Securing materials at international borders: exploring the biosecurity practices of Nepalese migrants to Australia

ABSTRACT

This article examines how biosecurity is monitored at the Australian border, and the implications this has on the personal belongings and materials of migrants. Drawing on interviews with Nepalese who are migrating to Australia for study, or are visiting family who reside there, we highlight the often tense situations that emerge due to the types of materials and belongings that they bring with them. Close monitoring of individuals and the materials in their luggage upon arrival restricts the flow of foods, medicines, duty free goods, plants, animals, recreational equipment and more, amplifying the biosecurity ‘threat’ that a wide variety of materials may encompass. By tracing first-hand accounts alongside the cultural and political influences through a material lens, we argue that there are significant inconsistencies with the level of scrutiny that some migrants experience. This article contributes to critiques on Australia’s biosecurity and migration practices, furthering understandings of how materials play a vital role in migration experiences.

KEYWORDS:

• Biosecurity
• migration
• materiality
• customs
• Nepal
• international students

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Kaya Barry is an artist and cultural geographer working in the areas of mobilities, migration, tourism, material cultures, and arts research. She is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at Griffith University, Australia, exploring how migration experiences are conditioned through materiality, everyday routines, and visual aesthetics.

Narayan Ghimire is a researcher currently based in Nepal. He completed his Masters of Arts in 2019 and has worked as an international Educational Consultant for over a decade in Nepal and recently in Australia. His research interests include: international student mobility, gender, and Nepalese return migration.

Notes

1 To view a copy of the questions asked on the Incoming Passenger Card, see Australian Border Force 2018, and: https://www.abf.gov.au/entering-leaving-australia/files/ipc-sample-english.pdf.