‘Knocking on doors that never open’: examining discourses of rejected asylum seekers from Kosova

ABSTRACT

To address the dearth of repatriation research coming out of Global South countries and question the adoption of repatriation as a sustainable solution to migration crisis, this qualitative study examined the repatriation experiences of rejected asylum seekers from Kosova. Grounded in postcolonial theories and through a Critical Discourse Analysis of interviews with rejected asylum seekers, the study examined dominant discourses which shape the repatriation process in Kosova. Interview findings identify a major, overarching discourse which constructs an exclusive EU, one that is superior to Kosova and although desirable, an almost impossible destination for Kosovars to reach. These findings illustrate that the European Union-Kosova power imbalance and the pervasiveness of the EU as ‘exclusive’ discourse is crucial in shaping experiences of repatriation and the identities of Kosovar rejected asylum seekers. Moreover, this study adds to the body of existing repatriation literature and provides important implications for reparation policies as well as practice with return migrants.

KEYWORDS:

• Rejected asylum seekers
• repatriation
• migration
• postcolonialism
• critical discourses analysis
• Kosovo

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 I use the term Kosova instead of Kosovo throughout this paper. While this might seem like an insignificant difference, it is important to this study, which focuses on the link between discourse and power. First, Kosova is the name of the country in Albanian language, which is spoken by 92% of the population in Kosova (Central Intelligence Agency 2017). Although the majority population, Albanians in Kosova have been largely marginalised by the international community. As such, using the name Kosova is an attempt to reflect and give importance to the voices of the local population. Second, Kosovo is a term which Serbian leaders have used in the past to emphasise that Kosova is Serbian land. In fact, the international community adopted the Serbian form of the name since the country came into focus of the West during the war, when Kosova was part of Yugoslavia. Therefore, I use the name Kosova to make apparent the power of language and resist the use of a word which has been used as the basis for oppressing Kosova-Albanians.