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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Qatar: Our Statement on Migrant and Queer Rights
The West’s condemnation of Qatar is problematic and hypocritical.
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International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women
Trigger warning: sexual violence.
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What role does Islamophobia play in migration discourse?
In late September 2022, MRN and MEND hosted an event as part of our ‘Who is Welcome?’ series, which examined the role of Islamophobia in shaping attitudes towards migration in the West. November is Islamophobia Awareness Month and we want to use this as an opportunity to draw attention to ongoing harmful attitudes and narratives…