To eliminate racism, we have to eliminate borders!
On this International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we reaffirm our commitment to a world free from all forms of racisms.
Border abolition is essential to the elimination of racial discrimination. This is because borders and border regimes are neo-colonial and racist tools of control, surveillance and domination. They have always functioned to exclude the racialised “Other” from the purview of humanity and dignity.
As we watch the Rwanda Bill being debated in Parliament, we must remember that the Rwanda deportation plan exists to deport Black and Brown people, who are fleeing colonial legacies of violence. As we watch people dying in the Channel, we must remember that they are being murdered by Fortress Europe and its violent border regime. As we watch our cities being gentrified, we must remember that gentrification is segregation and bordering: it is meant to push the racialised “Other” out. As we watch corporations continue to amass wealth whilst people in the Global South suffer and starve, we must remember that excluding people from the necessities of life is a form of bordering in and of itself: capitalism is borders. And as we watch genocides unfold in real time, we must remember that those who are bordered and excluded, are left to be murdered and starved into non-existence.
Recognising the interconnectedness of racism and anti-migrant sentiment is central to our work at MRN. We call for solidarity across movements, and for us all to remember that the struggle for racial justice and migrant justice are intertwined; One cannot be achieved without the other.