Border beings. Present absences among migrants in the Spanish enclave of Melilla

Death is a constant feature of lives lived at the borders for migrants trying to reach Europe without the necessary authorizations from nation-states. At the border between Melilla and Morocco, many stories are told about near death experiences during attempts to cross both land and maritime borders, as well as about abandoned bodies. Other common narratives focus on the living dead, on the missing presumed dead, on unidentified bodies, and on the living who continue to be haunted by the disappeared. Drawing on ethnographic material, this paper examines the ways in which migrants' journeys and subjectivities are shaped by death on the migrant trail to Europe.