Words Matter
Integration and assimilation
We will not integrate into a system designed to oppress us.
Liberation not integration.
We are actively pushing back against the language of “integration”, “assimilation” and “community cohesion”. This is because it is underpinned by racial and religious undertones, and feeds into ‘respectability politics’. It also justifies the increased profiling and surveillance of the migratised communities that are deemed to be unassimilable.
Because of systems of oppression like racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia, migrants are often told to integrate and assimilate. But community is only threatened when different groups of marginalised people are pitted against each other by the Government and the media. For example, migrants are blamed for poverty and unemployment, when in reality, this is a result of Government policies.
The nature of Islamophobia means that Muslim migrant communities are often framed as “dangerous”, and as a “threat” to society. In reality, it is the increased hostility, harassment and violence targeted against migrants that threatens any unity.
Whilst the use of this language is sometimes well-intentioned, we are concerned that its use unwittingly feeds into respectability politics: the idea that migratised groups have to give up important and personal elements of their identity in order to be accepted.
Unconditional
Solidarity with migratised communities requires unconditional acceptance. Using the language of integration insinuates that migrants must make sacrifices in order to be accepted: that their acceptance is conditional on their ability to perform “Whiteness”, and that their culture is a “threat” that must be neutralised.
Because “integration”, “assimilation” and “community cohesion” are underpinned by racial and religious undertones, migrants who do not assimilate are subjected to further Islamophobia, surveillance and racial profiling.
Instead of wondering how we can ensure migrants “integrate” into society, what we should be asking is how we can create a society where all communities feel safe and respected.