9 Border as a Place of Being: Gendered Practices of Migration into the Mediterranean

Europe’s “Migrant Crisis” and Gender

One of the most prevalent migration routes in the world is from the Middle East and Africa into the EU via the Mediterranean Sea. This route was especially trafficked during the EU “Migrant Crisis” during the 2010s. The route is known to be complicated and dangerous, from navigating the mountainous border from Turkey into Greece to traversing the rough conditions of the sea with little space and few supplies. 29,588 missing migrants have been recorded in the Mediterranean since 2014 (International Organization for Migration). The migration journey is more complex than the travel itself, though; preparing to leave one’s country of origin and integrating into the destination country are both lengthy and difficult processes.

Gender has a profound impact on all aspects of the migrant journey. Motivations to undertake the move are intersectional, and influences vary from personal to social to political. Women and girls experience unique struggles during the journey itself. Instances of assault and violence from smugglers are common, and women are often used as bargaining chips for seats on boats across the Mediterranean. Women and children usually occupy the worst seats, putting them at greater risk of drowning (La Cascia et al.). Many migrants come through so-called “hotspots” in Greece and Italy, which sometimes house six times their capacity of asylum seekers and migrants. People remain in camps on islands while awaiting the outcome of their asylum claims or return to Turkey under the EU-Turkey agreement. Asylum seekers are not issued social security numbers, limiting access to public health services only to the direst of cases (Human Rights Watch).

The country with the highest incoming population from the hotspot program is Greece. Greek authorities are legally required to identify “vulnerable” people in these camps, such as pregnant women, new mothers, survivors of sexual and other serious violence, single parents, and people with disabilities, but many women and girls are not screened for vulnerability, even after months of residing there. Refugees and migrants, and women in particular, have limited means to organize at the camps. Women have expressed how issues with washing facilities impact their ability to adequately care for their families. Women also express needs for better healthcare infrastructure, from women doctors and women interpreters in hospitals to access to contraception. Men with families felt discouraged by their inability to provide for their families, often leading to feelings of depression (Human Rights Watch).

Upon arrival in the EU, the process of integration is still heavily impacted by gender. Female migrants are often in domestic work and low-paid jobs, putting them at risk of exploitation. The intersectionality of these women’s ethnicity and gender impacts their access to healthcare and community organizations. Many migrants are either cut off from the welfare system or do not qualify for a pension or income subsidies such as healthcare and childcare (Fouskas et al.). Immigrant populations are especially susceptible to psychophysical wellbeing issues, but they are often not incorporated into the social service system that would provide the help they need. In the post-migration period, refugees are at high risk for poor mental health, particularly women. Women are more likely to develop PTSD after traumatic events but often cannot access treatment (La Cascia et al.).

Our collective perception of migration into the EU from the Mediterranean is also greatly influenced by gender. Support of asylum seekers is subject to a hierarchy of deservedness. Gender influences perception of migrants; military security culture is masculinized, often classifying male migrants as threatening, while humanitarian care is feminized, deeming female migrants as in need of aid. Our use of language varies based on our perception of immigrants, classifying some as “refugees” and others as “economic migrants.”

During my time in Athens, Greece, the issue of migration and ethnic diversity in the city was extremely culturally relevant. Migration shapes political and social attitudes of the Greek population as a whole. My studies of bordering processes and human mobility gave tremendous insight into the process of migration but failed to pinpoint the specific influences of gender and sex on the migrant journey. In this essay, I am to weave together issues of cultural gender roles and expectations, human rights, and the porousness of borders. I explore each component of the migrant journey, including motivations, movement, integration, and public opinion. While the “migrant crisis” was central in the news for several years, the gender dimension of these human experiences has not been explored or communicated to its fullest potential.

Borderlands, Identity, and Freedom

Most migrants do not simply travel from point A to B, rather, they travel through various nations and borderlands en route. The migration journey is more complex than the travel itself, though; preparing to leave one’s country of origin and integrating into the destination country are both lengthy and difficult processes. The societal structures of countries of origin and destination, as well as the trials faced during the migration journey, have profound impacts on migrants’ identity, psychological state, and spiritual well-being. This issue can be approached from two primary theoretical perspectives: the concept of borderlands within the context of the migrant journey and otherization upon arrival in the destination.

