This article delves into the criminalisation of border-crossing facilitation, driven by the increasing securitisation of European borders, by telling a small story that raises huge issues. This story is about two smugglers, former guests of the Italian reception system for asylum seekers, and a social worker: me. It is about how, after learning the news, I initially felt outraged and fooled, but then slowly started wondering whether human smuggling should not be seen from a different perspective - one that views ‘borders from below’ (Keshavarz and Khosravi 2021). This shift allows for a radically different reading of the entire business as a giant mockery of the EU border regime. My attempt is to contribute to the deconstruction of the dominant narrative surrounding the figure of the smuggler, while also acknowledging that this same narrative had colonised my own thinking, leading to the loss of my naivety after “meeting the smugglers”.
Meet the smugglers. Decolonising the mind, questioning the border
Caterina Borelli
2024-01-01
Abstract
This article delves into the criminalisation of border-crossing facilitation, driven by the increasing securitisation of European borders, by telling a small story that raises huge issues. This story is about two smugglers, former guests of the Italian reception system for asylum seekers, and a social worker: me. It is about how, after learning the news, I initially felt outraged and fooled, but then slowly started wondering whether human smuggling should not be seen from a different perspective - one that views ‘borders from below’ (Keshavarz and Khosravi 2021). This shift allows for a radically different reading of the entire business as a giant mockery of the EU border regime. My attempt is to contribute to the deconstruction of the dominant narrative surrounding the figure of the smuggler, while also acknowledging that this same narrative had colonised my own thinking, leading to the loss of my naivety after “meeting the smugglers”.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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