Periodic Reporting for period 1 - VITAL ELEMENTS (Vital Elements and Postcolonial Moves: Forensics as the Art of Paying Attention in a Mediterranean Harbour Town)
Période du rapport: 2023-01-01 au 2025-06-30
Vital Elements is a study that shifts the narrative surrounding migrant deaths in the Mediterranean, focusing not on Europe's border politics but on the complex relationships between life, livelihood, and death. Since 2014, over 23,000 people have drowned in the Mediterranean, often categorized as border deaths. However, this project, led by M’charek, redirects attention to issues of life and lives made unliveable, highlighting the vital elements and resources that sustain life, or cause death in their absence.
The project begins in Zarzis, a coastal town in southern Tunisia, where the bodies of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean have been washing ashore for over a decade. By investigating how these bodies ended up there, this project examines the chronicity of death as related to ‘forced migration’ and colonial extractions, pollution and depletion of resources. Through the innovative method of “forensics as the art of paying attention,” the project combines anthropology and forensic science to trace interferences between vital elements—resources such as phosphates, sea sponges, olives, water, and waste—that are both life-giving and life-depleting. These elements, deeply intertwined with the migration process, offer insights into the broader socio-economic and environmental forces at play.
The objectives of the project are threefold: (1) to shift focus from the European "migration crisis" to the "chronic depletion of life" in Africa; (2) to develop a new ethnographic methodologies that connect forensic science with anthropology, to study interferences between vital elements, their colonial legacies and their impact on life and death; and (3) to provide a decolonial perspective on migration by showing how the extraction and exploitation of vital resources contribute to the conditions that drive people to take dangerous migration routes.
The project's expected impact lies in (1) its potential to reshape debates on migration and migrant death through its attention to materialities and temporalities; (2) the new methodological tools it offers to study complexities between issues, such as pollution, depletion of resources and migration and death; (3) new approaches to articulate potentialities for life in chronically depleted and extractives settings.
The project begins in Zarzis, a coastal town in southern Tunisia, where the bodies of people attempting to cross the Mediterranean have been washing ashore for over a decade. By investigating how these bodies ended up there, this project examines the chronicity of death as related to ‘forced migration’ and colonial extractions, pollution and depletion of resources. Through the innovative method of “forensics as the art of paying attention,” the project combines anthropology and forensic science to trace interferences between vital elements—resources such as phosphates, sea sponges, olives, water, and waste—that are both life-giving and life-depleting. These elements, deeply intertwined with the migration process, offer insights into the broader socio-economic and environmental forces at play.
The objectives of the project are threefold: (1) to shift focus from the European "migration crisis" to the "chronic depletion of life" in Africa; (2) to develop a new ethnographic methodologies that connect forensic science with anthropology, to study interferences between vital elements, their colonial legacies and their impact on life and death; and (3) to provide a decolonial perspective on migration by showing how the extraction and exploitation of vital resources contribute to the conditions that drive people to take dangerous migration routes.
The project's expected impact lies in (1) its potential to reshape debates on migration and migrant death through its attention to materialities and temporalities; (2) the new methodological tools it offers to study complexities between issues, such as pollution, depletion of resources and migration and death; (3) new approaches to articulate potentialities for life in chronically depleted and extractives settings.
The project established a dedicated research infrastructure in Tunisia to support the research and sustained collaborations with the University of Sousse and a wider network of academic and professional stakeholders. From the outset, workshops, conferences, and a hybrid seminar series brought together scholars from the University of Amsterdam, multiple Tunisian universities, regional NGOs, and other international partners. By fostering interdisciplinary dialogue across institutional and geographic boundaries, the team created a collaborative environment in which methods and ideas could be shared.
Two formal launch events marked the project’s public debut. The first took place in Amsterdam, where core themes were introduced to an international audience and conversations about decolonial research practices began. Soon after, a companion conference was held in Tunisia, convening university leadership, research institute representatives, civil-society actors working on migration, fisheries, agriculture, pollution, and women’s issues, as well as local artists. These gatherings generated substantial media coverage and social-media attention, building momentum for future collaborative work.
Following these launch activities, a Short Intensive Course (SIK) was held in southern Tunisia. Over several days, project team members and local scholars participated in thematic workshops focused on research methodologies, ethics, and collaborative ethnographic fieldwork. Six international scholars led the workshops, while an external ethics advisor delivered a dedicated session on ethics, data management, and responsible data collection. By interweaving field visits with workshop discussions, the SIK ensured that real-world observations shaped collective analysis and that theoretical debates informed practical fieldwork.
At the University of Sousse, an Info Day showcased the project’s aims and ongoing activities to faculty members, neighboring research institutes, and students. Attendees presented their research interests, which helped map emerging networks and lay the groundwork for future collaborations. During this event, the team also launched the Vital Elements Seminar Series—designed to rotate among host institutions in Sousse, Gabès, Sfax, Gafsa, and Amsterdam—and adopted a hybrid format that allowed global experts to participate virtually while promoting local community engagement.
Additionally, all team members established contacts in their respective research fields and conducted two rounds of (collaborative) fieldwork. Initial results have been presented at academic conferences and prepared for the project’s first peer-reviewed publications,
Two formal launch events marked the project’s public debut. The first took place in Amsterdam, where core themes were introduced to an international audience and conversations about decolonial research practices began. Soon after, a companion conference was held in Tunisia, convening university leadership, research institute representatives, civil-society actors working on migration, fisheries, agriculture, pollution, and women’s issues, as well as local artists. These gatherings generated substantial media coverage and social-media attention, building momentum for future collaborative work.
Following these launch activities, a Short Intensive Course (SIK) was held in southern Tunisia. Over several days, project team members and local scholars participated in thematic workshops focused on research methodologies, ethics, and collaborative ethnographic fieldwork. Six international scholars led the workshops, while an external ethics advisor delivered a dedicated session on ethics, data management, and responsible data collection. By interweaving field visits with workshop discussions, the SIK ensured that real-world observations shaped collective analysis and that theoretical debates informed practical fieldwork.
At the University of Sousse, an Info Day showcased the project’s aims and ongoing activities to faculty members, neighboring research institutes, and students. Attendees presented their research interests, which helped map emerging networks and lay the groundwork for future collaborations. During this event, the team also launched the Vital Elements Seminar Series—designed to rotate among host institutions in Sousse, Gabès, Sfax, Gafsa, and Amsterdam—and adopted a hybrid format that allowed global experts to participate virtually while promoting local community engagement.
Additionally, all team members established contacts in their respective research fields and conducted two rounds of (collaborative) fieldwork. Initial results have been presented at academic conferences and prepared for the project’s first peer-reviewed publications,
The project anchored its research in decolonial approaches, replacing extractive methods with co-learning and shared ownership. Tunisian scholars participated in joint publications, MethodLab sessions, and workshops, embedding reciprocal knowledge exchange into the infrastructure. Importantly, the decolonial aspirations involve experimentation and learning within the trajectory of our Vital Elements project.
Outside academia, public engagement expanded co-production into wider communities. Conference launches, seminars, cultural café film screenings, and a book presentation created accessible platforms for students, activists, and community members to discuss migration, environmental justice, and decolonial methods. Media coverage amplified these efforts, linking scholarly inquiry with real-world concerns.
Outside academia, public engagement expanded co-production into wider communities. Conference launches, seminars, cultural café film screenings, and a book presentation created accessible platforms for students, activists, and community members to discuss migration, environmental justice, and decolonial methods. Media coverage amplified these efforts, linking scholarly inquiry with real-world concerns.