Island of Migrants

Populations in Movement on Christmas Island

Abstract

            Christmas Island is a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, a few hundred miles off the coast of Java. The island is small, with a population of less than 2000. Yet in spite of, or maybe because of, its isolation, the island is a site of incredible movement. Every wet season, millions of endemic red crabs descend from the jungles in what is one of the most spectacular animal migrations in the world. In October or November, the crabs begin a long journey from the jungles down to the coast to breed, continuing an annual life cycle. The crab migration intersects the island’s main roads and has resulted in a series of inventive tunnels, bridges, and fences which both protect the crabs from traffic and draw tourists from around the world.[1]

            Another important population crosses Christmas Island on its migration journey, with considerably less luck. In 2007, construction was completed on an Immigration Reception and Processing Centre to temporarily detain asylum seekers from neighboring islands. In response to the 2001 Pacific Solution in which “4000 islands were excised from Australia’s migration zone,” Christmas Island became a temporary holding center for boat-bound asylum seekers from Indonesia, eventually transitioning to becoming an isolated site for long-term detention.[2] The center on Christmas Island is one of the largest in Australia’s onshore detention center network, which continues to operate today.

            For both animal and human populations, Christmas Island is the site of incredible movement. However, these two migrating populations are governed in very different ways. “Island of Migrants”[3] is a 19-minute podcast episode that examines the ways in which red crab migration and asylum seeker migration are treated differently despite their close physical proximity on the island, and what this difference in their treatment reflects about who is considered worthy of protection. The podcast is a result of both anthropological and journalistic methods as well as a 2-month period of living on Christmas Island. Through firsthand accounts from islander residents, asylum seekers, and activists, “Island of Migrants” seeks to demonstrate the stakes of valuing one migration over another.

[1] “Red Crab Migration.” Australian Government. Parks Australia. Accessed December 16, 2019. https://parksaustralia.gov.au/christmas/discover/highlights/red-crab-migration/.

[2] Hearman, Vannessa. “Troubled Transit: Asylum Seekers Stuck in Indonesia. By Antje Missbach.” Journal of Refugee Studies 30, no. 4 (January 2017): 628–30. https://doi.org/10.1093/jrs/fex031.

[3] Niu, Stephanie. “Following the Water.” Following the Water (blog). Anchor, December 13, 2019. https://anchor.fm/followingthewater/episodes/Island-of-Migrants-e9gsaq/a-a15vv0b.