ABSTRACT

In 2020, over 8,400 people made their way from France to the UK coast using small vessels. They did so principally in order to claim asylum in the United Kingdom (UK). Much like in other border-zones, the UK state has portrayed irregular Channel crossings as an invading threat and has deployed a militarized response. While there is burgeoning scholarship focusing on informal migrant camps in the Calais area, there has been little analysis of state responses to irregular Channel crossings. This article begins to address this gap, situating contemporary British responses to irregular Channel crossers within the context of colonial histories and maritime legacies. We focus particularly on the enduring appeal of “the offshore” as a place where undesirable racialized populations can be placed. Our aim is to offer a historicized perspective on this phenomenon which seeks to respond to calls to embed colonial histories in analyses of the present.

摘要

到2020年，有8400多人乘坐小型船只从法国到达英国海岸。他们这样做主要是为了在英国（UK）寻求庇护。与其他边境地区一样，英国政府将不规则的海峡过境描绘为入侵威胁，并采取了军事行动。尽管针对加来地区的非正式移民营地的奖学金正在迅速增加，但对国家对非正规海峡过境的反应的分析却很少。本文开始解决这一鸿沟，将当代英国人对殖民地历史和海洋遗产背景下对非常规海峡穿越者的反应归纳为前提。我们特别关注“近海”的持久吸引力，因为它是可以放置不良种族群体的地方。