Associate Professor of Africana Studies Donald Carter presented a paper titled "Navigating Diaspora: Shipwrecks, Identity and the Nation," at the University of Iowa, Department of Anthropology, in Iowa City on Oct. 17.
According to Carter, "African migrants set out in small boats each year destined to make landfall in parts of Europe. Many disappear leaving no trace. Their disappearance marks a silent crisis punctuated by news of shipwrecks of migrant craft in the waterways between Africa and Europe. Contemporary practices of incorporation in European democratic societies have often been at odds with claims to and expressions of universalistic human rights. In recent years there has been a pronounced trend toward militarization of the border in efforts to stem the flow of newcomers testing the relatively porous boundaries of Europe. The failure of the European Union to clarify distinctions between admittance to member Nations or to render transparent the procedures and processes by which permanent residence, asylum, refugee status and permission to stay are attained and contested in the case of appeals raises serious ethical concerns in the realm of political incorporation, immigration and human rights. This discussion explores both the consequences of militarization and the loss of an African generation in its wake."
According to Carter, "African migrants set out in small boats each year destined to make landfall in parts of Europe. Many disappear leaving no trace. Their disappearance marks a silent crisis punctuated by news of shipwrecks of migrant craft in the waterways between Africa and Europe. Contemporary practices of incorporation in European democratic societies have often been at odds with claims to and expressions of universalistic human rights. In recent years there has been a pronounced trend toward militarization of the border in efforts to stem the flow of newcomers testing the relatively porous boundaries of Europe. The failure of the European Union to clarify distinctions between admittance to member Nations or to render transparent the procedures and processes by which permanent residence, asylum, refugee status and permission to stay are attained and contested in the case of appeals raises serious ethical concerns in the realm of political incorporation, immigration and human rights. This discussion explores both the consequences of militarization and the loss of an African generation in its wake."
