War, the hope of a better life, or climate change. When we talk about migration, we often look for one clear reason why someone leaves. But researchers from the European research project PACES show that migration decisions are far more complex. Personal ambitions, circumstances and policy all play a part. And their influence can change along the way.
Imagine you’re young and thinking about your future. Where do you want to live? What do you want to study? What kind of work do you want to do? Maybe that future is exactly where you are now. But maybe it isn’t.
That is where Netsanet’s story begins. She is a young woman from Ethiopia and one of the fictional characters created to make the findings of PACES, a European research project funded by Horizon Europe, accessible to a wider audience. In a short animation, we follow her as she thinks about her future and eventually decides to migrate.
PACES in a flash
Migration doesn’t start with migration
One of the key messages from PACES is that migration is rarely the starting point. First and foremost, people are simply living their lives: thinking about family, education, work, safety, their community and their future.
At the same time, the world around them is changing. Political developments, economic circumstances and the cost of living can all affect how someone sees their future.
For some people, this means they want to stay exactly where they are. Others begin to imagine a future somewhere else. But wanting to migrate does not mean someone will actually leave. There is a big difference between dreaming about migration, making concrete plans and eventually setting off.
Why not just migrate legally?
Even when someone wants to migrate, not every option is open to them. Migration policies help determine which routes are actually available.
Applying for a visa, for example, can be expensive and may require documents and financial guarantees. An application can also be rejected. In practice, the choice is therefore not always as simple as migrating 'legally' or 'illegally'.
PACES shows that people make decisions within the possibilities available to them at a particular moment. When circumstances or rules change, their plans can change too.
And that doesn’t only happen before departure. Along the way, people gather new information, learn from others and adjust their plans. The closer someone gets to a border or destination, the more directly migration policies can begin to shape their decisions.
Not everyone wants to come to Europe
There are also persistent assumptions about who wants to migrate. Public debate can sometimes create the impression that large groups of people in Africa are simply waiting for the opportunity to leave for Europe.
PACES paints a much more varied picture. Migration aspirations differ between people and places. Some people want to leave, while others very much want to stay. And saying that you would like to migrate one day does not automatically mean you have concrete plans to do so.
On the European side, attitudes are also less black and white than a simple divide between being ‘for’ or ‘against’ immigration. People’s views can be ambivalent and depend on the situation.
That nuance matters. Assumptions about who migrants are, why they leave and what policies can achieve all shape the political and public debate around migration.
And what happens after arrival?
A migration story doesn’t end when someone reaches Europe – or any other final destination.
After arrival, new questions may arise. Are you allowed to stay? For how long? Can you work or study? How do you build a new social life somewhere unfamiliar?
Over time, a new environment, new relationships and everyday routines may become more important. At the same time, migration policies can continue to shape how secure – or uncertain – someone feels about their future.
That is exactly what PACES aims to make visible: a migration decision is not a single moment when someone simply decides to leave. It is a process in which people’s lives, societal changes, opportunities and policies constantly interact.
From research to comic book
But how do you tell such a complex story outside academia? With a short animation, like the one above, and a comic book.
In the animation, Netsanet takes us through some of the key insights from the research. As her journey unfolds, the factors influencing her decisions change around her.
Her story – and those of others – continues in the PACES comic book. It combines fictional migration stories with insights from the research, showing the people behind abstract concepts such as ‘migration decisions’ and ‘migration policy’: people trying to work out what kind of future is possible for them.
The message isn’t that there is one right way to look at migration. Quite the opposite. Sometimes, there is more to a migration story than first meets the eye.
- More information
Watch the short animation about Netsanet and read the PACES comic book to discover more about migration decisions and the findings of the PACES research project.
Questions? Please email paces@iss.nl
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