Loops of Violence(s) Within Europe’s Governance of Migration in Libya, Italy, Greece, and Belgium

Abstract

Studies have reported alarmingly high rates of traumatic experiences for refugee populations. While nearly all refugees experienced trauma in their country of origin, a vast majority of those seeking protection abroad also face (extreme) violence during their journeys and once in the country of destination. By concentrating on the migratory experiences of about 300 unaccompanied minors that we approached in Libya, Italy, Greece, and Belgium, this article analyses how different forms of violence are inflicted on these young migrants while moving to Europe. By concentrating on personal accounts of (recurrent) interactions with the EU migration and border management tools, we reveal the structural violence within the day-to-day governance of migration. Often framed as unintended or accidental, the article discusses how violence is instead ubiquitous, as it is systematically inflicted on migrants—including unaccompanied minors—in the form of repeated series of violent events or “loops of violence.” Importantly, such manifestations of violence are perpetrated by key institutional and non-institutional actors in the “migration industry” who are (in)directly involved in managing migration both inside and outside of the EU. Conceptually, we rely on K. E. Dempsey’s political geography of the different typologies of violence within Europe’s governance of migration and asylum and use it to concentrate on key transitional phases/fractures in migratory trajectories—i.e., as unaccompanied young migrants (try to) cross international borders and legal boundaries.

The impact of trauma and daily hardships on the mental health of unaccompanied refugee minors detained in Libya

“…[ … ] They took us back to the same room and started beating us’. 19 Violence continues when URMs fall under the control of Libyan authorities; national law enforcement agencies often work in coordination with smuggling networks, as confirmed in the testimony of this 16-year-old URM: ‘When we were in prison a policeman came with smugglers: we were five, three of us were women and two of them were pregnant. They beat and raped them, all of them died and only me with another man [survived so] they asked us to pay 2000 dollars [ … ] When we [told them] that we [did not] have any money they started beating us’.…”

“…They did not believe me … so [that] they have to kick me a lot … and [there was no] food … But it is normal … it is normal life in Libya'. 11 Regarding daily hardships, only social needs were associated with increased anxiety. Daily worries about family and friends and other social hardships, such as lack of friends or being confronted with prejudice and discrimination, may feed directly into a constant level of stress (physiological anxiety) and dysfunctional anxietyrelated cognition, such as 'the world is a dangerous place' or 'everyone could hurt me', both of which are known to maintain symptoms.…”

“…We included selected quotes from these qualitative data to enrich the quantitative findings and to give voice to URMs expressing their more personal and subjective feelings in their own words. For more detailed information on the qualitative methods, see Orsini et al (2022). 11…”

Unaccompanied Adolescent Minors’ Experiences of Exception and Abandonment in the Ventimiglia Border Space

“…The re-nationalisation of border control measures and generalised suspicion over certain mobilities to and within the EU may entail risks such that existing protection gaps for migrant children at the EU borders remain unanswered (Campesi, 2021;PICUM, 2021). Consequently, ensuring the prevalence of children's rights frameworks in times of tightened mobility and border policies implicates further analysis of the mechanisms and practices implemented in zones of extraterritorial or liminal legality (e.g., border areas, detention centres for minors) that affect UAMs' ability to claim their social-legal rights and cultivate their vulnerabilities (Orsini et al, 2022). Based on our findings, it is clear that specific identification and protective interventions tailored to the needs and priorities of UAMs on the move at EU internal and external borders are needed (Marcus et al, 2020).…”

Re-Visioning Borders: Mobility, Connectivity, and Spaces of Exception

“…If Molinari conceptualizes the tendency toward the decoupling of legal and regulatory standards from migration and mobility practices, this is further illustrated in this collection by two articles dedicated to the migratory experiences of a specific category-unaccompanied minors and adolescent migrants. In the first of these articles, Orsini et al (2022) examine the negative and disquieting practices performed on unaccompanied minors by European and non-European state authorities particularly since the recent migration crises. Based on ethnographic research carried out among over 300 minors in Libya, Italy, Greece, and Belgium, the authors make insights into "loops of violence" (that is, violent events perpetrated on migrants by a variety of institutional and non-institutional actors).…”