To Be Seen, or Not to Be Seen

Ubuntu and the Ethics of Migration

Abstract

The fear of trade-offs is a major concern when the challenges of migration are critically engaged. Who gets what, at the expense of whose works, what sacrifices have to be made, what do immigrants owe the host countries in terms of duties and obligations, and who is responsible for the lives of the immigrants? These among many other questions point to the complexities of migration ethics. This article defends the idea of being seen as an important ethical dimension of migration discourses. To be seen has often been considered and explored from the intellectual position of recognition, and, in some cases, misrecognition. More than these interpretations, there are ontological implications in the idea of being seen. This article harnesses various accounts of ubuntu in order to show what it means to be seen in sub-Sahara African societies. This will be followed by a philosophical exploration of the ethical implication of being seen for migration ethics. This article is novel in that it does not mere apply the idea of being seen to migration, but also interpreting ubuntu as including the idea of being seen.