“When you become a city that has to give hospitality to the experiences of trauma and torture, and become a world city – not one that has sent people out as traumatised bodies as happened from the clearances and the poverty of the 1930s in Glasgow – but actually starts to receive that back in the early 20th Century, then your narrative as a city has to change, and change is always a really tricky process.”
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Game of labels: identification of highly skilled migrants
When migrants move abroad and start their life in a different location, they may keep their loyalties and links to their place of origin and combine them with newly built connections to their new location.
Rethinking transnationalism and temporary labour migration
Transnationalism is a fundamentally agentic concept. Emerging as a critique to methodological nationalism, it emphasises processes that occur between, beyond – and often in defiance of – the boundaries of the ‘nation state’.
Who is welcome to Europe? ‘Exotic’ others vs. Muslim migrants
Bermo carries my two year old son on one shoulder as we stroll down the main street in Antwerp, the beautiful medieval city in Belgium. My son uses Bermo’s soft turban as a place to rest his head, struggling to keep his eyes open.
How migrants get trapped in the discursive labyrinth towards citizenship
In recent years border walls have been built in different parts of the world in order to stop irregular migration. However, barriers for migrants are not only constructed physically but also discursively in political discourses.
GLIMER project celebrates World Refugee Day
On the occasion of World Refugee Day (June 20), the GLIMER Team stands in solidarity with displaced people around the world and shares the insights from our researchers on ways to support and incorporate people seeking asylum and refuge.
So we stood there, sometimes chanting, and already asking questions
I’d just handed the baby over to my partner after the breakfast shift last Thursday morning when a friend messaged me. Activists had tweeted that an immigration enforcement raid on Kenmure Street in Pollokshields was being blocked by local people. My friend lives on the other side of town, but I live round the corner.
The battle of Kenmure Street
Around 9.30am on Thursday 13 May I checked my phone for messages, as I was about to start making preparations for Eid dinner later that evening. One of the No Evictions Network activists had posted a photo of an immigration enforcement van in Kenmure Street in Pollokshields and said that he was going to investigate what was happening, and asked others in the network to come down to support him.
Analysing connections between racism and immigrant integration across EU/Spanish policies
As socially committed and Spain-based researchers, we have long been amazed by the rhetorical power of the integration discourse (in this case, immigrant integration). This discourse has charmed and brought together people with different political orientations, even seducing numerous activists who usually adopt radically critical stances towards existing social oppressions (for example, capitalism).
Refugee integration, gender equality and femonationlism in Sweden
It is well-known that the work-care balance for women and men varies between societies. Daly and Rake (2003) have described Sweden as a country with a ‘big state’ and a ‘small family’, which means that the state takes on an extensive role in providing care, while both women and men are expected to enter the labour market.
The role of asylum in processes of urban gentrification
In 2013, the organisers of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games announced that the demolition of Glasgow’s infamous Red Road flats would form the grand finale of the Games’ Opening Ceremony. Where had once been a symbol of Glasgow’s ’regeneration’ from its post-industrial past, they had more recently been known for their decline.
Syrian refugees in Dutch cities: gendered and urbanized experiences
In the past few years many Syrian refugees have sought asylum in the Netherlands. My encounter with the Syrian refugees began in early 2019. With Arabic being my native language, I often found myself hearing conversations in the Syrian dialect while strolling in the Dutch urban centres.
UNHCR warns asylum under attack at Europe’s borders, urges end to pushbacks and violence against refugees
Alarmed at the increasing frequency of expulsions and pushbacks of refugees and asylum-seekers at Europe’s land and sea borders, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is calling for states to investigate and halt these practices.
Enduring indifference and the vital labour of migrant domestic workers
Migrant domestic workers in Singapore have always faced multiple restrictions on their mobilities and rights: their stays are governed by the most restrictive of work permits which require them to live in employers’ homes. They have one day off per week (or in some cases, fortnight or month), and many suffer ongoing forms of exploitation and abuse behind the closed doors of their employers’ homes as labour legislation does not apply to domestic workers.
