From Prison to Refuge and Back: The Interplay of Imprisonment and Creating a Sense of Home in the Reception Center for Asylum Seekers

Abstract

This paper highlights the interplay between the feeling of imprisonment and the creation of a sense of home among people living in Porin, the reception center for asylum seekers in Zagreb (Croatia). Considering Porin's residents’ experiences, the author shows their struggles and efforts to create a sense of continuity and home. Particular emphasis is placed on transgressing the idea of the reception center inevitably being a non-place and showcasing the continuous efforts of those living in it to transform it into a meaningful place. Understanding placemaking as establishing meaningful relations, this research focuses on asylum seekers’ lived experiences and practices and aims to highlight complex, blurred, and versatile boundaries and interconnections between the feeling of confinement and creating a home.