The Big Gamble

Tens of thousands of Eritreans make perilous voyages across Africa and the Mediterranean Sea every year. Why do they risk their lives to reach European countries where so many more hardships await them? By visiting family homes in Eritrea and living with refugees in camps and urban peripheries across Ethiopia, Sudan, and Italy, Milena Belloni untangles the reasons behind one of the most under-researched refugee populations today. Balancing encounters with refugees and their families, smugglers, and visa officers, The Big Gamble contributes to ongoing debates about blurred boundaries between forced and voluntary migration, the complications of transnational marriages, the social matrix of smuggling, and the role of family expectations, emotions, and values in migrants’ choices of destinations.  “Milena Belloni’s engrossing ethnography—carried out across time, space, and place— is particularly commendable because of her scholarly commitment to ‘getting things right.’ The Eritrean women and men whose lives provided its empirical ground will see their pain, joy, and contradictions reflected back at them. This is scholar activism at its finest.” LAURA BISAILLON, Professor of Health and Society, University of Toronto Scarborough  “The Big Gamble is a study of a migrant group that has received very little scholarly attention. Its focus on the Eritrea to Europe corridor is a novel approach, and Milena Belloni has produced a compelling and courageous account.” PETER KIVISTO, Augustana College and University of Helsinki  “A monumental and perceptive story of migration, taking the reader on a journey not just from Africa to Europe but through reflections on moralities, risk, and trust that are central to contemporary mobility and immobility. Belloni’s account of Eritrean migration experiences is powered by formidable fieldwork and written with warmth and wisdom.” JØRGEN CARLING, Peace Research Institute Oslo  MILENA BELLONI is a sociologist at the University of Trento. Her doctoral research on Eritrean migration received the 2016 IMISCOE Award. Belloni has published in the Journal of Refugee Studies and the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies

Accumulated homelessness: Analysing protracted displacement along Eritreans’ life histories

This article introduces the notion of ‘accumulated homelessness’ to account for the repeated loss and lack of home experienced by many migrants in Europe today. Through the lens of home and homelessness, we argue that the debate on protracted displacement—often applied only to developing countries—should be extended to Europe. Going beyond the idea of shelterlessness, we consider homelessness as a multidimensional and multiscalar condition which encompasses material and emotional aspects. By analysing two life histories of Eritrean men living in Italy and in the Netherlands, we examine the set of structural, social, and individual conditions leading them to lose home in different places and times as well as their attempts—such as finding accommodation, establishing a community organisation, or moving onwards—to reconstruct home

Sheltering the undocumented in Amsterdam: inclusive housing rights or policing urban informality

The Netherlands has recently launched a project to provide shelters for undocumented migrants. How can state authorities provide housing for the invisible population of those who are simply not supposed to be there? Belloni and Aru answered this question by interviewing local authorities, government officials and civil society and by spending time with undocumented migrants who are included and excluded by the programme. In spite of the clear positive implications of this programme, the post sheds light on its less progressive aspects. In particular, the criteria used to screen eligible migrants introduce new distinctions between “deserving” and “undeserving” irregular migrants. If this distinction enables some to access assistance, it also justifies a no tolerance policy towards squatting, the practice through which undocumented migrants have usually gained a home, even if a temporary and precarious one

Transnational Lived Citizenship - The Case of the Eritrean Diaspora

This special focus section analyses state-diaspora relationships with a focus on the case of Eritrea, a paradigmatic example, as we show in this introduction, to elaborate on the following key questions: What determines loyalty between diaspora and the state? How can we understand the dynamics of co-optation, loyalty, and resistance that characterise many diaspora-state relationships? What is the role of historical events and memory in building alliances as well as divides among different generations and different groups in the diaspora? How do diaspora citizens interpret and enact their citizenship in everyday practices of engagement? By engaging with both citizenship and diaspora studies, this introduction shows the significance of analysing these questions through the lens of "transnational lived citizenship." This concept enables a look at the intersections between formal aspects of citizenship as well as the emotional and practical aspects related to feelings of belonging, transnational attitudes, and circulation of material cultures

