Mali

The Malian phenomenon of migrations is ancient-rooted, tied also to tradition. Historically, migrating meant for youngsters a rite of passage, pushing them to join seasonal and circular movements from shepherds and nomads.

Today, though, it has taken new meaning, considering 43,6% of the overall population lives in poverty, hence migrating becomes almost a one-way choice.

The environmental crisis, that since many years has hit the region, mostly dedicated to agriculture, has worsened food unsafety, forcing more and more people to move, looking for safer places. The drought issue within the area is nowadays chronic. Between 1973 and 1984, already, it forced 40% of the population to flea most impacted areas: 70% left the country and the agricultural industry was then hit by the backlash of such labor force loss. Within the last decade, the drought alternated with floods, as in 2021 and 2024, which forced thousands of people to leave their homes or will be forcing this in the near future.

Yet, the migratory phenomenon is also tied with internal conflicts as well as social and political instability within the country. In March 2012, a group of the Malian military enacted a coup d’état, overthrowing president Amadou Toumani Touré. Taking advantage from the weakening of the central government, a rebel tuareg group, known as MNLA (National Movement for Azawadi Liberation) has declared independence for the Northern Azawadi region. All of this while some Islamist groups, among which Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, took over control of broad Northern regions. Moreover, in January 2013, under mandate from the UN, France launched a military intervention to support the Malian government in taking back control, rejecting rebels and islamists altogether. In this scenario, conflicts in the Sahel region active since the post Colonial period also play their role exacerbating the country's instability

Nowadays, the country is ruled by a military junta, following which two successive coups d’état occurred between 2020 and 2021 within nine months time. The first took place in August 2020, when then-President Keita was overthrown. The second, saw the junta led by Kernel Assimi Goïta intervene in May 2021, following the National Transition Council attempt, to reshuffle the Government in order to rebalance civil rights, with the aim to travel the country towards free elections. Yet three years after the settlement, Junta is firmly holding onto power, solely worrying to widen the Army and its related military arsenal, all of these initiatives being insufficient to face war against terrorism.

Unfortunately, Mali is not just a country from which many are leaving but is also a passage and destination country for women, youth and children who are victims of human trafficking. The number of displaced is continuously on the rise, as already 220 thousand families have found shelter in the Kayes region alone, where the highest migration index is to be found.

Today, mainly the young are leaving: 94,5% of migrants are between 20 and 39 years old. Among these, almost half of them are in the 25-29 years old range. Currently, youth unemployment rate is near 17% in the whole country, bypassing 18,5% in the capital, Bamako.

Behind the departure of those who don’t get to their destination there is a family who is living an incomplete yet ambiguous loss, as their beloved is psychologically present but physically absent (as there’s no body to mourn). On a social level, families of the missing can encounter marginalization and social stigma whereas, on an economic level, they face the absence of their only livelihood, which the missing would have granted. Specifically, women in such a condition of “not yet widows but without a husband” need to protect their honor as well as to grant a reliable livelihood and future to their family.

For this reason, the project named “From testimony to protagonism: migrants’ mothers missing in the Mediterranean promoting rights and income-generating activities in Mali and Senegal”, through which it has been possible to set up and put online the Mali section, aims at promoting autonomy and democratic participation of families of missing migrants. It has the goal to help women belonging to those families generate income and to support their activism to pursue truth and justice for each one of their beloved.

“Missing at the borders” is a self-financed project. Your donations will be used to collect further interviews with the families of deceased or missing migrants or victims of forced disappearance. Thank you!