Border Violence in Africa

This chapter focuses on border violence targeting refugees and migrants on routes from Africa to Europe. First, we situate this violence in context, exploring the histories and meanings of borders on the African continent—including debates about their origins in colonial interventions. Second, we conceptualize the violence of Eurocentric interventions in border management in Africa. Finally, we present a case study of memories and experiences of border violence, based upon ethnographic research. We catalogue blinding abuses on journeys to Tunisia, inside the country, and in Mediterranean waters. We also reveal a Tunisian “borderscape” where intensifying racism and violence against “foreign” migrants is woven into domestic political struggles. Tunisians “burn the border” (harraga) with subversive migration practices; they also counteract it with social solidarities, and justifications for freedom of movement. With attention to these experiences, we illuminate how border violence relates to state violence, affecting migrants, refugees, and citizens alike.