-century migrations and one more recent: 1) of Hilalian Arab tribes from the Arab Gulf to North Africa, including modern-day Mauritania; and 2) the members of the Almoravid military and religious movement from modern-day Mauritania to Morocco; and 3) the Palestinian nakba, or “catastrophe” that led to the 1948, then 1967, and now 2024, exodus of thousands of Palestinian refugees to neighboring countries (Figure 7).59

Figure 7

Figure 7

A group of immigrants in the capital’s Oumtounsy airport with al-taghreba al- muritaniya as the title.

Source: https://tinyurl.com/​4smdbbb5.

46Exaggeration and dark humor were also used to dramatize the migration flux. For example, a joke widely circulated in 2022 instructs residents of Nouakchott that: “The last person shall turn off the light (if there is any) and close the door.” The request to close the door refers to rising crime rates in the capital, while turning off the light refers to electricity cuts during the summer period. This joke evokes a ruined house whose inhabitants have already left if they are not already preparing to do so, and, as such, the “weeping over the ruins” thematic found in Arabic poetry. Accompanied by a picture of a group of migrants jumping Trump’s Wall, it was also accompanied by a broken heart emoji (Figure 8).

Figure 8

Figure 8

A picture of migrants crossing Trump’s Wall with the request “The last person shall turn off the light and close the door”.

Source: https://tinyurl.com/​56tpj7cn

47In addition to jokes, poetry, affirmed the dramatic nature of migration. Poet Abdellahi ould Abd Dayim shared the following on Facebook in June 2023:60

Text 10

To realize that times have become difficult,
Today’s youth in Mauritania
Jump over walls with haste
None of them giving precedence to the other
Only so-and-so or so-and-so remains
I do not know what awaits
If pressure continues to escalate
And poverty persists in Mauritania
He will jump the wall in his turn,
Mohammed ould Ghazouani

48Tebraa, an exclusively female genre of Bidan poetry, also reflected this dramatized tone with its emphasis on migration and separation. Traditionally nostalgic for those who traveled abroad for study or another Mauritanian town for work, tebraa was increasingly used to respond to the migration wave. In a video that circulated in May 2023, a young woman follows cultural norms of secretly whispering her poetry to a griot who will then broadcast it to the public. The verse wonders: ya hbibi nte chvik v tersav hayt l mexik / “Oh my beloved, what are you still doing here --- why did you not jump the Mexico wall?”61 The question is sarcastic, expressing a reverse situation where many young women and wives mourn the absence of their loved ones rather than their presence.

49However, discursive reflections on virility and masculinity were also emphasized the dominance of male migrants. A Facebook user shared: “They said America is only for courageous men; the rest will be sent to Europe by their mothers,” insinuating that men jumped walls while spoiled boys were granted tourist visas. This hierarchy of mobility–the wealthy go to Europe through legal channels while the poor go “illegally” to the United States through South America–is reflected in jokes which also subvert the status quo. Inversely, gordjiguenant—homosexuals—are depicted as the only ones left in the country as they presumably lack the requisite manliness for undertaking this adventurous journey (Figure 9). Another traditional hierarchy seems to be overturned through migration. A Facebook post from August 2023 sarcastically depicts an elderly groom takes advantage of the exodus of young men to marry a young girl.

Figure 9

Figure 9

Facebook video post mocking people who abstained from the migration, these three who did not leave seemingly effeminate in their appearance entitled “Men who stayed in Mauritania after the people of the Wall”.

