Child-Parent Separations among Senegalese Migrants to Europe

Abstract

The authors use the Migration between Africa and Europe (MAFE) project data to examine the incidence and duration of child-parent separations and the determinants of child-parent reunification among Senegalese migrants. Their findings indicate that approximately one-sixth of the Senegalese children in the sample were separated from their parents due to parental migration to Europe. These separations are relatively long, especially if the absent parent is the father. Reunification of Senegalese migrant parents with their children is infrequent, both in Senegal and in Europe. However, the location where reunification occurs is important, as it is associated with markedly different family types. Parents who end separations by returning to Senegal belong to families that clearly depart from the Western nuclear model, whereas Senegalese families in which parents decided to bring their children to Europe are closer to Western family arrangements.