"É como pertencer a um lugar que nunca foi seu." Deportados negociando imobilidade involuntária e condições de retorno a Cabo Verde

Abstract

Based on anthropological research in Cape Verde, a small West-African island state, this  chapter deals with the deportation of migrant non-citizens and their involuntary return to their  countries of origin. This state act currently constitutes an important element in connecting  societies and state practices, situated mainly in Europe or North America, with livelihoods  in the so-called Global South. While some of these deported migrants had only remained in  countries of destination for some months or years before being returned by state force, many  had spent their formative lifetime abroad. Hence, their alleged home countries on the day of  their arrival appeared as foreign places with unfamiliar languages, codes of social behavior,  and habits of consumption. This article deals with their particular mode of return, their efforts  to re-integrate, their abilities to draw on their former experiences of migration for building  new social relationships and their renegotiation of belonging in transnational social fields.