The invisible corona crisis – problems and grassroots solutions
This contribution is based on the testimonies of about 25 frontline workers who, despite the dangers associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, have continued to support vulnerable groups including: undocumented migrants, refugees, asylum seekers, young people in special youth care, homeless people, and overall, people in poverty.
Inclusion key to protecting refugees and their hosts amid COVID-19 pandemic
Restrictions impeding access to asylum, spiraling gender-based violence, risks of unsafe returns, and loss of livelihoods are among some of the deep and hard-hitting impacts the coronavirus pandemic has inflicted on refugees, UNHCR’s Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, Gillian Triggs, warned today.
The ‘quarantine ships’ experience: a practice to isolate migrants
Among the actions taken by the Italian government to manage the arrival of migrants during the COVID-19 pandemic were the so-called ‘quarantine ships’ (former passenger ferries). The first experiment took place on the Rubattino where, between 17 April and 5 May 2020, 183 people were hosted.
Refugee women and children in refugee-led homes during COVID-19
COVID-19 has not affected all communities equally, and within the United States, racial and ethnic minority groups have been disproportionately affected by the virus. Reports indicate that immigrants and refugees, who constitute a large portion of the minority frontline workforce in healthcare, agriculture, and food supply chain industry, are at a higher risk of exposure to the virus.
Three basic steps to mainstream gender equality across integration policies
We hate to admit it, but we look at the world through gendered lenses. Women refugee and asylum seekers often deal with a triple disadvantage: immigration status, refugee status and gender.
Despite migration restrictions after the ‘refugee crisis’, Sweden’s integration policies are still favourable
Sayaka Osamani Törngren and Henrik Emilsson (of the GLIMER project’s Sweden team) have published a second national report on Sweden as part of the National Integration Evaluation Mechanism (NIEM) project. NIEM is a six-years long, transnational project supporting key actors in the integration field to improve the integration outcomes of beneficiaries of international protection.
Closing borders to refugees is not the answer
In recent weeks, according to the United Nations, at least 167 countries have either fully or partially closed their borders. These travel restrictions seem an important means to help contain the pandemic, but they are also proving to be a way for some countries to forfeit their asylum responsibilities.
Notes on Hotel Detention, race and the George Square protests in Glasgow
On Wednesday night, peaceful demonstrations by asylum seekers protesting pandemic accommodation conditions were disrupted by far-right groups, who occupied Glasgow’s George Square and prevented the protest from going ahead.
The impact of the ‘crisis’ on migrant workers: considerations about the Italian case
How should one define the flows of migrants during periods of crisis? This is a question that is frequently answered in a myriad of ways. At the moment, there is a fairly high level of agreement, on the causes affecting the flows of forced migrants as a whole (e.g. wars, disasters, territorial conflicts, persecution, epidemics, climate change, etc.).
Resilience during the pandemic
Migrant Women Press spoke with individuals and organisations working with migrant women in Italy to learn how COVID-19 is affecting their lives and activities, and most importantly, what they are doing to overcome these difficulties.
COVID-19 racial inequalities and Swedish experiences – what is the gap about?
On 23 March 2020 the Swedish-Somali Physician Association highlighted that six out of the first 15 deaths in Sweden due to COVID-19 were of Somali background. They pointed to the lack of information about the coronavirus and how to avoid COVID-19 in languages other than Swedish and English.
Essential, yet expendable: how a pandemic revealed the role of displaced migrants in the Cyprus labour market
As the coronavirus pandemic ravages economies and societies across Europe and beyond, we’ve seen the welfare of displaced migrants tumble even further down host countries’ list of priorities. Ironic, really, as now more than ever, we are relying on migrant workers to keep up even a semblance of an operational society.
Costuire competenze: Percorsi di formazione professionale in Calabria con la Comunità Progetto Sud
I nostri stakeholder della Comunità Progetto Sud discutono del lavoro svolto con rifugiati e migranti in Calabria, nel sud Italia.
Building skills: Professional training courses in Calabria with Comunità Progetto Sud
Our stakeholders from Comunità Progetto Sud discuss the work they have been doing with refugees and migrants in Calabria, South Italy.
