Un-stitching the lips of a migrant nation

Abstract

Outlining some of the features of migrant belonging brought into relief by debate over refugees and asylum seekers in 2001, this article challenges Australian historians to produce histories based as much on the fact of migrancy as the myth of nation. Such histories, it is argued, provide scope for the remembrance of loss, disinheritance and the lack of a sense of belonging, which might in turn encourage us to react with empathy to those seeking refuge in Australia today.