Borderlands can be generally understood as in-between spaces where those in transit find themselves neither in their origin nor in their destination. To Dominican actress and activist Josefina Báez, borderlands can be thought of as cracks: “To cross the border, yes, but to also dwell in and create knowledge from the cracks” (Deckman 2). As opposed to the solid, sturdy earth of a place to reside, the migrant journey has cracks, crevices to fall into that can trap people in the liminal spaces of movement. Báez goes on to describe “Border as a place of being” (Deckman 3). Borders do not serve as lines in the sand or clear divisions, rather, individuals and communities can inhabit the border. For many migrants, the journey is far from black and white, and the in between space of the border can span miles and years. Cultures and identities can exist across those geographical lines, most of which were drawn by colonial powers with capitalist motivations.

Migrants often experience a deep transformation of identity after departing from their home. The definition of “home” itself evolves; as Báez puts it, “My home is ‘the neither’ that I know, that I have built” (Deckman 2). A new identity is forged in neither culture or space; people must extract values from their homeland and surroundings to produce their own way of being and the comfortable, safe environment of a home. Communities around the world face this intermingling of identities. Chicana scholar, feminist, and queer theorist Gloria Anzaldúa describes the situation of the mestiza: “Cradled in one culture, sandwiched between two cultures, straddling all three cultures and their value systems, la mestiza undergoes a struggle of flesh, a struggle of borders, an inner war” (Anzaldúa 100). Multicultural individuals face this struggle, this immense pressure to conform to societal expectations, all while dealing with an inner war, a battle to determine their sense of self. Anzaldúa calls this phenomenon “un choque,” or a cultural collision.

Migration between the Middle East and Europe can also cause a collision, an ideological clash between so-called “Eastern” and “Western” cultures and values, leading to severe otherization of migrants in their destination. Even established migrant communities can face conflicting expectations from religious beliefs and local customs. Scholar of Islam and gender Renata Pepicelli describes this complicated identity:

The question of the rights of Muslim women who live under Muslim laws in Islamic countries, or who left these countries in order to emigrate to Europe is today a paradigmatic expression of the wide debate on human rights within which interconnections and conflicts between global and local are at play, wars are justified and carried out, opposing and contrasting identities are claimed. (Pepicelli 71)

Muslim women who have immigrated to Europe experience a heightened sense of contrasting values, given the vast differences between women’s place in society in their country of origin and their destination. These differences affect a range of scales, from daily life and routine practices to entire worldviews established by differing religious viewpoints.

Migrants are often cast out from society, remaining geographically present but not completely socially integrated. This situation invokes the work of sociologist Georg Simmel, who describes the concept of “The Stranger:” “locals merely share certain common characteristics with the stranger; in contrast, their relationship to other organically connected locals expresses a deeper commonality based upon the act of differentiation” (Simmel 178). No matter how many common characteristics the stranger has to a local, there is some fundamental commonality that will always be missing from the relationship. This will discourage true integration and encourage marginalization. As long as migrants are identifiable as migrants, they will be perceived as fundamentally separate and different from society. This standard of otherization is a basic characteristic of societal structure. The individuality of the migrant is overlooked due to the boundaries of the social sphere they are in. As acclaimed sociologist C. Wright Mills encourages us to ask, “What varieties of men and women now prevail in this society and in this period? And what varieties are coming to prevail? In what ways are they selected and formed, liberated and repressed, made sensitive and blunted?” (Mills 3). In modern Europe, migrants do not prevail, whether due to awareness of their status or racial and ethnic discrimination. Regardless of personal characteristics, the structure of society prevents them from truly prevailing.

Migration is an inherently transnational issue. When people move from one place to another, they experience different power structures that shape their lives and experiences. Migrant identities are also incredibly complex; characteristics of the origin, the journey, and the destination heavily influence individual perspectives and ways of life. Gendered experiences and expectations weave into this already intricate fabric, creating a deeply intersectional matter.

