After the initial contacts have been made by potential migrants, how far did these social networks support new migrants when they arrived in Madina? This section looks at the extent to which these social networks help new migrants in their adaptation and assimilation into Madina. It was interesting to find out that there were gender differences in the support these Northern migrants had in Madina. It was also interesting to find out how ethnic relations came out as the major social ties migrants used when they arrived in Madina.
6.2.1 Accessibility to jobs through social networks
In my study, I wanted to find out the role of social networks in helping new migrants to gain access to jobs. The question I asked interviewees was: How did you get access to this job?
There were gender differences in the extent to which women and men relied on social networks to get jobs. Table 7, gives a breakdown of the kind of social ties Northern migrants used to get access to the work they did in Madina.
Table 7: Accessibility to jobs through social networks. women and men had their jobs through ethnic group relations. However, there was a gender difference in the extent of support of social networks. It could be seen that 9 (24.3%) of the women got their jobs independent of kinship, ethnic groups or friendship social networks.
But all the men had to rely on social networks to have access to jobs. This is what a male respondent had to say in response to the acquisition of a truck:
Contacts are very important because it is difficult to get access to a truck and you cannot buy one yourself because it is very expensive but with your ethnic brothers you can either hire from them to work with and pay them or join them to work when there is a heavy truck with a lot of load to carry. Sometimes we work in a group of four to five people. The ethnic group brothers are very necessary because you feel a sense of belongingness when you are with them. The ethnic brothers advise you on how to behave in the market and to our customers.
(Truck pusher- Builsa ethnic group) This gender difference in the extent and use of social networks to have access to jobs is explained by the type of work that these women do as compared to the men as already discussed in chapter 5. While the men engaged in truck pushing found it quite difficult to acquire a truck because it was very expensive to buy in the absence of support from ethnic group members of a social network; the women could easily find work by themselves with a head pan as a kaya yoo.
There was however not much gender differences in the type of social networks migrants used in accessing jobs. Also women and men used almost the same type of networks in acquiring their jobs through family relatives, ethnicity and friends. Migrants also acquired their information about jobs and accommodation from the same forms of social network.
I contacted my ethnic brothers because we are all from the same village and they use to come to Madina and return. So one day I asked whether I could join them and they said yes, so I came to Madina with them. I joined them to work as a truck pusher the next day
(Sissala truck pusher) This migrant made prior contacts to his ethnic brothers who according to him come from the same village. According to him he joined some returned migrants to migrate to Madina. His story informs us that, his assimilation and adaptation to his new environment were made quite easier because he migrated with ethnic group members he knew prior to his migration and in terms of access to accommodation and job was quite easier for this migrant.
6.2.2 Access to Accommodation
An important finding from the field study was that migrants tended to use ethnic ties in acquiring accommodation. There was no difference in the processes of getting access to
accommodation. Each migrant from the Northern Regions was able to identify the ethnic members and immediately identified herself or himself with this ethnic group and offered accommodation. When the question was asked why this was the case, a respondent answered:
Local language (Dagbani): ‘ti bi yi tin yini na, ti womni taabi yetwa, so ti mamprusi mali ti be yashiela, ka dagmba gba mari ba daa shi ya, ka Frafra nem gba mari ba daashie ya’. daa wa puuni kati nyari taaba ka tumina.
English translation: We are all not from the same village or town, so in the first place there is a barrier in communication. We the Mamprusis do not understand the language of the Sissalas and vice versa, so the Frafra’s have their place of accommodation, and the Dagombas too. So in terms of accommodation, we are separated and this enables peaceful coordination. We only meet in this market to work and have different places we sit to work.
Ethnic group members play an important role in providing new migrants with accommodation and some form of emotional support. One of the respondents from the Upper West region had lived in Madina for about five years and had acquired a parcel of land to build dwelling/ sleeping places for her ethnic group members at Nkwantanang and Riis junction. A female respondent said:
Local language (Twi): ‘wo busuafo b tumi aboa na w ya b bia ada, ade kye a na woni omu ako adwuma.
English translation: Your ethnic group members can offer you accommodation if you are able to locate them (ethnic group members), and you can join them in the business the following day’.
However, accommodation was supposed to be paid for. A fee was charged for staying in these wooden structures of accommodation (kiosks) see plate 26 (pg 69). The amount paid for the accommodation depended on the number of people in a room. For example, twenty (20) people in a room were supposed to pay 50 cents a week per individual. The fewer people sharing a room, the higher the rent paid for accommodation.