On ma ginal
inclusion:
e ugees
a he inges
o ci izenship
in Po ugal
F ancesco Vacchiano
4.
100 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in
in oduc ion: on bo de s and c ises
Acco ding o da a p o ided by he easo (Eu opean Asylum Suppo O ice),
almos 2,700,000 asylum applica ions we e lodged in he eu+ in 2015 and
2016.1 Al hough he deba e on whe he his igu e po ays an unp eceden ed,
and unexpec ed, “humani a ian c isis” is s ill open, i is ce ainly a numbe o
people in mo ion ha Eu ope has no wi nessed since he Second Wo ld Wa .
Howe e , assuming ha he Eu opean coun ies ha e been simply su p ised
by a phenomenon o unexpec ed magni ude would se iously downsize he
ole o he eu in con ibu ing o his ou come, pa icula ly h ough i s bo de
policy and i s gene al a i ude owa ds asylum seeke s. Al hough he e ec s in
e ms o human displacemen p oduced by wa and ins abili y in A ghanis an,
I aq, Sy ia, Nige ia, E i ea – o name jus he mos ep esen a i e cases –
we e highly p edic able, he eu coun ies elen lessly e used o es ablish a
common policy o ecep ion, one which would allow egula a el o Eu ope
in sea ch o empo a y o pe manen p o ec ion. As a esul , hund eds o
housands o people mo ed en masse h ough makeshi means, spending all
hei sa ings and pu ing hei li es a isk in o de o each coun ies whe e,
pa adoxically enough, he majo i y o hem we e en i led o ecei e asylum.
The mos d ama ic e ec o his choice consis s o housands o dea hs in he
Medi e anean Sea (almos 15,000 in he las ou yea s)2 and unp eceden ed
p essu e om illegalised people a he Eas e n eu bo de . A e ible se ies o
agedies un olded in he Medi e anean Sea be ween 2013 and 2016. Each
one, culmina ing in he disappea ance o p obably 900 people in a shipw eck
in he Sicilian Channel on 18 h Ap il 2015, se a new eco d o casual ies and
was in a iably labelled as “ he wo s agedy o he Medi e anean” ( Vacchiano
2015). The manu ac u ed massi ica ion o mig an s’ despai , as a ious au ho s
ha e claimed,3 se es he aim o con eying images o eme gency and in asion
ha end up jus i ying mo e su eillance and, ul ima ely, mo e bo de s.
An emblema ic case he e is ha o he Eu opean Agenda on Mig a ion, a
se o measu es showcased as he eu solu ion o he ongoing “ e ugee c isis”.
P esen ed as a way o wa ding o u he casual ies, he Agenda is la gely
aimed a p e en ing new a i als o asylum seeke s and o he mig an s, mainly
1 eu Membe S a es plus No way, Swi ze land, Iceland and Lich ens ein.
2 h ps://missingmig an s.iom.in / egion/medi e anean.
3 See he no ion o “bo de spec acle” in De Geno a (2013). See also Casas-Co es e al. (2015).
on ma ginal inclusion: e ugees a he inges o ci izenship in po ugal 101
h ough coope a ion wi h ansi coun ies (Ca e a, G os and Guild 2015;
Vacchiano 2015). Beyond hese de e en s, he Agenda includes an ini ia i e
o “bu den sha ing” based on a scheme o eloca e 40,000 people hos ed
in I aly and G eece in o o he Membe S a es (a numbe la e inc eased o
98,000) and, as he only conc e e measu e o acili a e ecep ion, a p og amme
o ese le up o 22,000 e ugees ecognised by unhc om ou side he eu.4
No di e en ly om p e ious eu ini ia i es, he Agenda is concei ed in
con o mi y wi h he a ionale ha human lows mus (and can) be channelled
in o di ec ions ha a e “use ul” and “p oduc i e” o he des ina ion coun ies
( an Hou um and Pijpe s 2008; Amb osini 2008; Mezzad a and Neilson
2013). This way o enginee ing human mobili y is based on he assump ion
ha people a e willing o accep he p imacy o go e nmen al p io i ies o e
hei pe cei ed needs and expec a ions. As we will see, his is one o he mos
signi ican ac o s explaining he ailu e o many ecep ion and social inclusion
p og ammes.
