AYS Daily Digest 22/07/17: What “stemming the tide” really means…
European leaders betray their true feelings: what ‘stemming the tide of migration’ means.
A report on Quartz, although misrepresenting the intention of a new push from Denmark to fund sex education and condom distribution in countries abroad, highlighted a deeply pervasive and problematic ideology shared by many politicians across the world. The article opens with the following:
Denmark is pledging 91 million Danish kroner ($14 million) to curb the “human and social costs” of unwanted pregnancies in places with poor infrastructure and opportunities for young women. Much of the focus will be on Africa’s least developed countries.
Danish minister for development cooperation, Ulla Tørnæs, said, “part of the solution to reducing migratory pressures on Europe is to reduce the very high population growth in many African countries.”
Although Ms. Tørnæs did indeed make that statement, some context reveals that this racist idea of “reducing migratory pressures” on Europe was not designed with the goal to prevent people from coming, as can be seen in this article (in Danish) which provides further information on the promised amount. Furthermore, the article in Quartz neglects to mention that a significant portion of the money is going towards basic sex education and condom distribution, of which there is an ever widening gap, especially in the wake of the US government stopping much funding for these sorts of programs.
However, although this seems to be a case of mistaken identity, the article is still of value in highlighting the deeply disturbing ideas held by many individuals across Europe. The trope of the “breeding migrant” (the author shudders to even type it) is sadly well worn in the discourse and is closely connected to stereotypes of the “sexualized other.” “Refugee men are going to attack our women” and “migrants are having babies to exploit welfare” are just some of the common phrases used. And now this trope is weaponized against those who aren’t even in Europe as they are blamed for a population increase that “pushes” into Europe. It’s easy to see how these ideas are just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the far right hysteria about “white genocide” and Western civilization being “out-bred.”
The long heritage of colonialism and sterilization programs throughout the world as seen in Australia, the United States, and beyond also serve as a sinister backdrop to these ideologies.
So in this way, we must take care to analyze policies that may be truly doing some good, but make sure to criticize that deeply harmful ideas that may be tied to them.
New developments in Spain as volunteers and journalists report that around 70 Syrian refugees had been sleeping in a park in Madrid for the past 10 days, most of them having arrived to Melilla previously. Many of them are young people and children and reportedly, and the government began bussing them to reception centers on Friday, although around 30 have refused to go, some of them having tickets to cross the Pyrenees. Read more here.
110 and 76 people were rescued respectively off the Spanish coast in the strait of Gibralter.
Refugee Youth Service France is looking to collect cell phones for vulnerable youth in France.
Dear Community, as you know, many minors flee their country every day in the hope of finding peace. Most of them are isolated, with no family or friends, in the area of Calais. Faced with police oppression on a daily basis, they are forced to move because they have no housing. We are trying to provide them with mobile phones to stay in touch with them in order to bring them into family reunification in France. However, our funds are now exhausted. That’s why your generosity would be more than welcome.
If you have mobile phones you can send us, contact us in private, we will give you the address.
Youth are often targeted for robbery more, meaning that they can lose cell phones quite often. Click on the organization’s link above and contact them for more details.
Belgium received approval from Greece to return two of eight asylum seekers that Belgium has been trying to send to Greece for months now. Their applications had been rejected based on the Dublin agreement, as their fingerprints had been traced in Greece.
Theo Francken of the conservative New Flemish Alliance stated that “nobody” meets the right criteria for being accepted in Belgium. Only the Syrians and the Eritreans are still being accepted in. The opposition has not stopped criticising me about this. However, it is absurd!…For the moment, we have welcomed 779 individuals…. If new individuals returning fall within the criteria to come to Belgium, I will of course keep my word.”
The article’s author points out that the 779 individuals come from the 4,000 promised. Read more here.
Germany is falling behind on processing asylum requests, according to a news story in DW. Those working in the asylum office ought to be processing approximately 30% more requests per day. It is unclear if and how this lag will affect asylum seekers themselves. Read the full report here.
Meanwhile, in Dusseldorf Germany, there was a protest by Iraqi refugees against rejected asylum claims.
Right to Remain published a helpful guide on preparing for the Asylum interview in the UK. As nerves are higher and higher as the repercussions of Brexit are becoming more apparent, solid information collected by those who have “been there” is more valuable than ever. Check it out here.
The Italian government has been taking the lead in holding the EU to account for its lack of consistent and coherent migration policy. In a 25-minute-long interview with various officials, the concerns and opinions were aired insofar as the continued movement across the Mediterranean from Libya.
Italian Deputy Foreign Minister Mario Giro spoke that he does not view the crisis simply as a crisis but rather as an opportunity to raise awareness about how the “borders” of Europe are pushing south, in a way, and that something long-term and productive must be done about displacement in countries in Africa and other areas. Listen to the full interview here.
The latest report from UNICEF details that in the first half of the year, 93,000 individuals have come to Europe via the central Mediterranean route. Around 1/2 of them arrived in May and June alone. As such, we can continue to expect that summer months will be particularly active. Read the full report here.