After a series of successful online events which explored the intersections of different identities with migration status, we have expanded this work into a wider campaign.
Building on the themes explored in the Who is Welcome event series, which included the relationship of racism, Islamophobia and queerness with migration, we are pleased to launch the Who is Welcome campaign alongside our Words Matter campaign.
Migration is often looked at as a siloed issue. Campaigning and policy work rarely looks at the construction of migrants through an intersectional lens or how racism shapes our idea of who is welcome in the West. At the Migrants’ Rights Network, understanding the role intersections of identity play in shaping migration, including refugee, policies is central to our campaigning work. We must understand and be honest about who harmful migration, including asylum, policies are aimed at, and why.
The language of ‘welcome’ also has hidden meaning. A ‘welcome’ places the destination country as a hospitable ‘host’ that welcomes ‘guests’ (in this case migrants) who in turn are expected to be grateful. This rhetoric reinforces the problematic ideas that migrants, including refugees, must contribute, integrate and exhibit gratitude thus creating a hierarchy and the notion of conditional belonging. By calling this campaign ‘Who Is Welcome”, we are also questioning the inherent nature of migration and belonging that creates the host/guest relationship.
Who is Welcome events
The recording for the first event can be accessed here.
Our reflections on our second event can be accessed here.
The recording for the third event can be accessed here.
The recording for the fourth event can be accessed here.
Podcast
Episode 1: Patriotism and Migration
Episode 2: Queerness and Migration
Episode 3: Masculinity and Migration
In this project:
- Who is Welcome: Gender, Queerness and Migration
- Who is Welcome: Disability and Migration
- Who is Welcome: Islamophobia and Migration
Updates
Our latest articles about WHO IS WELCOME?
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Men, masculinity and migration
The single male migrant has become one of the most maligned groups of people in Western popular thought. In fact, even in ‘pro-migrant’ arguments, empathy tends to extend to women and children but stops when it comes to men, especially when they are Black and Brown men. Racialised men have been associated with violence. In…
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WHO IS WELCOME?
After our highly successful ‘Racism, Religion + Refugee Policy’ event, we are delighted to announce our ‘Who is Welcome?’ event series. This ‘Who is Welcome?’ event series will explore migration in tandem with other issues, and will explore the intersections between bordering and the following: racism, Islamophobia, colonialism, nationalism, citizenship status, gender, queerness, transness, disability,…
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Islamophobia Awareness Month 2023
The theme for this year’s Islamophobia Awareness Month is #MuslimStories. Muslim voices are incredibly important to amplify, especially given the rise in Islamophobic scapegoating. At MRN, we believe in the transformative power of storytelling, especially from Muslim communities who are affected by multiple systems of oppression, such as queer Muslims, Muslim asylum seekers, Black Muslims,…