Collaborative Autoethnographies: The Serendipitous Journey of Two Former Refugees

• In Event: Storied Lives Across the Globe

Abstract

This contribution describes the collaborative autoethnography that emerged between Aicha, a Syrian refugee living in Croatia, and myself, a researcher and a former refugee from Croatia. Aicha was one of seven refugees who took part in my narrative research on refugee youth’s schooling experiences as the novel Covid-19 virus shut the schools and established online schooling. In this chapter, I write about the two experiences. One regards the journey of collaborative autoethnography that emerged between Aicha and myself accounting for building our relationship in reciprocity and vulnerability. The other looks into our shared stories and their resemblance cutting across different temporal contexts, while discussing long histories of social distancing against Muslims, migrants, and refugees as the racial and cultural Other.

Author

• Emina Buzinkic, Institute for Development and International Relations
  Presenting Author