This article intends to respond to a recent call (e.g., Zhang Global Crime 10(3): [178][179][180][181][182][183][184][185][186][187][188][189][190][191][192][193][194][195] 2009; Brunovskis and Surtees International Migration 48(4):1-38, 2010) for more innovative studies and methodologies in order to move beyond the current discourse on human trafficking. We do so by describing three ethnographic fragments on the dynamics of (dealing with) sex trafficking within Europe. The concepts of 'friction' and 'collaboration' (Tsing Cultural Anthropology 15 (3): 327-360, 2000, 2005) are used to analyse these fragments. These concepts refer to creative processes that occur as people interact across differences. They give insight into how universal ideas on freedom and justice enable collaboration between parties involved in fighting human trafficking who do not necessarily share a common goal. We conclude that the presented method of 'patchwork ethnography' is useful in studying sex trafficking as it implies a strong focus on connections between 'sites of diverse knowledge', without losing sight of individual stories of people making those connections. 'Patchwork ethnography' is innovative and it allows researchers to expose and untangle the workings of the supposedly all-powerful phenomenon and the encompassing, uniform, hegemonic discourse surrounding human (sex) trafficking.

This article discusses the controversies over the blackface figure Black Pete (Zwarte Piet)—central to the popular Dutch Saint Nicholas holiday tradition—and the public uproar surrounding the Saint Nicholas feast in 2013. It combines history, social theory, and patchwork ethnography, and draws on theoretical approaches discussing race, capitalism, and the commodification of cultural difference to establish an understanding of the controversial character. In doing so, it argues that Black Pete is an invented tradition that marks a “white Dutch habitus” in which the historical context of colonialism and the legacy of slavery is repeatedly ignored or denied.

On the basis of an ethnographic analysis of the ritual process following the sudden death of a Surinamese migrant, this article shows that while the conceptual polarity of death (good versus bad death) might be clear-cut, the morality of death is both bound and unbound in space and time, and relative to the multiple conditions of bereaved relatives involved. Against the background of transnational migration, multi-territorial belonging, and individual self-making, the article explains the crisscrossing morality of death, and how ambiguity is manifested in ritual organization, arguing that mortuary rites express as much controversy and failure as cohesion and closure.

Although the Netherlands is renowned for its forerunner position in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender/transsexual, and intersex (LGBTI) rights, this study urges one to question whether it can still live up to that image. Reports, news items, and signals from non-governmental organizations, such as Transgender Network Netherlands in the field show that especially transgender migrants/refugees regularly face abuse and discrimination. Yet, academic research underlying such findings is scarce. Moreover, a highly gendered discourse on the current migration/refugee crisis makes transgender migrants/refugees even more invisible. This article presents an interpretive approach to the institutional and disciplinary realities they become part of. The approach comes from (1) a literature review, surveying both scholarly publications and other sources; (2) patchwork or instant ethnography, thickening the findings from the literature; (3) and foremostly a theoretical interpretation of the precarious situation in which many transgender migrants/refugees find themselves. We draw upon synthesizing concepts such as "total institution" (Goffman 1961; Henry 1963), "human waste" (Bauman 2004), and "armed love" (Ticktin 2011) to constitute our theoretical framework, through which we show that transgender migrants/refugees are met with compassion and pity, rather than equal rights and full citizenship. This bitter logic leads us to the conclusion that within the Dutch asylum system, transgender migrants/refugees are rendered politically irrelevant, which eventually reflects the main priority of the Dutch authorities (and society at large) to control the boundaries of the nation-state, rather than to address the needs and rights of those people who seek, on legitimate grounds, a passport to a better, that is, a full life.

Pentecostal-Charismatic Christianity (P/C) is one of the fastest-growing religions worldwide. Some scholars connect P/C's success with broad processes of globalization. Others try to unravel more personal dynamics of conversion. Th is article seeks to understand both global forces and local cultural reasons to believe. It focuses fi rst on the remarkable paradox that explains the movement's popularity among African-Surinamese (Caribbean) believers: what appears as P/C's rejection of their traditional religious system turns out to be a reinterpretation of beliefs and practices. From this line of argument I argue that P/C actually enables people, by ways of demonization, to express their spirituality and translate magico-religious conceptions into an acceptable framework. In conclusion, I put this Pentecostal paradox into larger perspective, stressing similarities with other religious movements and exposing an eclectic attitude towards religion that does not only meet personal belief experiences, but also challenges the hegemonic position of established Christian churches in Suriname.