MARCHING AWAY FROM THE COLD WAR
Author: David Bacon
Date: January 2012
Source: Monthly Review PressOne sign carried in almost every May Day march of the last few years in the United States says it all: “We are Workers, not Criminals!” Often it was held in the calloused hands of men and women who looked as though they’d just come from work in a factory, cleaning an office building, or picking grapes.
Continue readingDOMESTIC WORKERS AND THEIR CHILDREN MARCH FOR RIGHTS
Author: David Bacon
Date: January 2012
Source: Working In These TimesSACRAMENTO, CA – Early Tuesday morning busses of domestic workers and their children began arriving at the huge grassy mall in front of California’s state capitol building. Dozens of Mexican, Filipina and African American moms, kids in tow, poured out onto the steps leading into the legislature’s chamber. When the crowd grew to several hundred, they took up their placards, pushed their strollers out in front, and began marching around the building.
Some of the kids had clearly done things like this before. One five-year-old raised her fist in the air as the crowd chanted, calling on members of the state Assembly and Senate to pass the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights. Another girl, who looked about three, knew the chant by heart: “We are the children, mighty mighty children, fighting for justice and our future.” She didn’t miss a beat, and as one of the organizers held the bullhorn up to her mouth she did a little militant dance to accompany it.
With balloons and even a couple of clowns, it all seemed very festive. But the happy atmosphere didn’t hide a more unpleasant truth. Many of the moms there probably see less of their own children than the youngsters they care for. And in the case of those caring for the aged, sick or disabled, the conditions of that work can seem like something a century ago.
Domestic workers often don’t get a break to eat, even working many more than the eight-hour workday considered normal for most workers. Others cook for the families they work for, but can’t use the same implements to cook for themselves. If they have to sleep in the homes of clients, they often have to get up during the night several times to perform basic services for them, like taking them to the bathroom, or giving them medicine. And the night is considered a rest period, for which they sometimes don’t get paid.
One Filipina caregiver from the East Bay explained that she sleeps in the same bed as her client. “What I’d like would be a bed where I could sleep by myself,” she said.
Even at five or six, the kids marching with their moms are old enough to understand a little of those bitter truths. When one young girl, who looked about kindergarten age, held up a sign saying “trabajo digno,” or “decent work,” she knew enough to explain, “she doesn’t get enough money, and she works too hard.”
Last year the state Assembly passed AB 889, authored by Assembly members Tom Ammiano and V. Manuel Perez, that would give domestic workers some state-recognized rights in their efforts to curb abusive conditions. It would provide meal and rest breaks, overtime and reporting pay as enjoyed by other workers, and expand domestic workers’ access to workers compensation. In addition, it would guarantee eight hours of sleep for those who work around the clock, and allow them to use kitchen facilities.
The bill would affect the 200,000 people who work in California domestic service, who are almost entirely women, and immigrants or people of color. While domestic workers face the same excuses for substandard conditions faced by other women, namely that they’re only working to supplement the income of men, most of them are either the sole source of income for their families, or are bringing home pay that their families can’t live without. One woman explained that she was still working many more than 40 hours a week, and was in her 70s.
The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights is modeled on one that was enacted in New York State in 2010. It is supported by dozens of statewide worker and community advocates, including the California Labor Federation and many other unions, Filipino Advocates for Justice, the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles, Mujeres Unidas y Activas, the Women’s Collective of the San Francisco Day Labor Program, a number of churches and synagogues, and Hand in Hand, the Domestic Workers Employers Association. Its main opponent is the business association for agencies that provide domestic workers to clients.
At the end of the last session of the legislature, the bill was in the appropriations committee of the state Senate. The marchers hoped to pry the bill loose, get it passed through the Senate, and convince Governor Jerry Brown to sign it. One of several legislators who spoke to the crowd, Watsonville Assembly member Bill Monning explained in Spanish, “This bill is just, and we’re going to make sure it becomes law and that domestic workers finally get the same basic rights as other workers.”
CAN THE TRIQUIS GO HOME?
Author: David Bacon
Date: January 2012
Source: New America MediaOAXACA, MEXICO — Just before Christmas, the women and children who’d spent 17 months living on the sidewalk outside the governor’s palace in Oaxaca announced they were going home. In the spring of 2010, these refugees abandoned their homes in San Juan Copala, the ceremonial center of the Triqui people. Many houses were burned after they left.
Stringing tarps and ropes across the palacio’s outdoor colonnade, they set up their planton, an impromptu community of sleeping and cooking areas across the sidewalk from the zocalo, the plaza at Oaxaca’s heart. It looked hauntingly similar to the settlements of the Occupy protesters that spread across the United States last fall, but rather than fighting to remain in their tents, the Triqui families in the planton were fighting for the right not to live there, for the right to go home.
Finally, this December, they announced an agreement with representatives of Gabino Cue, elected governor last July, who promised to protect the families if they returned to San Juan Copala. Still, many question whether they can really go back safely. Even more importantly, they ask what can bring an end to the violence that has claimed the lives of at least 500 people over the last two decades.
This question is not just debated on the sidewalk by the zocalo, or only in Oaxaca. It is asked, albeit in whispers, by migrant farm workers in Baja California and Sinaloa, in northern Mexico, and in Hollister and Greenfield, in California’s Salinas Valley.
Indigenous Triqui children march through the streets of Oaxaca on December 19, 2011, to protest a wave of killihngs in their home community of San Juan Copala.
Mixtecos have been leaving Oaxaca for decades, driven mostly by the endemic poverty of the Mexican countryside, says Gaspar Rivera Salgado, a Mixteco professor at UCLA and past coordinator of the Binational Front of Indigenous Organizations. Yet for many years the Triquis, who were equally poor and live in the same region, stayed put. Their migration only began when the violence in their communities made life unbearable.
Once displaced, they began to migrate within the Mixteca region, then within Oaxaca, and then within Mexico. They traveled north, following other Oaxacans to San Quintin in the 1980s, and then in the 1990s, to California.
Triqui migrants might have escaped the violence, but not the political presence of the groups they were fleeing. Wherever they went, the Movement for the Unification of the Triqui Struggle (MULT) and the Social Welfare Group of the Triqui Region (UBISORT) sent agents, requiring people to pay monetary quotas and participate in mobilizations.
In the 1980s, Triqui activists organized MULT. “It was a grassroots organization to fight the caciques (rural political bosses) over control of land, forests and other natural resources,” says Rivera Salgado. “The caciques were so violent that MULT members had to arm themselves. Eventually, those armed men became a paramilitary group. The caciques were overcome, but what began as a grassroots organization became something different. There was no transition to a civil society form of organization.”
A Triqui boy carries a sign that says, “We want justice for the widows, the orphans and our injured.
Eventually MULT itself fractured into factions. One faction became UBISORT, which began fighting MULT for political control of Triqui communities. Oaxaca’s repressive state government used the conflict to enhance its own control.
UBISORT was organized with the support of then-governor Jose Murat, and became a political support base for Oaxaca’s old governing party, the PRI (Party of the Institutionalized Revolution). MULT organized its own political party, the Popular Unity Party. But behind the parties were the guns.
“A civil war went on between them,” Rivera Salgado says. In 2006, Raul Marcial Perez, a leader of UBISORT, was assassinated. Then in October, 2010, Heriberto Pazos, the founder of MULT, was gunned down in the streets of Oaxaca city.
In the only municipio that remained in Triqui hand, San Martin Itunyoso, Antonio Jacinto López Martínez, a MULT leader, was elected president in 2004, but then couldn’t take office because of threats, and fled to the nearby city of Tlaxiaco. Last October, as he was crossing the street there with two members of his family, a gunman shot him in the head. Many others were killed in years of violence and retribution.
The Triquis attempted to create an autonomous town in San Juan Copala, and were expelled by paramilitary gangs. They carried crosses with the names of people who were killed.
The High Cost of Migration
For Triquies, migration has had a high cost – they’ve had to fight for survival wherever they went. “They faced tremendous racism and prejudice,” Rivera Salgado charges. “They’re always the outsiders, treated like savages.”
Over the course of some 25 years, so many have fled the political murders plaguing their homeland that they’ve formed towns like Nueva Colonia Triqui, or New Triqui Town, in Baja’s San Quintin Valley. In that colonia, or in California’s Triqui neighborhoods, people ask whether peace is possible, and if it were, would they go home too?
