Emigration from the Maghreb: Southern Perspectives on Travel, Borders and Social Media

The Maghreb region can be understood as a social space where citizens find themselves pushed into immobility, while they are increasingly exposed to the pervasive influence of communication technologies, social media, and transnational connections. What are often perceived as migratory flows of desperate migrants from the southern Mediterranean may instead be interpreted as efforts to reach the Global North, adapting to the structural limitations and constraints on freedom of movement imposed by the European border regime. These restrictions do not halt the journeys of Maghrebi migrants; rather, they lead to a rise in the number of harraga (irregularised migrants) and prompt the diversification of migration routes, leading to fragmented and convoluted adventures. While the fortification of borders tends to encourage migrants towards permanent settlement in Europe, it simultaneously compels them to move continuously from one country to another, both within and beyond Fortress Europe, in search of basic necessities such as housing, work, and documentation.

This intervention draws on digital and trajectory ethnography conducted with Tunisians, Moroccans, and Algerians on their way to Europe between 2021 and 2024, exploring the role of social media and the use of smartphones in structuring new migration routes and destinations to adapt to visa regulations and border control. Digital apps such as Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Maps.me serve as tools for crafting alternative narrations of the journey, providing information on risks and opportunities, and facilitating collaboration and connections among harraga and both migrant and non-migrant actors along their journeys. As migration from the Maghreb increasingly becomes an individualised endeavor, largely undertaken by young men, these travellers increasingly depend on these online networks of solidarity to resist the rising costs of irregularised migration. This digital space fosters specific cultural and linguistic networks that transcend national bounds, reshaping new imaginaries and aspirations.