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Migrant Memory and Museums: Des racines et des ailes
Carine Rouah Coordinator, International Network of Migration Museums
Introduction
The global population is increasingly on the move and migration is a defining characteristic of our world. The question today is how to tap its potential. The current trend in the development of migration museums is a promising phenomenon that may greatly contribute to migrant integration, inter-cultural dialogue, and cultural diversity.
Following traditional immigration countries like the United States, Australia or Canada, today a dozen of European countries are creating venues to build awareness of the experiences, contributions, and cultural wealth of migrants. Faced with such initiatives, UNESCO and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) are supporting the development of an international network of cultural institutions related to migration (here called migration museums) in order to facilitate international collaboration through exchanges and joint projects.
The article emphasizes the role of memory in bridging the gap between the past and the future, to build a better future. In particular, transmission and integration of the origin culture can strongly contribute to the well-being and integration of migrants and their children. By collecting, documenting, valorising, and sharing the testimonies and experiences of migrants with the host society, migration museums are fulfilling social objectives, such as inclusion and social cohesion, while contributing to forging a new identity at the country level. This article is based on the study of 20 migration museums located in 15 countries on three continents. It compares their social objectives, highlights common opportunities and challenges, and shows how, by working with communities, governments, and experts in the countries of origin, the creation of an international network of migration museums can facilitate the sharing of practices, contents, and resources to contribute to cultural diversity and dialogue. 1. Migrant Memory: Roots and Routes
A Turkish saying states: "If you don't know where you're from, you don't know where you're going". Indeed, memory, narration, and transmission contribute to building an identity and a better future. The need for memory is even stronger for migrants, as migrants possess a complex experience that places them in a dual reality between the country of arrival and the country of origin. By integrating various experiences (departure, transit, arrival and eventual return) lived as contradictory so far, migrants can employ memory to address identity issues[1] (Losi). In today’s world, through listening to stories of their parents, and discovering the wealth of their culture of origin, second generations of migrants can increase their self-esteem, feel better with themselves and thus with others, and find a better place in society. Conversely, an absence of cultural origins may be felt as emptiness and may eventually lead to distress, as "integration functions like a fusion process, never like an amputation. There only exists durable integration if nourished by the construction of an identity by addition, and not per caesura, even less by censorship."[2] (Rouselle).
Yet, while memory is of paramount importance, it is also fragile. Migration has long been perceived as a ‘taboo’, a negative experience, an obligation to escape from poverty, hunger, or war. In past decades, parents were often ashamed to narrate memories from their countries of origin. Today, second and third generations miss out on knowing these stories. As witnesses from the large waves of migration from the 1950s to the 1970s are getting older and older, it is urgent to collect memories and testimonies from parents and grandparents, because as Africans state: "an old man dying is like a library burning".
This chapter will demonstrate the role of memory in migrant integration through examples drawn from fields as diverse as fairy tales, psychoanalysis, art and literature. An advocate with UNESCO notes that: “Memory is the cornerstone to a well balanced personality: that holds true for both individuals and for peoples. The collective memory of the peoples of the world is of vital importance in preserving cultural identities, in bridging the past and the present and in shaping the future”[3]. (Zon)
Collecting, documenting, preserving, and valorising the testimonies and experiences of migrants is precisely the goal of migration museums worldwide, just like safeguarding and preserving the heritage as a whole is the museum’s primary purpose.
2. Migration Museums: Objectives, Opportunities, and Challenges
This chapter is based on the study of twenty cultural institutions related to migration in the fifteen countries listed on page 4. It will briefly recall the concept of museum, its definition and its role in the service of society, according to the International Council Of Museums (ICOM), before analysing the specific objectives of a migration museum[4], namely to:
· Build awareness of the events that induced individuals to leave their land, with a view to developing empathy in the host population, and to deconstruct stereotypes of migration through collection and dissemination of the individual stories and testimonies of migrants. · Acknowledge migrants’ contributions to their host societies, and recognize migration as a key part of the nation's history. At the same time, find common ground, foster the sense of belonging, and enable migrants and communities to feel an integral part of the nation, so that inclusion, integration and social cohesion are strengthened. · Valorise the diversity and wealth brought to nations by the origin cultures of migrants, and foster dialogue, cultural diversity, and the development of a new identity at the national level.