Gendered Practices of Migration into the European Union

Migrant experiences across all temporal and geographical stages of the migrant journey are deeply rooted in gender. Women and girls experience unique struggles during the journey itself, especially in the form of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). Upon arrival in the EU, the process of integration is still heavily impacted by gender given the forms of labor available. Our collective perception of migration into the EU from the Mediterranean is also greatly influenced by gender, invoking the hierarchy of deservedness in the language we use to describe the situation.

Women face a multitude of additional gender-based obstacles and challenges on the migrant journey from the Middle East into the Mediterranean. The reception process in Greece and Italy is organized into “hotspots,” isolated islands where migrants are held in detention centers as their legal status is determined. In these hotspots, women are unable to attend public information-sharing sessions or organize. In an EU-funded Oxfam report from 2016, at the height of the “crisis,” women reported issues with washing facilities limiting their ability to care for their families and needs for improved healthcare infrastructure, from women doctors and women interpreters in hospitals to contraception access. On the flipside, men reported feeling discouraged by their inability to provide for their families, often leading to depression (Oxfam).

One of the hotspots with the most extreme conditions during the late 2010s was Moria on Lesbos Island. In 2019, Moria held nearly six times its capacity of inhabitants. At Moria. women and girls suffer unreliable access to shelter, food, water, sanitation, and medical care. They face threat of sexual harassment and gender-based violence. Greek authorities are legally required to identify “vulnerable” people in these camps, such as pregnant women, new mothers, survivors of sexual and other serious violence, single parents, and people with disabilities, but many women and girls interviewed stated that they had not been screened for vulnerability after months of residing there. The Human Rights Watch urges the Greek government to improve security and living conditions for women and girls in Moria, and states that other EU countries should also accept asylum seekers and migrants to help the processing of asylum applications (Human Rights Watch).

Upon arrival in the European Union, migrant women have unique experiences finding work opportunities and support systems. Female migrants are often in domestic work and low-paid jobs, putting them at risk of exploitation. The intersectionality of these women’s ethnicity and gender impacts their access to healthcare and community organizations. Irregular female migrants constitute a cheap workforce that does not receive protection by labor law, which is why they often work as domestic workers and caregivers. Many migrants are either cut off from the welfare system or do not qualify for a pension or income subsidies such as healthcare and childcare. Immigrant populations are especially susceptible to psychophysical wellbeing issues, but they are often not incorporated into the social service system that would provide the help they need. Even if insured, female immigrants face threats of discrimination in healthcare as well as communication issues. There are various organizations to support immigrants in Greece, but they experience varying use and success, and immigrant associations are usually divided by ethnic origin (Fouskas et al.). Women are statistically more likely to experience PTSD after traumatic events, but in this case, they often cannot access treatment (La Cascia et al.). Access to healthcare services is a challenge due to discrimination by healthcare personnel, communication problems, and low income (Fouskas et al.).

Media portrayals of the migrant population shape public opinions on the issue. Masculinity is associated with military security culture, whereas femininity is associated with humanitarian aid. These biases are extrapolated to migrants themselves, characterizing migrant men as threatening but migrant women as in need of help. In reality, both military and humanitarian structures play a role in the migration processes in the Mediterranean; the military is responsible for rescue and registration while humanitarian organizations focus on medical aid, shelter, nutrition, and information. Strategic uses of terms like “economic migrant” or “refugee” in the media can also shape our understanding and perspective of who is entering and whether they should be welcomed and supported (Chouliaraki & Musaró). Using distinguishable labels to oversimplify personal situations dictates the precise position in society that these migrants can occupy.

The Border’s Meaning for Migrant Women

The works of renowned feminist theorists are echoed in the dire situation of migrant women facing the perilous borderlands between the Middle East and Europe. Baéz describes the concept of borderlands as “the cracks.” The hotspot system used by Greece and Italy gives specific locations that act as the in between. Migrants in hotspots cannot move forward or backward; they are suspended in a space of darkness and not knowing while the fate of their asylum claim is debated. Similarly, Báez describes border as a place of being. Hotspots such as Moria are these places, neither the origin nor the destination, where systems of power are acting upon individuals who are stuck there. Migrants in the hotspots are in transit in the sense that their asylum claims are being evaluated and their arrival is being documented, but they are geographically stuck in the borderland. This immobility takes an extreme psychological toll, as agency is limited.

