Paper short abstract:

Aim of this paper is to analyse the life experience of colonial subjects which, starting from the late 19th century, decided to cross the colonial borders trying their luck in the metropolitan space as well as in neighbouring countries.

Paper long abstract:

Historiography plays a central role in the functioning of the nation-state as a political system. It produces the illusion of a shared past and distinct national identity, facilitates a sense of belonging among citizens, and shapes collective desires for the future. Hence governments across the world have invested in historiography as part of nation-building projects.

To this regard the Horn of Africa is not an exception. The painful experience of protracted and conflicts which have shaped the history of the region have contributed to foster nationalist narratives based on polarised and exclusive representations of citizenship, belonging and, ultimately nationalism.

Aim of this paper is to challenge some of those narratives analysing the life experience of colonial subjects which, starting from the late 19th century, decided to cross the colonial borders trying their luck in the metropolitan space as well as in neighbouring countries. Anticipating some findings from an ongoing research, I intend to show how the plurality of experiences that populated that whirlwind period provides a fascinating glimpse on the complexity of processes of social mobility and on notions of belonging, which unveil the narrowness of nationalist narratives. The period, object of my investigation, though often overlooked in a stereotypical and slightly dichotomous perspective, emerges from the literature and from the rich archival documentary collections as an extremely rich and dynamic moment in the history of the Horn, which still waits for full and dispassionate investigation.