Abandoned Refugee Vehicles "In the Middle of Nowhere": Reflections on the Global Refugee Crisis from the Northern Margins of Europe. (15th September 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Seitsonen, Oula; Herva, Vesa-Pekka; Kunnari, Mika
• Is Part Of: Journal of contemporary archaeology. Volume 3:Number 2(2016)
• Page Start: 244
• Publication Date: 2016-09-15
• Subjects: refugees -- arctic -- vehicles -- refugee crisis -- periphery; Archaeology -- Periodicals; Civilization -- Periodicals; Sociology -- Periodicals; 930.1
• DOI: 10.1558/jca.31697
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2051-3429

Abstract

Abstract : Vehicles abandoned by multinational refugees during the winter 2015–2016 in northern Finnish Lapland's border checkpoints represent an offshoot of the ongoing global refugee crisis on the so-called "Arctic Route" to Europe via Russia. In the summer 2016 this material reminder of refugee mobility vanished almost totally, as the vehicles were auctioned in a show for promoting Lapland tourism. This photo-essay highlights and discusses some of the manifold aspects connected to this flow of refugees, including, for instance, the ethical concerns of trivializing refugee issues intertwined with a host of global larger-scale matters, or using their material heritage for stimulating recreational mobility in these marginalized northern regions.