This presentation will offer insights from recent research on how families in transit through Tunisia prepare for migration journeys by sea. While Tunisia has, for decades, been a country from which people have travelled across the Mediterranean to reach Europe, in 2023 it surpassed Libya as the highest departure point for boats leaving for Italy. ‘Boza’ –a term variously derived from Bamoun, Fula, and other linguistic origins, which can loosely translate to a sense of victory for a successful journey towards freedom– continues to be considered by many as the only way forwards.
This seminar builds on existing research on how people make decisions about journeys that are widely known to be deadly, and the more limited literature on the role of religious and spiritual practices among individuals on the move. Drawing from field research among non-Tunisian migrant families in Tunis, it considers how families face the sea, the centrality of spiritual beliefs in connection to water, and the particular role that children come to adopt in these journeys.
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