Migration by Boat: Discourses of Trauma, Exclusion and Survival / Edition 1

by Lynda Mannik

Overview

At a time when thousands of refugees risk their lives undertaking perilous journeys by boat across the Mediterranean, this multidisciplinary volume could not be more pertinent. It offers various contemporary case studies of boat migrations undertaken by asylum seekers and refugees around the globe and shows that boats not only move people and cultural capital between places, but also fuel cultural fantasies, dreams of adventure and hope, along with fears of invasion and terrorism. The ambiguous nature of memories, media representations and popular culture productions are highlighted throughout in order to address negative stereotypes and conversely, humanize the individuals involved.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785331015
Publisher:	Berghahn Books, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/01/2016
Series:	Forced Migration , #35
Pages:	290
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Lynda Mannik is a Lecturer in Cultural Anthropology at York University. She is the author of Photography, Memory and Refugee Identity: the voyage of the S.S. Walnut, 1948 (UBC Press 2012); Reclaiming Canadian Bodies: Representation and Visual Media (Wilfrid Laurier Press, 2015); and Canadian Indian Cowboys: Rodeo, Representation and the RCMP at the Royal Easter Show, 1939 (University of Calgary Press, 2006).

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vii

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction Lynda Mannik 1

Section I Embedded Memories for Public Consumption

1 Children's Literature and Memory Activism: British Child Labor Migrants' Passage to Canada Sharon R. Roseman 27

2 Representing Migration by Boat at the Australian National Maritime Museum Kim Tao 49

3 Nuóc/Water: Oceanic Spatiality and the Vietnamese Diaspora Vinh Nguyen 65

Section II The Artist and the Illegal Migrant

4 Imagining Europe's Borders: Commemorative Art on Migrant Tragedies Karina Horsti 83

5 "Washed Clean": The Forgotten Journeys of "Irregular Maritime Arrivals" in J. M. Coetzee's Estralia Jennifer Rutherford 101

Chapter 6 Unstable Vessels: Small Boats as Emblems of Deaths Foretold and as Harbingers of Better Futures in Figurations of Irregular Migration across the Strait of Gibraltar David Álvarez 116

Section III Media, Politics, and Representation

7 Memorializing Boat Tragedies in the Mediterranean: The Case of the Katër i Radës Daniele Salerno 135

8 "Where Are Our Sons?": Tunisian Families and the Repoliticization of Deadly Migration across the Mediterranean Sea Federico Oliveri 154

9 Mysterious Refugees: Social Drama Ensues Lynda Mannik 178

10 Islands and Images of Flight around Europe's Southern Rim: Trouble in Heterotopia Helen M. Hintjens 197

Section IV Stories of Smuggling, Trauma, and Rescue

11 "If We Die, We Die Together": Risking Death at Sea in Search of Safety Sue Hoffman 219

12 En Route to Hell: Dreams of Adventure and Traumatic Experiences among West African Boat People to Europe Papa Sow Elina Marmer Jürgen Scheffran 235

13 Re-living Janga: Survivor Narratives Linda Briskman Michelle Dimasi 253

Afterword Lynda Mannik 269

Editorial Reviews

“As a whole, this collection constitutes an insightful examination of the contradictions between representations and lived experiences of migration by boat. The volume will be of particular interest to scholars working on migration and borders, but, by providing ample case studies of historical and contemporary representations of migration by boat, it also will appeal to academics interested in media and communication studies.” • Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute (JRAI)

“This sensitive, yet critical, collection recounts the devastation experienced at land and sea by people travelling by boat. The variety of perspectives presented here confronts pejorative tone, and challenges dominant Western host nations’ laws and policies, while at the same time invoking an empathy that is raw, realistic, compassionate, and hopeful. The book will attract anyone who studies, teaches, researches, practices, or advocates in the area of migration studies, especially those travelling by boat.” • Journal of Internal Displacement

“…an exhaustive survey on maritime migration in an era of securitized borders. It is also an incredibly valuable compendium for students and scholars in migration studies, critical border and refugee studies, and for those who generally grapple with our contemporary moment.” • Anthropology News

“Migration by Boat offers its readers a diverse and rich collection of essays, centred on migration, borders, identities, and humanitarian ideals, pushing its readers to see transnational flows of people away from the clear-cut juxtapositions of citizen/stranger, land/water and victim/threat. This makes the book an important and interesting read for a broad audience.” • Border Criminologies

“This impressive collection of essays, centred on migration, borders, identities, and humanitarian ideals is both theoretically astute and ethnographically rich. Each contribution is solid and together they challenge readers to rethink the politics of migration.” • Refuge

“This book is highly original in its emphasis on representations of enforced sea journeys and their memorialisations. Many, including myself, would like it on their shelf for teaching and reference.” • Michael Pugh, University of Bradford

“Migration by Boat is an excellent example of engaged social science… With its inter-disciplinary perspective, geographical diversity and historical sensitivity, it succeeds in presenting in-depth insights into this highly sensitive phenomenon.” • Joris Schapendonk, Radboud University

From the Publisher