Original scientific paper
https://doi.org/10.15378/1848-9540.2021.44.11
Forest, forest, forest. Sometimes we sleep. Walking, sleep, walking, sleep. It’s dangerous on this way. Weaponized Migration Landscapes at the Outskirts of the European Union
Marijana Hameršak
orcid.org/0000-0002-8102-6784
; Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku, Zagreb
Iva Pleše
orcid.org/0000-0003-1466-9461
; Institut za etnologiju i folkloristiku, Zagreb
Abstract
Hidden migrant routes through Croatia lead through forest areas (among other types of
terrain) which include those along state borders, but also forests in the interior of the territory.
Those forests can variously be seen as shelters for migrants, albeit harsh, or as green
tunnels leading to desired destinations, and as scenes of suffering and violence. This article
approaches the forests in question as landscapes that have been transformed from a neutral
natural environment into active factors for creating and maintaining border control regimes
and deterring and expelling unwanted migrants. Based on our long-term field research and
publicly available (archival, media and other) sources, we seek to document, interpret, and
interconnect the objects and practices involved in constructing the forest as a hostile terrain
and perilous environment for migrants, and as an important element in controlling unwanted
migrations. These are, on the one hand, objects and practices that intervene into forests,
such as setting up cameras or cutting down trees, and, on the other, interventions that take
place in forests, such as police interception or expulsion. Apart from these external interventions,
in this context of remodeling forests into dangerous environments, one can also
discuss the role of nature itself and its characteristics, as well as the causes of why migrants
find themselves in nature in the first place. Although, at first glance, it seems that people on
the move choose the forest as the place and route of their movement of their own volition,
they are pushed and expelled into these forests by exclusionary policies (visa regimes, asylum
systems, etc.). This, ultimately, classifies forests in Croatia as weaponized landscapes of
exclusion and death, such as the desert (e.g., De León 2015), mountain (Del Biaggio et al.
2020), maritime (e.g., Albahari 2015) or archipelago (Mountz 2017) landscapes.
Keywords
forests; refugees; migrants; weaponized landscapes; pushback; Croatia; European border regime
Hrčak ID:
267531
URI
Publication date:
21.12.2021.
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