Second Edition, DAY 9 - Arrivederci Lampedusa!

After nine days full of lectures, meetings, workshops and visits, the second edition of the Meditherity summer school is over. 

Now it's time to leave, it's time to say goodbye! Thank you to all the students and lecturers who took part to this unforgettable adventure! See you again in Lampedusa, or elsewhere in the world!

Second Edition, DAY 1 - Introduction: The Imagined Mediterranean

The Mediterranean goes beyond the confines of simple physical fact. Can we view the Med as an imagined space? And what role will perception play in many of the arguments that will be presented throughout the summer school? What is the Mediterranean to most of us: is it home, is it the home we are running away from or the home we are longing to return to? Is it a place we leave to transform ourselves and come back to as renewed bodies, via pilgrimage, tourism or migration? (Nadja Dumann, Stefano Malatesta and Diogini Albera will discuss these matters in detail). Ultimately, how do we ascribe meaning to the world around us?

The meaning that individuals and groups give to space and place provides an interesting dynamic. Studying these spaces allows us to gain insight into the different people’s world views and the sharing of spaces (or not!) leads to the creation of communities, many of which are also transient and at times in conflict (Maria Pisani and Dionigi Albera will speak about this and some of the activists too from the perspective of environment, tourism and migration). 

The sea has provided ample opportunities for trade by legal or illegal means, throughout history. Corsairs, pirates, and many traders have used the sea currents and central Mediterranean islands like Lampedusa, Malta, Sicily and Sardegna as safe harbours connecting the western to the eastern Mediterranean as well as north Africa to Europe…..a special axis that will most likely dominate much of our discussions here this week. In the words of David Abulafia (2011):

“Mediterranean history can mean many things. (T)his book is a history of the Mediterranean Sea, rather than a history of the lands around it; more particularly, it is a history of the people who crossed the sea and lived close by to its shores in ports and on islands. My theme is the process by which the Mediterranean became in varying degrees integrated into a single commercial, cultural and even (under the Romans) political zone, and how these periods of integration ended with sometimes violent disintegration, whether through warfare or plague”.

 These words are timeless, and could well apply to our contemporary reality. 

Looking towards tourism will combine many of the abovementioned strands to provide a context to discuss the socio-economic and socio-environmental impact of such movement of people and goods on local and environmental realities. Local(ised) consumption of the tourism product is leaving its mark on more sensitive ecologies (including human ecologies). The material culture we carry with us and leave behind, speaks of the stories of things-changing-hands. Of routes and journeys, of meaning and of emotion where value is ascribed to things and things are used to transact and build connections and relations via reciprocal exchange. This aspect of material culture and the transience it embodies is also of interest to Camille Faucourt’s session. Many of these strands will flow through the research that will be presented in Giovanna Di Matteo’s session discussing the research presented by our doctoral researchers here. 

(Except from Rachel Radmillli's Introduction to the summer school, Lampedusa, 15th September 2021)

First Edition, DAY 4 - Migration and tourism: old question, new problems

The fourth day of the summer school has begun with the morning seminar by Daniela DeBono Senior Lecturer in International Migration and Ethnic Relations at the department of Global Political Studies at the Malmö Institute for the Studies of Migration,Welfare and Diversity.

The lecture was based on a reflection on the ambiguity of the international legislative system which, while recognising the universal right to emigration, is not so clear about to the related right to immigrate to another country

The lesson was focused on DeBono's research theme: the restrective policies applied for humans - but not for goods and capitals - of Schengen's area represented by the idea of "Fortress Europe", with particular reference to the Italian context and specifically to the Sicilian one (Agrigento, Palermo, Trapani e Lampedusa). The management of migration flows in Italy is structured through different devices that regulate access to the possibility of entry into the national territory. From the hotspot in Lampedusa, the main point of disembarkation in Italy, migrants are directed to other ports in the region of Sicily where they are included in the "sistema di accoglienza".

DeBono's accurate reflection shows how this, translated into English as "welcome, reception or hospitality", does not recognize the full status of humanity to migrants. This lack of respect for the dignity of human life has recently led to exasperation through the criminalisation of the NGOs involved in the process (from rescue at sea to support in Italy).

The day continued at the Malta Migration Museum (NGO registered in the bed of the Catholic Church) where those responsible (INSERT NOMI) provided the historical panorama of Maltese emigration, a phenomenon that lasted from the early '900 until after the full independence of the country in 1964. Over the decades, the organization has played a pivotal role in supporting Maltese emigrants, not only in logistical terms but also by facilitating institutional relations with the countries of destination.

For some years now (the first Refugee Legislation in the country dates back to 1999) Malta has inevitably become, given its strategic geographical position as a hub for renewed migration phenomena, particularly from Africa. Our interlocutors have exposed the growing social tensions arising from the constant arrivals of migrants seeking asylum because of an alleged disproportion in relation to the Maltese population. However, what has caused the most stir in our group is derived from the fact that they are quantitatively scarce when compared to the numbers recorded by mass tourism, which, in fact, is substantially altering the conditions and models of life of the resident population.

The day ended with the enlightening encounter with Vince Briffa, probably the most prominent actor of the current artistic Malta's scenario.

Briffa realized The Knot, actually situated in Castille Place in Valletta city centre, just opposite the municipal building. The Knot symbolises migration as a whole, as well the way people and institutions tent to deal with problematic issues. You can unfold it gently and disclose the inner potentialities, or you can try to solve it rudely..and you'll get stuck with it. A potent metaphor of engaging with culture clashes...a way of living, perhaps.

Briffa honoured the participants with a brief and magnetic lectio about his most recent artwork, the video entitled "The Inbetween" presented at the recent Biennale of Art in Venice. Rooted within the Greek mythology and tale of Odysseus and Penelope, the video it is an intimate review of the human condition as neverending journey, shaping and re-shaping in a pendular dynamic identities and memories.

Art is always political, stated clearly Briffa, unearthing courageously the social role of the artist as a privileged interpreter of his own society. Art as universal grammar to deconstruct dominant narratives and rebuilding the sense of community.