Source: https://tinyurl.com/​2cc2j25u

Conclusion

50I observed firsthand the anxiety and fear felt by Mauritanian migrants in May 2023 when I saw would-be migrants at the Nouakchott and Istanbul airports. In Nouakchott, candidates for migration lined up in a special queue while other travelers moved ahead faster, prioritized even if everyone had the same documents in hand to board the same plane. Discriminatory treatment persisted at the Istanbul airport, where migrants stood at special gates, subjected to double checks of their passports by Turkish police. However, instead of accepting their role as vulnerable trespassers, these migrants reversed the dynamic of the “muted group,” as described by Ardener (2007). Through poetry, songs, jokes, and narratives shared online, they transformed what was perceived as a dangerous journey into one of persistence despite overwhelming barriers. The Hassaniya metaphor of the lehwey legsayer or “little short wall” encapsulates this transformation, symbolizing ease and reachability amidst daunting obstacles. As this article has demonstrated, the largest migration in Mauritanian modern history is not merely a result of socioeconomic factors but is shaped by a contentious competition of narratives. Despite these challenges, migrants assert their agency by telling their own stories, drawing from cultural realities while simultaneously subverting them in ways that highlight their resilience and determination within an unequal world. In this context, the concept of “policing of migrants” becomes a symbolic tool utilized by various religious figures and doctrines—including Sufis, Salafis, and the Muslim Brotherhood—as well as by intellectuals and NGOs. These diverse actors collectively condemn and criminalize migrants, advancing an unofficial political agenda that fails to address the underlying structural causes behind this migration toward the north. This unifying narrative of policing, infused with cultural, religious, and intellectual justifications, works to reinforce social and political mechanisms that further marginalize both incoming and outgoing migrants. Migration, often viewed solely through the lenses of vulnerability and survival, also emerges as a critical site of resistance. Mauritanian migrants actively contest the restrictive narratives imposed on them by local and international power structures. In doing so, they succeed in reshaping these narratives by creating various forms of resistance that ingeniously co-opt the same cultural, political, and artistic expressions that the official discourse seeks to weaponize against them.

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Notes

1 When not specified otherwise in this article, I use Bidan in a cultural sense to refer to a broad range of ethnic and occupational groups.

2 Statistics from the Honduran National Migration Institute (INM) show a similar gender migration ratio. Between 2016 and 2024, the INM documented 9,899 Mauritanian migrants, of whom 266 were women (2.68%) https://bit.ly/4gzYzUo. Accessed 18 Sep. 2024.

3 I am very grateful to Baba Adou for permission to use this data and for his insights and remarks. In terms of geographic origins, Adou’s survey shows the following distribution: Assaba 16%, Nouakchott 16%, Trarza 16%, Adrar 8%, Hodh Chargui 7%, Hodh Gharbi 7%, Dakhlet Nouadhibou 5%, Brakna 4%, Tagant 4%, Guidimagha 3%, Inchiri 1%, with 0% from Gorgol and Tiris Zemmour. The summary of his research is available at: https://bit.ly/3B92o2B. Accessed 29 Apr. 2024.

4 For example, migrants who could afford a Schengen visa followed a route from Nouakchott → Madrid → Colombia → Nicaragua → El Salvador → Honduras → Guatemala → Mexico → U.S. This was the shortest and easiest itinerary, especially after migrants discovered that Nicaragua does not require a visa for Mauritanians. This discovery spared them from a longer and riskier overland route through Bolivia → Ecuador → Colombia → Panama → Costa Rica → Nicaragua.

5 On this topic, see: SANTOIR, Christian J., 1975, « L’émigration Maure : une vocation commerciale affirmée », Cahiers ORSTOM, série Human Sciences, vol. XII, no 2, p. 137-159; On the precolonial presence of Bidan in Senegal and West Africa, see WEBB, James L. A., Jr., 1995, « The Evolution of the Idaw al-Hajj Commercial Diaspora », Cahiers d’Études Africaines, vol. 35, no 138/139, p. 455–475.

6 Studies indicate that the urbanization rate increased from 25% in 1961 to 58% in 1975 and further to 67% in 1977. See: TANGUY, Philippe, 2003, “L’urbanisation irrégulière à Nouakchott : 1960-2000” Insaniyat / إنسانيات [Online article], URL: http://journals.openedition.org/insaniyat/6863.

