Battle Over the Ruins. Abandoned Buildings in Bihać as Migrant Shelters Cover Image

Borba nad ruinama. Napušteni objekti u Bihaću kao skloništa migranata
Battle Over the Ruins. Abandoned Buildings in Bihać as Migrant Shelters

Author(s): Tea Škokić
Subject(s): Rural and urban sociology, Migration Studies, Asylum, Refugees, Migration as Policy-fields
Published by: Hrvatsko etnološko društvo
Keywords: irregularized migration; ruins; shelters;

Summary/Abstract: The text analyzes three locations in Bihać with abandoned buildings where migrants are formally or informally sheltered. These are the buildings that were once part of the industrial or urban infrastructure, but today they are abandoned and devastated ruins that have become shelters due to the arrival of migrants. This article seeks to question the struggles over who has the right to use these ruins, to whom they belong, and what they mean to the community in the context of the city’s past and future. The article is based on a multi-day stay in Bihać in the fall of 2022, field notes, photographs, and media articles related to the Bihać cases.

  • Issue Year: 53/2023
  • Issue No: 46
  • Page Range: 229-254
  • Page Count: 26
  • Language: Croatian
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