Gender-neutral policies are gender-blind policies
Most language training policies for asylum seekers and refugees in Cyprus have been designed without taking gender into consideration. The issue with such policies is that to be gender neutral is to be gender blind — in other words, they fail to address the specific needs and realities of women, leading to unequal access to learning opportunities.
Beyond a ‘one-size-fits-all’ labour market policy for Resettled refugees: notes from Bute
In Scotland, there are a number of organisations which specialise in supporting refugees’ access to the labour market, including the Bridges Programme, the Scottish Refugee Council, and Radiant and Brighter. Entrepreneurial support is also provided by Business Gateway, though stakeholders reported high degree of localised variation in refugee specialisms.
Housing for refugees in Sweden: from negotiations between the state and local municipalities, to a top-down enforcement
Housing for asylum seekers and persons granted international protection is a contested issue. The state relies on local municipalities to settle refugees, and on the other hand, local governments experience housing shortages and need to make decisions how to prioritise between different groups in need of apartments.
The Italian decree on immigration and security: where next?
On 14th September 2018, the text of the decree-law amending the regulations on immigration, international protection and the granting and revocation of Italian citizenship was approved by the Council of Ministers. It subsequently became law on 1st December and is now known as the legge Salvini. This restrictive new legislation distils what we might consider to be the “Salvini strategy” regarding the reception system for applicants for international protection and refugees.
Homelessness: a growing threat for asylum seekers in Cyprus
According to Eurostat’s records, Cyprus had the highest number of first-time asylum applicants in Europe (relative to population) during the second quarter of 2018. The number of asylum applications in the first eight months have exceeded 4,500, marking an increase of 55% from 2017. The growing needs of the increasing asylum seeking population continue to be insufficiently tackled by the state.
Reclaiming the local? Asylum accommodation provision in Scotland
Reports last week that local authorities participating in the Dispersal Scheme are considering withdrawing from the Scheme are alarming but perhaps not surprising. Dispersal is a programme run by the UK government to accommodate asylum seekers in locations across the UK on a no-choice basis. Since its implementation at the turn of the Millennium, it has attracted controversy, especially around issues relating to the housing of asylum seekers.
Our visit to SPRAR projects in Calabria – now at risk due to the ‘Salvini decree’
In September, we held our second consortium meeting at the University of Calabria. As part of our meeting we visited local SPRAR (Protection System for Asylum Seekers and Refugees) projects, and met those who work in, and benefit from them. In this blog, our Co-Investigator, Tim Peace, details our experience, and analyses the impact current government legislation is likely to have on these projects.
Serco evictions and asylum accommodation governance: The consequences of a reserved, neoliberal accommodation model for displaced migrants in Glasgow
On 29 July 2018, private asylum accommodation provider, Serco, announced that with one day’s notice, they would be changing the locks on up 300 residences occupied by asylum seekers whose applications had been refused by the Home Office. The decision has been met with shock and anger both by Glasgow City Council and by the third sector and community networks that support refugees in Glasgow.
Who does the dirty work? Cyprus visa laws for South-East Asian domestic workers.
Today in Cyprus, a small European island nation of less than a million, 18,522 residence permits for foreign domestic workers are active, most of whom, as mentioned above, are female. Apart from these formal statistics, estimates say that the island hosts an additional 30,000 undocumented domestic workers.
Between emigration, immigration and reception in the South of Italy
Up until the latter part of the 20th century, the southern regions of Italy were sites of emigration. Since the 1990s however, some of these areas – originally points of departure – have progressively transformed into areas for the arrival and reception of different types of migration.
Who can be the most hostile to migration in Sweden?
Later this year Sweden will go to the polls for the general election. With the pre-electoral debate in full swing, the political issues receiving the most attention are integration and migration. In this context it appears political parties are competing over which might promote a restrictive integration and migration political agenda.
Local States of Exception
Nasar Meer, Emma Hill and Tim Peace ask why do migration policies fail?
Certainly they may be poorly designed and delivered, but amongst the reasons experts point to is that ‘success’ can be so politically unpalatable that few national level actors are willing to expend the political capital in pursuing them.