Chapter 7 Discussion Questions

Conclusion

How does studying migration (or specifically, “the burning”) as a ritual process challenge the traditional anthropological understanding of Van Gennep’s ritual rights of passage? Given the contemporary state of global migrations, would you make any changes to the three phases of ritual (the pre-liminal, liminal, and post-liminal phases) as Turner outlined them in his research?

What is border externalization? In what other critical border regions (beyond North Africa) can the impact of border externalization policies and practices be observed? Thinking back to the “Migration Hump” theory (Martin & Taylor), where do you think the next critical border regions will emerge, and why?

As is evidenced in this book, there are grave human rights violations found at multiple points in African migrants’ journeys from their home countries to the temporary spaces of settlement they commonly find themselves trapped in at Europe’s southernmost borders. Outlining their journeys from “start” to “liminal settlement” to “resettlement,” who are the primary parties responsible for protecting their human rights in each space? In what ways are these parties upholding or failing to uphold their legal obligations to protect them?