In a society such as Belgium, most Igbo migrants of the 1990s soon became immigrants without papers. It was only after regularization campaigns (as in January 2000 in Belgium) that a significant number of them could be regularized to stay. This means that most of them had a very diffcult time in the first years of their stay in Europe. This can best be described as a situation of anonymous liminality. That is the moment when Christianity and their cosmology enter their life in Europe. These help them in their self-rediscovery and reappraisal, as well as in their social reconnection. Liminality, traditional Igbo cosmology, an ethnicity profoundly mitigated by Christianity, and transnationalism are the four basic ideas for an understanding of the life practices of Igbo migrants in a Western society since the 1990s.
Achebe, C. (1958) Things Fall Apart. London: Heinemann Educational Books .
2.
Al-Issa, I. (1997) ‘‘Ethnicity, Immigration, and Psychopathology’’, in I. Al-Issa and M. Tousignant (eds) Ethnicity, Immigration, and Psychopathology, pp. 3–16. London: Plenum Press .
3.
Anosike, P. (2000) The Igbos Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow. Lagos: Teamwork Limited .
4.
Basch, L. , Glick Schiller, N. , Szanton Blanc, C. et al. (1994) Nations Unbound: Transnational Projects, Postcolonial Predicaments, and Deterritorialized Nation-States. Langhorne, PA: Gordon and Breach .
5.
Buttimer, A. and Seamon, D. (1980) The Human Experience of Space and Place. London: Croom Helm .
6.
Echeruo, M. (1979) A Matter of Identity. Owerri, Nigeria: Ministry of Information .
7.
Eze, A. (2001) ‘‘Healing Ministries: A Psychological Pastoral Reflection’’ , Bigard Theological Studies21(2): 59–132 .
Ikenga-Metuh, E. (1987) Comparative Studies of African Traditional Religion. Onitsha: Imico Publications .
10.
Ikenga-Metuh, E. (1988) ‘‘The Nature of Igbo Teism: Analysis of Two Nigerian Models’’ in Uzukwu, E. E. (ed.) Religion and African Culture, pp. 60–72. Enugu: Spiritan Publications .
11.
Ikenga-Metuh, E. (1991) African Religions in Western Conceptual Schemes. Jos: Imico Press .
12.
Kalu, O. U. (1996) The Embattled Gods: Christianisation of Igboland, 1841–1991. Lagos: Minaj Publishers .
13.
Keith, M. and Pile, S. (1993) Place and the Politics of Identity. London: Routledge .
14.
Köser-Akçapar, S. (2004) ‘‘Iranian Transit Migrants in Turkey’’ , KOLOR, Journal on Moving Communities4(1): 17–31 .
15.
Le Houérou, F. (2004) Migrants forcés éthiopiens et érythréens en Egypte et au Soudan. Paris: L’Harmattan .
16.
Le Houérou, F. (2005) ‘‘Diasporas in Cairo: Transit Territory and the Transient Condition’’ , KOLOR, Journal on Moving Communities5(2).
17.
Leman, J. (1979) ‘‘Jehovah’s Witnesses and Immigration in Continental Western Europe’’ , Social Compass26(1): 41–72 .
18.
Luzbetak, L. J. (1991) The Church and Cultures. New York: Orbis Books .
19.
Meek,C.K. (1937) Law and Authority in a Nigerian Tribe: A Study in Indirect Rule. London: Oxford University Press .
20.
Mmuo, A. P. (1998) Approach to the Inculturation of African Traditional Ritual Political Institutions in the Church. Enugu: Snaap Press Limited .
21.
Ndiokwere, N. I. (1981) Prophesy and Revolution. London: SPCK .
22.
Nigeria in Brief (2003) Abuja-Nigeria: Ministry of Information .
23.
Nwafor, J. quoted by Onah, R.C. (1996) Religion and Society. Nsukka: Fulladu Publishing Company .
24.
Nwankwo, A. (1993) ‘‘The Igbo and the Tradition of Politics’’, in U. D. Anyanwu (ed.) The Igbo and the Tradition of Politics, pp. 3–8. Enugu: Fourth Dimension Publishers .
25.
Nwolisa, E. O. (2003) Njepu Amaka: Migration is Rewarding: White Man’s Magic and Ethnicity among the Igbo of Eastern Nigeria. Bern: Peter Lang .
26.
Oguejiofor, J. O. (1996) The Influence of Igbo Traditional Religion on the Socio-Political Character of the Igbo. Nsukka: Fulladu Publishing Company .
27.
Ohadike, D. C. (1994) Anioma. Athens: Ohio University Press .
28.
Ohadike, D. C. (1996) ‘‘Igbo Culture and History’’, in C. Achebe, Things Fall Apart, pp. xviii–xlix. London: Heinemann Educational Publishers .
29.
Okuma, P. C. (2002) Towards an African Theology. Brussels: P.I.E.–Peter Lang .
30.
Okwo, J. S. (1997) The Priesthood from an Igbo Perspective. Nsukka: Fulladu Publishing Company .
31.
Onah, S. (2004) ‘‘Religion as Agency of Three-Level Identification for Igbo Migrants in Europe’’ , KOLOR, Journal on Moving Communities4(1): 49–63 .
32.
Ottenberg, P. (1965) ‘‘The Afikpo Igbo of Eastern Nigeria’’, in J. Gibbs (ed.) Peoples of Africa, pp. 3–39. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston Inc.
33.
Parrinder, E. G. (1974) African Traditional Religion. London: Sheldon Press .
34.
Philips Encyclopaedic World Atlas (2000). London: George Philip Limited .
35.
Portes, A. , ed. (1994) The Economic Sociology of Immigration. New York: Russell Sage .
36.
Relph, E. (1980) Place and Placelessness. London: Pion Limited .
37.
Smart, N. (1983) Worldviews: Crosscultural Explorations of Human Beliefs. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons .
38.
ter Haar, G. (2001) African Christians in Europe. Nairobi: Acton Publishers .
39.
Turner, V. (1974) Dramas, Fields, and Metaphors. London: Cornell University Press .
40.
Uchendu, V. (1965) The Igbo of Southeast Nigeria. London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich College Publishers .
41.
United Nations (1994) Human Development Report. Nigerian section, published for UNDP. New York: Oxford University Press .
42.
Van Gennep, A. (1960) The Rites of Passage. Chicago: University of Chicago Press .
43.
Woolcock, M. (2001) ‘‘The Place of Social Capital in Understanding Social and Economic Outcomes’’ , Isuma: Canadian Journal of Policy Research2(1): 1–17 .
