Towards the elsewhere : Discourses on migration and mobility practices between Morocco and Italy.

peer reviewedThe objective of this article is to analyze the preparation process of young Moroccan migrants directed towards Italy. My focus is on the personal and collective formulation of their desire to leave and on concomitant action taken to realize these aspirations; highlighting the complexity of the imagination, which migration – and expected return – entails. A second point of attention is the agency exerted by such youth during preparation for departure; even when they have not physically left the country yet. In addition, my observation is focussed on networks emerging as a result of having to deal with state-imposed, migration restrictions, as well as with the politics of humanitarian agencies and NGOs. My discourse argues that these aspiring migrants project themselves into the future and act in accordance with what they long to become. They shape themselves as mobile subjects through a process of self-making to overcome the above-mentioned constraints