Looking for Belonging: Ruptures and Ligaments : A Study of Biographic Narratives of Asylum-Seeking Persons in Europe

Abstract: This project deals with the experiences of asylum-seeking persons in their struggle to receive protection in different European countries, exploring how the sense of belonging is shaped during fragmented migration journeys. Conducting biographic-narrative interviews with five persons I met while working in a community centre in Greece, the research shifts the gaze from exclusionary citizenship regimes to migrant agency, revealing the distinct tactics, perceptions and performances of belonging on the move. The findings highlight the dynamic nature of belonging, challenging the notion that migration necessarily implies a rupture with significant attachments. Encounters with state and asylum authorities and regulations are experienced as renewed instances of insecurity, hindering belonging, whereas the community centre offers solace and alternative membership. The research partners express a pragmatic sense of “elective belonging” in Germany and Switzerland, based on long-awaited security and existential mobility, despite weakened community ties and the constraints imposed by European migration policies.