The politics of space surrounding the escape, journey and resettlement of asylum seekers crossing the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article traces the experiences of a Syrian refugee who journeyed from Aleppo to other countries until his resettlement in Malta. His harrowing story throws light on the politics of space in the context of forced migratory attempts. The study examines Ayman’s subjectivities to demonstrate that the rights to asylum and to movement are continuously contested, negotiated and reimagined. Ayman’s escape, journey and resettlement constituted physical and social spaces that determined his life prospects and forged his destiny. At all stages the struggle to survive triggered strong emotions that Ayman later expressed in order to transmit his appeal for global solidarity that he justified on the basis of the ‘oneness’ of the world. I employ an autoethnographic methodological approach to draw on the power of emotions in the telling of Ayman’s story and make sense of it. Ayman’s story calls for ethical sensibility, forgiveness, hospitality, communal sharing of resources and respect for cultural differences in the aftermath of forced displacement in an era which makes staying and leaving impermanent.