This study was financed by the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA). Anca-Elena Ursu, Nancy Ezzeddine and Anna Schmauder provided valuable research assistance for the study. A special thanks is due to Nigerien colleagues Bachirou Ayouba Tinni and Mounkaila Abdou, who helped arrange many useful interviews, and to the respondents who were willing to share their insights on such a complex topic. Migrant interviews in Paris were conducted with the help of several research assistants and translators, in particular Gaffar Mohammud Saeneen, and several others who prefer to remain anonymous but whose work should be acknowledged. Several of these interviews were conducted in Pantin, near Paris, at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) centre for unaccompanied young migrants, and we are grateful to MSF staff for their kind support. The Mixed Migration Centre (MMC) graciously shared their Mixed Migration Monitoring Mechanism Initiative (4Mi) data collected in West Africa and Libya, which allowed us to further triangulate our qualitative findings. Mariska van Beijnum, Ana Uzelac, Anca-Elena Ursu, Nicolas Klotz and Johannes Claes reviewed the report. Their help in improving and ensuring the quality of this study is greatly appreciated. It remains without saying that any errors or omissions are entirely our own.

The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the government of Switzerland.