In addition to the in-between spaces experienced by migrants, the in-between identities identified by Gloria Anzaldúa are at play. Migrant women are cradled in one culture and sandwiched between two cultures, balancing the value systems and expectations of each culture in their day to day lives. However, migrant women also live outside of the systems in many ways. Despite working in the EU, many migrants are irregular and therefore cut off from resources such as welfare, pension, and income subsidies such as healthcare and childcare. The frustration women express with the limitations on caring for their families in hotspots continues to the mainland when they are excluded from crucial opportunities to thrive. Muslim women in Europe face a heightened sense of this culture war given the extreme differences between women’s roles in Muslim and Christian religions. Immigrant support associations in Greece are usually divided by ethnic origin, so women may be able to gain support from a community of people with similar stories (Fouskas et al.).

The migrant journey also takes a significant psychological toll. Even further than Anzaldúa’s “choque,” the inner strife experienced by women on this particularly dangerous migration route may continue into their life in their destination country. Women face increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence, extremely traumatic experiences. Once in Greece, or other countries within the EU, they are frequently cut off from receiving the healthcare they need, including mental healthcare to help process the extreme experience they have gone through. The cultural collision Anzaldúa describes establishes an “us vs. them” mentality where many people do not have access to critical resources and care. Otherization can have profound impacts on the immigrant population.

Many of the women who migrate into Europe on the Mediterranean route are Muslim, which has a profound impact on how we view their situation and how the media portrays their situation. Female migrants are often viewed as in need of help, in need of humanitarian aid, more than their male counterparts. This desire to help can be intertwined with religious motivations. Many “Western” women are confused or alarmed by the gender roles imposed by many Islamic states, whether it be covering oneself or the more traditional roles as wife and mother that may be emphasized. White, Christian Europe can look down upon these women, and much of the sentiment can be from a place of pity or superiority. Media representations of these converging identities can become extreme, losing the humanity of the issue.

This case calls into question the established social structures of European nations. As early as 1908, Simmel recognized the questionable basis upon which the stranger is separated from the rest of society. Much of the otherization that occurs is not due to a lack of common characteristics or sentiments, but because people did not originate from the same community. In Europe, the migrant population is marginalized in large part due to racial, ethnic, and religious differences. Simmel’s deeper commonality is, in fact, rooted in racial discrimination and islamophobia. Mills’s prevailing group is determined by racial, religious, and socioeconomic factors that do not place migrants in a position to fully integrate into European states.

Conclusion: Supporting Migrant Populations

Migrant women on the Mediterranean route face a myriad of challenges that are deeply entrenched in gender. Women may have gendered motivations to leave their home country, experience increased threat of sexual and gender-based violence along the migration journey, and their employment and lifestyle once arrived in Europe are dictated by the opportunities available to irregular migrant women. Meanwhile, political and media portrayals of the “migrant crisis” as well as preconceived notions about Islam and the Middle East cause the general public to make assumptions about the motivations and status of migrants in relation to their gender identity.

With all of the challenges migrant women face and the oppressive systems in place for migrant reception in the European Union, it is easy to wonder how to find hope in these troubling issues. Non-governmental organizations take on much of the work that needs to be done to provide women specifically the support they need while making the transition into European society. In Greece, these organizations include The Unmentionables, which provides sexual and reproductive health education, AMURTEL, which supports expecting and new mothers, and Melissa Network, which provides social and emotional support for migrant women and children (European Commission).

While in Athens, the presence of thousands of migrants in the city was very visible and impacted my impression of Greek culture as a whole. Different neighborhoods had higher migrant populations from particular regions and ethnicities. I spent much of my time volunteering at Melissa Network, an organization dedicated to supporting migrant and refugee women in Athens. In Greek, Melissa means honeybee; the organization seeks to bring women together and construct strong support systems that foster creativity and joy. As a volunteer, I worked directly with migrant women and children. Socioemotional support, a sense of community, and a safe space to trust were the benefits that everyone in that space emphasized most. With such large-scale issues, it is easy to feel overwhelmed or unable to make change. When addressing problems of inclusion and support, working on small scales as well as large ones to help people feel safe and welcome can make the world of a difference.

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