Middle East Studies

Nicola Perugini has been published on Al Jazeera

April 22, 2015

Nicola Perugini, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in Italian Studies and Middle East Studies, has been published on Al Jazeera. In his opinion column, “Death in the Mediterranean,” he writes about the latest Mediterranean boat disaster and the discriminatory nature of European migration policies more broadly.

It was probably the biggest tragedy in the history of Mediterranean migrations. According to the testimonies of some of the 28 survivors, between 700 and 900 people, mainly from Sub-Saharan Africa, were on the boat that sank in the Strait of Sicily on April 19.

We have gotten used to it, and this indeed is one of the most terrifying aspects of this story. Yes, we – white Europeans of different nationalities who hold passe-partout (masterkey) passports – have gotten used to thousands of non-white bodies swamped in the Mediterranean waters, like we got used to many other forms of extermination perpetrated along racial lines in the past. How did it come about?

Continue to read here.