Mobiles and ‘making do’: Exploring the affective, digital practices of refugee women waiting in Greece

Abstract

In the wake of the so-called European migrant crisis, migration scholars have zoomed in on digital technologies and mobility. Seldom addressed, however, are the affective entanglements of migrant digital practices. Yet, as this article argues, waiting is a deeply affective and embodied experience, mediated by information and communications technologies, and tempered both spatially and temporally. Using the cultural politics of emotion as an entry point, and a reflexive and vulnerable methodology, this article explores the digital practices of 15 women waiting in a refugee camp in Greece. In aiming to more justly represent their experiences, this article seeks to move beyond spatial descriptions of migration, as well as to unsettle prevalent discourses of displacement as a liminal condition. Herein, I use the dialectic of strategy and tactics to explore the ways in which smartphones are mobilised in order to ‘make do’ with protracted experiences of displacement. Three mediated practices of ‘making do’ are explored: non-mainstream news consumption as a tactic of self-care; mediated family practices as a tactic of hope; and nature photography as a tactic of creativity. In the context of a dehumanising strategy of migration containment, I will argue that everyday tactics of self-care, hope and creativity constitute affective forms of agency.

Mobile communication and refugees: An analytical review of academic literature

“…This academic interest is foregrounded in the increasingly important role mobile technologies play in refugees' interpersonal connections (Diminescu, 2020), in particular with family and friends who have stayed in their home country or moved to a different place. For Iraqi refugees living in households in Jordan (Twigt, 2018), or refugee women waiting in refugee camps Greece (Greene, 2019), communication with transnational intimates through smartphones help them make do with offline material hardship and regain a sense of ontological security (Leurs, 2014). In the case of Syrians living in Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan, being able to call family and friends also allow them to achieve some well‐being, and to share feelings of happiness and sadness when remembering important moments of their lives back in Syria (Wall et al, 2017, p. 251).…”

“…At the same time, scholars highlight the relevance of the integrated functionalities of new mobile technologies in enabling refugees to sustain multiple levels of digital intimacy. Greene (2019) noted, for instance, that the visual and aural affordances of voice and video chat are often the preferred media form in the context of refugee women's everyday practices of doing family. The possibility to share various types of archives (e.g., videos, photos, cards, etc.)…”

“…with distant family members through the smartphone and at different moments can create a sense of shared history among refugees, enhancing digital togetherness (Leurs, 2014; Twigt, 2018). Yet, precarious mobile connectivity in the contexts of displacement can be an obstacle to refugees' ability to maintain transnational family relationships (Greene, 2019). Although most people had mobile phones, their access to stable and reliable mobile network was restricted by local communication infrastructures, limited financial resources, and the difficulty of getting phone contracts due to their uncertain legal status (Fiedler, 2018; Wall et al, 2017; Witteborn, 2015).…”

The politics and poetics of migrant narratives

“…He observed paradoxical digital mediation of co-presence, including practical exchange of information, casual sharing as a form of banter, curated co-presence through family photos used as screen savers and strategic exchange to maintain cultural norms and expectations (Cabalquinto, 2019). Alexandra Greene (2019) in this issue describes how refugee women draw on smartphone use as tactics of self-care. However, digital self-representations might also exacerbate internal tensions within migrant communities.…”

“…It is then the task of the researcher to bring these different, divergent or at times colliding viewpoints together in a meaningful way, making evidence-based recommendations for change. (d'Haenens and Joris, 2020: 438) The group of actors narrating migration explored in this special issue include diaspora and migrant journalists (Kirk, 2019;Voronova, 2019), government officials and policy makers (Madörin, 2019), migrants and refugees (Dhoest, 2019;Greene, 2019;Løland, 2019), diasporas (Almenara-Niebla and Ascanio-Sánchez, 2019) and social media publics (Bozdağ, 2019). The narration of migration happens through anti-migrant social media memes, visual surveillance, digital fingerprints, asylum interviews, smartphone use, refugee selfies and news accounts.…”