7 Skilled Bidan migrants favored the Gulf states (KSA, UAE, Qatar) and other Arab-speaking countries like Libya, where they found work as religious scholars and teachers. Non-skilled groups often worked as shepherds, policemen, and security guards. For further discussion, see OULD AHMED SALEM, Zekeria, 2010, La Migration Hautement Qualifiée: aspects et questions sociopolitiques en Mauritanie, [Migration Policy Centre], [CARIM-South], CARIM Analytic and Synthetic Notes, 2010/08, URL: https://hdl.handle.net/1814/13443; FREIRE, Francisco, 2014, Saharan migrant camel herders: Znāga social status and the global age, The Journal of Modern African Studies, 52(3), p. 425–446; 2015 statistics on in-migration to Mauritania indicate the country’s immigrant stock stood at 138,162 (including 50,000 Malian refugees in 2016). This number shifted to between (350-400,000) migrants from Sub-Saharan Africa according to Mauritanian minister of Foreign Affairs in October 2024. Meanwhile the number of Malian refugees increased to 273,070 as of September 2024 according to UNHCR Mauritania - Refugee Emergency Response Update (As of 30 September 2024: https://tinyurl.com/4w5vr3fv). See: Minister of Foreign Affairs’ statement: https://tinyurl.com/t9ddc4pa. Accessed 01 November 2024.

8 The number of Mauritanian emigrants abroad is reported to be 119,334. Emigrant destinations largely mirror immigrant patterns, with Senegal (43%) and Mali (14%) being the top destinations. In the same manner, Malian (41%) and Senegalese (28%) migrants make of the majority of migrants in Mauritania. Additionally, France (15%), Spain (7%), Ivory Coast (7%), Gambia (3%), Congo (3%), Morocco (1%), and Belgium (1%) serve as significant destinations. See: UNU-MERIT, Maastricht Graduate School of Governance, “Mauritania Migration Profile, Study on Migration Routes in West and Central Africa.” 2017, commissioned by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, p. 3-4.

9 A 2000 US census indicated 993 individuals with Mauritanian ancestry or ethnic origin, while a 2012 report suggested approximately 4,000 Mauritanians reside in the Cincinnati (Ohio) and Erlanger (Kentucky) areas, with another 1,065 in Columbus, Ohio. According to UNHCR figures, Mauritanian refugees and asylum seekers in the US numbered 1,087 in 2016. See “Mauritanian Americans. https://bit.ly/4evDys2. Accessed 28 April 2024.

10 See: النائب عن دائرة أمريكا يحي اللود يتحدث عن نزيف الهجرة الحالي للشباب الموريتاني: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfxHdbW0UFA. Accessed 28 April 2024.

11 Media emphasizes the role that social media networks play in this influx. See “Thousands more Mauritanians are making their way to the US, thanks to a route spread on social media,” Associated Press https://bit.ly/47DkIxg; and “From Smugglers and TikTok, Migrants Get a Message: Go to New York,” New York Times https://nyti.ms/4euoxXM. Accessed 28 April 2024.

12 On Mauritanian public and private media landscapes and social media connectivity, see: OULD BRAHIM, Elhadj, PEMBECIOĞLU, Nilufer, 2023, « Hidden in Plain Sight, Media and Corruption in Mauritania: The Kinross Tasiast Gold Corporation Corruption Case of 2015 » in Omoera, O. S. (ed.), Media, Culture and Conflict in Africa, Newcastle Upon Tyne, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, p. 1-16.

13 Interview held in a café in Nouakchott in February 2023

14 This narrative and biographical approach has developed significantly in recent years, expanding into multisite ethnographies and interdisciplinary studies that engage with the discursive and interactional dimensions of migration.

15 Borrowed from classical Arabic, ghorba can mean “emigration”, “alienation”, or “desolation”.

16 On the mobility and escape stories of formerly enslaved female haratin see: OULD BRAHIM, Elhadj, « Humans at Last, Emotions at Least; Enslavement and Freedom Struggles of Four Iconic Haratin Women of Mauritania », Journal of Migration History, vol. 10, no 3 (2024): p. 366-391.

17 On this subject, see BOULAY, Sébastien, 2020, « Nation, contestation et création dans l’Ouest saharien postcolonial. Mobilisation des artistes et des nouveaux médias dans les turbulences de la vie politique régionale » in Bonte, P. (dir.), L’anthropologie en partage. Autour de l’œuvre de Pierre Bonte, Paris, Karthala, p. 399-428.

18 The original expression delle maa trig denotes an easy and/or unequivocal departure. The Arabic terms hijra and muhajir (“migration” and “migrant”) are occasionally used in Hassaniya, but primarily by the educated and intellectual.

