Harraga: Burning borders, navigating colonialism

In this article I introduce the non-English word, harraga, to address the convoluted nature of migration, death, borders and colonial legacies. My empirical material comes from the south of Tunisia. I draw on practices of migration from Tunisia, the extraction of resources and its effect on the economy of the country, and the washing ashore of bodies on the southern Tunisian coast. I also reflect on the recent European border management in this area that is intended to stop migration from both Tunisia and Libya. Harraga (الحراقة) is an Arabic word used in Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco. It could be translated as those who burn. A pragmatic or accommodating translation would be ‘sans papiers’, or ‘undocumented migrants’. However, harraga is not a word for a group of people, but for an activity. The activity of moving out of the Magreb. Those who engage in harga, ‘burn’ borders in order to enter European territories, or overstay their visa. Yet enfolded in the word harraga is much more than the activity of leaving for Europe. I will slowly unpack this word and show that (1) harraga is not about identity (the migrant/the refugee), but an activity, the activity of burning borders and of expanding living space; (2) harraga is not about burning bridges or leaving histories behind, but about crafting connections as well as colonial extractions; (3) harraga problematizes Europe’s borders by siding with those who burn them, human beings.