Choosing to Stay: A New Perspective on Immobility Amidst Adversity

Current migration studies inadequately explore the staying behaviour and experiences of those in conflict or disaster-stricken regions, especially those who choose voluntary immobility. This paper introduces the ‘Resilience-Accessibility Framework’, a novel framework developed by integrating existing frameworks with insights from a qualitative study in a conflict-affected region. The study involved focus group discussions with 54 participants living in communities exposed to violent conflicts in the Middle Belt of Nigeria. The framework serves as an analytical tool for exploring the staying behaviour of individuals or community members who stay put amidst adversities. Additionally, it broadens the scope of (im)mobility categories to include a broader range of migratory experiences. By introducing this framework for studying immobility, this paper enriches academic discourse by offering analytical tools for exploring immobility in adversity. Comprehending people’s (im)mobility amidst adversity requires assessing their agency and (in)actions, resilience, accessibility to resources, and the structural conditions prevailing in their environment.