Refugee Cartographies sets out to map the social networks and group dynamics of London's Latin American communities, specifically the refugees who came to London from Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay in the 1970s and ‘80s. This map will trace the everyday lives of people who fled political violence and built a pan-Latinx community in London. The map will illustrate how social and political networks formed in relation to spaces within the city, creating a different geography from the margins of power. This project aims to capture the histories of political dissident refugees, histories that are largely undocumented and completed absent from English-language sources, existing only in homemade Spanish language newspapers and as oral histories. Latin American refugees fleed fascism in their home countries but remained committed anti-fascists here in the UK, working to agitate for democracy at home as well as being actively involved in local (London and UK) grassroots movements. In addition to their political work, they formed networks of mutual psychosocial support and organized community building across London. Unless documented, these stories will be lost. This is especially urgent because the refugees are an aging population and their stories are disappearing. By looking to a past movement of refugees who established themselves in London, this project hopes to inform contemporary debates of migration and asylum, while also preserving the stories of a vibrant and important London community.

Refugee Cartographies (Cartographies of Exile) is a project that seeks to map the social networks and emotional connections of those Latin American refugee communities in London, specifically those who migrated to escape dictatorships in Chile, Argentina and Uruguay during the 70s and 80s. The mapping aims to document the lives of those who escaped political persecution in their countries and built a Latin American community in London. At the same time, the project seeks to illustrate how certain social, political and emotional networks were formed around spaces within the city, thus creating an alternative geography to the margins of power. Additionally, the project seeks to record the stories and experiences of Latin American refugees and political dissidents, many of whom have not been fully documented or have remained absent from English-language literature.

Refugee Cartographiesit also seeks to make visible how new forms of activism took place in London in the 70s and 80s. While many refugees escaped torture and persecution in their home countries, giving up their political ideals was not an option. On the contrary, upon arriving in the United Kingdom they remained active in the anti-fascist organization, working hard to demand the return of democracy in their countries, as well as to support local movements and organizations in their new geographies. Through this political activism, refugees built networks of solidarity and emotional support in various parts of London. Today, many of these stories of resistance and solidarity are at risk of being forgotten due to both the lack of systematized documentation and the advanced age of many of their bearers. By looking back and understanding how refugees settled in the city creating new cartographies of solidarity and support, our project aims to contribute to current debates around migration and exile. Finally, Refugee Cartogaphies is committed to recording and preserving the stories of a complex community that in the bowels of the British capital managed to forge spaces of resistance and hope.

https://research.gold.ac.uk/id/eprint/39478