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Article History

Received: 21 September 2018

Accepted: 25 March 2019

First Online: 27 June 2019

Authors’ information

: Sarah Nimführ is a Cultural Anthropologist and currently a DOC-Fellow of the Austrian Academy of Sciences at the Institute of European Ethnology at the University of Vienna. During her PhD studies she conducted field research on the impact of non-deportability on rejected asylum seekers, particularly in the Mediterranean area. Her research ranges at the intersection between science and engagement. Sarah has worked and published together with (refugee) research partners several times in order to practice a collaborative approach towards knowledge production. Since 2016, she regularly holds courses comprising ethics and methods in the field of flight, engaged anthropology as well as forced migration studies with a focus on Mediterranean islands at the Universities of Vienna, Bremen and Munich. Previously, Sarah worked as a researcher in a trilateral project on protest movements in asylum and deportation at the Institute of Political Science at the University of Vienna. Moreover, she also worked and volunteered with a number of NGOs in the area of family reunification, social inclusion, educational counselling and advocacy in Austria, Germany and Australia.Buba Sesay was born in Sierra Leone but had to flee at an early age because of the civil war. He eventually ended up in The Gambia. Due to different circumstances in The Gambia, Buba was forced to flee to Europe, where he has lived since 2013. After having experienced a lot of struggles personally, he knows how important it is to convince young people not to undertake the journey he went through. This is only possible by offering them alternatives in their own country. With the prize money of the Rinus Penninx Best Paper Award Buba and his wife have founded the <i>Education Gives Hope Foundation</i>. Through education the organisation focuses on improving the standard of living of children and young people in the Bo region of Sierra Leone. With the support of volunteer work and donations, the Education gives Hope Foundation has already been able to build a school, where about fifty students are being taught by volunteer teachers. Buba is now focusing on raising funds to establish electricity, running water and sanitation for his school. At the time of submitting this article, the legal status of Buba was still uncertain. In order not to jeopardize his status, he chose a pseudonym that corresponds to the African variant of his name. Not having the free choice to appear in public for fear of reprisals shows the unequal balance of power in the border regime.

: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

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