“People left looking for a better future, but they worry about the safety of their families at home,” says activist Elvira Santos (whose name has been changed), pointing to the fear that many Triquis share of reprisals for speaking publicly not only against themselves, but also against their families in Oaxaca. “They’ll think twice before going back because the conflicts and the same armed groups are still there.”
In north Mexico, migrants found farm labor camps with dirt floors and no electricity. When they wanted homes for children and families, Triquis and other indigenous migrants had to mount land invasions, building houses on Federal land, and then awaiting the police sent to evict them.
The march called on the governor, Gabino Cue, to guarantee their safety when they try to return to the town and to arrest those responsible for the killings.
In one of the most celebrated cases, Julio Sandoval, a Triqui leader from Yosoyuxi, was imprisoned for two years in the penitentiary in Ensenada for helping families settle in Cañon Buenavista.
When Triqui migrant farm workers arrived in Greenfield, the local police and legal system condemned them for cultural practices like home births or early marriages, or for drinking in public, a normal activity at home. Eventually they reached agreement with the local police chief, who even set up a desk in the police station for a Triqui leader to provide translation.
Then town residents, who saw the migrants as unwelcome invaders, tried to fire the chief. The Triqui community by then numbered at least 3,000 people. Helped by the United Farm Workers, migrants marched through town to assert their right to live there.
Roots of the Violence
Adelfo Regino Montes, a Mixe indigenous leader and writer for Mexico’s leftwing daily, La Jornada, traces the violence in the Triqui region to “political submission, territorial disintegration, economic exploitation, racial discrimination and exclusion in every aspect of daily life.”
Triqui men joined the women and children in the march.
After Mexico won its independence, Triquis controlled three municipios, or counties, where they were the majority. That gave them some degree of political power. After the Mexican Revolution, however, two of the municipios were dissolved, and much of the community’s autonomy was lost.
“San Juan Copala itself was no longer a municipio,” Santos explains. “Many mestizos [people of mixed indigenous and Spanish ancestry] didn’t want Triquis to have power. They introduced alcohol and arms in order to gain control of the land and resources.” Those caciques ruled Triqui towns using repression and violence.
“[Triqui municipios] were dispersed into districts where non-indigenous people are the majority,” Regino Montes said in a 2010 Jornada column. “The big majority of Triqui communities have been excluded from any decisions that affect their lives and destinies, undermining their autonomy and freedom to make their own choices. Those decision remained in the hands of the caciques, the state and federal governments, and the party leaders of the PRI.”
In the only municipio that remained in Triqui hands, San Martin Itunyoso, Antonio Jacinto López Martínez, a MULT leader, was elected president in 2004, but then couldn’t take office because of threats, and fled to the nearby city of Tlaxiaco. Last October, as he was crossing the street there with two members of his family, a gunman shot him in the head.
The women carry a banner that says, “Neither forgive nor forget, punishment to the assassins. Autonomous town of San Juan Copala.”
“The violence is created by a lack of the assertion of the rule of law. But the government has excused its failure to stop it with such racist ideas as ‘Triquis are savages and uncivilized,’” Rivera Salgado charges.
Indigenous self-government
Looking for a way out themselves, in 2007 Triqui activists created the autonomous municipio of San Juan Copala, inspired by the experiences of the Zapatistas in nearby Chiapas. “They recreated the system of indigenous self-government,” Regino Montes wrote, “the only real possibility for peace in the region.”
“They were looking for a political alternative,” adds Rivera Salgado, “and they used the political process. They weren’t armed. And they won in a clean election.”
Those activists had roots in another splinter from MULT, called MULT Independiente, or MULT-I. UBISORT and MULT united against them, and eventually laid siege to the town, which went on for months. A number of residents were killed.
A Triqui girl carries a sign that says, “Long live the autonomy of the native people of the planet earth.”
On April 27, 2010, a caravan of Mexican and European human rights activists set out for San Juan Copala. They were stopped at a roadblock, and gunmen began shooting. Beatriz Alberta Cariño Trujillo, a Mexican human rights activist, and a Finnish supporter Tyri Antero Jaakkola, were murdered. The others fled into the hills.
Human rights lawyer Gabriela Jimenez Rodriguez said she was captured by hooded men who told her they were from UBISORT and MULT. “They told us than no one could pass here, that it was their territory.” Finally she and others were released. Police recovered the two bodies, but never tried to enter the town.
On August 22, three more people were killed and two wounded, as they drove to nearby Santa Cruz Tilapia, where residents were also trying to establish an autonomous municipio. One was the town leader, Antonio Ramirez Lopez, 78 years old.
Then in September, 500 paramilitaries surrounded San Juan Copala and told supporters of the autonomous municipio they had 24 hours to leave. “That wasn’t just a threat,” Reyna Martinez, one of the town’s leaders, told La Jornada. “They did the same thing in San Miguel Copala, where they killed twelve of our colleagues in the city hall. Neither state nor Federal authorities dare even to come into San Juan Copala.”
Women and children walked past the street vendors selling toys in the city’s main plaza, with the star and masked figure on their banner showing their connection to the Zapatista movement.
No need for protective measures?
Oaxaca’s governor at the time, Ulisses Ruiz, notorious for his violent suppression of the teachers’ strike of 2006, said there were no gunmen, deaths or disappearances in the Triqui region, and no need for protective measures for residents. By that time, families who’d fled were already living in the planton outside his office, and some had gone to Mexico City to set up a similar planton there. “They got us to leave,” said another leader, Marcos Albino Ortiz, “but that doesn’t mean we’ve given up.”
Last July, however, Gabino Cue, who Ruiz defeated in the election of 2004, beat the PRI candidate for governor. UBISORT campaigned for the PRI. MULT’s PUP ran its own candidate, viewed largely as an attempt to draw votes from Cue. After the election, Cue put Region Montes in charge of the state Secretariat of Indigenous Affairs. Rufino Dominguez, former coordinator for the Frente Indigena de Organizaciones Binacionales, was appointed director of the Oaxacan Institute for Attention to Migrants.
The women in the planton didn’t stop demonstrating against the government, however, and the violence continued. In August three MULTI members were killed in Agua Fria. Their bodies were brought to the planton for a public funeral. In October, Reyna Martinez was arrested with two dozen others for occupying a piece of land near the airport, in an act of civil disobedience. They demanded that the new state government provide protection to allow their return to San Juan Copala, pay for the destruction of peoples’ homes there, and arrest those responsible for the killings. And in December women and children in bright red huipils marched through Oaxaca city, demanding the government accept the conditions.
In response to the pressure, Rufino Juarez, a UBISORT leader, was arrested in May for killing MULTI activist Celestino Hernandez Cruz a year earlier. Cue’s administration then issued arrest orders for a number of others, but so far none have been detained, with one exception. Authorities did arrest a MULTI founder and retired teacher, Miguel Angel Velasco, accusing him of arranging the disappearance of two young women from MULT in 2007.
The planton in front of the governor’s palace on the main square in Oaxaca.
Nevertheless, Marcos Albino Ortiz, says that the state government “has fulfilled about half of what it agreed to. We’re going back to San Juan Copala, and we’re talking with the communities there to ensure they support our decision. Our objective is to pacify the region.” He predicts that the state and federal police will provide an escort, along with representatives of the Interamerican Commission for Human Rights, which has issued orders of protection for many of the activists. Some 135 families have received some restitution for their burned homes, he says.
Can Triqsuis go home?
To ensure peace in San Juan Copala, however, some police presence there is unavoidable, at least in the short run, Rivera Salgado believes. “The litmus test is whether the government will create the conditions in which people can go home,” he says. “You can’t change overnight a situation that’s existed for 30 years. In the short term they have to disarm the armed people. This can create political space. But military occupation is not a long-term solution. People need to become a force for change themselves.”
Following the ambush of the caravan, Regino Montes asserted, “The solution must be the recognition and respect, in law and in action, for the process of Triqui autonomy.” Now he is a responsible official in a government that has the power to implement that recommendation.
Peace in Oaxaca may encourage Triqui migrants to return, but going home won’t be easy. No one can afford to go back to Oaxaca, just to take a look.
A child sleeps in a planton set up by the Triquis in Mexico City’s zocalo, or main square.
