Reflections
The mirage can be a dream or an illusion that, even when its fading into the oasis limits, prompts you to keep going despite adversity. Even when, at the arrival, we realize that what we longed for has turned into a mirage. What remains are reflections of our searches, of our hopes, of our history.
The Espejismos webdoc aims to reflect the journey made by the forcibly displaced, longing for the oasis that will shelter them from persecution, their struggle to be part of it and their search to break the barriers that separate them from their new community.
Espejismos
They escape from their homelands without looking back, because what is left behind torments them. Like wayfarers through the desert, they fix their gaze on the horizon, on the oasis of the promised land that is drawn in their minds as a new opportunity, a refuge, a relief. It is the mirage that drives them forward. But sometimes, as they go, the oasis recedes, fades, and disappears.
For centuries, thousands of refugees have begun their voyages, escaping from the persecution of a country that should protect them, thinking that, once the journey is over, the difficult part would be over. However, it is just the beginning.
What happens when they arrive? The Espejismos webdoc portrays the journey after the journey. A course through the stories of refugees who have had to seek roots in a completely new territory for them, Spain, where integration and inclusion in the social fabric will be the key so that the illusion does not turn into a mere mirage.
RAISD
The Espejismos webdoc is part of the project “Reshaping Attention and Inclusion Strategies for Distinctively vulnerable people among the forcibly displaced” RAISD, which aims to identify Highly Vulnerable Groups among the forcibly displaced, analyze their specific needs and discover innovative and appropriate practices to address them. It is funded by the European Union’s “Horizon 2020” research and innovation program.
Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) frames the project. This discipline proposes that all actors (including civil society) co-design actions, transversally integrates the gender perspective and supports sustainability. The study is implemented through an approach based on participatory action research that empowers the studied groups and is based on human rights and socio-ecological models.
The team is composed by work units in countries along migration routes. The project partners are the Complutense University of Madrid in Spain, the European Center for Studies and Initiatives (CESIE) and the Union of Mediterranean Universities (UNIMED) in Italy, the University of Helsinki in Finland, the Hungarian Association for Migrants in Hungary, Anadolu University in Turkey, Yarmouk University in Jordan, and the Lebanese International University in Lebanon. The network will promote the participation of vulnerable people among the forcibly displaced, so that they can use their own voices, gather information and evaluate practices.
The webdoc is financed by the programme Horizon 2020,
RAISD – Reshaping Attention and Inclusion Strategies for Distinctively vulnerable people among the forcibly displaced
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 822688.