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Meena was born in Afghanistan and was displaced to Pakistan with her family when she was very young. She moved to the UK when she was 10 through family reunification after her father secured asylum in the 2000s. She studied politics and international relations at undergraduate and Master’s levels in the UK before spending 3 years working for a large NGO in Greece. She is now conducting a PhD in Queen Mary’s University, London, on ‘The politics of vulnerability in the European ‘migrant crisis’’
Meena recognizes that she has been impacted by migration personally through being displaced and moving across borders to seek sanctuary when she was young but also experienced the consequences of such asylum rules – her brother was ‘aged out’ of family reunification entitlements by the time her family was granted asylum in the UK.
During her time working in refugee camps in Greece, Meena became more aware of the power of the categories that are widely used to allocate institutional and non governmental resources including those defined as ‘vulnerable’.
Interview conducted by Elaine Moriarty on 11/10/23 virtually
To cite this interview, Moriarty, Elaine (29/9/2022). Interview of Meena (from Afghanistan – Pakistan – London – Lesvos – London). London, UK (length: ex: 3.8mn).