19 On cultural history on risk and danger see: DOUGLAS, Mary, 1992, Risk and Blame: Essays in Cultural Theory. London: Routledge.

20 Qur’an, Surah Baqarah, aya 195 (https://bit.ly/3MTf6Fm).

21 Between December 2020 and May 2024, a total of nine deaths were recorded among Mauritanian migrants. Four of these fatalities occurred in Mexico, attributed to heart attacks and one car accident. One death occurred in Colombia due to a heart attack, one in Panama from COVID-19, and three deaths in the US due to various health issues.

22 See the fatwa here: https://bit.ly/47BQzhx. Accessed May 6, 2024.

23 Ibid.

24 The public use of this term by an official institution in Mauritania is striking given the country’s declared position against extremism and Wahhabi orthodoxy but the wide circulation of the photo of a young Muslim Brotherhood member of the Council with the news may explain this “incident”. On the distinction made by Muslim jurists between dar al-Islam and dar al-harb or dar al-kufr–between the Land of Islam and the Land of War or Unbelief, see: LEWIS, Bernard, 1994, « Legal and Historical Reflections on the Position of Muslim Populations Under Non-Muslim Rule » in LEWIS, B. et D. SCHNAPPER (dir.), Muslims in Europe, London, Pinter Publishers.

25 Ibid.

26 Commentators accused Ould Dedew of siding with the current government with the fatwa composition. See: https://tinyurl.com/fyzeuu8k; and THURSTON, Alexander, 2012, “Shaykh Muhammad al-Hasan al-Dedew (b. 1963), a Salafi Scholar in Contemporary Mauritania”, Annual Review of Islam in Africa, n° 11, p. 64–67.

27 See ambassador’s speech: https://tinyurl.com/u2vbpa57. Accessed 7 May 2024.

28 For more on Izza, see: https://courrierdunord.com/node/5403

29 Ould Dahi only started to promote his pre-existing business plan as part of a broader national strategy to address migration after government officials acknowledged the magnitude of the wave. For further details on Ould Dahi’s exorcist business, see PETTIGREW, Erin, 2023, Invoking the Invisible in the Sahara. Islam, Spiritual Mediation, and Social Change, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, p. 178.

30 See: Alakhbar.info: https://alakhbar.info/?q=node/47835. Accessed: 22 September 2024.

31 Ibid.

32 During his exile in Mauritania during the colonial era, Beninois politician Louis Hunakanrin observed about the Bidan: “The Moors are unwilling to work. Whomever uses his hands, every worker, is for them an inferior, despicable, and worthless being » HUNKANRIN, Louis, 1931, Un forfait colonial, l’esclavage en Mauritanie, Paris, Imprimerie moderne Privas, p. 10 ; BONIS, Jean, 1964, « Échelle de prestige social en Mauritanie », Sociologie du travail, 6ᵉ année, n° 4, octobre-décembre, p. 381-393 ; TAUZIN, Aline, 1989, « Le gigot et l’encrier. Maîtres et esclaves en Mauritanie à travers la littérature orale », Revue du monde musulman et de la Méditerranée, n° 51, Les prédicateurs profanes au Maghreb, p. 74-90.

33 See: https://tinyurl.com/yc6htxpb

34 On this protest see: https://tinyurl.com/32vctan5

35 The music video, which had limited views, can be seen here: https://tinyurl.com/285rmn4c

36 See Dr. Hamahoullah ould Salem’s intervention (minute 35) and Dr. Moktar ould El Hassen (minute 53): https://tinyurl.com/2s4f6vzb

37 A comparative study on the migration patterns of the various groups composing Mauritanian society would be of great scientific significance but is beyond the scop eof this article. For more on the migration patterns of other Mauritanian communities, see: LESERVOISIER, Olivier et MOYNIÉ, Bruno, 2023, « Les relations entre migrants ouest-africains (Sénégal, Mauritanie) et Afro-Américains aux États-Unis au prisme de la question migratoire » Cahiers d’études africaines, vol. 249, n° 1, p. 63-83 ; and TANON, Fabienne, SOW, Abdoulaye, 2013, “Unaccompanied Young Migrants from Africa: The Case of Mauritania” The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, vol. 648, n° 1, p. 189-203.

