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Sofia Dolce

Kathie Friedman and Resat Kasaba

HON 384

July 31st, 2017

Defining Identity in Post-Colonial Europe: Migrants as Citizens, Asylum Seekers, and Refugees

Examining migrant routes along the Mediterranean and conversations with said migrants

in Italy, a person’s identity is not only shaped by their national history but also by the Eurocentric

ideals and narratives that encourage movement across borders. Migrants who face persecution

may choose to identify with certain aspects of their being more than others, especially if they

form part of an ethnic or religious minority. During my conversations with migrants in Italy,

these identities manifested in various forms, namely through the linguistic and cultural barriers

they faced. Assimilation stems from an imposition of power but it also provides a migrant with

ease in terms of resettlement. This ease may manifest itself through improved mental and

emotional health as well as economic opportunities, but the goal of European policy and

assimilation should not rely on xenophobic roots that erase a person’s identity and neglect the

trauma generated from loss of culture and/or family. The manner in which we examine

assimilation, identity, citizenship, and marginalized realities creates the narratives that have been

explored, exploited, and vastly shared throughout media over the duration of the refugee ‘crisis’

in Europe. These narratives, however, have been placed in a predominantly Eurocentric view and

lead to the erasure of more marginalized stories around the world, such as those who seek asylum

for persecution along racialized, gendered, and heteronormative lines. To avoid a problematic

capture of a migrant’s story, superiority complexes must be eliminated through firsthand

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narratives that relinquish all agency to the migrants themselves. With a direct perspective,

European institutions can more adequately asses the challenges facing migrants such as language

barriers, xenophobic policies, citizenship, and questions of identity.

While speaking to asylum seekers in Italy provides some information on asylum

regulations, their stories of exclusion indicate a wider pattern of centering the ‘crisis’ around the

perceived problems created for Europe itself. Most online media refers to the migrants as part of

“Europe’s migrant crisis”, as opposed to touching on the ongoing human rights violations

occurring in countries wrought by the legacy of colonialism and foreign involvement (Dosani 1).

These narratives follow a pattern of restructuring the root of the issue on how Europe is affected

as opposed to the migrants themselves, which not only erases imperialist history but also places

an already victimized individual in a more vulnerable situation. This ‘vulnerability’ stems from

violations of basic human rights ignored under Eurocentric narratives where the erasure of “the

causes that lead to migration […as well as the determination of] how one migrates (in an

irregular, precarious and risky matter) increases this vulnerability” (Cernadas 103). This erasure

serves to ignore the responsibility of policymakers in protecting human rights and instead shifts

the blame to those already marginalized. Eurocentrism focuses refugee problems worldwide on

how immigration affects rich countries, which ignores the realities of those fleeing violence and

persecution as long they remain far away from wealthy nations. These institutions must

acknowledge their responsibility to global human rights and shift the narrative from a

Eurocentric view to one that focuses on the plights of migrants.

One migrant I spoke to, Jaime, hailed from Colombia and immigrated to Italy to flee

decades of horrendous violence at the hands of Marxist guerrillas. While the drug and natural

resource trade in this area makes international headlines, the individuals exploited at the expense
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of these trades frequently continue as invisible to the rest of the world since most refugees from

Colombia currently reside in neighboring Latin American countries such as Ecuador and

Venezuela (“Colombia Situation Update, February 2017” 1). As of 2015, Colombia just about

matched Syria in terms of the number of internally displaced peoples (IDPs) with 7.3 million

registered IDPs (as well as 400,000 Colombian refugees living abroad) but the narrative for the

last five years has centered around the movement of Syrians within and outside of the country

because of the proximity to Europe (“Colombia Situation Update, February 2017” 3). This

comparable situation thousands of miles away affects few rich countries and thus remains

concealed at the expense of vulnerable populations. With kidnappings, land mines, and murders

Jaime’s Colombia experiences war crimes that the UNHCR deems as worthy of seeking refuge,

but these racialized narratives are erased due to the predominantly indigenous and Afro-

Colombian people that inhabit resource-rich areas exploited by illegal mining operations

(Moloney 2). To more adequately address the needs of global refugees, wealthier countries must

commit to introspective examinations of how their policies of aiding some marginalized people

but not others stem from carefully crafted white-Eurocentric narratives. Discussing with Jaime

not only provided a detailed account of nuanced migration – his Italian mother helped him find

lodging and work – but also led to the interesting discovery that he held the same prejudices

against Roma as Europeans. He described them as ‘thieves and beggars’ despite his brief time in

Italy, and continued the historical “high level of discrimination and racism […] often forgotten

both in migration debates and national minorities’ debates” (Martiniello 1). These long-held

beliefs stem from European nationalist ideals and yet a Columbian man quickly embraced the

racist thoughts. The perpetuation of racialized narratives permeates society all the way to post-

colonial Latin America and ultimately pits migrants against one another. Instead of forming
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common identities surrounding escape from oppressive regimes, clinging to one’s ethnic or

national identity under European expectations serves to prevent assimilation of certain people.

