Lived experiences of coloniality in third space: from colonial to contemporary lusophone migration into Luxembourg

in Language, Culture and Society (2023)

Colonialism and postcolonial encounters have been widely studied within the frame of research on colonizing and colonized countries. However, few research have examined coloniality in ‘third space’ ... [more ▼]

Colonialism and postcolonial encounters have been widely studied within the frame of research on colonizing and colonized countries. However, few research have examined coloniality in ‘third space’ (Bhabha, 1994), that is, in places where ex-colonizers and ex-colonized meet, with sometimes both groups finding themselves in subaltern positions of migrants. This paper focuses on one such group: so-called lusophone migrants and is interested in how their relations unfold outside the Portuguese geographical colonial matrix. Part of a larger project interested in studying whether new solidarities or old hierarchies replay when all lusophones meet and struggle to integrate a new context, the research presented here focuses on one take in particular – and asks whether we see traces in their interaction of what Mignolo has termed ‘coloniality of being’(Mignolo, 2005) - or the everyday remnants of colonial modes and hierarchies, even though individuals share to some extent a language (Portuguese) and lived marginalizing experiences in the new country. Located within an interdisciplinary frame that draws from postcolonial theory and sociolinguistic ethnography to examine how coloniality perdures in intersubjective relations among lusophones, the paper examines the narrative of two Cape Verdean retirees who (re)migrated to Luxembourg in 1971 and 1981, some years before and after the independence of Cape Verde from Portugal (1975), respectively. Collected within a larger ethnographic project, the narratives were chosen because they capture some of these Cape Verdeans and their compatriots’ experiences of everyday struggles in the workplace and social encounters. The paper uses narrative analysis to examine how they report the coloniality of being in lusophone interactions being challenged or perpetuated. Three modes, in particular, are pointed out: jokes and stereotyping, naming, and language use. The paper fosters a critical understanding of lusophone subjects’ interactions beyond Portuguese-speaking states, hence in a third space. [less ▲]

Black Luxembourg

in Kelly, Natasha A.; Vassel, Olive (Eds.) Mapping Black Europe: Monuments, Markers, Memories (2023)

This chapter addresses migrants’ associations and narratives, and landscape traces of blackness in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It fosters a critical understanding of black representations, their ... [more ▼]

This chapter addresses migrants’ associations and narratives, and landscape traces of blackness in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It fosters a critical understanding of black representations, their absences, and presences in the country. In this context, Black Lives Matter’s (BLM’) impact has manifested itself on various levels of society, from rallies gathering together large numbers of people to artistic contestation tactics and the appropriation of public spaces, the mapping of buildings with colonial links, the defacement of monuments, and the renaming of streets, to mention just a few. All this happened in the context of uncovering Luxembourg’s colonial past, which is directly connected to Belgian colonization (Moes 2012). Although the early BLM movement had already pushed bottom-up and top-down discussions on racism, no political measures had been put in place until its impact in 2020. The events of that summer were a sort of “wake-up call” and a sudden turning point, with Black people raising their voices against unequal conditions in modern postcolonial societies in Europe, including in Luxembourg. Additionally, newly created associations of People of African Descent (PAD), such as the feminist and antiracist associations Finkapé and Lëtz Rise Up, have taken the lead and intensified their antiracist activities, shifting the conversation on race and racism from folklore to activism. As a result, the silencing of the colonial past has been broken. At the European level, an earlier study entitled “Being Black in Europe” (BBE), carried out by the Fundamental Rights Agency and published in 2018, had placed Luxembourg at the top of the list of European countries where perceptions of racism are very high. The BLM movements and the BBE study have also fostered a wave of debates at conferences, including one that focused on “Being Black in Luxembourg” and prompted studies on racism, a subject that previously had not been on the country’s public radar. [less ▲]