Where to with EU migration policy? Several politicians, including former Secretary of State Theo Francken, expressed their interest in the Australian model, based on a strict pushback policy with offshore detention centres. The island Nauru is, since 2013, a place where countless refugees have been locked up in – according to Amnesty International – 'devastating conditions'. What does that say about our contemporary view of migration? And how different is EU migration policy? 

This conversation brings together an eyewitness from Nauru, a European migration specialist, and Silke Huysmans and Hannes Dereere, makers of the performance Pleasant Island. With them we zoom in on the underexposed realities of migration policy in Australia and Europe. Dealing with refugees turns out to be more and more of an (export) business, their testimonies and reflections dig back into the humanity behind the news images. What are the latest developments in international 'migration management'? What is happening in our name and beyond the borders of Europe? One thing is clear: neither in Nauru nor in Europe is migration separated from all kinds of other worldwide economic, cultural and legal developments.

See also: Silke Huysmans & Hannes Dereere, Pleasant Island