Identities
Tell me who you are and I'll tell you how you'll arrive
Do all people fit into just two categories? Migrants and refugees. Can the violence caused by the lack of legal and safe routes move you from one category to another?
The most important thing that determines what someone's migration process will be like is who they are. It's not the same to be rich as to be poor, to be male as to be female, to be persecuted as to pursue a dream. Coming from an African country is not the same as coming from an American country, and having time to plan how to leave is not the same as having to flee for your life.
> Woman
> With two daughters
>
>
>
> Mali
>
> Female genital mutilation
>
> Man
> Alone
>
>
>
> Libya
>
> Human rights defender
>
> Woman
> Alone
>
>
>
> Kurdistan
>
> Stateless
>
> Student
> Man
> With a wife and three children
>
>
>
> Afghanistan
>
> Tailor
>
> Government informant
In addition to personal characteristics, the way in which someone migrates is determined by the circumstances around them and the degree of risk involved.
Migrants are not inherently vulnerable. Vulnerability to human rights violations stems from discrimination and inequality. These factors become intertwined, compounding each other and changing as circumstances change, preventing equal access to rights.
The rigid categorization between "refugee" and "migrant" is, therefore, a problem. Real-life situations are much more complex. People who leave their home countries are often burdened by multiple vulnerabilities, mixing reasons for persecution with other needs for safety or prosperity. Each combination implies a different type of departure and a specific level of risk - a reality that does not fit the simplistic categories that are often applied.
Departure needs and risks faced by individuals
IT IS POSSIBLE TO PLAN YOUR DEPARTURE AHEAD OF TIME
Beyond basic necessities being met, there is a desire to study abroad, learn a new language, live somewhere new, become familiar with another culture, and experience a different lifestyle.
Level risk low
Departure needs and risks faced by individuals
IT IS POSSIBLE TO PLAN YOUR DEPARTURE TRYING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN AS SOON AS POSSIBLE
There are difficulties covering basic necessities: lack of employment, economic dependents, etc.
Level risk mig baix
Departure needs and risks faced by individuals
IT IS NECESSARY TO REUNITE WITH FAMILY, BUT THIS WILL DEPEND ON BUREAUCRATIC PROCEDURES
There is already a family member in Europe with asylum status, which can be extended in order to protect their family members and bring them over.
Level risk mig baix
Departure needs and risks faced by individuals
IT IS URGENT TO DEPART AS SOON AS POSSIBLE, NO MATTER HOW
There is a threat to life related to sexual orientation or gender identity, medical issues, political or ideological reasons, among others.
Level risk alt
Departure needs and risks faced by individuals
IT IS URGENT TO FLEE IMMEDIATELY, WITH NO PRIOR WARNING OR PREPARATION OF ANY KIND
There is a life or death situation due to political persecution, war, natural disaster, kidnapping, or political or legal repression.
Level risk alt
"Refugees are divided into two categories: those who have photographs and those who have none."
Anonymous Bosnian refugee quoted in the book "The Museum of Unconditional Surrender" by Dubravka Ugresic
Refugee
"Someone who "owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country."
The dichotomy between international protection and economic migration creates grey areas where people are left without their rights. This situation is exacerbated when the specific needs, difficulties and particular vulnerability experienced by women and girls, as well as LGBTQI+ people, are not taken into account at all stages of the migration cycle (origin, transit and destination) and from an intersectional approach.
If everyone has the right to leave their country, but no one has the right to enter another country, what can they do? Where are they going to go? How are they going to go?
