Border Selves: Experiences, Positions, and Inner-Others from the Spanish-Moroccan Border

The present chapter describes experiences and voices linked to the self-construction of people living near the Spain-Morocco border between Ceuta and Tetouan. From a dialogical perspective of the self, we analyze the self-making narratives that describe the border experiences of a group of Moroccan women who cross to work as domestic workers and a group of Spanish women who cross for leisure purposes. The analyses, conducted with an analytical intent, were grouped around three analytical cores: border experiences, which refers to the meanings of the border; border positions, which reflects the main internal voices or I-positions associated with these meanings; and border inner-Others, which describes the voices of the significant others present in the narratives. Results show that the main meanings of the border for Moroccan women are subsistence, given their job as domestic workers, and the conflicts experienced at the border checkpoint; in contrast, for Ceutan women, the border does not have a major impact on their lives, which causes them to distance themselves from the conflicts occurring there. Both groups display border positions related to gender, nationality, and mestizaje. We conclude that the multiple bordering process experienced by the interviewees in their social relationships eventually influence their individual sphere, coloring the various voices that innervate the self of border residents.