In ac , he s onges opposi ion o he Agenda, and pa icula ly o he
eloca ion plan con ained in i , came om a numbe o eu coun ies ( he uk,
I eland, F ance, he Czech Republic, Hunga y and Poland) ha esolu ely
e used o comply wi h i . Owing o p essu es exe ed by he eu Commission,
he ini ial esis ance was mainly o e come, excep o he uk, he Czech
Republic, Hunga y and Poland. Whe eas he incep ion o he B exi p ocess
suspended de ac o any uk commi men o he Agenda, he o he h ee
coun ies became he a ge o an in ingemen p ocedu e launched by he
eu Commission in June 2017. In a comple ely di e en mo e, he Po uguese
go e nmen s ongly suppo ed he ini ia i e and exp essed he in en ion
o hos 4,775 people. In a la e mee ing in B ussels, held in Feb ua y 2016,
he Po uguese P ime Minis e An ónio Cos a expanded his o e u he
by opening up o 10,400 people h ough a scheme o bila e al ag eemen s.
Acco ding o his decla a ions, hey would be employed in a eas a ec ed by
sho age o manpowe , like ag icul u e and o es a ion and, i he si ua ion
a ose, allowed o s udy a Po uguese uni e si ies (Gomes Fe ei a 2016).
E en ually, he inal numbe ag eed in B ussels was 2,951 people, o be
eloca ed om I aly and G eece ac oss wo yea s.
4 Eu opean Commission – P ess elease, Eu opean Agenda on Mig a ion: Consolida ing p og ess
made, B ussels, 15 h No embe 2017, Annex 6: eloca ion (h p://eu opa.eu/ apid/p ess- elease_IP-17-
4484_en.h m, accessed 12 h Ap il 2018).
102 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in
As a consequence, an issue ha had gone almos unno iced in he coun y
(Po ugal egis e ed only 477 asylum eques s in 2014), ook cen e s age
and u ned in o a ma e o in ense public deba e. Semina s and o he public
ini ia i es ha p e iously would ha e ha dly a ac ed mo e han a hand ul
o onlooke s, c opped up e e ywhe e and wen sold ou . De ac o s and
de ende s wen epea edly on ai in hea ed deba es, while old and new expe s
gleaned hei app op ia e sha e o a en ion. Opponen s ema ked ha
coun y-na ionals, se e ely impo e ished by he economic c isis, should be
p io i ised, while a numbe o local o ganisa ions and ngos esponded wi h
an ex ao dina y mobilisa ion, c ea ing ne wo ks o solida i y and se ing
up esou ces o he expec ed newcome s. Al hough some g oups en isaged
he possibili y o gaining isibili y and S a e commissions, he majo i y we e
mo ed by ideals o solida i y ha canno simply be educed o sel -in e es
and p o i . Collec i e in ol emen and a gene ally benign a i ude owed
la gely o he images o dea h and despai coming om Sy ia, Tu key, G eece
and Eas e n Eu ope. And ye , he wish o alle ia e human su e ing was a
mo i e o e hical engagemen acco ding o which a mino i a ian, al hough
no negligible, po ion o socie y el compelled o do i s pa . As a esul ,
unde he ini ia i e o membe s linked o he Jesui Re ugee Se ice, a wide
pla o m o olun ee s was es ablished, including public and p i a e bodies,
banks, companies and uni e si ies. Th ough a la ge use o olun a y wo k,
his ne wo k was mean o suppo he o hcoming ecep ion p ocess.
On he side o he go e nmen , a “Wo king G oup o he Eu opean Agenda
on Mig a ion” was cons i u ed. The uni is coo dina ed by he “Immig a ion
and Bo de Se ice” o he S a e Police (se ) and wo ks wi h ep esen a i es
o he Minis ies o he In e io , o Educa ion, o Heal h, he Na ional Ins i u e
o Employmen and Voca ional T aining (i pp ), he Na ional Ins i u e o
Social Secu i y, and he High Commissione on Mig a ion (acm). I s ole
is o coo dina e ecep ion on a na ional le el by se ing up a sys em o local
p og ammes based on public-p i a e pa ne ship. Among he equi emen s
de ined o such p og ammes, he e a e he p inciples o “gi ing alue o he
ecep ion po en ial o e i o ies o middle and low densi y, p e en ing he
concen a ion o people” and “ensu ing he g adual acquisi ion o au onomy by
e ugees”.5 Recep ion p og ammes a e o p o ide housing, language ui ion,
5 Wo king G oup o he Eu opean Agenda on Mig a ion, P inciples o ecep ion p oposals: h p://
www. e ugiados.acm.go .p /ins i uicoes/, accessed 17 h Ap il 2018.
on ma ginal inclusion: e ugees a he inges o ci izenship in po ugal 103
oca ional aining, legal counselling, and accompanimen o medical needs
and psychological suppo . They las 18 mon hs, du ing which bene icia ies
a e suppo ed by a mon hly allowance o 150 eu os and a e equi ed o make
he necessa y s eps o li e independen ly in Po ugal. As we will see below,
eali y is much mo e complex: se ices a e o en una ailable, 18 mon hs is
ba ely enough o ind one’s bea ings in a new socie y and he mon hly s ipend
is li le mo e han pocke money.
