Is my ID me? Centring human connections in a bureaucratic world. WG5 Training School, 18-20 September 2024, Özyeğin University, Türkiye
Dr Natalie Brinham
The title of Working Group 5’s training school was: “Is my ID me?” The question invites us to consider how bureaucratic citizenship and immigration rules shape our individual identities, and how we push back against framings that fail to capture our human qualities. Throughout our three-day training in Istanbul, we considered how power functions through the framings and categories that divide citizens from migrants, and divide researchers from the researched. These issues were explored through topics such as representation, consent, labelling, positionality, reciprocity and collaboration.
The first day of the training began with introductions and a welcome from Susan Rottman, our host at Özyeğin University, and Jennifer Redmond, who reflected on her journey at the helm of the HIDDEN network from its conception to its realisation. Thanks were extended to the rest of the organising committee for this training, Ana Belen Martinez Garcia, Beatrice Scutaru, Anita Lunić, Morgane Delaunay, Nadja Beglerovic, and Elizabeth Challinor.
Opening the training sessions, Elizabeth Challinor, Elsa Peralta, and Elsa Lechner drew on examples from their own research with migrant communities in Portugal, encouraging us to reflect on the issues of labelling, borders and positionality. Through examples from their own narrative research, they explored how legal, social and racial categories shape experiences and power relations in the research process. They challenged us to acknowledge our own roles in these paradigms. They encouraged us to explore ways to navigate inequalities by being reflexive and putting human connections before our research goals.
The next session considered visual methods and ethics. Anita Lunić provided a skilful overview of the philosophy of ethics, asking us to apply the framework to practical examples of using photography and video in research with migrants. Film maker Zeynep Merve Uygun then looked in depth at visual representations in work with refugees and migrants. She transported us from the misuse of images for negative stereo-typing, to the empowering potential of images to tell truth to power. From both of the facilitators we learnt about the complexities in gaining informed consent from those who are photographed, and the overlapping and dynamic layers of positive and negative representation.
The morning of the second day included two further training sessions. Gonda Van Steen took us through the ethical landscape of using archival materials in migration research. Her work considers historic cross-border adoptions. It sits at an ethical crossroads between supporting individuals to find information about their own identities, and investigating the (sometimes damaging) practices of bureaucratic agencies involved in adoption, raising multiple considerations relating to the use of historic documents. I also presented my work in this session, considering how to navigate damage, trauma and risk in narrative research, giving the example of working with Rohingya genocide survivors from Myanmar.
The next session explored collaborative research and reciprocity ethics. We had the benefit of hearing from participants who had successfully collaborated in research projects together, highlighting the importance of ensuring that all collaborators gain mutual benefits from projects, and providing honest reflections on importance of human relationships and human connections in research.
The field trip in the afternoon of day two challenged us to put our learnings into practice as we were guided through the diverse neighbourhood of Fatih in central Istanbul by some of our local workshop facilitators with first-hand knowledge of communities living in the area, Zeynep Yilmaz Hava, and Yousef Salih. We learnt about the demographic and socio-economic dynamics of the district. We finished with a meal at the very welcoming Syrian restaurant, Ali Kucu, in Fatih which provided us with a chance to experience delicious dishes while reflecting on the important links between food and belonging.
The final day was a round-up Jennifer Redmond and Abhinov Shyju, provided us with insights from different sides of the research process. Jennifer spoke about her key take-aways from serving on the ethics committee at Maynooth University, emphasising the importance of looking after ourselves and our participants, as well as the need for integrity at every stage of the research process. Abhinov provided an insightful perspective as both a researcher and a “gate-keeper” at his community based organisation, Diverse Youth NI, trying to ensure positive experiences in research.
Zeynep Merve followed this with a practical training in how to put produce a short film from the videos and photos we had taken during our field trip to Fatih, highlighting the potential for film to amplify particular themes relating to migration.
Anita and Nadja then invited us to put our creative and communicative hats on. In small groups we were asked to collectively draw/visually represent our thoughts and emotions relating to migration journeys. In showcasing our creative works to the group, we collaboratively provided a round-up of the significant themes and learnings from our three days together.
So, “Is my ID me?” At the training we learnt that we can explore who we are through IDs and migration experiences, but ultimately we define who we are in our relationships with the other humans around us, including among research colleagues and participants. We also found some joy and laughter in the blurry lines between these roles and friendships. We learned to centre human relationships, and challenge bureaucratic framings. Now it is for all of us to incorporate this learning into our work.
