Processes of Illegalized Migration of Syrians into the European Union via Ceuta and Melilla

Abstract

Abstract: The author analyses current processes of migration/flight from Syria to the European Union based on a biographical and figurational research approach. The study is based on biographical case reconstructions of people who have migrated in the context of the Syrian war since March 2011 via the Spanish exclaves Ceuta and Melilla. The author introduces the concept of a “condensed present” („verdichtete Gegenwart“) to capture peoples experience of the violent conflict in Syria and the resulting conditions of ‘illegalized’ migration as well as its effects on the migrants’ views and experiences. These processes are connected to changes of biographical patterns of interpretation, constructions of belonging and the position of the actor within complex power relations (figurations). The case of a young Palestinian man from Damascus shows how a “condensed present” is experienced in the dynamics of migration/flight against the background of his biography, family history and the collective history. Finally, the author highlights the necessity of a socio-historical and transnational perspective for a better understanding of processes of ‘illegalized’ migration from war.