Making a home in the world: Clothes as mnemonic devices through which refugees experience home in flight and resettlement

Abstract

How do refugees experience home not just in the country of settlement but also along their journeys of flight? Departing from theories that see home as something which is left behind in displacement, this paper explores how clothes act as important mnemonic devices, storing and archiving memories from different times and places, whilst connecting people to new places en route. Through the in-depth analysis of two refugees’ stories, this paper highlights that home is not a onetime accomplishment but a lived experience that people are continuously involved in, especially in times of upheaval and transformation as they search for a safer place to be in the world. Clothes, as one of the few materials that refugees carry, become central to this lived experience not only as semiotic devices, carrying different narratives of home, but also as sensual materials through which different sensations of home are carried, transformed, and negotiated.