Entre papéis e telas: o processo documental de migrantes e refugiados Warao em Natal-RN

Abstract

Documenting yourself is part of the life of any national citizen. From the first day of our lives we are related to roles which among other functions, aim to count us and allegedly transform us into citizens with rights and duties. In this dissertation I propose to research the documentation processes of indigenous Warao migrants and refugees in the city of Natal-RN, involving both migratory and civil credentials. To do this I take into account some particularities of the Warao indigenous people, such as their limited ability to speak Portuguese, illiteracy and poor command of digital tools. From there, I critically approach the idea of an individual aspect and individualizing function of technological goods and analyze the particularities and limitations in Natal of some of the document issuance or access processes that are usually presented as generic and democratic routes. This discussion is based on ethnographic research that is not exactly about the Warao, but about these processes that cross them developed from long contact with several groups of indigenous migrants that I have been following for more than four years as a member of extension and university research groups.