Through brief examples of the activities developed, the article shows that migration museums not only address the aforementioned social objectives, but also provide great opportunities and venues to span political divides, and foster self-esteem, creativity, and dialogue through art.
If migration museums offer unique occasions for intercultural dialogue and promoting social cohesion, they also face common challenges due to their very nature. One particular problem is the audience that migration museums seek to target. To have an impact on the image and perception of migrants, these institutions need to attract not only the traditional visitors of museums, but above all the general public who might have preconceived ideas on immigration, commuters, migrants themselves, and the media as opinion-makers. How should this audience be attracted? Alternatively, how ‘to bring’ the museum to the people?
While the word ‘museum’ is often associated with conservation and preservation, the stories and cultures of migrants are fast-moving and rapidly evolving. Is this compatible? As societies and communities change, museums must re-invent themselves so as to be pro-active and relevant. How can this be done in a meaningful way? How can the stories of migrants be demonstrated in an accessible, useful, and relevant manner?
The concepts at hand are challenging. They are sensitive issues that touch on different disciplines and purposes, and tender new concepts such as ‘patrimony of immigration’ and ‘history of immigration’. Can we conciliate individual memories and history, personal experiences and historical research? How can we organize calls for contributions, when valuable testimonies and objects belong to those who never set foot in a museum, and who perhaps are illiterate? How can we work at the local level, with communities and neighborhoods? Can we gather those who never have met in order to facilitate integration?
3. Towards an International Network of Migration Museums
Faced with the current development of migration museums worldwide and their potential contribution to migrant integration, cultural diversity, and social cohesion, UNESCO and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) – two intergovernmental organizations with strong expertise and experience in migration, memory and museums – organized an Expert Meeting on Migration Museums in October 2006 in Rome, Italy to facilitate the sharing of experiences and good practices at an international level. As a result of this first encounter, the directors of 15 worldwide cultural institutions working on migration discovered the existence, expertise, and collections developed by their counterparts, and identified common challenges.
At the end of this forum, the participants recommended forming an “international network of cultural institutions related to migration” as part of a larger international movement for human rights, migration, and cultural diversity. This network would facilitate the exchange of experiences, contents, and resources to better address common challenges, and develop international cooperation through common activities and joint projects (the final statement in the Annex section of this document outlines the guiding principles of the network).
As determined by the institutions involved, the objectives of the international network of migration museums are to:
So far, this international network includes the following institutions and countries:
Many more institutions from all over the world have shown interest in joining the network, including organizations in Argentina, Indonesia, South Africa and Thailand.
With very scarce resources, the following activities have been carried out over the last six months:
- Development of an action plan and of a project proposal, based on the needs of migrants - Launching of a migration museum website as a forum for discussion and information - Advocacy on migration memory and heritage through a special issue of MUSEUM International, May 2007, and support for the opening of new institutions, such as la Cité de l’histoire de l’immigration in Paris, this summer - Presentation of the initiative to 12 countries of the Mediterranean region, and liaison with specific countries of origin such as Morocco and Turkey in order to strengthen collaboration and extend the network.
The next step is to liaise with donors and to mobilize the resources needed to implement concrete activities together.
Conclusion
Migration museums are interesting initiatives also for their openness and their efforts to highlight populations and cultures “on the move”, to integrate various experiences and approaches, to strengthen civil society participation, to think local working with the communities and act global.
