Zeigam Azizov

Abstract

The Scope of Global Discourse. When I lived in the former Soviet Union all the world seemed to me as far as I could travel. Any travelling was limited within the limits of the Soviet borders. The Soviet person travelled by metaphorical means, as far as the imagination goes. After perestroika the borders were opened and travelling developed from metaphor to symbol: the visa. In 1991, I went to Berlin. It was my first trip beyond the Soviet borders. At Schönefeld airport the immigration office sent me back from the border. I did not even have enough time to go into Berlin. Later I emigrated to Great Britain where I live currently and continued to travel with my old Soviet passport. Since I have received a British citizens passport I travel more easily but the immigration office still often stops me to check if I am a “correct” person. Lately each time I cross the border. Although I can travel more easily, it doesn’t prevent the routine established by the immigration policy which keeps asylum seekers and refugees at bay and continues to strengthen the control of immigration. The emergence of the anti-immigration party in Austrian government, the problematic immigration policy in other parts of Europe and the recent Kosovo crisis, the war in Chechnya, among others, have very clearly posed some urgent questions.