Humor and Laughter among Irregularized Migrants

This article focuses on a ‘day off’ spent at a Moroccan beach with ‘irregularized’ migrants from Central and Western Africa. For these young men on a dangerous quest for dignity and a better life, engaging in humorous exchanges and laughter was crucial to cultivate, maintain, and display the ‘right mentality’ while facing violent border regimes. This was an important feature in the articulation of their lives and journeys as ‘adventurers’ abiding by the imperative not to give up in the face of violence, uncertainty, and the risk of failure. The article also highlights how a focus on the workings of humor and laughter in the study of (‘illegal’) migration is important to foreground and acknowledge the inequities at the core of ethnographic encounters.

Articulation (sociology) · Dignity · Ethnography · Face (sociological concept) · Laughter · African Studies and Geopolitics · Diaspora, migration, transnational identity · Humor Studies and Applications