Abandoned Refugee Vehicles “In the Middle of Nowhere”: Reflections on the Global Refugee Crisis from the Northern Margins of Europe
Issue: Vol 3 No. 2 (2016)
Journal: Journal of Contemporary Archaeology
Subject Areas: Archaeology
DOI: 10.1558/jca.31697
Abstract:
Vehicles abandoned by multinational refugees during the winter 2015–2016 in northern Finnish Lapland’s border checkpoints represent an offshoot of the ongoing global refugee crisis on the so-called “Arctic Route” to Europe via Russia. In the summer 2016 this material reminder of refugee mobility vanished almost totally, as the vehicles were auctioned in a show for promoting Lapland tourism. This photo-essay highlights and discusses some of the manifold aspects connected to this flow of refugees, including, for instance, the ethical concerns of trivializing refugee issues intertwined with a host of global larger-scale matters, or using their material heritage for stimulating recreational mobility in these marginalized northern regions.
Author: Oula Ilari Seitsonen, Vesa-Pekka Herva, Mika Kunnari
References :
Interviews
M1. Male, border guard at Kelloselkä border point (anonymous due to professional reasons), June 3, 2016, Salla.
M2. Male, municipality official (anonymous due to professional reasons), June 3, 2016, Salla.
Literature
Augé, M. 1995. Non-places: An Introduction to an Anthropology of Supermodernity, translated by J. Howe. London: Verso.
Burström, M. 2009. “Garbage or Heritage: The Existential Dimension of a Car Cemetery.” In Contemporary Archaeologies: Excavating Now, edited by C. Holtorf and A. Piccini, 131–143. Frankfurt am Main: Peter Lang.
Eerola, A. 2016. “IL Kantalahdessa: Yllätyskäänne itärajan tilanteessa - pakolaiset ajettiin ulos rajakaupungista.” Iltalehti, 6 March. Available online: http://www.iltalehti.fi/pakolaiskriisi/2016030621226199_cm.shtml
Finland Times. 2015. “Move to Control Refugee Influx from Russia thru Lapland: Finland Bans Border Crossing on Bicycle.” 27 December. Available online: http://www.finlandtimes.fi/national/2015/12/27/23644/Finland-bans-border-crossing-on-bicycle
Finnish Border Guard. 2016. ”Venäjän rajalta Lappiin suuntautuva laiton maahantulo ja sen hallinta.” Available online: http://www.raja.fi/tietoa/tiedotteet/1/0/venajan_rajalta_lappiin_suuntautuva_laiton_maahantulo_ja_sen_hallinta_64776
Harju, J. 2016. “Sallan romu-Ladat kiinnostavat harrastajia.” Helsingin Sanomat, 18 January. Available online: http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/a1453003137920
Kärki, K. 2016. “Rajan hylättyjen autojen jäteasema on Lada-Jussin taivas – katso video Sallasta.” Inarilainen. 4 June. Available online: http://www.lapinkansa.fi/lappi/rajan-hylattyjen-autojen-jateasema-on-lada-jussin-taivas-katso-video-sallasta-15562204/
Koivuranta, E. 2015. “Ylivoimainen enemmistö on miehiä – Yle kokosi tuoreimmat faktat turvapaikanhakijoista.” Yle Uutiset, 5 October. Available online: http://yle.fi/uutiset/ylivoimainen_enemmisto_on_miehia__yle_kokosi_tuoreimmat_faktat_turvapaikanhakijoista/8354207
Konttinen, J. 2016. “HS seurasi pakolaisten piinaa Venäjällä – toive Suomeen pääsystä elää Kantalahden pakkasissa.” Helsingin Sanomat, 26 January. Available online: http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/a1453786224448
Kunnas, K. 2016. “Pyhän Yrjön nauha sitoo yhteen venäläisiä Moskovasta Tallinnaan ja Donetskiin.” Helsingin Sanomat, 12 December. Available online: http://www.hs.fi/paivanlehti/12122016/art-2000005001247.html
Löfgren, O. (2003) On Holiday. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Mäkinen, T. 2016. “Kansainvälisen rikollisorganisaation epäillään salakuljettaneen kymmeniä Suomeen Sallan ja Raja-Joosepin kautta.” Helsingin Sanomat, 5 May. Available online: http://www.hs.fi/kotimaa/a1462325554902
Minca, C. 2015. “Geographies of the Camp.” Political Geography 49: 74–83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.polgeo.2014.12.005
Ministry of Interior, Finland. 2016a. “Turvapaikanhakijoita saapui viime vuonna ennätysmäärä.” Available online: http://www.intermin.fi/fi/maahanmuutto/turvapaikanhakijat
____. 2016b. “Over 90 Per Cent of Asylum Seekers Arriving via Russia Refused.” Available online: http://www.intermin.fi/en/current_issues/news/1/1/over_90_per_cent_of_asylum_seekers_arriving_via_russia_refused_64911
Mykkänen, P. 2015. “’Miksi lähes kaikki ovat nuoria miehiä?’ – Eurooppaan saapuvat turvapaikanhakijat antavat väärän kuvan pakolaiskriisistä.” Helsingin Sanomat, 18 August. Available online: http://www.hs.fi/ulkomaat/a1305978043206
Nilsen, T. 2016a. “Asylum Stream Directed by Crime Elements.” The Independent Barents Observer, 12 January. Available online: http://thebarentsobserver.com/borders/2016/01/asylum-stream-directed-crime-elements
____. 2016b. “Refugees with Children Walking towards Finnish Border in Extreme Frost.” The Independent Barents Observer, 13 January. Available online: http://thebarentsobserver.com/borders/2016/01/refugees-children-walking-towards-finnish-border-extreme-frost
Redshaw, S. 2008. In the Company of Cars: Driving as a Social and Cultural Practice. Aldershot, UK: Ashgate.
Saarinen, J. 2001. “The Regional Economics of Tourism: A Case Study of the Economic Impacts of Tourism in Salla, Eastern Lapland.” Nordia Geographical Publications 30 (4): 11–18.
Salla Municipality. 2016a. Website http://www.salla.fi/
____. 2016b. “Itäautojen tullihuutokauppa 15.–16.7.” 29 June. https://web.archive.org/web/20160703190329/http://loma.salla.fi/fi/tapahtumat/1466425944
Seamon, D. 2000. “A Way of Seeing People and Place.” In Theoretical Perspectives in Environment-behavior Research, edited by S. Wapner, J. Demick, T. Yamamoto and H. Minami, 157–178. New York: Plenum. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-4701-3_13
Sheller, M. and J. Urry, 2006. “The New Mobilities Paradigm.” Environment and Planning A 38 (2): 207–226. https://doi.org/10.1068/a37268
Tynkkynen, J. 2016. “Tulli järjestää uuden itäautojen huutokaupan Raja-Joosepissa.” Yle uutiset, August. Available online: http://yle.fi/uutiset/tulli_jarjestaa_uuden_itaautojen_huutokaupan_raja-joosepissa/9068666
Vannini, P. 2010. “Mobile Cultures: From the Sociology of Transportation to the Study of Mobilities.” Sociology Compass 4 (2): 111–121. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2009.00268.x