This a collaborative project exploring the novel humanitarian problem of migrants/refugees who die or go missing in their effort to cross the EU borders in the Mediterranean Sea.
With the support of British Academy/Leverhulme Small Research Grants, we carried out research in the Greek island of Lesbos in an effort to understand how local authorities at the EU borders deal with this humanitarian problem amidst a policy void at national and EU levels.
We also seek to understand the needs of the families of missing migrants, including needs concerning information, return of human remains and certification of death. This line of research has been funded by the ESRC (Strategic Urgency Grands) (£161,874) and commenced in October 2015. Building on early findings we have published policy briefings in an effort to offer evidence-based recommendations to improve policy responses, and drive advocacy.
Findings from this line of research have been published in policy briefings:
Policy Brief – Addressing Migrant Bodies in the EU Addressing Migrant Bodies in Europe’s Southern Frontier (2014), with Simon Robins and Anna Vallianatou.
Policy Brief summary – Addressing Migrant Bodies in the EU. Addressing Migrant Bodies in Europe’s Southern Frontier [Summary] (2014), with Simon Robins and Anna Vallianatou.
Summary Report on Missing Migrants Across the Mediterranean. General Report summarising key findings of the ESRC-funded project on Missing Migrants across the Mediterranean.
Γενική Έκθεση Για τους Αγνοούμενους Μετανάστες στην Μεσόγειο (In Greek)
Greece:
Report presenting the findings of the ESRC- funded project. The report focuses on the management of dead and missing migrants in Greece, drawing on fieldwork on the Greek island of Lesbos.
Report on Missing Migrants in Greece
Έκθεση για τους Αγνοούμενους Μετανάστες στην Ελλάδα (In Greek)
Summary Report on Missing Migrants in Greece
Περιληπτική Έκθεση για τους Αγνοούμενους Μετανάστες στην Ελλάδα (In Greek)
Italy:
Report presenting the findings of the ESRC- funded project. The report focuses on the management of dead and missing migrants in Italy, drawing on fieldwork in Sicily.
Report on Missing Migrants in Italy
Summary Report on Missing Migrants in Italy
Families:
Report presenting the findings of the ESRC- funded project on the needs of the families of Missing Migrants. The report explores the experiences of the relatives, drawing on interviews with families from Syria, Iraq, Tunisia etc.
Report on Families of Missing Migrants