"Solo di passaggio": l'Italia nelle rappresentazioni e nelle pratiche di mobilità dei giovani eritrei

Eritrean migration to Europe, only transiting through Italy, has become increasingly visible, but relatively under-investigated and often misunderstood. Based on ethnographic research conducted in Eritrea, in Ethiopia and in Italy between 2012 and 2014, this article investigates the factors and the social dynamics for which most Eritrean refugees do not want to stop in Italy. The debate on secondary movements emphasises the unfavourable economic conditions which push refugees to continue their journeys. It also stresses on the family ties which orient asylum seekers' trajectories. However, it is rare to encounter analyses about how common social representations can influence migration practices. This study shows that Eritreans living in the homeland and abroad consider Italy a safe, but unsuitable destination country to build a prosperous future. This representation is partly rooted in the history of Eritrean migration and partly is the result of transnational flows of media information and individual experiences transmitted through Eritreans' global informal networks

Transnational figurations of displacement: conceptualising protracted displacement and translocal connectivity through a process-oriented perspective

TRAFIG aims to contribute to the development of alternative solutions to protracted displacement that are tailored to the needs and capacities of displaced persons. This working paper contains our central concepts and key terms. We make use of the concept of social figurations as the theoretical foundation for our research. We understand figurations as dynamic social constellations between interdependent individuals that are produced in and through interactions and transactions. On this basis, we re-define protracted displacement as a figuration, in which displaced people’s capabilities and opportunities are severely limited for prolonged periods of time. Multiple structural forces constrain them from using their capacities and making free choices: enduring displacing forces hinder return; marginalising forces prevent local integration; immobilising forces block chances to seek a future elsewhere. Protracted displacement is, however, much less static and fixed than commonly perceived. Displaced persons do have agency. They develop diverse strategies to cope with difficult situations and navigate through governance regimes of aid and asylum - and thereby change them. To comprehend the dynamics of protracted displacement a deeper understanding of displaced people’s perspectives, capacities and practices and an acknowledgement of their everyday lives that often transgress places and territories is necessary. Translocal connectivity and human mobility can serve as resources to cope with and move out of protracted displacement. Developing new approaches to protracted displacement requires a move beyond the narrow frame of the conventional durable solutions (return, local integration, resettlement). A first step towards formulating alternatives, we suggest, is to recognise and effectively build upon displaced people's own preferences as well as their local and translocal networks. A key question then is, how they use multiple interconnected pathways to enhance their protection and livelihood security

Figurations of displacement in southern Europe: empirical findings and reflections on protracted displacement and translocal networks of forced migrants in Greece and Italy

This working paper is based on empirical research on the Translocal Figurations of Displacement in Greece and Italy. The authors aim to compare protracted displacement in Greece and Italy, looking at the structural forces shaping it and their interactions with migrants' mobility and connectivity. This comparison is based on the analysis of the relations between two contextual variables (governance regimes and host population) and three key variables (mobility, connectivity and marginalisation). In this paper, they present findings from three study sites in Greece and four research locations in Italy. Findings show that protracted legal and socio-economic marginalisation is a key feature characterising the lives of displaced people in southern European countries. It confirms the hypothesis that protracted displacement does not end when forced migrants reach Greece or Italy. Restrictive governance regimes at the national and EU level severely limit mobility opportunities within Greece and Italy and across the European Union (EU). To cope with and resist marginalising and immobilising policies, displaced migrants in Italy and Greece put in place several strategies, ranging from adapting to governance regimes and taking the most out of them to resisting them and finding ways to avoid, bypass or overcome such regimes. In this framework, mobility and connectivity emerge as a resource and a trap for displaced migrants in southern Europe. On the one hand, migrants' strategies of intra-national and intra-EU mobility may help them out of protracted displacement, while on the other, certain types of mobility (hyper-, circular, paradoxical) can entrap, rather than free them. Similarly, local, translocal and transnational networks emerge as a crucial resource for displaced people in Greece and Italy. At the same time, family and co-ethnic networks may also be experienced as disabling, hampering one's aspirations to get out of protracted displacement. Fieldwork in both countries highlighted common factors shaping the relationships between displaced migrants and host communities. We also observed different facets of intergroup relations, ranging from indifference to friendship. The paper concludes by highlighting similarities and differences on the findings from both countries, based on qualitative and quantitative data