38 Sidati ould Abba and his wife Mounina mint Eyde sang this shor in 1958: https://tinyurl.com/bdfcke28

39 For an aural version of this shor: https://tinyurl.com/mrya5467

40 See: https://tinyurl.com/2s5wytr3. Accessed 6 May 2024

41 Oumar Sy, “A Re Birth Journey”: https://tinyurl.com/yv66ksm4. Accessed 11 May 2024.

42 Escaping enslaved women also used haraka to frame their escape from subjugation. On this subject see OULD BRAHIM, 2024.

43 The foundations of various migratory literature are also influenced by a similar trend in Arab literature and cultural history.

44 In the 2024 Global Slavery Index, Mauritania ranked 3rd internationally among countries estimated to have the highest prevalence of modern slavery. See: https://tinyurl.com/mvcjktyx

45 On this topic see: N’DIAYE, Sidi, 2022, « Ce que nous voulons, c’est une Commission vérité et réconciliation. La justice transitionnelle en Mauritanie : un modèle, sa promotion et des évitements politiques » L’Année du Maghreb, n° 26, p. 97-118.

46 According to Article 308 of the 1983 Criminal Code, “Any adult Muslim man who commits an impudent or unnatural act with an individual of his sex will face the penalty of death by public stoning”, Ordonnance n° 83-162 du 09 juillet 1983 portant institution d’un Code pénal. https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/text/194180 Accessed 11 May 2024.

47 See UNHR, “Death Penalty: UN experts urge Mauritania to repeal anti-blasphemy law”. https://tinyurl.com/mpz7phyn. Accessed 11 May 2024.

48 The current regime uses this vague title to suppress any criticism of the president, particularly criticized by activists for being weak and uncharismatic. It is seen by human rights groups as “the latest in a series of laws that place excessive limits on the content of speech both online and offline.” See “Mauritania: New law on protection of national symbols threatens free speech.” https://tinyurl.com/mvxczzbz Accessed: 11 May 2024.

49 See « Cri de cœur en faveur des libertés publiques ». https://tinyurl.com/b8fzkuux

50 Three cases involved the shooting of unarmed citizens, two of which occurred in the south of the country: Abbas Diallo in May 2020 and Mohamed Lemine ould Sambe in May 2023. Another case involved a traditional miner in the north, Lbou ould Beibak, in September 2020. Additionally, two cases involved death while under arrest by the police: Souvi ould Chein in February 2023 and Oumar Diop in May 2023. Ironically, Oumar Diop was said to be preparing to join the migration wave before he was brutally murdered in police custody. On Ould Chein’s case, see: https://cndh.mr/fr/archives/31214; on Diop, see https://shorturl.at/cWhVz. Accessed: 19 Sep 2024.

51 Hay Saken refers to a neighborhood in northern Nouakchott. Initially uploaded on the rapper’s YouTube channel and garnering 15K views, it gained further attention when shared on his TikTok account in November 2023 in two parts, amassing a total of 70K views. It resurfaced on Facebook pages in February 2024 amid renewed discussions on the migration wave. Breyzi Panda’s YouTube channel with the song: https://tinyurl.com/59bduu2w

52 On gordjiguen see: LESOURD, Céline, 2020, « “Gorjigéen”, ces hommes-femmes, courtiers de l’amour - chic- à Nouakchott » in Ben Hounet, Yazid; Brisebarre, Anne-Marie; Casciarri, Barbara; Ould Cheikh, Abdel Wedoud (eds.), L’anthropologie en partage : Autour de l’œuvre de Pierre Bonte, Paris : Karthala, p. 127-151.

53 Instituto Nacional de Migración: https://bit.ly/4gzYzUo

54 Earlier events in 1966 and 1989 that provoked racialized violence evoked similar claims.

55 See: “The European Commission launches new migration partnership with Mauritania”: https://tinyurl.com/5n988scd

56 https://tinyurl.com/yzh7urs5

57 وقفة منظمة من بعض أفراد الجالية في واشنطن بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية ضد اتفاقية الهجرة مع https://tinyurl.com/3j3b37vm; on the effects on European border policies in the global South and in Mauritania in particular see: OULD MOCTAR, Hassan, 2024, After Border Externalization: Migration, Race, and Labour in Mauritania, London: Bloomsbury Academic.

