Photography, Memory, and Refugee Identity

On 13 December 1948, a small ship carrying 347 Estonian refugeesfleeing Soviet rule arrived at Pier 21 in Halifax. In Photography,Memory, and Refugee Identity, anthropologist Lynda Mannik analyzesthe refugee experience through the photographic record of those whomade that harrowing voyage across the Atlantic more than sixty yearsago.

Drawing on a collection of photographs taken during the voyage andat the Pier 21 detention centre, Mannik asks surviving passengers todescribe their migration, their reception in Canada, and their feelingsabout the terms refugee and boat person. She explores to what extentthe photos reflect the passengers’ experiences as they rememberthem and how those experiences compare with representations of refugeesin news media, in government rhetoric, and at the Pier 21 Museum inHalifax. Ultimately, Mannik demonstrates that the photographs in the SSWalnut collection bear witness to the refugee experience evenas the meanings attached to them have changed over time and in shiftingcontexts.