Triqui migration hit the U.S. after the amnesty of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act, so most people have no legal immigration status. They can cross the border into Mexico, but coming back to the U.S. is a much bigger problem. It’s expensive — $2500 for a coyote for the crossing is two months wages for a farm worker. Plus, it’s more dangerous every year, as people get pushed by increased enforcement into the most remote sections of the border to cross.
Going back home is a permanent decision, not a temporary visit. Nor has the fear of violence there diminished. In the last few years, five Triqui families even won political asylum, helped by San Francisco’s Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights. Nevertheless, “most migrants get much harsher treatment now,” according to Rivera Salgado. “The current enforcement policy is based on excluding them, through violence and jail at the border, and isolation and fear in their community. The idea is to make life so hard for them in the U.S. they’ll have to leave. But where are they supposed to go?”
“I think a lot of people would go home if they could,” Santos believes. “Our land is very productive, and as farm workers here we’ve seen new crops that we could grow in Oaxaca. But we need jobs and schools there, and especially security. Right now, we don’t know if we can even hope for that. Some of us have lost hope. Our governments have made these promises before. It would be good if it were true this time, but we have to see if their actions match their words.”"
“And where is home?” asks Rivera Salgado. “Lots of Triquis have grown up in San Quintin or Greenfield by now. Yet the first generation still yearns for connection to San Juan Copala. It is part of their identity and sense of belonging. Everybody needs that.”
The 2011 conference ‘Learning to Live in a Multicultural World: Diaspora and Peacemaking in Europe’ Report
Author: Initiatives of Change International and CAUX-Initiatives of Change, Conference Report
Date: 2011Over the last few years, Europe has become more culturally and religiously diverse. While migration to and from Europe is not a new phenomenon, it has taken on a different form and shape in recent years. It has led to multicultural societies in Europe with numerous diaspora communities. However, while diaspora communities are an integral part of our societies, they are rarely a well integrated part.
Continue readingIncreasing Reliance on Guest Worker Programs
Author: David Bacon
Date: January 2012
Source: Americas Program websiteOver the last 25 years, guest worker programs have increasingly become a vehicle for channeling the migration that has stemmed from free market reforms. Increasing numbers of guest workers are recruited each year for labor in the U.S. from Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean under the H1-B, H2-A and H2-B programs. Recruiters promise high wages and charge thousands of dollars for visas, fees and transportation. By the time they leave home, the debts of guest workers are crushing.
Continue readingHow US Policies Fueled Mexico’s Great Migration
Author: David Bacon
Date: January 2012
Source: Americas Program websiteRoberto Ortega tried to make a living slaughtering pigs in Veracruz, Mexico. “In my town, Las Choapas, after I killed a pig, I would cut it up to sell the meat,” he recalls. But in the late 1990s, after the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) opened up Mexican markets to massive pork imports from US companies like Smithfield Foods, Ortega and other small-scale butchers in Mexico were devastated by the drop in prices.
Continue readingMigration: A Product of Free Market Reforms
Author: David Bacon
Date: January 2012
Source: Americas Program websiteA political alliance is developing between countries with a labor export policy and the corporations who use that labor in the global north. Many countries sending migrants to the developed world depend on remittances to finance social services and keep the lid on social discontent over poverty and joblessness, while continuing to make huge debt payments. Corporations using that displaced labor share a growing interest with those countries’ governments in regulating the system that supplies it.
Continue readingThe Modern Immigrant Rights Movement
Author: David Bacon
Date: January 2012
Source: Americas Program website
Development of the Immigrant Rights Movement to 1986
Before the cold war, the defense of the rights of immigrants in the U.S., especially those from Mexico, Central America and Asia was mounted mostly by immigrant working class communities, and the alliances they built with the left wing of the U.S. labor movement. At the time when the left came under attack and was partly destroyed in the cold war, immigrant rights leaders were also targeted for deportation. Meanwhile, U.S. immigration policy became more overtly a labor supply scheme than at any other time in its history.
Continue reading“World Migration Report 2011,Communicating Effectively about Migration”
Author: International Organization for Migration
Date: Winter 2011Migrants’ voices must be heard in today’s all too often biased, polarized and negative debate on migration, says IOM’s World Migration Report 2011: Communicating Effectively about Migration.
The report states that although we live in an era of the greatest human mobility in recorded history, with greater acknowledgement that migration is one of the defining features of our contemporary world, it remains one of the most misunderstood issues of our time.
Continue readingIs Your Child a TCK?
Author: Kathryn Lukey-Coutsocostas
Date: January 2012
Source: Athens News, Column ‘On the borderline’TRADITIONALLY, Third Culture Kids (TCKs) have been defined as those who’ve spent a significant part of their developmental years outside their parents’ homeland culture.
The first culture is that of their parents. The second is the host culture’s. And the third springs from living “between” cultures.
Continue readingThe Perpetual Guest
Author: Kathryn Lukey-Coutsocostas
Date: November 2011
Source: Athens News, Column ‘On the borderline’SHOULD we newcomers to a country feel at home or, instead, make ourselves at home? There’s a slight, but important, distinction between the two. In the former we remain guests, but in the latter we claim ownership.
Continue readingBursting With Emotion
Author: Kathryn Lukey-Coutsocostas
Date: November 2011
Source: Athens News, Column ‘On the borderline’WHENEVER I’m upset in a Greek-speaking situation, I can hear my tongue becoming thicker and thicker, with my pronunciation, grammar and line of thought blurring.
Professor Emeritus Francois Grosjean confirms that stress can interfere with second-language skills. In his contribution to the anthology Cultural and Language Diversity and the Deaf Experience, he says there may be problems in trying to find the appropriate words and in switching language unintentionally.
Continue readingMisfits Fit Fine
Author: Kathryn Lukey-Coutsocostas
Date: December 2011
Source: Athens News, Column ‘On the borderline’GROWING up in a small Canadian town on the prairie, a breeding ground for peer pressure and conformity, I fitted in – but didn’t. It’s the same for me in Greece.
I’ve often seen this air of comfortable “outsider” and relaxed manoeuvrability in fellow transnationals. Confirmation finally came from the International Business Review article called “Exploring cultural misfit: Causes and consequences”.
Continue readingCulture Gap
Author: Kathryn Lukey-Coutsocostas
Date: December 2011
Source: Athens News, Column ‘On the borderline’CHRISTMAS EVE slips by unnoticed in most Greek homes, but it’s the one night in our house that’s Canadian.
This makes me wonder how many Canadian customs and cultural references elude me – and what the personal ramifications are.
Continue reading“Diaspora Engagements in Development Cooperation”
Author: Cindy Horst
Date: Summer 2008In recent years, interest in the transnational engagements of migrants and diaspora organizations has seen a rapid increase. A wide variety of international actors are now engaged in exploring the links between migration and development.
Continue reading“Diaspora Organizations from the Horn of Africa in Norway: Contributions to Peacebuilding?”
Authors: Cindy Horst, Mohamed Husein Gaas
Date: Winter 2009In this policy brief, ‘peacebuilding’ refers to activities aimed at the sustainable transformation of structural conflict factors and patterns. It presupposes a long-term commitment, on the part of both local and external actors, to a process that simultaneously addresses the material and the attitudinal level of a conflict. Diaspora organizations’ engagements with peacebuilding can take many forms and can be divided into direct and indirect activities.
Continue reading“Participation of Diasporas in Peacebuilding and Development”
Author: Prio
Date: Winter 2010This handbook follows a range of other reports and publications on diaspora involvement in development and peacebuilding (COWI, 2009; De Haas, 2006; GTZ, 2009; Sinatti, 2010; Sinatti et al., 2010). It has been written mainly for European practitioners and policymakers, and was developed as a result of our observation that there is now a markedly increased interest among European actors in ‘engaging diasporas’ that is not necessarily matched with confidence on how to approach the task.
Continue readingDiasporas as Partners in Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding
Author: Gulia Sinatti, Rojan Ezzati, Matteo Gugliemo, Cindy Horst, petra Mezzetti, Cindy Horst, Paivi Pirkkalainen, Valeria Saggiomo, Andrea Warnecke, African Diaspora Policy Centre
Date: Summer 2010This paper explores the topic of collaboration between diasporas and governmental and non-governmental actors in peacebuilding and post-conflict reconstruction initiatives. Its purpose is to identify key policy recommendations for external parties wishing to establish working relationships with diasporas specifically in these fields.