Once a migrant has landed on European soil, regulation from the EU (and Italy) dictate

that those seeking asylum must apply and interview to determine the legitimacy of an applicant’s

request. These interviews, according to The Dublin Regulation, force a migrant to self-identify

under terms chosen by legislators to determine grounds for refuge (“Country responsible for

asylum application (Dublin)” 1). These terms, ranging from ‘economic migrant’ to ‘forced

migrant’ to ‘refugee’ carry the weight of preconceived notions and impose an identity on a

migrant in a “situation where the rights of migrants are increasingly being left unprotected”

(Cernadas 99). Conversations surrounding identity hold a long history in a politicized world

covered in arbitrary and oppressive borders, and erroneous terms such as ‘economic migrant’

misrepresent the human rights violations one faces while migrating. Asylum seekers from

Senegal regularly face exorbitant racism and flat out rejections on their asylum requests when

reaching Italy due to immediate categorization as an economic migrant. In Trastevere, a

Senegalese man, Ousmane, spoke of the rapid rejection he experienced upon seeking asylum

which forced him into the exploited agricultural black-market. Not only does the EU profit from

these asylum rejections-turned-expendable-labor, but in Italy nearly 75% of all Senegalese

applicants experienced rejection in 2016 as opposed to Syria’s 1.3% (ASGI 1). While the state of

war-torn Syria may not be analogous to Senegal, under UNHCR regulation all asylum seekers

have a right to an application process, which in Italy too often turns into rejection and a false

promise of deportation for asylum seekers from countries such as Senegal, Nigeria, The Gambia,

etc. (Surana 2). Recent ties to colonial regimes in these countries leave behind oppressive

institutions of power that last for decades after independence. The ideals of Western Europe and
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the practice of extracting natural resources at the expense of marginalized people generates

narratives of a better life up north, and thus migrants risk everything to escape violence and

achieve safety promised to those with whiter and more European identities.

The assimilation of language, while an aspect of ongoing globalization, continues the

practice of imperialism as it complicates the process of resettlement and perpetuates the

homogenization of certain languages (French, Spanish, English) over others. During the

resettlement process, the way in which refugees learn languages harms a diverse group of people

ranging from those with university degrees and a grasp of language to those who may have never

learned to read or write. When considering the faults of humanitarian aid provided to vulnerable

migrants, a more nuanced approach addresses inequity and provides invaluable language skills.

In the UK, research conducted on Syrians brought into the country under the Gateway refugee

resettlement program over three years asserted that “language was both the key and the barrier to

indicators of wellbeing and success” (Summers 2). Despite the notion that the European Union

embraces linguistic diversity, migrants themselves note that xenophobia and inadequate language

tuition prevents meaningful contact needed for assimilation. The assumption is that in the UK a

migrant will meet “British people and over time learn the language, [but] it actually happens the

other way around” (Summers 2-3). For those whose education faced interruption due to

migration, seeking cultural integration proves harder than expected. The media, legislators, and

common opinion sometimes describe migrants as ‘lazy’ or simply seeking the benefits of

European society when in fact younger migrants themselves desire to study vocations, go to

university, or give back right away to their resettlement country’s economy (Summers 4). By

listening to the aspirations and desires of migrants, the perception sculpted by personal narratives

shifts the importance to the people themselves as opposed to border security. These narratives
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heavily shape public opinions, and through individual accounts nuanced policy begins to address

the needs of the most vulnerable populace.

When the image of a deceased Syrian toddler washed up on a Turkish beach surfaced on

the web, public outcry motivated many governments to promise immediate action for the Syrian

refugee crisis. Since then, lack of media attention and ineffective legislation generated a variety

of outcomes all over the world. Through a project such as “Humans of Italy”, the narratives of

migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees may captivate a reality not otherwise told. Conversations

with those who have experienced the effects of war, poverty, and even colonialism provide a

Eurocentric west with a more multi-layered narrative. While considering the individuals from the

project, one must consider the way in which language and cultural barriers affected their story.

Common colonial histories lead to my understanding of what a Colombian migrant, Jaime,

recounted but the interpretation then translated from Spanish to English and posted to the internet

may not adequately demonstrate his experience. The narrational lens for these migrants often

stems from those with more power. My class and white-passing privilege created a Eurocentric

perspective of the decades-long violence in Colombia while Jaime experienced and narrated this

directly. Even through interviews, a migrant’s narrative is ultimately shaped by the outsider’s

perceptions of their reality. What I chose to highlight in their story may not accurately represent

their experience, but rather what they or I chose to make the narrative more palatable to

Eurocentric eyes and ears. As media and public opinion affect policy, holding these ideas in mind

prevents the erasure of complex narratives. Whether on the Mediterranean or abroad, considering

a human as more than just potential for economic gain permits for the sharing of stories, an

empathetic public, and legislation that respects the human rights and multifaceted identities of

migrants.
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Bibliography

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Information Centre for Western Europe. United Nations, 2017. Web. 03 Aug. 2017.

ASGI. "Statistics - Italy." Asylum Information Database. European Council on Refugees and

Exiles, 2016. Web. 03 Aug. 2017.

Cernadas, Pablo Ceriani. "Language as a Migration Policy Tool." SSRN Electronic Journal 13.23

(July 7th, 2016): 97-111. Web. 03 Aug. 2017.

"Country responsible for asylum application (Dublin)." Migration and Home Affairs. European

Commission, 06 Dec. 2016. Web. 03 Aug. 2017.

Dosani, Sanya. "Five charts that help explain Europe’s migrant crisis." Al Jazeera America. 07

May 2015. Web. 03 Aug. 2017.

Moloney, Anastasia. "Illegal mining, drug violence fuel Colombia displacement: U.N." Reuters.

06 Mar. 2015. Web. 03 Aug. 2017.

Summers, Hannah. "Language barrier leaves refugees facing struggle to rebuild their lives." The

Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 16 Nov. 2016. Web. 03 Aug. 2017.

Surana, Kavitha. "Italy quietly rejects asylum seekers by nationality, advocates say." Al Jazeera

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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. "Colombia Situation update, February

2017." Refworld. Feb. 2017. Web. 03 Aug. 2017.