By la e 2015, he Wo king G oup was in place, he pla o m o olun ee s
was eady o wo k, and a numbe o o he ins i u ions we e willing o do hei
pa . E e y hing seemed impeccably se up o Po ugal o be like he o he eu
coun ies. Excep o one de ail: e ugees we e no coming… Indeed, as ime
wen on, i became clea ha e ugees, and pa icula ly he awai ed Sy ians,
we e no keen on a i ing a all. G eek and I alian au ho i ies we e occasionally
blamed o hei supposed o ganisa ional aul s, while some da ed insinua e
ha people migh no wan o come o Po ugal. Some Po uguese ngos
had e en ca ied ou missions o G eece so as o mee asylum seeke s and
con ince hem o he many ad an ages o choosing Po ugal, al hough wi h
poo esul s. In Decembe 2015, a g oup o people who we e supposedly eady
o lea e G eece escaped om he ecep ion cen e and disappea ed a he
han heading o Po ugal. Some hing simila happened again in Feb ua y
2016 (C uz 2016). And ye , s a ing om Ma ch, asylum seeke s inally
began o low in and, acco ding o he las a ailable o icial da a, he coun y
ecei ed 1,507 “ eloca ed” and 122 “ ese led” people un il No embe 2017.6
E i eans, Sy ians and I aqis cons i u e a signi ican pa o he sha e. They
ha e been hos ed in acili ies p o ided by municipali ies, ngos and o he local
o ganisa ions, wi h a e y di e se se o ou comes.
While I w i e, almos hal o he people who a i ed h ough he eu
eloca ion p og amme ha e al eady le he coun y (Dias Co dei o 2017). They
ha e p e e ed o u n down hei igh o p o ec ion and he p o isions made
a ailable in Po ugal o li e as i egula ized mig an s elsewhe e. In compliance
wi h he ules es ablished o implemen he Eu opean Agenda on Mig a ion,7
6 Sou ce: Eu opean Commission, Repo “Reloca ion: eu solida i y be ween membe s a es. No embe
2017” (h ps://ec.eu opa.eu/home-a ai s/si es/homea ai s/ iles/wha -we-do/policies/eu opean-agenda-m
ig a ion/20171114_ eloca ion_eu_solida i y_be ween_membe _s a es_en.pd , accessed 24 h No 2017).
7 See in pa icula he “Council Decision 2015/1601 o 22nd Sep embe 2015 es ablishing p o isional
measu es in he a ea o in e na ional p o ec ion o he bene i o I aly and G eece” (h ps://eu -lex.
eu opa.eu/legal-con en /EN/TXT/?u i=celex%3A32015D1601, accessed 12 h Ap il 2018).

104 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in
some o hem ha e been in e cep ed and iden i ied in o he Eu opean coun ies
and a g owing numbe o hem a e being depo ed back o Po ugal. Fo hem,
he speci ic ca ego y o e omado (“ e aken”) was coined. And ye , a sys ema ic
analysis o he ecep ion p ocess and i s esul s has no been unde aken in
Po ugal so a and, in gene al, ela i ely ew con ibu ions a e a ailable on he
opic o asylum in he coun y.8
Based on my e hnog aphic esea ch in he ield o mig a ion and asylum
in Po ugal, his chap e will analyse he expe ience o some asylum claiman s
wi hin he ecep ion p og ammes al eady es ablished in o de o show how
hei expec a ions and possibili ies a e hwa ed by a numbe o obs acles
which, well beyond in en ions and decla a ions, os e us a ion and sense o
ailu e. I a gue ha asylum seeke s and e ugees, no oo di e en ly om o he
immig an s, a e he objec o p ocedu es o hie a chical inclusion ope a ing
h ough a speci ic bu eauc acy o ci izenship. While bu eauc acy, as an e ec
o mode ni y, is he o m in which he S a e manages he o ganisa ion o social
ela ions, o asylum seeke s i u ns in o a ool gene a ing speci ic o ms o
expe ience, some in which people’s p io i ies and ime a e app op ia ed by he
ecei ing ins i u ions in o de o p oduce social assignmen and geog aphical
immobilisa ion. The meaning o “ e-localisa ion” seems he e o ake on he
alue o a concep -me apho (Moo e 2004): a elling ep esen a ion o an
impossible mo e om he assigned posi ion in ime and space.
on e-localisa ion
I me Redwan in la e 2016, in he small p o incial own whe e he was hos ed.9 He
was sha ing a house, made a ailable by a local ngo, wi h his a he Sami , aged
almos 90, and h ee o he people, wo Sy ians and a Po uguese ex-de ainee,
a bene icia y o ano he p og amme un by he same o ganisa ion. On his
way o a sa e place, Redwan had le his p egnan wi e and h ee child en
in Is anbul wi h he in en ion o p o iding his a he wi h be e ea men
in Eu ope and pa ing he way o he a i al o he es o he household.
