The paper provides a bottom up view on human smuggling facilitation and the rationale behind extremely high-risk and complex irregular migration journeys from the Kolda region of Senegal across the Sahara and through the Atlantic sea. Interviews with aspiring, returned and deported migrants as well as smugglers and their associates provide insights into the organization of migration facilitation and how this is sustained in the current policy context. The research highlights the role of religious beliefs in preparing for and interpreting the experiences of harrowing journeys with a high risk of harm and death. The study also sheds light on hitherto under-recognised gendered aspects of the infrastructure of migration facilitation in Kolda: while migration is male dominated, women play a critical role in enabling migration by mobilising religious and financial support. The paper also discusses the differences in the social constructions of male and female migration and the differences in their social relations with smugglers and other actors involved in facilitating irregular migration. In conclusion the authors suggest that there is a need to revisit migration policies that are based on dissuading migrants through risk-awareness campaigns and heightened controls towards policies that address global structural inequalities that drive migration; develop a more accurate understanding of personal and family aspirations for change; create more opportunities for legal migration; initiate discourses on culturally sensitive topics such as female migration and failed migration, and the role of Islamic spiritual leaders (Marabouts)
