Interview by: Ana Cristina Pereira and Rita Santos
Edited by: Camilla Morello
Abstract by: Ana Cristina Pereira
Language editing by: Rita Santos

Este podcast faz parte da série de 28 podcasts realizados sobre o caso português e italiano no âmbito do projeto de investigação de 36 meses (2018-2021)

(De)Othering: Desconstruindo o Risco e a Alteridade: guiões hegemónicos e contra-narrativas sobre migrantes/refugiados e “Outros internos” nas paisagens mediáticas em Portugal e na Europa, que pretendeu analisar criticamente representações mediáticas de migrantes, refugiados e “outros internos” em Portugal e na Europa, mapeando as suas interconexões com narrativas produzidas no domínio da segurança e no quadro da Guerra ao Terrorismo. O seu foco, uma análise de Portugal à luz de estudos de caso europeus profundamente afetados por ameaças terroristas (Reino Unido e França) e por fluxos migratórios/de refugiados (Itália e Alemanha), pretende investigar a construção de narrativas transnacionais de risco que permeiam a Europa independentemente da sua exposição “diferenciada”.

O projeto foi financiado pelo pelo FEDER – Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional através do COMPETE 2020 – Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI) e por fundos nacionais através da FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (Referencia Projeto: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029997)

----- English Version

This podcast is part of a series of  28 podcasts produced on the Portuguese and the Italian cases as outputs of the research undertaken in the 36 months project (2018-2021) (De)Othering: Deconstructing Risk and Otherness: hegemonic scripts and counter-narratives on migrants/refugees and ‘internal Others’ in Portuguese and European mediascapes that sets out to critically examine media representations on migrants, refugees and ‘internal Others’ in Portugal and across Europe while mapping out their interconnections with particular narratives in the field of security and within the War on Terror. Its focus – an analysis of Portugal in the light of other European cases affected by terrorist threats (United Kingdom and France) and by migrant/refugee flows (Italy and Germany) – aims to explore the construction of transnational narratives of risk pervading Europe regardless of the ‘differential’ exposure to them.

The project was funded by FEDER – European Regional Development Fund through the COMPETE 2020 – Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), and by Portuguese funds through FCT in the framework of the project 029997 (Reference: POCI-01-0145-FEDER-029997).

Anabela Rodrigues defines herself as an artivist; she works in support of immigrants and refugees - having on the Nationality Law amended her main focus of struggle - and is a member of the Teatro do Oprimido Group, where life stories are worked in a community perspective. In this interview, she talks about her journey as a Black woman, born in the Cova da Moura neighborhood – a primarily immigrant and Afro-descendant community – daughter of a cleaning lady in a wealthy home. Anabela reveals the importance of an exchange with racialized women from various countries in Europe. She realized the commonalities between them and the specifics of the Portuguese case where people with "a different melanin tone" are not considered Portuguese at all, even if born in Portugal.

The artivist speaks of the problems related to representation and gives examples of Black women who do not receive the recognition they deserve as 'good' Portuguese. Anabela underlines the danger of tokenism for the anti-racist struggle that should be a group fight, seen as such. She considers that there are publications usually ignored by the analysis, where Black people are absent, such as mainstream women's magazines.

Concerning refugees, Anabela believes that the problems are much broader than the cases made known by the media and that the higher the amount of melanin in the skin, the greater the difficulties and the more invisible. Furthermore, women and children also have more problems, especially if they are Black. For the artivist, immigrants and refugees have the same fight for legalization and against racism and sexism.