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The article examines the experiences of a few people of African descent in Britain, from economic migrants to refugees and asylum seekers in the last part of the 20th century and early 21st century. Analysing how notions such as the Mediterranean with its historical colonial legacies have been re-ap...

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Main Author: Olivette Otele
Format: Article
Language:deu
Published: Conserveries Mémorielles 2022-07-01
Series:Conserveries Mémorielles
Subjects:
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/cm/5269
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author Olivette Otele
author_facet Olivette Otele
author_sort Olivette Otele
collection DOAJ
description The article examines the experiences of a few people of African descent in Britain, from economic migrants to refugees and asylum seekers in the last part of the 20th century and early 21st century. Analysing how notions such as the Mediterranean with its historical colonial legacies have been re-appropriated and given way to the term the Black Mediterranean, allows us to understand the way the history of migration from Europe to Africa was linked to the idea of conquest and progress, while 20th and 21st century stories of migration from Africa to Europe are associated with invasion and disorder. The stories of newcomers to Europe, allow us to look at the way several narratives compete. The article is aimed at demonstrating that 20th and 21st century histories of resilience and recovery from trauma, challenge the overrepresentation of stories of deceptions or victimhood. Using archival material from the Refugee Council in London, the article analyses how bureaucracy, policies and politics, amplified by public opinion and media interventions, have in fact derailed the stated aim of integration of these populations into the British society. Yet, A few stories of the experiences of sub-Saharan Africans who settled in Wales, one of Britain’s regions, paint a different picture that departs from negative ‘loud voices’.
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spelling doaj.art-6a3b8d026fca4add9e6fa921369bcdc42022-12-22T02:32:19ZdeuConserveries MémoriellesConserveries Mémorielles1718-55562022-07-01Vers le nordOlivette OteleThe article examines the experiences of a few people of African descent in Britain, from economic migrants to refugees and asylum seekers in the last part of the 20th century and early 21st century. Analysing how notions such as the Mediterranean with its historical colonial legacies have been re-appropriated and given way to the term the Black Mediterranean, allows us to understand the way the history of migration from Europe to Africa was linked to the idea of conquest and progress, while 20th and 21st century stories of migration from Africa to Europe are associated with invasion and disorder. The stories of newcomers to Europe, allow us to look at the way several narratives compete. The article is aimed at demonstrating that 20th and 21st century histories of resilience and recovery from trauma, challenge the overrepresentation of stories of deceptions or victimhood. Using archival material from the Refugee Council in London, the article analyses how bureaucracy, policies and politics, amplified by public opinion and media interventions, have in fact derailed the stated aim of integration of these populations into the British society. Yet, A few stories of the experiences of sub-Saharan Africans who settled in Wales, one of Britain’s regions, paint a different picture that departs from negative ‘loud voices’.http://journals.openedition.org/cm/5269blackMediterraneanracismexclusionresiliencerecovery
spellingShingle Olivette Otele
Vers le nord
Conserveries Mémorielles
black
Mediterranean
racism
exclusion
resilience
recovery
title Vers le nord
title_full Vers le nord
title_fullStr Vers le nord
title_full_unstemmed Vers le nord
title_short Vers le nord
title_sort vers le nord
topic black
Mediterranean
racism
exclusion
resilience
recovery
url http://journals.openedition.org/cm/5269
work_keys_str_mv AT olivetteotele verslenord