8 See Malhei os (1995); Ba a da Cos a (1996); Gomes de Sousa (1999); San inho (2010); San inho
(2013); San inho (2015); Cos a and Sousa (2016). Vacchiano and San inho ( o hcoming) ha e ecen ly
p oposed he i s comp ehensi e analysis o he Po uguese ecep ion sys em.
9 Names and de ails ha e been changed o p ese e anonymi y.
on ma ginal inclusion: e ugees a he inges o ci izenship in po ugal 105
Unde s andably, he was anxiously wai ing o an answe o his asylum claim,
which would allow him o o gi e cou se o he p ocess o amily euni ica ion
and see again his wi e, child en and, o he is ime, his new-bo n daugh e .
He ecalls how, in G eece, hey we e eques ed o ill in a pape wi h eigh
p e e ences o eloca ion. Needless o say, nobody chose Po ugal. S ill, easo
o ice s insis ed ha Po ugal was a welcoming coun y, people we e iendly
and a job, hey gua an eed, was easily a ailable.
They had been wai ing in he small own o eigh mon hs and no
imp o emen was in sigh . In ha u al a ea, no wo k was a ailable excep o
pe y jobs in ag icul u e and his p ospec s we e u he na owed by his poo
p o iciency in Po uguese. In ac , he ecei ing o ganisa ion was unable o
p o ide a eache on a s eady basis and Redwan had only a ended o a hand ul
o language classes. Du ing my isi , I ound mysel ac ing as in e p e e in a
long-awai ed mee ing be ween him and he social s a , in which I was asked
o help dealing wi h a numbe o issues. In pa icula , Redwan was upse by
lea ning he was supposed o use his sca ce mon hly allowance, which he la gely
employed o main ain his amily in Is anbul, o pay he cos ly ansla ion
equi ed o ha e his Sy ian d i ing licence ecognised. Al hough his need
co esponds o an impo an s ep on he way o inding a job in Po ugal, he
ngo s a admi ed hey had no p o isions o add ess i . Simila ly, hey had
no addi ional unds o pay o anspo , he only way o mee compa io s,
and o he main enance o he house, he condi ions o which we e se iously
ques ionable acco ding o any s anda d.
When I me hem again, one yea la e , hei si ua ion had e en wo sened.
Eigh een mon hs a e hei a i al, when he ecep ion p og amme was abou
o come o an end, hey had hei asylum claim accep ed. Unable o ind a
decen job, Redwan had insis ed on being eloca ed wi h his a he o Lisbon,
whe e hey we e hos ed in some sha ed ooms a he ngo headqua e s.
Redwan was alone in aking ca e o his a he , as no suppo was o e ed o
imp o e his language skills o in looking o a job. He was also alone in dealing
wi h he complex adminis a i e p ocedu e o euni e his amily, who we e
s ill li ing in Is anbul. In Decembe 2017, almos wo yea s a e hei a i al
and when hei u u e was s ill unce ain, Sami passed away due o a hea
a ack. Fo Redwan, “he died o sadness” in a g ey pe iphe y o he Eu ope o
un ul illed p omises. Redwan concedes ha he mus wai and le ime pass
o lack o al e na i es. Di e en ly om many o his compa io s who ha e
led Po ugal, he is de e mined o s ay, knowing ha elsewhe e he should s a
106 ambiguous inclusions: inside ou , ou side in
om sc a ch and his would slow down he euni ica ion o his amily u he .
Fo him, he idea o being oge he again one day – inally mee ing his new-
bo n daugh e – enables him o ace ad e si ies and adminis a i e obs acles.
