Burkina Faso, if the person’s parents’ names are deemed to be “Burkinabè.” Others might accept a previously-obtained consular card, whereas others might reject that and request to see other forms of proof of nationality, such as a biometric Burkinabè ID card or passport. Some Burkinabè born in Côte d’Ivoire who returned to Burkina Faso have faced difficulties confirming their Burkinabè nationality.156 Take for example, the case of Dabiré, born in Abidjan in 1978 to a Burkinabè father himself born in Burkina Faso and a Burkinabè mother born in Côte d’Ivoire. Upon his arrival in Burkina Faso in 1992 he could not prove his Burkinabè nationality: “When I wanted to obtain a certificate of nationality, I was offended. They refused me, they said nothing proves that I am a Burkinabè national.” These practices raise compelling questions on nationality and citizenship for historical Burkinabè migrants and their descendants in Côte d’Ivoire. Although Burkinabè in Côte d’Ivoire might have retained cultural, linguistic, or familial ties to their country of origin, many came to consider themselves as Ivorians under Houphouët-Boigny because they were treated as such and some even obtained Ivorian documentation. Only after the legal regime on identification changed and Ivoirité reinforced public perceptions that those of Burkinabè origin are foreigners, did many Burkinabè migrants obtain cartes de séjour or consular cards. In other words, the hostile climate towards foreigners that grew from the 1990s through the 2000s forced people to embrace their foreignness, with some obtaining proof, such as through consular cards, of their Burkinabè nationality based on their Burkinabè descent, and others remaining without personal identification documents. If someone possesses a Burkinabè consular card issued in Côte d’Ivoire, but cannot obtain a nationality certificate in Burkina Faso, would it mean that this person is stateless? This highlights that further reflections are necessary in “home countries” like Burkina Faso to ease documentary requirements to ensure that all those who automatically acquire nationality through jus sanguinis at birth, even if born abroad, can obtain appropriate nationality documentation to prove that fact. Malians constitute the second largest migrant community in Côte d’Ivoire, with 792,258 counted in Côte d’Ivoire’s 1998 census, of which 405,675 (or 51.2%) were born in the country.157 The Malian population is divided between seasonal migrants who often returned to Mali to work in their family fields, and more settled migrants. At the height of anti-foreign tensions in 2002, the Malian government assisted in the evacuation of around 300,000 persons out of Côte d’Ivoire to Mali.158 By 2003, some of them began to return to Côte d’Ivoire.159 Several analysts have observed that migrants of Malian origin maintain ties with their country of origin, which has facilitated the acquisition of Malian identification documentation. For example, the Malian government exempts Malians abroad from taxation, which has encouraged significant financial transfers from Malian migrants abroad. Furthermore, Malians residing abroad in Côte d’Ivoire have been able to vote and participate in national elections in Mali since 1998. This has helped foster national political conscience among Malian migrants tying them to their country of origin.160 Nevertheless, “many [migrants] established themselves in their host country [Côte d’Ivoire], formed families, and never dreamed of returning to Mali. These people, for the most part, 156 Florence Boyer and Eric Lanoue, De retour de Côte d’Ivoire: Migrants Burkinabè à Ouagadougou, in Peuplement de Ouagadougou et Développement Urbain : Rapport Provisoire, Florence Boyer and Daniel Delaunay (Eds.), Paris: IRD, 2009, pp.75-101. 157 Badou Essoh, Recensement Général de la Population et de l’Habitation de 1998, Volume IV : Analyses des Résultats : Tome 1 : Etat et Structure de la Population, Institut National de la Statistique, June 2001. 158 Bakary Camara, Les Conséquences de la Crise Ivoirienne sur Deux Circonscriptions Administratives de Mali Sud entre 2002 et 2006, 2008, p. 332. 159 Merabet, supra note 19, p. 20. 160 Bredeloup, supra note 155, pp. 136-137. 43