Continue readingSetting a Social Reform Agenda: The Peacebuilding Dimension of the Rights Movement of the Ethiopian Muslims Diaspora
Author: Dereje Feyissa, Diaspeace
Date: Winter 2010This working paper examines the impact of the Ethiopian Muslims in the diaspora on socio-political processes in the homeland, with a special focus on their activities that have a bearing on peace-building.
Continue readingContribution of the Ethiopian Diaspora to Peace-Building: A Case Study of the Tigrai Development Association
Author: Bahru Zewde, Gebre Yntiso and Kassahun Berhanu, Diaspeace
Date: Winter 2010Literature pertaining to the genesis of Ethiopian Diaspora groups and their role in socio-economic and peace-building activities is both recent and scanty. The most notable works on the subject include the works of John Sorenson (1996), Terrence Lyons (2004, 2006 and 2008), A. M. Terrazas (2007), and Thomas Wheeler (2008). Citing different sources, Wheeler (2008: 17-18) provides the geographic distribution of the Ethiopian Diaspora along with their numerical size, ethnic composition, educational and social background, socio-cultural networks, and causes of departure from the country of origin since the 1970s.
Continue readingDiasporas and their Role in the Homeland Conflicts and Peacebuilding: The Case of Somali Diaspora
Author: Mahdi Abdi Abdile, Diaspeace
Date: Fall 2010Within and outside the academic circles, the role of Somali diaspora is described as potential contributors to the ongoing conflict in Somalia and as spoilers. There are several reasons for this assertion. Proponents of this argument see the enormous size of remittances sent by the Somali diaspora to their country of origin coupled with the lack of oversight and absence of monitoring capabilities of these remittances both at the sending and receiving ends.
Continue readingEngagement Dynamics Between Diasporas and Settlement Country Institutions : Somalis in Italy and Finland
Author: Petra Mezzetti, Valeria Saggiomo, Päivi Pirkkalainen, Matteo Guglielmo, Diaspeace
Date: Fall 2010This study presents a comparative work on engagement dynamics occurring between the Somali diaspora1 and authorities in two countries of settlement, namely Italy and Finland.
Continue readingDiasporic Engagement In the Educational Sector In Post-Conflict Somaliland: a Contribution to Peacebuilding?
Author: Markus Virgil Hoehne, Diaspeace
Date: Summer 2010This working paper provides a background to the rebuilding of the educational sector in Somaliland, which had been completely destroyed during the civil war, developed again from very modest beginnings in the early 1990s, and includes manifold offers up to tertiary education a decade later.
Continue readingSomaliland’s Investment in Peace: Analysing the Diaspora’s Economic Engagement in Peace Building
Author: Mohamed Hassan Ibrahim, Diaspeace
Date: Summer 2010Since 1991 the people of Somaliland have successfully established a peaceful and relatively stable state and community. They have managed a process of reconciliation, demobilized the local militias, restored law and order, and held three rounds of peaceful elections.
Continue readingModes and Potential of Diaspora Engagement in Eritrea
Author: Clara Schmitz‐Pranghe, Diaspeace
Date: Summer 2010The involvement of Eritrean diaspora communities in conflict and post-conflict reconstruction in Eritrea dates back to the times of the struggle for independence. The transnational ties between the former liberation fronts and the Eritrean state have been very close ever since
Continue readingDiaspora and Peace: A Comparative Assessment of Somali and Ethiopian Communities in Europe
Author: Matteo Guglielmo, Petra Mezzetti, Antony Otieno Ong’ayo, Päivi Pirkkalainen, Clara Schmitz-Pranghe, Andrea Warnecke, Diaspeace
Date: Summer 2010The interest in diaspora or migrant groups as potentially influential stakeholders in peace and development processes has many well-founded reasons. In cities with huge African diaspora communities in North and South America, the Caribbean, Europe, and Asia, African diaspora communities have formed potent networks.
Continue readingThe Diaspora – Conflict – Peace – Nexus: A Literature Review
Author: Pirkkalainen, Päivi, Abdile, and Mahdi, Diaspeace
Date: Spring 2009This paper seeks to offer a comprehensive literature review on the role and contribution of diasporas to conflicts and peace building. First, the review will provide a general overview of diasporas and conflicts, and will then move on to discuss the various risks faced by diasporas in conflict situations.
Continue readingThe Point System of Selection of Immigrants in Quebec
Author: Núria Franco i Guillén, Gritim
Date: Fall 2011The present paper is aimed at identifying what are the effects of the Point System of Selection of immigrants in Quebec.
Continue reading“Ethnic School Segregation: Effects and Policies”
Author: EUROMARGINS
Date: Fall 2010The clustering of migrant populations in urban environments produces an uneven distribution of pupils with immigrant backgrounds at local schools, and high concentrations of them at some, often public schools. The educational outcomes at such ‘minority schools’ tend to be worse than at ‘majority schools’, but is this due to ethnic school segregation itself?
Continue readingIs discrimination an issue? Young adults with immigration background in the labour market
Author: EUROMARGINS
Date: Fall 2010EUMARGINS third policy brief looks at discrimination as a factor of exclusion for young adults with immigration background in the labour markets of seven European countries: Estonia, Spain, France, Italy, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Norway. Several observations emerge from this analysis. First, access to the labour market is generally difficult for young people, but often more so for immigrant youth, especially for so-called visible minority youth.
Continue readingCitizenship Regimes
Author: EUROMARGINS
Date: Fall 2010EUMARGINS second policy brief focuses on the impact of citizenship legislation on inclusion and exclusion processes in seven different countries: Norway, Sweden, Estonia, UK, Italy, France and Spain. We discuss the great variation in citizenship policies from country to country and the core principles these different national naturalisation requirements derive from: the origin principle (jus sanguinis), the territorial principle (jus soli) and the residency principle (jus domicili).
Continue readingEl modelo latinoamericano en la integración de los inmigrantes árabes
Author: Said Bahajin
Date: Fall 2011El modelo latinoamericano en la integración de los inmigrantes árabes muestra que es posible la integración de éstos, sin que dejaran su identidad árabe; y que el tiempo y la participación de la población local son factores importantes en ese proceso imperfecto e inacabado.
Continue readingThe European Union and refugees: towards more restrictive asylum policies in the European Union?
Author: Gritim
Date: Summer 2011Several scholars have argued that European countries have decided to cooperate on asylum and migration matters at the EU level in order to develop more restrictive policies.
Continue readingTIES: Integration of the Second generation
Author: TIES
Date: 2011The TIES project studies the topic of integration, be it economic, social, educational, or in terms of identity. Since little internationally comparable statistical material has been gathered on the second generation, the main objective has been to create the first systematic and rigorous European dataset of more than 10,000 respondents in fifteen European cities – relevant not only for a better general understanding, but also for the development of policies at all levels of government.
Continue readingCategorisations and Discourses
Author: EUROMARGINS
Date: Fall 2010
EUMARGINS first policy brief focuses on the various immigration discourses found in seven national contexts: Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Estonia, Spain, Italy and France.
Continue readingTrafficking in Persons Report
Author: U.S Department of State
Date: Fall 2011The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. The U.S. Government uses the TIP Report to engage foreign governments in dialogues to advance anti-trafficking reforms and to combat trafficking and to target resources on prevention, protection and prosecution programs.
Continue readingMigration Integration Policy Index (MIPEX)
MIPEX is a fully interactive tool and reference guide to assess, compare and improve integration policy produced by the British Council and the Migration Policy Group.
MIPEX measures integration policies in all European Union Member States plus Norway, Switzerland, Canada and the USA up to 31 May 2010. Using 148 policy indicators it creates a rich, multi-dimensional picture of migrants’ opportunities to participate in society by assessing governments’ commitment to integration. By measuring policies and their implementation it reveals whether all residents are guaranteed equal rights, responsibilities and opportunities.
MIPEX III is led by the British Council and the Migration Policy Group and is produced as part of the project: Outcomes for Policy Change, co-financed by the European Fund for the Integration of Third-Country Nationals.
What can you do with it?
• Analyse seven policy areas which shape a legally resident third-country national’s journey to full citizenship.
• Examine how policies compare against the standard of equal rights and responsibilities for migrants.
• Find out how your country’s policies rank compared with other countries.
• Track if policies are getting better or worse over time.
• Dig into real examples of how to improve policies.
