Avtonomi Akadimia

While 2015 was the year of the ‘refugee crisis’, open-border policy and a warm reception throughout Europe, 2016 marked a drastic change in the situation, the defining moment being the infamous EU-Turkey Statement. The consequent policy of closed borders has led to the geographical restric- tion of thousands of asylum seekers in the Greek Eastern Aegean border-islands (mainly Lesvos, Chios and Samos) in extremely poor conditions.
How did the solidarity of 2015 gave way to the escalation of anti-migrant reactions, Islamophobia and racist pogroms? How are security mechanisms and humanitarian organizations intertwined in border governance? What role do the struggles of the asylum seekers play and why is it critical, for the commoning of struggles, that we see the support given to migrants and refugees not simply as a social movement, but also view migration and asylum seeking as autonomous movements? Drawing from critical migration and border studies, we attempt to shift the emphasis, taking the perspective of those who experience the effects of irrational and inhumane migration policies on a daily basis.
Asylum seekers should be treated neither as helpless victims nor as dangerous criminals, but instead as political subjects who decide to cross borders clandestinely, resist anti-immigration policies, claim their rights and struggle in various ways for their freedom of movement. Through their autonomous mass migration movement they contribute decisively to the formation of the ‘border regime’ – a dy- namic concept of a ‘more or less ordered ensemble of practices and knowledge-power complexes’ that challenges the static term ‘border’ as a linear geographical defining of a national territory. How- ever, along with the struggles of asylum seekers and continuous border transformations, a post-ra- cial crisis has emerged and continues to escalate. Contradictory reactionary discursive practices are developing alongside institutional and/or violent forms of racism. The widespread, toxic narrative that most often condenses this complex begins: ‘I am not a racist, but…’. How can this post-racial crisis be untangled?
Our presentation focuses on the unexplored case of Chios, addressing these critical issues through a complex methodological approach that includes the collection and analysis of data from the local press, official reports, field diaries, but also in-depth interviews with asylum seekers, field workers and locals (both solidarians and reactionaries).
It is based on a forthcoming book by Souzas, N., Mermigka, I. & Diakoumakos, J. (2021). «Γιατί η μοναξιά μου θεωρείται ασφαλής χώρα». Αγώνες Αιτούντων Άσυλο και Τοπικές Αντιδράσεις στο Συνοριακό Καθεστώς της Χίου (2015-2016) [‘Because my solitude is considered a safe country’: Asylum Seekers’ Struggles and Local Reactions in the Border Regime of Chios Island (2015-2016)]. Thessaloniki: Psifides.

Youlia Mermigka (she/her) studied Media Arts in the UK and holds a PhD in Cultural and Cinema Studies from the University of Athens. She is currently a freelance researcher and lecturer at the University of Athens and an external collaborator of the Greek Film Archive. Her interests revolve around the intersections of grassroot politics, philosophy and aesthetics. iouliamermigka@gmail.com

Nikos Souzas (he/him) studied Law and Political Science and holds a PhD from the University of Athens. His doctoral dissertation was published and reprinted in 2015 and 2018 by Nautilus Publications, titled “Stop Talking about Death, Babe”: Politics and Culture in the Greek Antagonistic Movement (1974-1998). He is currently a legal professional, independent researcher and musician. nikos_souzas@yahoo.gr

 Jojo Diakoumakos (she/her, dead name: Georgios/George) is a PhD of Political Science and a precarious social researcher. She is currently teaching political science and gender studies at the University of Athens, while she is also active in grassroots activism and in the DIY music scene, playing electronic music and synth punk. gdiakoum@gmail.com