Migratory deaths, missing persons and their identification
Rachid Koraïchi, José Pablo Baraybar , Filippo Furri & Silvia Di Meo
Algerian visual artist, graduate of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Algiers and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. In 2021, he created "Jardin d'Afrique" in Zarzis, Tunisia, a cemetery-garden for migrants who died at sea, for which work began in 2018. There are also buildings on the site where autopsies can be performed to help identify the remains.
Peruvian forensic anthropologist. He has worked for 30 years as an expert for the United Nations, the inter-American system and Peru. He is currently forensic coordinator for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Mexico and Central America, having worked on the identification of migrants who have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea.
Anthropologist. He began working on the issue of migration deaths in 2011 with the Migreurop network and the Boats4people coalition, with whom he produced a support guide for families searching for missing loved ones. He takes part in university research programs (Mecmi with Carolina Kobelinsky in particular) and has also worked on the search and identification of bodies with the ICRC and EuroMed Rights, and joined the CommemorAction network.
Silvia Di Meo is an anthropologist and researcher at the University of Genova. She is president of the Mem-Med Mémoire Méditerranée association (based between Sicily and Tunisia), which works to find missing persons and provides legal and psychosocial support to the families of migrants who have died or disappeared on the borders of the Mediterranean.
On Thursday 11 January 2024 at 6.30pm, we welcomed artist Rachid Koraïchi, forensic anthropologist Jose-Pablo Baraybar and anthropologists Filippo Furri and Silvia Di Meo for a round table discussion on missing and dead migrants and their identification.
The Mediterranean has become a graveyard for migrants; it is estimated that more than 26,000 people have died since 2014 while attempting to cross from North Africa to Europe. Many others have died at Europe's borders: in the Balkans, in the Pas-de-Calais, in the Channel towards England and in the Atlantic Ocean towards the Canaries. Many of the bodies are never found, and of those that are, most are not identified.
Faced with this significant increase in anonymous deaths, our guests have joined forces to give these bodies a chance of one day being identified and treated with dignity. The aim is also to help families find their missing loved ones, to give them the opportunity to begin mourning and to take the administrative steps that require a death certificate. They will tell us about their work, the importance they attach to it, the obstacles they encounter and the role they see for an organisation like Médecins Sans Frontières in this work of tracing the identities of dead migrants.
José Pablo Baraybar is a Peruvian forensic anthropologist. He worked for 30 years as an expert for the United Nations, the inter-American system and Peru. He is currently forensic coordinator for the International Committee of the Red Cross in Mexico and Central America, having worked on the identification of migrants who have died or disappeared in the Mediterranean Sea.
Silvia Di Meo is an anthropologist and researcher at the University of Genova. She is president of the Mem-Med Mémoire Méditerranée association (based between Sicily and Tunisia), which works to find missing persons and provides legal and psychosocial support to the families of migrants who have died or disappeared on the borders of the Mediterranean.
Filippo Furri is an anthropologist. He began working on the issue of deaths in migration in 2011 with the Migreurop network and the Boats4people coalition, with whom he produced a guide to support families searching for missing relatives. He takes part in university research programmes (Mecmi with Carolina Kobelinsky in particular) and has also worked on the search for and identification of bodies with the ICRC and EuroMed Rights and joined the CommemorAction network.
Rachid Koraïchi is an Algerian visual artist who graduated from the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Algiers and the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. In 2021, he created "Jardin d'Afrique" in Zarzis, Tunisia, a garden-cemetery for migrants who died at sea, work on which began in 2018. There are also buildings on the site where autopsies can be performed to help identify the remains.
The conference, which brought to a close a day of internal reflection on MSF's role in relation to migrant populations, was led by Sarah Chateau, Head of Programmes at MSF.
Here some pictures of the "Jardin d'Afrique" made by Rachid Koraïchi :
To cite this content :
Rachid Koraïchi, José Pablo Baraybar, Filippo Furri, Silvia Di Meo, “Migratory deaths, missing persons and their identification ”, 11 janvier 2024, URL : https://msf-crash.org/en/conferences-debates/migratory-deaths-missing-persons-and-their-identification
If you want to criticize or develop this content, you can find us on twitter or directly on our site.
ContributeThe challenges and dead ends of delivering aid in government-held areas in Syria
12/06/2023 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PM Ahmed Youssef Agnès Levallois Joseph DaherCrash and iReMMO were pleased to invite you on Wednesday 6 December at 6.30pm to a round table discussion on the challenges, constraints, and limits of humanitarian aid in Syrian government zones.
Asylum and exile. A history of the distinction between migrants / refugees
04/12/2021 - 04:30 PM 06:30 PM Karen AkokaOn April 12 2021 we had the great pleasure of hosting a virtual CRASH conference with political scientist and sociologist Karen Akoka, fresh from her publication in November of “Asylum and Exile. A History of the Refugee/Migrant Distinction" (La Découverte, 2020). The author described and analyzed the trajectory of OFPRA, the French institution founded in 1952 and responsible for granting refugee status; she provided an insight into how the history of the distinction between migrants and refugees was established in France.
Borders and Hospitality
11/26/2018 - 05:00 PM 07:00 PM Benjamin BoudouConference/debate with Benjamin Boudou, political scientist and researcher at the Max Planck institute.
Past events
The Sex Thieves: The Anthropology of a Rumor
05/09/2023 - 06:30 PM 08:30 PM Julien BonhommeWe were pleased to welcome anthropologist Julien Bonhomme, author of the book The Sex Thieves: The Anthropology of a Rumor for a conference and debate on Tuesday, May 9th, 2023 at 18:30 (Paris time) at MSF (34 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris).
Négocier avec le diable. La médiation dans les conflits armés
12/15/2022 - 05:30 PM 07:30 PM Pierre HazanWe were pleased to welcome Pierre Hazan, author of the book Négocier avec le diable. La médiation dans les conflits armés for a conference and debate on Thursday December 15th, 2022, 18:30, at MSF (34 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris). The conference was livestreamed and translated simultaneously to English.
MSF and Humanitarian Negotiations for Access in the DRC
06/28/2022 - 04:30 PM 06:30 PM Myfanwy JamesConference and debate, June 28th, 2022, from 18:30 to 20:30 (Paris time), MSF (salle du premier, 14-34 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris). The conference was livestreamed and translated simultaneously to English.
All Who Fall
05/17/2022 - 04:30 PM 06:30 PM Jérémie FoaConference and debate, May 17th, 2022, from 18:30 to 20:30 (Paris time), MSF (14-34 avenue Jean Jaurès, 75019 Paris). The conference was livestreamed and translated simultaneously to English.
How to improve access to care and aid for people living with a handicap in a humanitarian context?
04/07/2022 - 04:30 PM 06:30 PM Benoit FinckA screening of the film "Agir contre l’exclusion" followed by a debate, April 7th, 2022, from 18:30 to 20:30, MSF and online. The debate was translated simultaneously into sign language and English.
Reconstructing Lives
02/17/2022 - 05:30 PM 07:30 PM Vanja KovacicThe members of the Crash team were happy to welcome you all to an online conference-debate with anthropologist Vanja Kovačič, on Thursday 17th of February, at 6:30PM. The conference was in English and simultaneously translated into French. The author introduced her recently-published book "Reconstructing lives Victims of war in the Middle East and Médecins Sans Frontières" (Manchester University Press, translated in French and Arabic.)
Période
Newsletter
Subscribe to our newsletter to stay informed about our latest publications. Interested in a specific author or thematic? Subscribe to our email alerts.