It took almost six years of research. It is now out there: in open access thanks to the funding of the Cluster of Excellence: Africa Multiple: Reconfiguring African Studies. Just download your copy here and feel free to share the link :

'Entré en tant que cousin, sorti en tant que gendarme' - Visa Balladur, Kwassa Kwassa, (im)mobilité et géopoét(h)ique relationnelle aux Comores | Brill

"He came as a cousin and left as a gendarme." This anecdote expresses the identity paradox in the Comoros and the 'migration' drama that has been happening in the Archipelago since the arbitrary introduction of the Balladur Visa in 1995. Mayotte that is 'officially' French has been labelled "the biggest marine graveyard in the world". How can works of imagination on "migration" from Anjouan to Mayotte constitute a kind of collective social therapy and social intervention? This book answers this question (among others) by studying 18 works, and combining literary studies with anthropology, sociology, history and international law.

I am happy to have been involved in the process by proofreading the book in French. It is great that the book is in French. This way, the results of the research project are also accessible to the people who are concerned. The book also includes an extended English summary. I fully recommend reading this book that opened my eyes on a neglected aspect of Migration from "Africa" to "Europe" which happens on African soil and especially on French politics in the Comoros/Indian Ocean.

Sandra Benecchi