The Ghetto in European Perception: From Cities to Bodies

Between 2010 and 2015, the political pressure on European countries reached its peak during the so-called “migrant crisis.” At that time, migration was already a highly debated issue due to the permanent population flows from Africa and the Middle East, as well as the silent exodus from the East, due to the collapse of communism and the enlargement of the European Union. Yet it became a more pressing matter following the Arab Spring in 2011. Refugees asking for asylum reached their highest numbers since World War II, and new regulatory frameworks among EU member states became a ground for political negotiations. In the meantime, the world witnessed a number of unprecedented tragedies. In October 2013, three hundred and eighty-six people lost their lives on a boat a few miles from the Lampedusa shore. In April 2015, seven hundred shipwrecked victims were counted in the Sicilian Strait. Further, landed migrants came to face new barriers. Following the first attempts at government aid, some were repatriated, most were temporarily confined in camps, while heated discussions revolved about the shared responsibility of Northern countries concerning the distribution of migrants among member states. The sea interventions, containment strategies, and the strengthening of external borders (alongside the emergence of new internal ones) dominated the transnational debate, impacting a number of national political campaigns.