Page - 85 - in Mobile Culture Studies - The Journal, Volume 2/2016

Mobile Culture Studies. The Journal 2 2o16 Tony Kushner | Lampedusa and the Migrant Crisis 85 before the twentieth century surviving, but the low buildings of its streets and the houses out- side the town are more North African than European, reflecting an on-going influence from its many centuries of Muslim/Arab presence. Add this peculiarity of space to a basic infrastructure where most get around its roads either by scooter or primitive jeeps and there is a surreal feel to the island which seems lost in time and place. The toy-like nature of its transport alongside the remoteness and utter curiosity reminded me of architect Sir Clough Williams-Ellis’s Italian fantasy village, Portmerion, on the coast of North Wales. Williams-Ellis was deeply influenced by the world of the Mediterranean and Portmerion was his postmodern tribute to it. It is best known as the setting for the cult series The Prisoner which continues to baffle critics decades after it was first shown in the psychedelic years of the late 1960s. The difference is that for those in The Prisoner no one can leave the village, whereas for the migrants of Lampedusa, there is no chance ultimately that they can stay. ‘Big Brother’, whether someone unknown force of the secret service in one case, or international policing of migration on another, imposes these res- traints on human freedom to move. Finally, I was reliant on others translating from Italian in my days on the island. Whilst leading to some frustrations, it also allowed me to meet others who could speak some English and through this was able to access their attitudes to the island and the migrant crisis, as well as those I was informally interviewing. It also was a reminder that I was an outside observer. On the one hand, I was able to bring insight through some expertise in modern migration and place, in addition to being concerned with the ethics of representation involving the Holocaust and Fig. 17: Korans and Bibles, Porto M, Photo: Tony Kushner