In this regard, the participation of various countries, governments, migrant associations, academics, researchers, as well as that of industries and the business community, is of great value in this international seminar on Memories and Migrations. We look forward to visiting Museu da Emigração e das Comunidades, a leading partner of the international network, and to learning more about the Portuguese case, which combines 30 years of emigration, return, and immigration experiences. The ability of the Portuguese to integrate a new country and an institution like the EC in the past, the maturity of Portugal today in recognizing emigration as a collective experience on a national level, and the potential of Portugal to liaise with Africa and Latin America are all remarkable feats brought to light by this new migration museum.
The purpose of the international network of migration museums is to foster this openness. May we combine our efforts to span political divides through art and memory, to facilitate cultural exchanges, to bridge the gap between host countries and countries of origin, so that the comings and goings of migrants - often unrealistic due to war or conflict situations - become a reality, as it is in Portugal today.
To conclude, a participant in our first Expert Meeting on Migration Museum stated: “I thought that in our Centre, in our country, we were the only fools to focus on migrant memory. But with this meeting, it is good to see that we are in good company”. Annex
Final Statement of the first Expert Meeting on Migration Museums Jointly organized by UNESCO & IOM, 23-25 October 2006 Rome, Italy
The global population is on the move and migration is a defining characteristic of the world we live in today. The question now is how to tap its potential.
Effective cultural integration can contribute to achieving this goal. Unfortunately, prejudices and tensions exist, often due to lack of knowledge and understanding, which can in part be attributed to the absence of resources and spaces for inter-cultural exchange.
Migration museums have an essential role to play in finding, preserving, presenting, valorising and informing people about the different cultural heritages and perspectives that compose society as well as maintaining and facilitating connections between migrants’ countries of origin and host countries.
Migration can refer to all types of large movements of people – immigration both forced and voluntary, as well as emigration. Migrants in the context of this document can also refer to next-generation descendents from migrants.
Museums, whilst they share the same broad theme, are not restricted under one definition and can be represented by a variety of contents, methodologies and places.
Due to their subject matter and their potential for helping to achieve a more cohesive and peaceful society both nationally and internationally, migration museums can contribute to the protection of migrants’ rights, and strive to be guided by and committed to the following principles:
§ Memories – individual, collective, dominant and subjugated - as well as the different cultural-expressions of migrants – material or non-material - are precious, to be treasured, and handled with respect and sensitivity
§ Migrants, as any human beings, possess the right, but need the opportunity, to preserve, represent and evolve their cultural identity, always being centrally involved in the process, and always in relation to the culture of the host society.
§ Testimonies and cultural contributions of migrants have to be represented through an adaptable and multi-disciplinary approach
§ Cultural exchange - well-informed and interactive - has to be considered as an essential means to connect people between all cultures and generations
§ Migration is a process with different phases which should be communicated to societies in both sending, transit and receiving countries to foster more regulation and less vulnerability
§ Divisive stereotypes need deconstructing in order to favour the construction and expression of new plural identities
Migration has a past, a present and a future Migration museums can build a bridge between all three [1] Losi, N., International Organization for Migration (IOM), Italy, 1986 [2] “L’intégration fonctionne comme un processus fusionnel, jamais comme une amputation. Il n’existe d’intégration durable que, nourrie d’une construction identitaire par 'additionalité', et non par césure, encore moins par censure. Au silence volontaire ou accablé des parents, correspondent systématiquement la révolte et le rejet des enfants. Les mécanismes d’intégration n’opèrent jamais sur des êtres amnésiques, fictivement recomposés. La résurgence culturelle prend alors des formes déstructurées et caricaturales.” Rouselle, O., Fonds d’Action et de Soutien pour l’Intégration et la Lutte contre les Discriminations (FASILD), France [3] Zon, D. H., UNESCO, in Memory of the World Programme: The Asia-Pacific Strategy, 1999.
[4] In new immigration countries, emigration museums may build on their nationals’ experience and on the parents’ pain, to sensitize the population on the condition of today’s migrants. This is the case in Italy where emigration museums also deconstruct stereotypes of a ‘good’ Italian emigration in the past versus a ‘bad’ immigration to Italy today. The example of Portugal and of the Museu da Emigração e das Comunidades would be of great interest in this regard.
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