Paper short abstract:

Researching migration especially in postcolonial border regions often leads to complex ethical dilemmas.Our paper, based on empirical evidence, reflects on researchers’ blocks, the plausible crevices in methodological entry points and the questions of choices of (in)visibility in migration research.

Paper long abstract:

Researching migrant and once-displaced communities in postcolonial border regions often leads to complex ethical dilemmas. An often encountered dilemma is determining whose voices matter most in the research process—the researcher’s or the interlocutors’ or both and to what extent? This question becomes especially urgent when working with communities and their descendants who have experienced multiple displacements and/or stigma. This paper explores these ethical challenges in conducting ethnography, drawing from an intercontinental study conducted across Europe, the Middle East, Central America, and Southeast Asia. The methodology was primarily ethnographic, while our research process was marked by moments of 'researcher’s block’ and questions of representation, when we struggled with how to (not) represent the interlocutors and yet do justice to the research process. A key issue that emerged was their reluctance to be named or made visible, not just through pseudonyms, but through the act of omission of their experiences from the research itself. This then led us to reflect on what are the appropriate, culturally sensitive methods for researching migration, given the often exploitative media coverage, risks of reliving painful histories, and volatile socio-political contexts surrounding (im)migration. In this paper, we reflect not only on the issues of the communities we studied, but on ourselves as researchers by seeking to raise two central questions: First, are we missing critical methodological approaches for researching the lives of those affected by past trauma? Second, who decides the boundaries of visibility and invisibility in migration research, and how can we navigate those decisions ethically?