Mobilising for and through the dead: the transnational management of Senegalese migrants’ death in Europe

Félicien de Heusch’s research examines the transnational management of the deaths of Senegalese migrants in Europe, focusing on the practice of body repatriation and the management of survivors’ pensions. The study reveals the existence of diverse social, economic, and political infrastructures that migrants, transnational families, and civil society mobilise when confronted with death in migration. De Heusch’s research highlights how morality emerges as the main driver of transnational organisation. First, his findings show that ensuring funerary rituals in the home country is a core concern for migrant communities and their transnational families. Second, the results reveal the complex processes of funding and organizing the repatriation of mortal remains to the country of origin, involving both consular and local authorities. Third, the findings emphasize that deaths under violent circumstances become a vehicle for additional but contested engagements among the multiple actors involved in the transnational context. Finally, de Heusch’s findings show that transnational social protection does not end with the migrant’s death. The future of the migrant’s survivors is also shaped by their ability to access survivors’ pensions.

Part of his work contributed to a collective publication with other members of the research team on the mobilisation of the Senegalese and Tunisian diaspora around the “right” to body repatriation before and during the COVID-19 pandemic published in the Revue européenne des migrations internationales ( See “États et diasporas face à la mort en migration: une analyse comparée des cas sénégalais et tunisien avant et pendant la pandémie de la COVID-19” published in the Revue européenne des migrations internationales- also translated in English). The paper shows the relevance of a moral economy approach in analysing diaspora-state of origin relations.

His work includes a collaboration with Thomas Lacroix on thanatic ethics—the moral code of conduct concerning death among Senegalese migrants and the hometown—, published in Interventions: International Journal of Postcolonial Studies (see “Negotiating Moral Authority for  Body Repatriation: The Case of Senegalese Migration”). The paper sheds light on the activities, mutual relations, and negotiations between transnational organisations in charge of body repatriation.

Another publication examines political mobilisations surrounding the violent deaths of Senegalese migrants in Spain, featured in a volume on death in the context of migration (see  « “Mor n’est pas Mort'”: Mobilisations politiques autour de la mort violente de migrants sénégalais en Espagne » published by Petra Editions). The paper argues that violent death in the context of migration serves as a catalyst for political mobilization ‘from below’, becoming an emblematic cause. These deaths are not only sources of political (dis)engagement but also have the potential to embrace broader claims beyond those directly related to the victims.

In addition to his primary research, de Heusch co-authored a paper on the ethical issues surrounding informed consent in ethnographic research. Published in the International Journal of Qualitative Method, the paper entitled ““Ethics Ready”? Governing Research Through Informed Consent Procedures” explores the ethical considerations emerging from fieldwork as well as questions that arose from the application of ethical requirements imposed by the ERC. The paper argues that —while informed consent procedures might reinforce participants’ vulnerabilities— they can also activate their desire to assert power and calls for a redefinition of the relationships between institutions, researchers and participants through a co-construction of research ethics.

The full doctoral thesis can be found here.