E-Module Chapter 4: Migrants and Precarious Housing

In Chapter 4, we presented different types of housing for migrants as well as the different forms of refugee accommodation, depending on the phase of their arrival in the EU. To get some further insights on the situation of refugees arriving in the EU, read a journalistic account of refugee camps built at the outermost borders of the EU. You can look for example in this article published by the Guardian

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/sep/19/why-greeces-expensive-new-migrant-camps-are-outraging-ngos. 

You can easily find other ones by typing in a search engine some of the key words that you have learned from the chapter on refugees and migrants.

Based on what you’ve read in the chapter and beyond, reflect on the use of phrases such as ‘decent housing’, ‘decent living conditions and ‘overcrowdedness’. Take notes.

1) Without referring to any formal definition, explain when would you define a public space as ‘overcrowded’? What about a living space or a ‘home’? What is ‘decent housing’ in your understanding? What does it take for a living space to be called ‘decent housing’? Do you think your understanding would be accepted by different persons in different circumstances or their views will differ from yours and diverge?

2) When describing the journey of migrants and refugees, journalists would sometimes say that they “had left their homes” or they “found a new home”. These phrases have a literal meaning but they also refer to a broader set of circumstances. Try to put yourself in the shoes of somebody who has left his/her home and his/her home country and trace his/her journey. You could, for example, take a specific country from which persons recently came to Europe and read accounts about their typical journeys. Imagine even that their home was destroyed and going back is no longer an option. When would you say that you/such a person ‘found a new home’? What does ‘home’ mean in this context? Does it include something beyond having a place to live even if it is your own place?