Artigos não citados nas revistas brasileiras em saúde pública

Here, we describe the percentage of non-citation in Brazilian public health journals, a field that, until now, had not been investigated nationally or internationally. We analyzed articles, published between 2008 and 2012, of eight public health journals indexed in the Scopus database. The percentage of non-citation differs between journals ( from 5.7% to 58.1%). We identified four statistically distinct groups:História, Ciência, Saúde – Manguinhos (58% uncited articles); Physis: Revista de Saúde Coletiva, Interface, and Saúde e Sociedade (32% to 37%); Ciência & Saúde Coletiva and Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia (16% to 17%); and Cadernos de Saúde Pública and Revista de Saúde Pública (6%). The non-citation in the first three years post-publication also varies according to journal. Four journals have shown a clear decline of non-citation: Cadernos de Saúde Pública, Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia, and Physis. Another three (Revista de Saúde Pública, Saúde e Sociedade, and Interface) presented an oscillation in non-citation, but the rates of 2008 and 2012 are similar, with different magnitudes. In turn, the journal História, Ciência, Saúde – Manguinhos maintains high rates of non-citation. Multidisciplinary journals attract more citation, but a comprehensive citation model still needs to be formulated and tested.Aqui, descrevemos o percentual de não citação em revistas brasileiras de saúde pública, campo até agora não investigado nacional ou internacionalmente. Analisamos artigos, publicados entre 2008 e 2012, de oito revistas de saúde pública indexadas na base Scopus. O percentual de não citação difere entre as revistas (de 5,7% a 58,1%). Identificamos quatro grupos estatisticamente distintos: História, Ciência, Saúde – Manguinhos (58% de artigos não citados); Physis: Revista de Saúde Coletiva, Interface, e Saúde e Sociedade (32% a 37%); Ciência & Saúde Coletiva e Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia (16% a 17%); e Cadernos de Saúde Pública e Revista de Saúde Pública (6%). A não citação nos primeiros três anos pós-publicação também varia segundo revista. Quatro revistas mostraram claro declínio da não citação: Cadernos de Saúde Pública, Ciência & Saúde Coletiva, Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia e Physis. Outras três (Revista de Saúde Pública, Saúde e Sociedade e Interface) apresentaram oscilação na não citação, mas as taxas de 2008 e 2012 são similares, com magnitudes diferentes. Por sua vez, a revista História, Ciência, Saúde – Manguinhos mantém taxas elevadas de não citação. Revistas multidisciplinares atraem mais citação, mas um modelo compreensivo de citações ainda precisa ser formulado e testado

Most-cited public health articles of scientific journals from Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To describe the most-cited articles in public health scientific journals edited in Brazil. METHODS: Articles published between 2008 and 2010 by public health journals edited in Brazil and indexed in the Scopus database were included, and citations received up to five years after publication were ranked. We studied a total of 105 articles, as the last seven articles shared the same number of citations and so were given the same rank. RESULTS: The most-cited articles received a median of 28 citations, and the distribution ranged from 22 to 95 citations. These articles describe advances in the areas of Epidemiology (74%), Health Policies, Planning and Administration (19%), and Social and Human Sciences in Health (7%). Only half mentioned that they have received funding. About 75% of the articles were written by three or more authors and 90%, by authors affiliated to public institutions such as universities and government organizations. Fifteen individuals were responsible for authoring or coauthoring three or more of the 105 articles studied. The journals Cadernos de Saúde Pública, Revista de Saúde Pública, and Ciência & Saúde Coletiva have published the vast majority of the most-cited articles in the area (94%). CONCLUSIONS: In Brazil, the most-cited articles in public health mainly report Epidemiology research, are written by groups of authors and by researchers affiliated to public institutions and are published in journals with a greater impact. Periodical analyses of these data can show potential changes in the characteristics of articles that most attract public health scientists