ReliefWeb

Overview

In May, the Mixed Migration Monitoring Mechanism Initiative (4Mi) conducted 370 in-depth interviews with migrants and refugees in West Africa, including 88 people in Agadez and Niamey in Niger; 200 people in Mopti, Gao, Ber and Timbuktu in Mali and 82 people in Dori in Burkina Faso.

Profiles

In May, 253 men and 117 women from 15 countries in Central and Western Africa were interviewed, with an average age of 28 years.

Asylum

Of those interviewed, 11 respondents from Cameroon, Liberia, Mali and Sudan have already applied for asylum in Niger. 45% of those interviewed said that they intend to apply for asylum in their country of destination.

29% of women and 11% of men reported that personal or family reasons were a part of their motivation for leaving their home country. Among these respondents, 17 respondents reported having fled because of domestic violence and 27 respondents because of a death in their family. 6 women said they had fled forced marriages in Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire.

Journey

Those interviewed in May indicated different criteria for choosing their migration route, including ease of access (229), price (191), recommandations from friends or family (129) security (122) or choice of route by the smuggler (29). 41% of respondents indicated that they made the decision to leave on their own. 42% of respondents were encouraged to migrate by friends, 19% by parents, 17% by siblings and 17% by other family members.