The suppression of welcome

Authors

  • Nick Gill University of Exeter

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.11143/fennia.70040

Abstract

One way to interpret the organisation of refugee welcome in Europe is by thinking about the tension between the official response and the grassroots response to the events. This tension has evolved in different ways in different countries, but in general it is possible to distinguish between a bureaucratic tendency to abstract welcome into a specific problem or policy domain, and a different, often opposite, tendency to welcome in spontaneous, solidaristic and autonomous ways. Starting from the premise that welcome necessarily entails more than simply permitting entry and is inherently emotional and relational, this lecture explores a series of questions. How can genuine, spontaneous welcome be preserved under the pressure of statist and nationalistic logics and demands? How can we hold onto welcome as something meaningful when it seems to be under attack from not only right-wing nationalists and factions that draw spurious connections between refugees and security threats, but also the very architecture of bureaucracy? What relationship does welcome share with legalistic logics and practices? To what extent can welcomers and welcoming initiatives be supported by international cooperation, global organisational and communication systems, and resource-gathering mechanisms? And what role can research play in improving our understanding of welcome? By raising these questions the lecture aims to initiate a discussion about the nature, practicalities and possible futures of welcome in geography and the social sciences more broadly.

References

Aisch, G., Pearce, A. & Rousseau, B. (2017) How far is Europe swinging to the right? The New York Times 23.10.2017 <https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/05/22/world/europe/europe-right-wing-austria-hungary.html>. 18.05.2018

Akkerman, T., de Lange, S. L. & Rooduijn, M. (2016) Inclusion and mainstreaming? Radical right-wing populist parties in the new millennium. In Akkerman, T., de Lange, S. L. & Rooduijn, M. (eds.) Radical Right-wing Populist Parties in Western Europe: Into the Mainstream?, 1–28. Routledge, London.

Alhayek, K. (2014) Double marginalization: the invisibility of Syrian refugee women's perspectives in mainstream online activism and global media. Feminist Media Studies 14(4) 696–700. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2014.935205

Amnesty International (2016) Refugees welcome survey 2016 - The results. <https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2016/05/refugees-welcome-survey-results-2016/>. 31.01.2018.

Amnesty International (2017) A Blueprint for Despair: Human Rights Impact of the EU-Turkey Deal. Amnesty International, London.

Article 26 (2018) Student Bursaries. <http://article26.hkf.org.uk/student-bursaries>. 31.01.2018.

Barisione, M., Michailidou, A. & Airoldi, M. (2017) Understanding a digital movement of opinion: the case of #RefugeesWelcome. Information, Communication & Society [online Dec 08 2017] https://doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1410204

Barnett, C. (2017) The Priority of Injustice: Locating Democracy in Critical Theory. University of Georgia Press, Athens. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt1pwt43v

Brekke, J.-P. & Brochmann, G. (2015) Stuck in transit: secondary migration of asylum seekers in Europe, national differences, and the Dublin regulation. Journal of Refugee Studies 28(2) 145–162. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/feu028

Butler, J. (2015) Notes Toward a Performative Theory of Assembly. Harvard University Press, Cambridge. https://doi.org/10.4159/9780674495548

Canas, T. (2015) 10 things you need to consider if you are an artist not of the refugee and asylum seeker community looking to work with our community. RISE: Refugees, Survivors and Ex-detainees. <http://riserefugee.org/10-things-you-need-to-consider-if-you-are-an-artist-not-of-the-refugee-and-asylum-seeker-community-looking-to-work-with-our-community/>. 28.03.2018.

Chauchard, P. (1971) L'accueil. Editions Universitaires, Paris.

City of Sanctuary (2017) City of Sanctuary Charter 2017. City of Sanctuary, Sheffield. <https://cityofsanctuary.org/2017/05/16/city-of-sanctuary-conference-and-agm-2017/>. 28.03.2018.

Conlon, D. (2011) Waiting: feminist perspectives on the spacings/timings of migrant (im)mobility. Gender, Place & Culture 18(3) 353–360. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966369X.2011.566320

Cooper, D. (2017) Prefiguring the state. Antipode 49(2) 335–356. https://doi.org/10.1111/anti.12277

Cooper, D., Dhawan, N. & Newman, J. (eds.) (forthcoming) Reimaging the State: The Challenge for Progressive Transformative Politics. Routledge, London.

Derrida, J. (2000) Of Hospitality: Anne Dufourmantelle Invites Jacques Derrida to Respond. Stanford University Press, Stanford.

Derrida, J. (2001) On cosmopolitanism. In Derrida, J. (ed.) On Cosmopolitanism and Forgiveness, 3–24 Routledge, New York.

