The hierarchy and experience of migration: Egyptian labourers in the Jordan Valley

Studying the migration network between Egypt and Jordan tackles a set of sensitive issues for both countries, since migration has become not only a political issue, but at the same time a strategic asset. The studies of these migrations between Egypt and the Middle East, and more particularly to Jordan, have inevitably followed a dichotomised perspective according to push and pull factors, ‘here’ and ‘there’. Little or no attention has been devoted to social actors, their perspectives and their ways of giving sense to the experience of migration; a way of being between two places where there is a link between the hardship of migration and an increase of status back home. The attempt here is to focus on the social agency of temporary Egyptian migrants in the Jordan Valley, where migration is framed from a cultural perspective as a transition to new roles, status and values back home, while the place of work is characterized by marginalisation and dependency. The intimate relationship between migration and rituals linked to the everyday life cycle, such as engagement and marriage, has been the key analytical tool in understanding the cultural meanings of this endeavour, enmeshed within an economic project.