About the Project
Missing Migrants
of the Mediterranean
With an on-campus exhibit and online platform and in partnership with a Tunisia-based migrant advocacy organization, this project presents the voice of missing migrants of the Mediterranean. Seeking safe and dignified lives, migrants crossed from Tunisia and other MENA countries into Italy and Europe via the Mediterranean Sea route in recent years. Many do not live to reach their destination. The Italian government and the international community manage rehousing, or burial, of migrants without due process; deaths are tallied as mere statistics, and bodies are not identified nor given due respect. Meanwhile, behind each missing person is family, friend, community.
“When you talk about humanity and talk about democracy, it is all a lie so long as this [plight] exists in the world. Europe and Tunisia always mouth off empty slogans—democracy, human rights, respect for people – and in front of their eyes is a graveyard, but they did not even do a thing—this is global falsehood.” — Imed Soltani
With an on-campus exhibit and online platform and in partnership with a Tunisia-based migrant advocacy organization, this project presents the voice of missing migrants of the Mediterranean. Seeking safe and dignified lives, migrants crossed from Tunisia and other MENA countries into Italy and Europe via the Mediterranean Sea route in recent years. Many do not live to reach their destination. The Italian government and the international community manage rehousing, or burial, of migrants without due process; deaths are tallied as mere statistics, and bodies are not identified nor given due respect. Meanwhile, behind each missing person is family, friend, community.
“When you talk about humanity and talk about democracy, it is all a lie so long as this [plight] exists in the world. Europe and Tunisia always mouth off empty slogans—democracy, human rights, respect for people – and in front of their eyes is a graveyard, but they did not even do a thing—this is global falsehood.” — Imed Soltani
Our Research
Mission & values
Our research explores how families navigate that space that toggles between loss and hope, and what it means to pursue action and advocacy, as families search for the loved ones and search for answers. First, we discuss an art exhibit, featuring information and data visualization works created by university students. Second, we discuss an online platform, that draws from interviews, archival research, and exhibit materials. The site aspires to transform data into a tool to motivate policy change and generate awareness and action and to create an accessible platform for advocacy and validation. The two projects aim to counter narratives that depict missing migrants as statistics and to humanize the migrant, as beloved to family, friends, and community.
Our Team
La Terre Pour Tous and the University of Michigan
Our interdisciplinary, transnational team, comprised of faculty, students, and activists, aims to bring social justice and advocacy together with design and technology into a meaningful synthesis in public scholarship.
Antonio Siciliano – University of Michigan
Bader AlBader – University of Michigan
Elena Godin – University of Michigan
Gemma Baccini – La Terre Pour Tous
Imed Soltani – La Terre Pour Tous
Kara Daley – University of Michigan
Marwen Saidi – La Terre Pour Tous
Michael Payne – University of Michigan
Odessa Gonzalez Benson – University of Michigan
Suzana Haidar – University of Michigan
Vadim Besprozvany – University of Michigan
Yessine Baalouche – University of Michigan
Our Research
Mission & values
Our research explores how families navigate that space that toggles between loss and hope, and what it means to pursue action and advocacy, as families search for the loved ones and search for answers. First, we discuss an art exhibit, featuring information and data visualization works created by university students. Second, we discuss an online platform, that draws from interviews, archival research, and exhibit materials. The site aspires to transform data into a tool to motivate policy change and generate awareness and action and to create an accessible platform for advocacy and validation. The two projects aim to counter narratives that depict missing migrants as statistics and to humanize the migrant, as beloved to family, friends, and community.
Our Team
La Terre Pour Tous and the University of Michigan
Our interdisciplinary, transnational team, comprised of faculty, students, and activists, aims to bring social justice and advocacy together with design and technology into a meaningful synthesis in public scholarship.
Antonio Siciliano – University of Michigan
Bader AlBader – University of Michigan
Elena Godin – University of Michigan
Gemma Baccini – La Terre Pour Tous
Imed Soltani – La Terre Pour Tous
Kara Daley – University of Michigan
Marwen Saidi – La Terre Pour Tous
Michael Payne – University of Michigan
Odessa Gonzalez Benson – University of Michigan
Suzana Haidar – University of Michigan
Vadim Besprozvany – University of Michigan
Yessine Baalouche – University of Michigan