Ehrkamp, P. & Nagel, C. (2017) Policing the borders of church and societal membership: immigration and faith-based communities in the US South. Territory, Politics, Governance 5(3) 318–331. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2017.1290545

Fiddian-Qasmiyeh, E. (2015) Refugees helping refugees: how a Palestinian camp in Lebanon is welcoming Syrians. <https://theconversation.com/profiles/elena-fiddian-qasmiyeh-192354>. 31.01.2018.

Finlinson, E., Grace, A. & Gill, N. (2016) Universities of Sanctuary Resource Pack. City of Sanctuary, Sheffield.<https://universities.cityofsanctuary.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/68/2016/03/Universities-Pack.pdf>. 19.05.2018.

Ford, R. & Goodwin, M. J. (2014) Revolt on the Right: Explaining Support for the Radical Right in Britain. Routledge, London.

Gill, N. (2016) Nothing Personal? Geographies of Governing and Activism in the British Asylum System. John Wiley & Sons, Oxford. https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118315996

Gill, N., Conlon, D., Oeppen, C. & Tyler, I. (2012) Networks of Asylum Support in the UK and USA: a Handbook of Ideas, Strategies and Best Practice for Asylum Support Groups in a Challenging Social and Economic Climate. University of Exeter, Exeter.

Gill, N. & Good, A. (eds.) (forthcoming) Asylum Determination in Europe: Ethnographic Perspectives. Palgrave, London.

Gouirand, P. (1991) Origines et perspectives historiques de l'accueil. Téoros 10 3–9.

Greven, T. (2016) The rise of right-wing populism in Europe and the United States. Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Berlin. <http://www.fesdc.org/fileadmin/user_upload/publications/RightwingPopulism.pdf>. 28.03.2018.

Howden, D. & Fotiadis, A. (2017) Where did the money go? How Greece fumbled the refugee crisis. The Guardian 09.03.2017 <https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/09/how-greece-fumbled-refugee-crisis>. 31.01.2018.

Hynes, P. (2009) Contemporary compulsory dispersal and the absence of space for the restoration of trust. Journal of Refugee Studies 22(1) 97–121. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fen049

Jamous, H. (2016) Safe in Germany, a Syrian Refugee Learns to Smile Again. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. <http://www.syriahr.com/en/?p=47466>. 18.05.2018.

Jupp, E., Pykett, J., & Smith, F. M. (ed.) (2016) Emotional States: Sites and Spaces of Affective Governance. Taylor & Francis, Oxford.

LeBlanc, M. (2000) Une étude exploratoire : vers une échelle de mesure de l’accueil touristique. Loisir & Société 23(1) 197–215. https://doi.org/10.1080/07053436.2000.10715609

Lefebvre, H. (1991) The Production of Space. Blackwell, Oxford.

Lefebvre, H. (2009) Space and the State. In Brenner, N. & Elden, S. (eds.) State, Space, World: Selected Essays, 223–253. University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis and London.

Levinas, E. (1979) Totality and the Infinite: An Essay on Exteriority. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-9342-6

Levinas, E. (1981) Otherwise Than Being or Beyond Essence. Springer, New York.

Lindley, A. (ed.) (2014) Crisis and Migration: Critical Perspectives. Routledge, Abingdon.

Lynch, P. (2017) Mundane welcome: hospitality as life politics. Annals of Tourism Research 64 174–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2017.04.001

Lynch, P., Molz, J. G., Mcintosh, A., Lugosi, P. & Lashley, C. (2011) Theorizing hospitality. Hospitality & Society 1(1) 3–24. https://doi.org/10.1386/hosp.1.1.3_2

Lyytinen, E. (2017) Refugees’ ‘journeys of trust’: creating an analytical framework to examine refugees’ exilic journeys with a focus on trust. Journal of Refugee Studies 30(4) 489–510. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/few035

Magnusson, W. (2013) Politics of Urbanism: Seeing like a City. Routledge, Abingdon.

Mangan, D. & Winter, L. A. (2017) (In) validation and (mis) recognition in higher education: the experiences of students from refugee backgrounds. International Journal of Lifelong Education 36(4) 486–502. https://doi.org/10.1080/02601370.2017.1287131

Martin, D. & Pierce, J. (2013) Reconceptualizing resistance: residuals of the state and democratic radical pluralism. Antipode 45(1) 61–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8330.2012.00980.x

Missbach, A. (2015) The Rohingya in Aceh: solidarity and indifference. University of Melbourne, Melbourne. <http://indonesiaatmelbourne.unimelb.edu.au/the-rohingya-in-aceh-solidarity-and-indifference/>. 18.05.2018.

