Opinions

Migrant Voice Blogs

02/08/2013

Fernando Sdrigotti on immigration, visibility and electioneering

Let's not start at the beginning. Let's put aside the valid and thorny debate over whether it is necessary to have immigration controls. Let's not step into a historical discussion over the preconditions of migration, the circulation of wealth, or the history of colonialism. Let's accept, as a truism,…

19/07/2013

Agnes Woolley: Planetary consciousness: who’s afraid of the ‘global poor’?

Shifting the migration debate to consider the impact of global phenomena such as climate change and global capitalism on the movement of people requires an understanding of scarcity and insecurity as factors which affect citizens and non-citizens alike, says Agnes Woolley. Opening the recent Migrant Voice conference in London, founder…

17/07/2013

Beatriz Martinez: Ready to challenge stereotypes? Then write, tweet and blog!

Are you lost among new concepts as avatar, tweet or follow? Do you find it completely impossible to summarize all your thoughts in the 140 characters that a tweet requires? As part of a wider strategy to challenge myths about immigration the organisation Migrant Voice has initiated a series of…

08/07/2013

Claire McCracken: When do migrants stop being migrants?

It seems such a harsh word, "migrant". Labels of any kind can be irreparably destructive when spoken over a person, so imagine how it feels to have lived in a country for forty years; worked, married and raised children there; and still be considered an outsider? I lived in Scotland…

26/06/2013

Dave Stamp: Why are the “real” refugees always somewhere else?

We’re now coming to the end of Refugee Week 2013 and, as ever, it’s been a busy and demanding seven days, filled with awareness-raising, music and film, of work highlighting the struggles of displaced people across the world- and from across the world- for human rights and dignity. This year,…

25/06/2013

Norma Fonseca on: Home and Choice: The encouragement of refugees for inner peace

When you think about refugee issues, you cannot avoid thinking about HOME and CHOICE, in the sense of having the power of deciding and also the right of living, being and enjoying your home. This is the essential part of creating your identity. The continuous process of defining ‘who one…

19/06/2013

Selbin Kabote on: Emphasis should be placed on the UK economic growth and not on migrants

Reflections on the Migrant Voice annual conference by Migrant Voice Birmingham network member, the journalist Selbin Kabote. More emphasis should be placed on debating issues related to strategies that should be adopted in an effort to strengthen the British economy and to employment creation and not on migration, Sarah Teather…

19/06/2013

Nikandre Kopcke: Anti-immigrant sentiment: time to talk about gender?

Anti-immigrant sentiment: time to talk about gender? The way in which gender figures in the picture of anti-immigrant sentiment is rarely discussed, yet anti-immigrant sentiment, wherever it is found, represents a rejection of ‘feminized’ populations and a concern with a national illusion that is distinctly masculine, says Nikandre Kopcke. …

Migrant Voice - Giuliana Tiripelli: Reflecting on visions and language at the third Migrant Voice conference; from fear of losing alone, to desire of winning together

21/05/2013

Giuliana Tiripelli: Reflecting on visions and language at the third Migrant Voice conference; from fear of losing alone, to desire of winning together

Giuliana Tiripelli is an Italian migrant to the UK, intern for GRAMNet, teacher in Sociology and a PhD candidate at Glasgow University, researching on media and social change: http://glasgow.academia.edu/Giulianatiripelli The third Migrant Voice conference has been an amazing experience. We spent two days debating and discussing ways to shape the…

16/05/2013

Linda Ekblom Jacobsson: Introducing a draft Manifesto for Migrants: I’m a Migrant, Get Over it

Linda Ekblom Jacobsson is a Swedish migrant to the UK, an intern with GRAMNet and a PhD student at the University of Glasgow. Her research takes interest in the representation of victims trafficked for sexual exploitation versus other forms of labour in the policy discourse in Sweden. “We are…