Samenvatting

In Senegal, migration can be both a stigma and a privilege; it can increase social standing, but also lead to stigmatization and suffering as a consequence of aborted migration trajectory. This article shows how Senegalese male migrants narrate and position themselves after they return to Senegal in reaction to diverse social expectations. The focus is on men who were deported from Europe or who lived there under threat of deportation before returning to Senegal voluntarily. Based on ethnographic research in Senegal, the article shows how these returnees, despite numerous difficulties, narrate success post-return by engaging with masculine discourses of being a provider, protector and devout Muslim. Seeing return as temporary, silencing and relating themselves to dominant Senegalese masculine norms and successful migrants, regardless of the duration of return or whether it was voluntary, can enable returnees to conceive belonging to Senegalese society.