Refugees and migration policies in the Alps

On the occasion of the seminar Regards croisés sur l’Europe. Different visions, different studies, organized by the Institute for Research in the Humanities and Social Sciences of the University of Caldas (Colombia), Cristina Del Biaggio (Pacte) will give an online conference on May 12 at 3pm, entitled Les exilé-es face aux Alpes. Or when migration policies turn mountains into obstacles.

Here’s a summary of her talk:

“The border has no power. Borders do not kill. Borders, in and of themselves, do not exist. Every border is the product of the minds of men and women who have the power to decide whether it is a line of contact, exchange and sharing, or a place of tension, friction and crisis. Under the impetus of politicians, since the summer of 2015, Europe’s internal borders have been rematerialized. Forces of law and order, barbed wire and drones have made their appearance, particularly at the southern Alpine border. The border that separates France from Italy, but also those that separate the peninsula from Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia. How can we explain this phenomenon of closed borders for people in exile? The conference will look back at the recent history of European migration policies to show how Alpine border areas have become violent and bruised under the impetus of restrictive migration policies.”

To follow the conference, open to all: https: //renata.zoom.us/j/89971193817

The theme of this conference is linked to the Mountain in Solidarity educational workshop that Cristina Del Biaggio led this year for Labex ITTEM.