Friendship Ties

Friendship ties were sometimes used as networks for migration. 9 (24.3%) of women and 6 (28.6%) of men out of the 58 respondents had used friendship ties. It also appeared that more women than men were likely to use friendship ties as a network for migration related purposes. There was a difference in the number of men and women who used friendship ties as contacts for migration but the difference was not that great. The number of women who used friendship ties outnumbered the men who used friendship ties. However, out of the 58 sampled population, 5 (13.5%) of the women and 3 (14.3%) of men used friendship ties to get access to their jobs. Case study 7 below illustrates the role of friendship social networks in the migration of a female respondent.

Case study 7: The role of friendship networks in migration

Azara is 22years old, married with a male child (3years and 10months) and the husband is a student. Azara has no education and she is a Muslim. Azara migrated from Janga in the Northern Region of Ghana and came to Madina purposely to work and get money to

maintain and expand her business. Azara returned about 7 months ago but this is her 7^th year of migrating to Madina. Within the 7 years of migrating, she had been able to set up a business of selling minerals, beer and bread in the village. When she came to Madina, she stayed for about 6 to 7 months and returned to invest the money in the business she was operating in Janga. Likewise, when business was bad, she returned to Madina to engage in kaya yoo and the washing of clothes in private houses. According to Azara, she contacted her friends who were in Madina and worked as kaya yoo before migrating. Upon the return of some of her friends from Madina, she joined them to migrate to Madina. When she arrived with the friends, they accommodated her and she became a member of the kaya yoo group from Janga. Where they lived comprised of Mamprusi girls from Janga, the other ethnic groups also had their places of accommodation. Aside the friendship ties, Azara was also part of the Mamprusi ethnic association where they contributed money to help each other when there was problem. Azara also said there was a feeling of belongingness when one is with the ethnic group members and it formed a kind of social security for them.

Azara used migration as an economic strategy to set up a business in her home village. Azara explained that she has been able to achieve her aim of migrating and she continued to come back to Madina because sometimes her home-based business becomes quite bad and she needs money to boost her business.

7.4 Conclusion

With the three theoretical framework used for the study, this chapter has discussed the type of social networks used by migrants which included kinship, friendship and ethnic ties, the nature of these social networks and the extent of their role in the migration processes. The concept of adaptation was also used to explain how migrants got access to jobs, housing and established social relationships in a new destination. In the discussions, we realized that migrants usually moved from strong social ties of kinship that helped them to migrate into weak social ties such as ethnic ties and friendship ties to help them get access to accommodation and jobs in Madina. These new ethnic group and ethnic networks in the migrant community served as a source of security or protection for migrants as they lived and worked in Madina.

We also realized that out of the ethnic group membership, friendship ties (weak ties) are formed and in turn occupational and room-mates (being of a group sharing accommodation) become very important forms of social networks for migrants. Smaller problems are solved at the level of the smaller groups such as the room-mates and occupation ethnic groups. The larger ethnic associations are involved when the problem is beyond the solution of these minor groups.

While strong family ties are important in facilitating the early stages of migration, it emerges that it is the weaker ties of ethnicity, room-mates group and occupational associations that help migrants to get employment and receive immediate social, economic and psychological support. Within an ethnic association, the individuals felt accepted with a sense of belongingness among members. From the discussions above, weak ties are very crucial in shaping and sustaining the informal economy within which migrants work.

CHAPTER EIGHT

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 8.0 Introduction

This chapter contains summaries of the findings of the study, some policy recommendations and a conclusion to the study. The study had the objectives of exploring the differences in female and male migrants’ aims, strategies of migration, and achievements in the migrant community. From a feminist epistemological view, I tried to examine the differences in reasons why women and men migrated to Madina; and the differences in the type and support of social networks women and men used in migrating. I also used the concept of ethnicity and social networks to examine how migrants live and support each other in the migrant community. The method used for the data collection was unstructured questionnaires and interviews. The findings from the study are summarized below.