Along the lines of Mbembe "necropolitics"

Abstract

The National Diary Archive (ADN) of Pieve Santo Stefano collects autobiographical writings and diaries of ordinary people, in which the history of Italy is reflected in various forms of writing. Alongside the work of conservation of the memoirs there are different initiatives, including the project DiMMi (Multimedia Migrant Diaries), which collects migrant writings and promotes an intercultural dialogue since 2012. A significant number of these writings focuses on the central Mediterranean route, which starts from sub-Saharan countries and leads to Europe, going through Sahara Desert and Libya: the so-called Back way. Through an examination of some of the diaries, written first-hand by the migrants and preserved in the Archive of Pieve Santo Stefano, this article explores the similarities between the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea ‒ postulating that the Mediterranean is the liquid equivalent of the desert ‒ and highlights how the crossing of these two spaces hides similar pitfalls and dangers.