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Constraints and Transgressions in Journeys of Displacement

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The Handbook of Displacement

Abstract

Schapendonk and Belloni dive into the ways journeys of displacement involve processes of both constraints and agency. In so doing, they review the growing body of literature on ‘migration journeys’ and ‘trajectories’—with a particular focus on African fragmented migration across international borders. A focus on trajectories, the authors argue, has the potential to blur conventional distinctions between forced and voluntary migration. While accounting for the risks, violence, and experience of exclusion, this focus allows them to include elements that are often associated with ‘voluntary’ processes of migration, such as choice, personal desires, and social networks. These insights prevent the chapter from falling into over-victimised and essentialist views on displacement. However, as Schapendonk and Belloni argue, this is different from saying that migrants do not deserve institutional protection.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    It is important to note that some scholars are engaged in discussions on the dividing line between forced migration studies and refugee studies. Forced migration is then seen as a broader field that actually brings in different forms of migration and different motivations to understand refugee-like situations. Some see this broader field of forced migration studies as a potential risk regarding the protection of refugees (e.g. Hathaway 2007); others portray it as a productive ground to debate different connections between different forms of migration (Van Hear 2011). They plead for a decoupling of academic discussions from the legal definitions and policy categories (DeWind 2007).

  2. 2.

    For instance, by reading diaries and chronicles of Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees in the 1960s and 1970s (Getahun 2007), one is able to find many similarities with contemporary journeys: the negotiation with smugglers, the avoidance of authorities, the fear of spies, the hiding in order to cross borders, the obstacles to dealing with bureaucratic diplomatic services without having a passport.

  3. 3.

    The recent Syrian conflict, and the subsequent crisis of reception of refugees in Europe, has clearly boosted the interest in refugee journeys toward and within the EU.

  4. 4.

    Interestingly, later in their article the same authors question the clear beginning and end points of journeys of displacement (BenEzer and Zetter 2015).

  5. 5.

    Cachuco is a violent term that translates to ‘dirty pig.’

  6. 6.

    The detailed reconstruction follows the series of non-responses regarding a boat in distress carrying 72 sub-Saharan migrants in 2011. It reveals a series of interactions between the passengers of the boat and authorities, including the military, NATO, and the Italian and Maltese maritime rescue centres. Despite existing legal obligations and despite the fact that the exact location was known by the authorities, none of the actors involved intervened and this resulted in the death of 63 of the 72 passengers.

  7. 7.

    Social navigation is introduced by the anthropologist Vigh (2006) in a West African context of social becoming, conflict, and uncertainty and has later been applied to the context of migration (Vigh 2009).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Human Geography, Nijmegen Centre for Border Research (NCBR), Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands

    Joris Schapendonk

  2. University of Antwerp / Flemish Research Foundation, Antwerp / Brussels, Belgium

    Milena Belloni

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  1. Joris Schapendonk
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Correspondence to Joris Schapendonk .

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  1. Department of Geography, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK

    Peter Adey , Janet C. Bowstead , Katherine Brickell , Vandana Desai , Mike Dolton  & Alasdair Pinkerton , , , ,  & 

  2. Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

    Ayesha Siddiqi

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Schapendonk, J., Belloni, M. (2020). Constraints and Transgressions in Journeys of Displacement. In: Adey, P., et al. The Handbook of Displacement. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-47178-1_21

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