• Use it to design and assess new laws and proposals on an on-going basis.Civic Engagement and Recent Immigrant Communities
Developed through collaboration between NLC’s Democratic Governance project and its Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration program, Civic Engagement and Recent Immigrant Communities provides local officials and other community leaders with a planning and discussion guide for how to start immigrant integration initiatives.
While local officials and their staff often seek input from the community in developing priorities and addressing problems, it often takes additional resources and time to communicate effectively with recent immigrants. Local governments may need to use different strategies for outreach efforts in order to build trust with recent immigrants, work to strengthen relationships between different immigrant communities, and to improve civic engagement generally.
This guide gives detailed descriptions for first steps towards developing these programs and strategies and provides guidance for conducing meetings with diverse and multicultural local leaders. Additional resources include suggested agendas, background materials, planning considerations, and successful formats for civic engagement.
Access the full planning resource here.
Municipal Innovations in Immigrant Integration: Indianapolis Model, 2000 – 2007
The first issue in the National League of Cities’ Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration American Cities Series, Municipal Innovations in Immigrant Integration: Indianapolis Model, 2000-2007 examines in depth the case study of Indianapolis, Indiana and its efforts to integrate its Latino population. Between 1990 and 2000, the City of Indianapolis faced a staggering increase of its Latino population, which grew almost 300 percent. Then Mayor Bart Peterson responded by establishing a Mayor’s Commission on Latino Affairs and by making immigrant integration a priority in his administration. This report reviews the initiatives Indianapolis developed during the Peterson administration to suggest strategies that might prove useful to cities facing similar demographic challenges.The twenty-one page publication describes Indianapolis’s immigrant outreach with a focus on its efforts to improve public safety, community relations between city officials and the immigrant community, immigrant access to city services, business development and cross-cultural learning. Indianapolis’ experiences suggest important lessons for other immigrant integration programs, highlighting the important role a commission can play in guiding a city’s immigrant integration efforts as well as the role communication plays in linking the city with its immigrant communities. Indianapolis also shows the importance of collaboration not just with immigrant community leaders and organizations but also with different non-profits, city agencies, businesses, and even other cities and national organizations.
Read the full report here.
Municipal Innovations in Immigrant Integration: 20 cities, 20 Good Practices
The second issue in the National League of Cities’ Municipal Action for Immigrant Integration American Cities Series, Municipal Innovations in Immigrant Integration: 20 Cities, 20 Good Practices features twenty of the most innovative US cities in the area of immigrant integration. These cities are diverse, ranging in size and geographic location. Yet, each highlights good examples of immigrant integration programs, whether through public-private partnerships, advisory initiatives, or action-oriented programs.The report focuses on programs in four areas: public safety, immigrant outreach, civic engagement and citizenship, and city services. Some of the cities have multiple programs addressing multiple issues, while others focus on one specific issue or topic. They all provide examples and lessons for cities looking to build upon or to improve their own immigrant integration programs.
20 cities, 20 good practices
- Houston, Texas: Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Refugee Affairs
- Richmond, Virginia: Hispanic Liaison Office
- Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton Community ID Card
- Washington, D.C.: Office of Latino Affairs
- New York City, New York: Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs
- San Francisco, California: Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs
- Littleton, Colorado: Littleton Immigrant Integration Initiative
- Santa Clara County and San Jose, California: Immigrant Relations and Integration Services
- Boulder, Colorado: Immigrant Advisory Committee
- Los Angeles, California: Immigrant Integration Partnership
- Skokie, Illinois: Immigrant Services
- Chattanooga, Tennessee: H.A.N.D.S. Across Chattanooga
- Columbus, Ohio: New American Initiative
- Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Mayor’s Commission on African and Caribbean Immigrant Affairs
- Louisville, Kentucky: Office of International Affairs
- Durham, North Carolina: Mayor’s Hispanic Latino Initiative
- El Paso, Texas: Victim Services – Immigration
- Seattle, Washington: Latino Advisory Council
- Austin, Texas: Immigrant Outreach Program / Community Facilitators Volunteer Program
- Fort Wayne, Indiana: Hispanic and Immigrant Liaison
Muslim Family Safety Project
Changing Ways is an organization founded in 1982 in London, Ontario as a result of a research project which recommended the development of a program for men as part of an integrated community response to violence against women.
During the past five years, their program “Muslim Family Safety Project” (MFSP) has been very successful in reaching out to London’s Muslim communities to engage religious and community leaders in culturally and linguistically-appropriate public education campaigns on family violence and to develop the capacity to address the needs of Muslim women who are being abused by family members.”
Building on the success of the MFSP, Dr. Mohammed Baobaid has writen guidelines for Canadian service providers on culturally appropriate approach to address domestic violence within minority and isolated communities. The manual aims to provide guidance for organizations and service providers in Canada to reach out to isolated and vulnerable minority groups in an effort to reduce rates of family violence.
Download the guidelines and other resources here
Visit Changing Ways’ Website
Controversy around laïcité in France
Laïcité has been for decades a warrant of equal rights of belief and respect to all religions in France. However, in recent weeks some politicians have questioned the commitment of certain ethno-religious communities to that essential principle of the French Republic. Concerns over migrants’ integration have been the reason given by the ruling party, the UMP (Union pour un Mouvement Populaire) to call for a debate around laïcité on 5 April 2011. Ever since, numerous voices have opposed the debate.
The French Council of the Muslim Faith (CFCM) has opposed the debate because it seems to call into question the loyalty of French Muslims. Members of the socialist party like the mayor of Paris, Bertrand Delanoë have also complained stating that “this debate is not meant to serve France but it is made to divide it.” Secretary General of the UMP, Jean-Francois Copé defended the initiative saying that Muslims will not be stigmatized during the 5 April debate and promising that they will focus on “positive secularism.”
On 30 March 2011, the “Conférence des Responsables de Culte,” the organism that gathers the six main religious group in France, namely Buddhists, Christians (Protestant, Orthodox and Catholic), Muslims and Jews issued a common statement warning against an unnecessary and hasty debate around laïcité. They affirm that the debate around laïcité has been continuous and fruitful in recent years. Religious communities recall, for instance, works of the official commission presided by Professor Jean Pierre Machelon, the official Inter-cult law group (Groupe juridique inter-cultes) and the release of numerous academic books and articles tackling the issue. All this work perfectly illustrates “all the richness and depth of the French experience of laïcité .”
Religious communities praised laïcité as a source of social peace and reaffirmed their commitment with it. They also called for a reflexive attitude in politicians. The current economic, financial and political climate is not the appropriate to conduct such a relevant debate that may affect peaceful coexistence in French society.
Read the statement of the religious communities here
The great internal migration
Internal migrants often face as many challenges as international ones. Challenges they face are often very similar to those of international migrants, including those associated with socio-cultural integration.
In the book “Arrival City: How the Largest Migration in History Is Reshaping Our World,” Douglas Saunders explores the migratory movement that is transferring a third of humanity from the village to the city all around the world. The settlement of rural migrants in neighbourhoods such as West Adams in Los Angeles (USA), Kibera in Nairobi (Kenya), Clichy-sous-Bois in Paris (France) and in cities such as Tehran (Iran), Shenzhen (China) and Mumbai (India) has become a feature of the present time.
These arrival cities are often battered by violence and death and strangled by neglect and misunderstanding. Despite the emergence of notable and sustainable middle class, these enclaves are too often defined as malign appendages leading to tragic urban-housing policies in the West or to slum-clearance projects in developing countries. These policies fostered the 2005 riots in Paris and led to clashes in London in the 1980s. Even worse, these policies have left tens or hundreds of thousands of people without a future in Africa, Asia or Latin America.
In his work, Saunders also sees signs for optimism. Scholars and officials are beginning to realize that rural-migrant neighbourhoods are crucial to a city’s future, not a problem to be eliminated. New policies need to be implemented to socially integrate rather than merely tolerate the presence of these migrants.
See the excerpt of the book published in Foreign Policy’s website
Challenges and opportunities for Muslim engagement in Germany
In the last few months, Germany has been caught up in an intense debate about the integration of Muslims in the country. Polls show that Germans increasingly see Islam as a foreign element that poses a threat to their style of life.
