The Path of Hope. Illegal Border Crossings and Reflections on Historical Subjectivities, Stories and the Archive (1861–2019)

Abstract

This contribution focuses on illegal border crossings in the region of Ventimiglia (Maritime Alps) from the end of the nineteenth century to nowadays. In particular, the main issues analysed will be migrants’ social, economic and political reasons for leaving homelands, the evolution of Italian laws aimed at preventing illegal border crossing and the typologies of flows and subjects who crossed the border during the period taken into account. After having pointed out my methodological approach in studying this issue, the second section will be dedicated to show stories of border crossing from the end of the XIX century to nowadays. The third part of the chapter will focus on the different typologies of migrant people and their evolution over time. In the conclusions, I will contextualise the history as a border device in relationship to sources, archives and the making history process, with reflections on autonomy of migration, illegal border crossing and production of knowledge.