Abstract
By privileging, from an ethnographic perspective, the points of view of people on the move, this article sets out to explore the various wout (routes/roads, in Haitian Creole) undertaken by Haitians, specifically from Brazil. I propose an analysis of the configurations and dynamics of mobility involved in chache lavi (pursuing life). What are the meanings and practical uses of the category wout? How is the movement of individuals and families articulated in response to the controls imposed by governments and immigration agencies? What strategies are deployed to ensure that the wout of individuals can take place despite the many physical and symbolic impasses? Chache lavi not only creates, constructs and deconstructs relations between people; it also implies subjective tensions and dimensions, as well as a constant interplay between legal and illegal.
Keywords:
chache lavi; mobility; diaspora