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In New Book, Authors Pioneer “research and practice network” on South-South Migration

Cover page of the book titled "Migration and social transformation: Engaged perspectives”. Credit: Courtesy Photo

Authors of a new book have explored the combination of empirical research and practice on the topic of the movement of migrants between and among developing countries in what is the first publication of its kind, ACI Africa has been told.

In interviews with two of the four editors of the book published under the title, “Migration and social transformation: Engaged perspectives”, the main content of the 16-chapter book that has contributions from African, European, and Latin American scholars is highlighted and explained.

“The volume is the first product of an emerging research and practice network that is committed to pursuing a new agenda which seeks to turn migration/refugee research into an active partnership with society,” Prof. Tanja Kleibl said told ACI Africa during the May 28 interview.

Readers of the new book, Prof. Kleibl said, “can expect references to post-colonial theory and migration. They can expect decolonizing methodologies that are applicable in migration research, but also practice examples of political activists.”

The Prof. at the Faculty of Applied Social Sciences of Germany’s Würzburg University said that the book that is divided into three sections, namely perspectives, experiences, and interventions, aims to restore the tradition of social work as an academic discipline and professional practice that focuses on social transformation.

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In the book, she said, “there are examples of refugees coming from Afghanistan, Syria, and African countries, who are experiencing human rights abuses in Lesbos, Greece.”

The book has also addressed “the role of European social workers in supporting people that come from the global South and encounter a space that is created for these people on the move in third world conditions,” Prof. Kleibl told ACI Africa. 

Citing Hannah Arendt’s phrase, “the rights to have rights”, the German-born scholar who has worked in different African countries for a period of 15 years regretted the fact that people on the move are denied “their social rights, and political rights to participate in the discussions that concern their lives.”

According to Sr. Maria do Carmo dos Santos Gonçalves who contributed to the new book as an editor and author, the book aims to “articulate the question of how the academy, methodologically, can appropriate instruments that favor the recognition of migrant people, of their perspectives, of their narratives, of their stories.”

Sr. Gonçalves told ACI Africa that the book seeks “to boost our knowledge, to be able to understand a little better, to distinguish, what happens inside the world of migrations, which is different from what we get from statistical data.”

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The book gives voice to people on the move as it narrates the experiences and vulnerabilities of migrants and refugees, the Director of Scalabrinian Center for Migratory Studies (CSEM) said during the May 28 interview. 

“The book has chapters with discussions about the theoretical perspectives of migration, and also shares the experiences of the members of the Migration and Social Transformation Network,” she added about the 310-page book that was published by Machdohnil Ltd in cooperation with CSEM.

Sheila Pires is a veteran radio and television Mozambican journalist based in South Africa. She studied communications at the University of South Africa. She is passionate about writing on the works of the Church through Catholic journalism.