Paper versus practice: border control is in human hands
Even when a border has officially disappeared, it is still people who decide whether others may cross freely. This was also true for the Polish-German border, where PhD candidate Maryla Klajn spent six months conducting fieldwork. ‘The initially saw me as the enemy.’
Alongside studying and analysing the laws governing the Polish-German border, Klajn’s PhD research relied heavily on fieldwork. ‘It was quite unusual for us to be granted access, and that was thanks to the help of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee. I didn’t just want to speak with people at head office: I wanted to see everything that happens on the ground and speak to everyone.’
Klayn researched the significance and impact of decisions made at the intersection of criminal law and immigration law (crimmigration) and the role played by the Polish border force. How do border agents enforce laws and regulations. On what do they base their decisions? And what actually happens at that border between Germany and Poland?
Trust takes time
For six months, Klajn worked as the only woman alongside border guards. They didn’t trust her at all at first. ‘They saw me as the enemy. Most of them were men from the communist era. They weren’t used to opening up and letting someone observe their work.’
She gradually earned their trust. Her love of dogs came in handy. ‘I absolutely love dogs and it was through the dogs that I got to know their handlers. It all happened very naturally, and I gradually gained their confidence. Nearly everyone agreed to participate, and in the end they felt seen because I wanted to know all about them.’
Vidi-project
Klajn is a PhD candidate at the Van Vollenhoven Institute. Her research is part of the Getting to the Core of Crimmigration Vidi project, which seeks to uncover legal and societal shifts and interactions within the criminalisation of migration in the European context.
Border police decide who may pass
Her conclusions contribute to the debate about migration, security and fairness within Europe, and the enduring role of borders despite the Schengen Agreement. Klajn concludes that it is the border police who determine who can cross unhindered, who is asked extra questions and who is stopped from crossing. These decisions are not based on rules or laws but on personal experience and judgement together with culture and emotion. Gender, history and religious belief all influence what happens on the border.
The fieldwork was a very intense experience. Klajn witnessed the full spectrum: manipulation, fear, immense pressure from above and border agents anxious about losing their jobs. ‘Despite everything I saw and experienced, including racism, discrimination and sexism, I always try to see the human being. I hope that I’ll get to talk about not just the data but also the humanity of the border agents during my PhD defence.’
‘Border laws will never be enforced properly unless we talk about them and seek dialogue. We need to be more understanding of others and view border control from all angles, not just the one written down on paper.’
View from all angles
One thing is clear for Klajn: there are no simple answers. ‘You can have rules and laws on paper, but in real life you are dealing with people who don’t operate in terms of good and bad or black and white. That’s just what life is like. You need to understand why these places are so hard to work in. Border laws will never be enforced properly unless we talk about them and seek dialogue. We need to be more understanding of others and view border control from all angles, not just the one written down on paper.’
PhD ceremonies at Leiden University can be watched live online. Maryla Klajn is defening her thesis Agents of Change? on Wednesday 25 March from 14:30 to 15:30.