Immigration debates that are making headlines across Canada and internationally frequently address the subject through statistics.

But like any political issue, immigration involves human realities, not just logistical challenges. Given the prevalence of a technical approach to the migration issue, we deplore the lack of attention collectively paid to the people behind the numbers, to their journeys, and to their stories.

There are individual stories behind all the numbers, stories made up of hopes, ruptures, and adjustments. This is what we seek to highlight in the research project Entraide dans les marges (Mutual-aid at the margins) at the Université du Québec à Montréal, which documents emerging forms of mutual support in precarious contexts, such as those associated with immigration.

To reintroduce the human element into a debate largely dominated by quantitative and objective considerations, we draw, in particular, on the notion of escrevivência, a Portugeuse term that refers to an act of political self-narration. It allows marginalized people to talk about their experiences and to reinsert themselves into history.

In this respect, escrevência differs from traditional autobiography in its explicit political and collective purpose: it emerges from marginalized voices seeking to reshape how their communities are seen and to claim space in public discourse.

Escrevivência, a concept coined by Brazilian novelist Conceição Evaristo in 1996, refers to the act of “writing living” — a form of writing in which life becomes a political affirmation........

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