First Digital Story from the GAPs Project Sheds Light on Return Migration Debates

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The GAPs project is proud to announce the production of its first digital story, Between Borders and Fears – A Digital Story of Afghan Lives in Istanbul. This powerful documentary follows the journey of Parviz and Feruza, an Afghan couple navigating legal limbo, economic precarity, and the constant fear of deportation in Turkey.

Through a compelling mix of personal testimonies, animation, and on-the-ground footage, the film highlights the structural barriers migrants face when return becomes both an imposed and an impossible option. By capturing the lived realities of displaced families, Between Borders and Fears contributes to critical discussions on return migration policies, shedding light on how legal frameworks shape, constrain, and disrupt migrant lives.

Stay tuned for more digital stories that will further engage with these pressing migration debates.

Full video here: YouTube - GAPs Project / Between Borders and Fears

Video credits:

Co-Directed by Maissam Nimer - Susan Beth Rottmann - Soner Ö. Barthoma - Serkis Cengiz Kurumlu

Script and Storyline Maissam Nimer - Susan Beth Rottmann

Edited by Serkis Cengiz Kurumlu

Sound Editing Serkis Cengiz Kurumlu

Music  Munir Bashir - From the Maqam to the Raga (Raga Roots) / Munir Bashir - Oum el Khelkhal / Munir Bashir - Taqsîm en maqâm

Narrator Özgür Cihan Serter

Voice Cast Maissam Nimer - Soner Ö. Barthoma

Research by Susan Beth Rottmann - Maissam Nimer - Negin Darvishahmadi Oshnavieh

Graphics Serkis Cengiz Kurumlu

Transcription & Translation Negin Darvishahmadi Oshnavieh

Special Thanks Zeynep Mencutek - Mehmet Ataman

Contact:

Maissam Nimer | Özyegin University (OZU) | msnimer@gmail.com

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