The Mediterranean is an exemplary space for migrations in the world. This topic, publicized and politicized, is the subject of misinformation and oversimplifications at the very moment it becomes more complex. Italy is a good example of these developments.
The world we live in has been built by migrations
Rome, for example, like Marseille, was founded, according to legend, by a foreigner, Aeneas, a prince who left Troy, present-day Turkey: Aeneas is somewhat of an asylum seeker...!
Italy, for example, has been disrupted by migrations: it is estimated that in a century, 27 million Italians have left for abroad: to France, the United States, Australia... These movements of people transform both the societies of origin and the societies of arrival. It is an ancient phenomenon: established individuals and newcomers lacking resources must learn to live together.
Since the 1990s, we have been witnessing a globalization of trade
More and more countries are involved as countries of origin or as destination countries, such as the Gulf countries;
Migrations between countries in the south (South-South) have become more common than in the South-North direction;
People on the move are no longer just workers but come from all social categories and all ages, such as young students.
Ultimately, the most important thing is the politicization of migration. In Europe, but also elsewhere, it is practically impossible to conduct an election campaign without talking about migration, often as a threat.
Today, the motivations are multiple: the applicants are individuals who come to work, but also who travel for health reasons, family matters, due to natural disasters, but especially because of war, famines...
They are not the poorest, but they are people who are seeking to improve their circumstances.
Countries with high emigration rates are not necessarily the poorest: among them are the United Kingdom and Germany. It is the very wealthy countries like Saudi Arabia or Qatar where immigration is highest.
The Mediterranean an exemplary spaces of migration
By the weight of the borders and by the politicization of migration.
In Italy, for example, until the 1990s, one could come from anywhere in the world and, with a passport, arrive in Rome.
All of this has changed: there are 30,000 people who have died in the last ten years while crossing the Mediterranean. They died trying to cross a border that did not exist thirty years ago. This is how we talk about a "fortress Europe." And a sea that has become a cemetery...
The migrant is often portrayed as a transient and marginal person. This is a well-known reaction: those who are already settled, sometimes only for one or two generations, seek to maintain their position and refuse entry to those considered foreigners. They thus exaggerate cultural, ethnic, or religious differences, of which they were previously victims, to reject the newcomers.
Biographies
Andrea CALABRETTA is a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Padua (Italy), where he teaches courses on qualitative research methods in sociology. He completed his Ph.D. in 2023 with a thesis on transnational relations between the Tunisian community in Italy and the home country, based on the mobilization of Pierre Bourdieu's theories. In addition to relations with the home context, he has worked on the processes of social inclusion and exclusion that affect migrants and their descendants, their work paths in Italian society, and the processes of identity construction of migrants.
Bernard Mossé Historian, Head of Research, Education, and Training at the NEEDE Mediterranean association. Member of the Scientific Council of the Camp des Milles Foundation - Memory and Education, for which he was the scientific manager and coordinator of the UNESCO Chair "Education for Citizenship, Human Sciences, and Convergence of Memories" (Aix-Marseille University / Camp des Milles).
From this conversation, the AI has generated a flow of illustrations. Stefan Muntaner fed it with editorial data and guided the aesthetic dimension. Each illustration thus becomes a unique work of art through an NFT.