In a policy brief for the Berlin series of the German Marshall Fund “GMF Immigration Roundtables: A View From Berlin,” Ali Aslan describes the causes of these fears and the challenges faced by the German society. Aslan is Policy and Media Adviser to the German Federal Ministry of the Interior, and Fellow of the 2010 UN Alliance of Civilizations International Fellowship Program .Hostility against Muslims is on the rise in Germany. Despite certain signs for optimism such as the launch of the German Islam Conference in 2006, examples like the big editorial success of Sarrazin’s recent book “Germany Does Away With itself” reflect the resurgence of islamophobic feelings. In his book, full of unfounded assumptions, assertions and correlations Sarrazin declares, for instance that “culturally and morally, the Muslims represent a step backwards for German society.” The book was publicly rejected by politicians and caused Sarrazin to leave his position at the Central Bank of Germany.
However, the popular interest for books like Sarrazin’s is a matter of concern. According to Aslan, this popularity reflects Germans’ identity struggles in a time when immigration has became an essential part of Germany’s socio-economic life. In addition, there is a widespread belief that fundamentalist Islamists have infiltrated the nation and that, since Islam is perceived as incompatible with democracy, Muslims’ demands will undermine German values. Furthermore, political parties and the media reinforce negative stereotypes and misconceptions about Islam and the Muslim in a way which is unfortunately not exclusive to Germany. Other countries such as the Netherlands, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland, France or Spain also question Muslims’ integration into their societies.
In such a tense atmosphere, Aslan calls for a more rational analysis of the issue that would decrease negative perceptions and fears. For instance, he criticizes the inaccuracy of migration data and reports that forecast an excessive growth of German Muslim population. He also denies direct links between Islam and crime. Although honor killings and Arab families controlling crime syndicates do exist, “it has nothing to do with ordinary Islam and the day-to-day lives of the overwhelming majority of Germany’s 4 million Muslims. In fact, most of these problems are not rooted in one’s ethnic heritage or religious belief, but rather in the lack of a good education and the prevalence of a system that fosters inequalities and restricts social mobility.”
Ties between Muslims and the majority society need to be strengthened today more than ever. The creation of the German Islam Conference in September 2006 represented an effort in this direction. Almost after five years, the Conference has made important achievements including combating stereotypes that identify the Muslim community as a monolithic bloc; presenting suggestions and recommendations of issues such as the German values system, religious matters in the context of the constitution and the role of the media; establishing Islamic theological study centers for Islamic Religious Education teachers and Imams; and, initiating “institutionalized co-operation between state and Muslims, promoting gender equality, and preventing extremism, radicalization and social polarization.” Although the conference is limited by the non-binding nature of its resolutions, it has certainly acted as a trigger for change.
To conclude, Aslan presents several challenges facing integration of Muslims in Germany. First, Germany needs to accept that it has become a country of immigration. Germany needs to pursue a proactive immigration policy to become more attractive to skilled workers. A negative view of Islam and Muslims will deter skilled Muslim migrants from settling in the country. Second, a failure to integrate Muslims into the workforce could also have a negative effect on the country’s pension system. Socio-economic integration of Muslims will contribute to overcome the challenges of a rapidly aging German society. Third, disadvantages against migrant students need to be removed in the educational system. Education success can no longer be conditioned to one’s ethnic and social background. Finally, Muslims need to be politically empowered as a necessary condition to fight extremism.
A “new tone and show of respect is needed if Germany is to overcome the current divisions within its own society. The ‘us versus them’ propagated by some politicians, public figures and parts of the media is a recipe for further social tensions, if nor societal disaster” concludes Aslan. The successful integration of Muslims into German society will benefit everyone. The future well-being and unity of the country depends on it.
Read Ali Aslan’s policy brief here.
The political identity of Arab-Americans
The Arab community in America is a heterogeneous group composed of roughly 3 million people. More than 75% of this number are descendents of immigrants. In this paper, Younes Abouyoub, Ph.D., a visiting scholar at Columbia University, examines four aspects of the political participation of this community, namely protest politics, interest-group politics and organizations, office holding and the Arab vote, to give a clearer view of Arab-American political identity.
Abouyoub argues that although negative stereotypes about Arab isolationism are prevalent in the American culture – especially after 9/11 –, in the last decades, Arab-Americans have made a cogent progress in their political empowerment. Today, we can speak of an Arab-American constituency that attempts to integrate completely and engage in a real political participation.
This engagement is being led by a second generation of Arab-Americans that “have one of the highest per capita incomes among ethno-racial minorities. They also achieve a high degree of education and have the highest per capita self-ownership of businesses and participation and managerial position” says Abouyoub. These second-generation immigrants are more educated, more politically aware and more conscious of their identity as Arabs. Thus, they are also willing to work for the advancement of the Arab cause.
This political engagement presents several challenges including the lack of financial resources; the weak block vote of Arab-Americans; and the lack of alliances with other ethno-racial minorities such as the Latino community or the African Americans. These factors would enable the Arab-American community to advocate more effectively on issues of their interest.
Read here the paper “The Levant Migration to the USA” (copyright: Younes Abouyoub)
Still not easy being British
Tariq Modood, Director of the University of Bristol Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship, has published his new book “Still Not Easy Being British: Struggles for a Multicultural Citizenship”. As a leading authority on these subjects within British academia, Modood describes the growth of Muslim political assertiveness in the context of rethinking multiculturalism and the concept of Britishness. Modood argues that the nature of Britishness need to be re-considered and warns against the caricature and distortion of Muslims that adds to the existing confusion and distrust.
In the Foreword to the book, former director of the Runnymede Trust, Robin Richardson agrees that Muslims or other minority are not the problem in Europe or the UK. “The problem is not in the first instance to do with differences of culture, religion, ideology or civilization. Rather, it is to do with conflicts of material interest. Globally, the key conflicts are around power, influence, territory and resources, particularly oil. Within urban areas in Europe they are around employment, housing, health and education. Such conflicts between and within countries become ‘religionised’ or ‘culturalised’ (…) The resulting insecurities lead to scapegoating and moral panics, with Muslims and other minorities as convenient enemies and targets, but not as the principal causes…Keeping such things in mind can help maintain a sense of proportion.” (pp xii-xiii)
Multiculturalism needs to move beyond the political accommodation of group identities as a means of challenging exclusionary racisms and fostering respect and inclusion for demeaned groups. Society needs to be remade so as to include the previously excluded or marginalized on the basis of equality and belonging. It is at this level that we may speak of multicultural integration or multicultural citizenship.
Read a book review by Muhammad Khan here
Integration: Building Inclusive Societies conversation in London, UK
The Integration: Building Inclusive Societies conversation was broadcast live on December 20, 2010 for a worldwide audience from St Ethelburga’s Centre for Reconciliation and Peace in London, UK. Roger Cohen, the New York Times journalist discussed about migration, national identities and integration of Muslims in today’s society. The archived video is now available!
Due to the weather situation in London and Paris, Tariq Ramadan was unable to be present. Muddassar Ahmed from UNITAS Communication participated to the conversation with Roger Cohen along with active engagement from the in-house and the online audience.
The discussion focused on the reasons immigration is perceived as negatively affecting coexistence in Europe, and why Islam is often depicted as incompatible with Western values. Together with the in-house and online audience, discussants explored ways to better acknowledge European and American Muslims’ contributions to their societies, and examined what role these groups can have in supporting the integration of recent Muslim immigrants.
Read more about the event and the discussants here.
We invite you to watch the video and continue the discussion on our Facebook page!
Mexico City wins the World Best Mayor Prize 2010
Cities and mayors are at the front line of integration challenge, and active involvement of local governments in integration of migrants enables progress, innovation and development. Mayors’ experience in managing cultural diversity must feed into policy making at national level.
The think tank City Mayors Foundation launched the 2010 World Mayor Project in the spring of 2009. In two rounds of selections, more than 400’000 votes selected 25 finalists for the World Mayor Prize 2010.
In October 2010, City Mayors’ editors decided on ten mayors who stood out in terms of numbers of votes and quality of comment from their supporters. The top three ranked mayors Marcel Ebrard (Mexico City, Mexico), Mick Cornett (Oklahoma City, USA) and Domenico Lucano (Riace, Italy) were the editors’ unanimous choices. Among the criteria figure their “leadership and vision, good management abilities, social and economic awareness, ability to provide security and to protect the environment as well as having the skill to cultivate good relations in communities with different cultural, racial and social backgrounds.” Marcelo Ebrard won the First Prize of the 2010 World Mayor competition.
