Colonial Ties and Refugees’ Migratory Pathways 

• In Event: Migration, Citizenship, and the Legacies of Colonialism

Abstract

Through a systems approach to refugee movement, we draw from a global universe of cases to examine the connections between colonial ties and refugees’ migratory pathways. Decisions about where to seek asylum are strongly shaped by colonial histories. Colonial histories and their legacies become especially clear through the development of bilateral agreements and through migration patterns that follow the “we are here because you were there” route. For example, 140,000 Cubans sought asylum in the former colonial metropole of Spain between 1961 and 1977. Imperialist as well as colonial ties structure refugee flows. A million Cubans migrated to the United States, which occupied Cuba from 1898 to 1902 and dominated much of the economy until the 1959 revolution. Haitians fleeing government oppression and economic collapse beginning in the 1970s headed for the United States, which had occupied Haiti from 1915 to 1934 and long dominated its economy, and to Quebec, which along with Haiti, is a centuries-old Francophone legacy of French settler colonialism in the Americas. Such histories have contemporary legacies. Refugees often rely on members of their social networks who blazed an earlier path. People in these networks provide practical resources and information needed to travel and establish a new life elsewhere. At a more diffuse level, these networks can generate aspirations to migrate and to reach particular destinations. Refugee flows in these cases become integrated into commercial and labor migration systems. Previous migration networks link colony and metropole. Metropolitan countries spread their languages to their colonies, and speaking a common language facilitates refugees’ integration. Contexts in which some persecuted groups are part of established migratory networks and flee, while others who are similarly persecuted stay home, highlight the importance of established paths and social connections. 

Author

• Rawan Arar, University of Washington