The (non)belonging of the Haitian migrant to Brazil: the subjective fold of inside and outside

Abstract

This article aims to discuss traces of the Haitian identity of migrants that came to Brazil, a migration movement that is the result of current displacements that also occur in the South hemisphere. For this purpose, we will use the analysis of narratives of some Haitian migrants, published on the YouTube platform. This is a qualitative and interpretative research, which considers narrative as a form of expression of the subject, of their identity, in addition to a methodological perspective that enables the production of knowledge. From the selection of excerpts, a discursive analysis was undertaken to study the effects of meaning regarding the sense of belonging that the migrants report towards Brazilian culture(s) and language(s), highlighting the conditions that constitute their identity markers and determine the discursive space they occupy, such as language, social class, gender and race. We bring to the discussion two excerpts that are part of one of the thematic axes developed on the whole research, called “the subjective fold of the inside and outside”, which reveals the simultaneous movement of belonging and non-belonging to the country in which they currently live, due to the difficulties they face, but which are placed as personal responsibility, not taking into account that, because of their vulnerability and the combination of identity traits that define them as “second class” subjects, they cannot take advantage of their rights, even if they are in legal condition in Brazil, revealing the need to rethink the model of modernity in a decolonial way.