Like Redwan, many o he “ eloca ed” people ace daily ha dships in inding
a way h ough dull bu eauc acy and lack o esou ces. Yasi is a young I aqi man
who was eloca ed om G eece o Po ugal in sp ing 2017. I was in oduced
o him by a mu ual acquain ance, who was helping him ind a solu ion o his
longs anding oo hache. Yasi had u ned o eme gency uni s se e al imes,
ecei ing analgesic emedies bu no pe manen solu ions. As was explained
o him, he had o app oach he local heal h se ice in o de o make a o mal
appoin men o specialised ea men , a s ep equi ing a good deal o skills,
bo h in e ms o language and amilia i y wi h p ocedu es. Yasi was hos ed
in a sha ed apa men made a ailable by he ecep ion p og amme. Howe e ,
his con ac wi h he hos ing ins i u ion was spo adic and he was mainly le
alone in dealing wi h e e yday asks. Se e al mon hs a e his a i al, his
communica ion skills we e s ill poo and he had s ill no been egis e ed in a
language class. A e se e al a emp s o a ange an appoin men a he heal h
cen e, he u ned o he uni e si y den al heal h uni , a low-cos se ice usually
p o ided by s uden s in den is y. As Yasi claims, some hing wen w ong
du ing he ope a ion and his oo h su e ed u he damage. No o he solu ion
was a ailable bu seeking help om a p i a e den is , who demanded 500 eu os
o ix he oo h, a sum g ea ly exceeding his mon hly allowance. The oo hache
was s eady and acu e, bu e en mo e unbea able was he sense o humilia ion
o his condi ion o po e y and soli ude. In he wai ing oom o my den is ,
he ecalls his happiness when his eques o eloca ion was accep ed by he
Po uguese au ho i ies, a eeling ha , as he obse es, is a odds wi h he ce ain y
he has been somehow swindled by a alse p omise o help and solida i y.
Solida i y was a he co e o he idea leading o he ounda ion o he
Pla a o ma de Apoio aos Re ugiados (Pla o m o Suppo ing Re ugees)
in summe 2015. The ini ia i e, p omo ed by he Po uguese sec ion o he
Jesui Re ugee Se ice, b ings oge he olun ee s and ins i u ions in o de
o ecei e “ eloca ed” people wi hin hei ne wo k. Volun ee s who adhe e
o he Pla o m sha e gene ally – al hough no exclusi ely – a Ca holic
backg ound and ake an ac i e ole in asylum seeke ecep ion as a o m
o e hical commi men . The Al-Akba i amily escaped om I aq and was
on ma ginal inclusion: e ugees a he inges o ci izenship in po ugal 107
eloca ed om G eece in o Po ugal in Ap il 2017, being ecei ed by a g oup
o olun ee s pe aining o he Pla o m. The si ua ion o he household, a
couple wi h a son aged six, was conside ed po en ially c i ical due o he s a e
o p egnancy o he mo he and an ex ended bu n on he child’s skin esul ing
om an acciden occu ed in G eece. Volun ee s collec ed esou ces o en
an apa men a ma ke p ice and mobilised an ac i e ne wo k o people o
ace he needs o he newcome s, wi h heal h being a pa amoun conce n.
Pa icula ca e was gi en o accompany hem o S a e o ices, hospi als and
heal h uni s, so as o p o ide help wi h ansla ion and p ocedu es. The bi h
o he new child, a e some mon hs, was welcomed by a suppo i e g oup o
people, one ha was able o con ey a sense o communi y and con i iali y o
he household. And ye , he amily had ecu en ly o ace nume ous obs acles
dissemina ed on i s way, o en cons i uing inex icable chains o in e wo en
hu dles. A delay in he enewal o he esidency pe mi igge ed a chain-
eac ion in which he I aqi d i ing licence expi ed, p e en ing in u n he
possibili y o ha e i con e ed in o a Po uguese one and apply o a job as a
d i e . Simul aneously, i caused he suspension o he igh o exemp ion om
hospi al ees and he ollowing deb wi h he adminis a ion o childbi h and
successi e consul a ions. Th oughou hese occu ences, olun ee s so ened
he impac o he di icul ies, p o iding com o and al e na i e solu ions.
This was possible since hei mo i a ion allowed hem o es ablish a bond
which la gely exceeded he common ela ionship be ween se ice p o ide s
and use s. And none heless, he sense o loneliness commonly epo ed by
e ugees ended up being ans e ed o olun ee s, who equen ly complained
abou he lack o suppo om ins i u ions and he many hind ances hey had
o help hei in e locu o s o es ablish a no mal li e as ci izens.
on ambiguous p o ec ion and a “decen li e”
The disc epancy be ween he ep esen a ions con eyed by he ins i u ions
(a gene ous socie y, a suppo i e wel a e, a se o good p ac ices) and he
expe ien ial na a i es o bene icia ies, in which penu y and decep ion
p edomina e, is o en due o a misconcep ion o he no ion o p o ec ion
and o a way o imagining he pe son in need. As I ha e shown elsewhe e
(Vacchiano and San inho, o hcoming), he Po uguese sys em o e ugee
“in eg a ion” is mainly based on ou main mechanisms: (1) a p ocess o