58 Scholarly examinations of Mauritanian literature, particularly novels, have remarked on the general absence of the themes of exile and migration despite their pervasive presence in Bidan poetry. I anticipate that the ongoing migration wave will fill this thematic gap. On this topic see: OULD BRAHIM, Elhadj, 2017, “Mauritanian Novel: Lost Narrative Potentials (File)”, Al-Adab Journal, Beirut, Lebanon. https://tinyurl.com/5bt7tt5s

59 See an article lamenting the wave and evoking this reference as its title: https://tinyurl.com/3ta9hx5y. For more evocation of the Almoravid movement, see the interventions of OULD SALEM (from minute 35) and OULD EL HASSEN (minute 53): https://tinyurl.com/2s4f6vzb

60 See the text recited by its creator: https://tinyurl.com/4buputmx

61 The video can be seen here: https://tinyurl.com/2952uuem

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Table des illustrations

Titre Figure 1
Légende Salif Ba’s (1988–2023) coffin with the NGO president (right, in a suit jacket) and members of the deceased’s family.
Crédits Source: https://tinyurl.com/​tepe49vb
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/docannexe/image/13728/img-1.png
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Titre Figure 2
Légende Ould Ahmed Loula praying after his return to Mauritania
Crédits Source: https://tinyurl.com/​4ec54ztt
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/docannexe/image/13728/img-2.png
Fichier image/png, 687k
Titre Figure 3
Légende A young Mauritanian immigrant performing a prayer upon arrival at Trump’s Wall
Crédits Source: https://tinyurl.com/​5dehepze
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/docannexe/image/13728/img-3.png
Fichier image/png, 481k
Titre Figure 4
Légende Yedhih Ould Dahi announcing his initiative to counter youth immigration by offering mortgaged cars
Crédits Source: https://tinyurl.com/​429k6afu
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/docannexe/image/13728/img-4.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 196k
Titre Figure 5
Légende Facebookers joke about the kind of work they undertake abroad that they would not do in their home country
Crédits Source: https://tinyurl.com/​yc6htxpb
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/docannexe/image/13728/img-5.png
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Titre Figure 5
Légende A young Mauritanian boy posing with a national flag in al-Hurriya (“Freedom”) Square in Nouakchott with a caption expressing his frustration (Text 6).
Crédits Source: Facebook page.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/docannexe/image/13728/img-6.png
Fichier image/png, 945k
Titre Figure 6
Légende “Honestly, these words have hurt me deeply. 😢😔 I won’t lie, as I listened to the song, tears flowed from me because of the intense hardships we faced during the migration journey and in the American prisons.”
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/docannexe/image/13728/img-7.png
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Titre Figure 7
Légende A group of immigrants in the capital’s Oumtounsy airport with al-taghreba al- muritaniya as the title.
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/docannexe/image/13728/img-8.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 266k
Titre Figure 8
Légende A picture of migrants crossing Trump’s Wall with the request “The last person shall turn off the light and close the door”.
Crédits Source: https://tinyurl.com/​56tpj7cn
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/docannexe/image/13728/img-9.jpg
Fichier image/jpeg, 199k
Titre Figure 9
Légende Facebook video post mocking people who abstained from the migration, these three who did not leave seemingly effeminate in their appearance entitled “Men who stayed in Mauritania after the people of the Wall”.
Crédits Source: https://tinyurl.com/​2cc2j25u
URL http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/docannexe/image/13728/img-10.png
Fichier image/png, 849k
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Elhadj Ould Brahim, « Narratives of an exodus »L’Année du Maghreb [En ligne], 32 | 2024, mis en ligne le 15 décembre 2024, consulté le 12 février 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/anneemaghreb/13728 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/1360o

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Auteur

Elhadj Ould Brahim

Professeur invité, FMSH, Paris, Elhadjobrahim@gmail.com

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