The top ten mayors are notable for their commitment with migrants’ active integration. For instance, the Mayor of Riace that represents a community of only 1,700 people, stands out for his openness to all immigrants and refugees wanting to settle in his village. Mr. Lucano has worked closely with the UNHCR and founded Città Futura (City of the Future), an association that offers free housing and board to migrants. In return migrants have to learn Italian and work, for instance renovating buildings and producing handicrafts. The arrival of migrants has revitalised the village. At the same time, citizens have welcomed their new neighbours with open arms. Integration is a two way process or as Mr. Lucano likes to say: “The poorest of the poor will save Riace, and in return, Riace will save them.”
The World Mayor Prize is a valuable contribution to promoting better “policies and common action aimed at the successful integration of migrant populations”, as called for by High Representative for the UNAOC, Jorge Sampaio. He further stresses the fact that “municipal and local governments play a crucial role in promoting sustainable urban development based on cultural diversity, as a key factor to prevent conflicts and contribute to security and peace.” The prized Mayors are good examples of politicians promoting good relations among different communities, hence social cohesion.
- Check out 2010 World Mayor results
- Read more about World Mayor’s Code of Ethics
- Visit City Mayor’s website
Archived IBIS newsletters
- Press Release for the launch of IBIS (May 2010)
- IBIS Newsletter: Join the conversation! (July 2010)
- IBIS Newsletter: Featuring a conversation between Roger Cohen and Tariq Ramadan (December 2010)
E Pluribus Unum Prizes: Honoring Exceptional Immigrant Integration Initiatives
With its E Pluribus Unum Prizes, the Migration Policy Institute (MPI) awards exceptional initiatives that promote immigrant integration. The prize aims “to honor the efforts of those who are creating stronger, more unified and successful communities by strengthening relationships between native-born and foreign-born Americans.”
The E Pluribus Unum Prizes national awards program provides four $50,000 prizes annually to exceptionally successful immigrant integration initiatives. The awards recognize initiatives that have an outstanding record of helping immigrants and their children adapt, thrive, and contribute to the United States or that have successfully brought immigrants and native-born residents together to build stronger, more cohesive communities. Winners are recognized each May at an event in Washington, DC.
Three are the selection criteria: significance, impact and influence. The deadline to apply is December 15, 2010 by 5 pm ET.
More info here
Japan: more skilled migrants and new integration policies
The Tokyo-based think tank Japan Forum on International Relations has submitted a set of policy recommendations on migration to the Prime Minister of Japan. The document “Prospects and Challenges for the Acceptance of Foreign Migrants to Japan” affirms that the country is losing favour as an investment destination because of several factors, including skilled labour shortages and the rise of China.
“If Japan wants to survive in a globalised world economy and to advance its integration with the burgeoning East Asian economy, it essentially has no other choice but to accept foreign migrants, while making full use of domestic human resources,” said Kenichi Ito, one of the document’s author. “A key question is not whether we should accept foreign migrants or not, but how we should accept them.”
In this line, the report proposes that Japan learns from previous immigration mistakes and promotes active integration policies. Australia, Canada and the US are presented as models for the country’s ideal migration system. Several policy recommendations include easier recognition of international qualifications; the posibility for foreign workers to bring their families; heavily subsidised Japanese learning; and the engagement of local governments in the integration process.
More information here
Read the report here2010 Cities of Migration Conference
The 2010 International Cities of Migration Conference, Oct. 3–4, 2010, brought together 170 migration experts, practitioners and city leaders from over 70 cities across 22 countries.
Participant feedback has been exceptionally strong identifying positive messages about the value of diversity and local integration practices that work. Participants went home with practical lessons based on the success of local integration initiatives and good ideas on immigrant integration, diversity and city leadership. In particular, the Marketplace of Good Ideas session put 12 examples of work on show- Download Marketplace of Good Ideas Workbook PDF – featuring 12 Good Ideas!
- View the Video Highlights and Conference Photo Gallery
- Read, listen, and watch excellent Media reports by conference participants in English, French, and Spanish!
- Follow Cities of Migration on Twitter!
Challenges of migrant women in ageing societies
The FEMAGE project has released the report “Immigrant Women and their integration in ageing societies” . Coordinated by the Bundesinstitut fuer Bevoelkerungsforschung and funded by the European Commission, the general objectives of FEMAGE were “to generate and gain knowledge about the experiences, living conditions, and expectations of third country immigrant women regarding their migration and integration on the one hand, and investigate the need for female immigration in ageing societies on the other.”
The report shows that migration affects profoundly family lives and gender roles of migrant women. Difficulties to access labour market, social isolation and adjustement to their gender role make it difficult for them to make serious plans for old age in the host country. Negative attitudes of nationals towards them are often inspired by the fear of competition on the labour market altough migrant women consider that, in general, they are perceived positively by the natives.
Regarding ethnicity, in all migrant groups women experienced being subordinated as a woman. The majority of natives expect that foreigners have to adapt to the host countries. Multiculturalism is not the preferred approach of natives that would rather migrants to learn the language and the customs of the host country. The overwhelming majority of migrant women share the quest for permanence and integration.
The report concludes with a series of policy implications stressing that “efficient integration policies should focus on full integration – that is cultural, socio-economic and civic-political.”
Read the full report here
Australian attitudes towards immigration and asylum-seekers
Monash University, UNAOC Research Network Partner, has released the results of a national survey mapping Australian attitudes on a range of issues, including discrimination, attitudes towards immigration, immigrants and asylum-seekers.
Conducted by Professor Andrew Markus, the survey is part of the Scanlon Foundation’s Social Cohesion Research Program (in cooperation with the Australian Multicultural Foundation and the Monash Institute for the Study of Global Movements).
The 2010 survey found that the level of opposition to immigration remains low although there is an increase in negative views of immigration. But Australians broadly support a non-discriminatory immigration program that is perceived to be furthering the Australian national interest. The survey also concludes that there is greater support (67 percent) for the admission of asylum seekers.
The survey finds that discrimination on the basis of skin color, ethnic origin or religion has increased from 10 percent in 2009 to 14 percent in 2010 but it remains low. For instance, 74 percent of respondents’ attitudes towards Muslims were either positive or neutral. Moreover, it was observed that those with positive or neutral attitudes towards immigrants were the majority. Indeed, almost 63 percent of respondents agreed with the statement that “accepting immigrants from many different countries makes Australia stronger.”
Read the report here
Images, public perceptions and integration of Muslim migrants
Managing public perceptions through provision of illustrations and management of images play an essential role in the integration of migrants. Images have an impressive power in affecting collective subconscious. Images have invaded streets through advertising and livingrooms through television, the Internet and magazines. Campaign experts resort to suggestive images that cannot be ignored. Indeed, images can promote fear and mistrust or can inspire confidence and friendship.
For instance, recently, the French magazine L’Express addressed the issue of Islam and the West. According to Rue89 journalist Walid Salem, the front page of a recent issue offers an image that fuels the perception of Islam wanting to take over the West. With a close-up picture of a lightened minaret and a darkened bell tower in the background, the image suggests that Islam is challenging and over-taking Christian religion and Western culture. Salem suggests that the image of a blond and a veiled girl together and smiling could have been chosen, had one wanted to suggest that Islam is not a danger to Europe and that integration of Muslims is a reality. This point illustrates the need for readers to be able to analyse the difference between opinion and fact, and to resist better to the manipulation of false ideas. The danger of instrumentalized information is that it can in turn influence the reality it is pretending to describe.
On the other hand, statements that affect positively the public image of communities are essential in improving perceptions. For instance, Tareq Oubrou, Imam of Bordeaux, France has initiated a campaign against homophobia. This campaign aims to fight physical or psychological violence against homosexuals. Oubrou acknowledges that homosexual relationships are not promoted in Islamic ethics, but that homosexuals must be considered as good Muslims as any other member of the community. Moreover, punishing homosexuals cannot be found anywhere in Islamic law, thus legal punishment of homosexuality must be banned in Muslim majority countries where it still exists. With this campaign, the imam aims to assert that Islam is a religion of peace.
Read the interview with Tareq Oubrou here (in French)
Workshops for community building
In partnership with the City of Williams Lake in Canada, the association Ear to the Ground Planning has organized a workshop that aims to connect youth, elders and community leaders from different backgrounds and discuss issues of violence and racism.