Mitchell, K. (2017) Freedom, faith, and humanitarian governance: the spatial politics of church asylum in Europe. Space and Polity 21(3) 269–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562576.2017.1380883

Mitchell, K. & Kallio, K. P. (2017) Spaces of the geosocial: exploring transnational topologies. Geopolitics 22(1) 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1080/14650045.2016.1226809

Mountz, A. & Heimstra, N. (2014) Chaos and crisis: dissecting the spatiotemporal logics of contemporary migrations and state practices. Annals of the Association of American Geographers 104(2) 282–390. https://doi.org/10.1080/00045608.2013.857547

Mouradian, C. (2015) The Art of Welcome: What are the Innovative Practices that Would Enhance the Guests’ Experience in Luxury Hotels? The vision for the Front-Office. Skema Business School, University of Nice, Nice.

Pain, R. & Smith, S. J. (2016) Fear: critical geopolitics and everyday life. In Pain, R. & Smith, S. J. (eds.) Fear: Critical Geopolitics and Everyday Life, 19–40. Routledge, Abingdon.

Painter, J., Papada, E., Papoutsi, A. & Vradis, A. (2017) Hotspot politics―or, when the EU state gets real. Political Geography 60 259–260. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2017.02.012

Pallister-Wilkins, P. (2016) Humanitarian borderwork. In Günay, C. & Witjes, N. (eds.) Border Politics: Defining Spaces of Governance and Forms of Transgressions, 85–106. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-46855-6_6

Pascucci, E. (2017) Community infrastructures: shelter, self-reliance and polymorphic borders in urban refugee governance. Territory, Politics, Governance 5(3) 332–345. https://doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2017.1297252

Pratt, G. & Rosner, V. (2012) The Global and the Intimate: Feminism in Our Time. Columbia University Press, New York. https://doi.org/10.7312/prat15448

Rotter, R. (2016) Waiting in the asylum determination process: just an empty interlude? Time & Society 25(1) 80–101. https://doi.org/10.1177/0961463X15613654

Rozakou, K. (2016) Socialities of solidarity: revisiting the gift taboo in times of crises. Social Anthropology 24(2) 185–199. https://doi.org/10.1111/1469-8676.12305

Selwyn, T. (2000) An anthropology of hospitality. In Lashley, C. & Morrison, A. (eds.) In Search of Hospitality: Theoretical Perspectives and Debates, 18–37. Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford.

Shklar, J. (1990) The Faces of Injustice. Harvard University Press, Cambridge.

Smith, K. (2015) Stories told by, for, and about women refugees: engendering resistance. ACME: An International E-Journal for Critical Geographies 14(2) 461–469. <https://www.acme-journal.org/index.php/acme/article/view/1174>.

Su, A. (2017) As German police attempt to deport refugees, hundreds of churches are trying to shelter them. <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/in-germany-churches-offer-unofficial-asylum-for-muslim-refugees/2017/09/05/1c068b68-88e6-11e7-96a7-d178cf3524eb_story.html?utm_term=.4ce4150e2a3a>. 31.01.2018.

Sukarieh, M. & Tannock, S. (2013) On the problem of over-researched communities: the case of the Shatila Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon. Sociology 47(3) 494–508. https://doi.org/10.1177/0038038512448567

Tazzioli, M., De Genova, N., Mezzadra, S. & Garelli, G. (2014) Migrant struggles. New keywords: migration and borders. Cultural Studies 29 80–83.

Tazzioli, M. & Garelli, G. (2018) Containment beyond detention: the hotspot system and disrupted migration movements across Europe. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space [online Feb 19 2018] https://doi.org/10.1177/0263775818759335

Weber, M. (1948) Politics as vocation. In Weber, M., Gerth, H. & Mills, C. W. (eds.) From Max Weber: Essays in Sociology, 77–128. Routledge, London.

Weber, M., Parsons, T. & Tawney, R. (1930) The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. G. Allen & Unwin, London.

Wolfe, L. (2015) The missing women of the Mediterranean refugee crisis. <http://www.womensmediacenter.com/women-under-siege/missing-women-of-the-mediterranean-refugee-crisis>. 28.03.2018.

Wright, T. (2002) Moving images: the media representation of refugees. Visual Studies 17(1) 53–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/1472586022000005053

Downloads

Published

2018-05-29

Issue

Section

Reviews and Essays

How to Cite

The suppression of welcome. (2018). Fennia - International Journal of Geography, 196(1), 88-98. https://doi.org/10.11143/fennia.70040