Called Inter-Generational Dialogues, the workshop encourages respectful listening and sharing as a means for participants to discuss life in Williams Lake, “with the aim of moving forward towards a place of relationship and trust.”
In the same line, Urban Ink Productions, a Vancouver-based theatre company, will host in October 14-15, 2010 an ancestral research session for youth and elders called Looking Back, Moving Forward In November 19-21, 2010 Urban Ink in partnership with the Community Arts Council of Williams Lake will host a workshop called Arrivals.
These projects aim to build bridges and understanding among different cultures using theatre processes.
Read more here
Destination Casa Blanca returns with a series on immigration
Destination Casa Blanca is weekly round-table discussion of the Hispanic Information and Telecommunications Network (HITN). Focusing on political debate and news analysis on relevant areas for the US Latino community, the series features a series of discussions on immigration.
It includes discussion about the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act (D.R.E.A.M Act); the 14th amendment in relation to Arizona’s immigration bill; racism & affirmative action; and the reasons behind immigration: Mexico & Latin America 200 years later.
The debates gathered professionals in the field of migration such as MPI’s Marc Rosenblum or the Vice President of the United States-Mexico Chamber of Commerce, Eric Rojo.
Videos can be watched here
New report released by the Migration Policy Institute’s “Migrants, Migration, and Development Program”
The report, Heritage Tourism and Nostalgia Trade: A Diaspora Niche in the Development Landscape, is the result of a study conducted by MPI’s Kathleen Newland and Carylanna Taylor in cooperation with the US Agency for International Development (USAID). The report analyses diasporas’ role in promoting trade and tourism in their countries of origin.
This report is the fourth in an ongoing series on studies on the role that diasporas play in development of their country of origin. In the coming months, MPI will release new studies about the links between diasporas and entrepreneurship and between diasporas and advocacy and diplomacy.
Publications and tools from OPENCities
OPENCities aims to identify the links between migration and cities’ competitiveness, with particular emphasis on internationalization and population strategies that will pose migration as a competitive advantage for cities and, indirectly, help integration and cohesion agendas.
The project aims to help cities become more open. It has been designed so that it can establish an agreed definition of openness, build a diagnostic tool that cities can use, and then support cities to develop a clearer action plan to address their openness.
In 2010, OPENCities published the book “Understanding OPENCities”, which will be followed soon by three other publications:
- “Internationalization of OPENCities” (September 2010)
- “Leadership and Governance” (end October 2010)
- “Managing Diversity” (February 2011)
The project will also launch an online Index Family of Openness Tool (allowing cities to measure their level of openness) along with practical case studies of city openness.
Download the OPENCities publications in several languages here.
Youth and Integration in New Zealand – Report
The Centre for applied Cross-Cultural Research and the Va’aomanu Pasifika Victoria University of Wellington has issued a report on Youth and Integration.
The report summarizes the findings of the research project Youth Voices, Youth Choices: Identity, Integration and Social Cohesion in Culturally Diverse Aotearoa/New Zealand (YVYC). The project aimed to “engage youth from diverse ethnic, cultural and religious communities and understand their aspirations for social integration and the indicators and determinants of participation and success.”
With the funding support of FRST, CACR and Va’aomanu Pasifika are also supported by a range of government agencies and NGOs, including the Ministries of Social Development, Youth Development, Pacific Island Affairs, the Office of Ethnic Affairs, the New Zealand Chinese Association, the Federation of Islamic Councils of New Zealand and the New Zealand Federation of Multicultural Councils.
Read the report here
Political Participation of Senior Migrants in Europe
European citizenship practice: political participation of transnational European senior migrants
In the context of European integration and the emergence of a leisure-oriented culture, traditional lifestyles have been replaced by new patterns of behaviour. In this regard, a remarkable phenomenon is the increasing migration of mainly retired Europeans to the coastal regions of the Mediterranean. In the last decade, major changes concerning the social and political participation of such amenity-seeking migrants have been taking place, chiefly triggered by granting EU-foreigners active and passive voting rights in local elections.
Given the fact that many of the retired residents belong to the economic elite and were successful professionals, they count on powerful tools, know-how and resources to integrate and take leadership in local politics. Migrants from northern Europe founded their own parties e.g. in many Spanish municipalities and are currently active in the local councils. EURO_CITI is an innovative and interdisciplinary research project dealing with the different forms of political participation of retired European residents and principally aimed at discussing the practice of European Citizenship both in a conceptual and empirical framework.
Start date:2008-07-01
End date:2010-06-30
Project Acronym:EURO_CITI
Project status:Completed
Coordinator: AGENCIA ESTATAL CONSEJO SUPERIOR DE INVESTIGACIONES CIENTIFICAS (MADRID, ESPAÑA)
Contact:
Vicente RODRIGUEZ (Professor)
phone:+34-916022406
Fax:+34-913045710
E-mail:Contact URL:http://www.csic.es/Multicultural center Sweden
Photo: Allehanda Newspaper
Multicultural center Sweden
My name is Aline Cordeiro Andersson. I live in Sweden. I read that the United Nations submitted a report last fall at the UN Security Council showing that Sweden does not comply in many areas with various UN Conventions and pointing in particular to the increasing number of reported hate crimes, increasing violence against women and decades of discrimination against Samer/indigenous groups “(Swedish Daily News). This is why I had a great interest in writing to the newspaper and sharing about my project, which is simply about the better integration of immigrants in the country. I was also alerted by the local newspaper in Örnsköldsviks city. My articles were published twice and my municipality received my project with great interest. Örnsköldsvik’s Diversity Center will be a good example in all the Nordic countries about positive cultural exchange and migration. It will offer seminars with social workers and ordinary immigrants (and refugees), there should be an open videoroom showing films from around the world and there should be books that everyone can read about different countries. There will be a knowledge center. This project is intended not only for Örnsköldsvik, but for the whole of Sweden and even Europe.
What I want is to show my work and get some contacts. Despite all my efforts to make a better world, starting with Sweden, the country I live now, with no contacts, even if I work hard, things will be almost impossible. I am a mother of small children, foreigner in Sweden. I am alone and I need support to help build a tolerant Sweden and world.
Aline Cordeiro Andersson
Location:
, Sweden
Policy/practice area:
Keywords:
Anti-discrimination, Arts, Culture and diversity, Education, Ethnicity, Intercultural outreach, Media and diversity, Refugees and asylum seekers, School, Women, Youth
Contact Information:
Email: aline.andersson@yahoo.com
Other stakeholders involved in this practice:
A private person can make a difference ! Aline has no supporters but she believes she can help to make a better world.
Send us your opinion or comments on this practice
The difficult integration of Chinese migrants in Africa
In this article published by the chinese media website Danwei, Tessa Thorniley explores the reasons and consequences of Chinese migration in Africa, interviewing migrants and locals in Windhoek, Luanda, Beijing and Shanghai. Thorniley describes how the rapid growth of small Chinese-owned businesses is viewed by locals with suspicion and, in some cases, hostility. The estimated number of Chinese migrants in the continent is one million. The integration of these individuals is not actively sought. Several reasons can be found in this lack of integration.
First of all, Africans perceive Chinese as a danger to their economy and survival. These fears are partially originated by wrong perceptions because Chinese investment benefits African economies. However, it is true that ordinary people see how many jobs are being done by Chinese.
Secondly, the nature of Chinese migration in Africa. Many Chinese migrants went over to Africa to work for state-owned businessess with the idea of returning to China. Companies usually offer them a bed in a dormitory, thus they don’t have the chance to mix with Africans. The two sides remain clearly divided because Chinese usually live, work and sleep on their work facilities. This “lack of strong ties between the communities has created distrust and resentment.”
Finally, cultural differences are not being addressed. In that sense, Chinese in Africa are often destabilized by their inability to comprehend the attitudes of the locals. Together with the lack of knowledge of the local language and with differences in business practices, this cultural gap deepens the divide. Nonetheless, some initiatives try to bridge this gap. The Confucious Insitute in Cameroun teaches Chinese to the African population. The great interest in these courses, with some 2000 students all over the country, is not only caused by an anticipation of finantial developments but also by the curiosity and respect for the culture of the newcomers.
Read the full article here
Muslim migrants well integrated in Scotland
A poll conducted by the British Council Scotland shows that two-thirds (65%) of respondents has a favourable opinion towards Muslims. A majority also thinks that Muslims living in Scotland are loyal to the country. Most of the respondents, both Muslims and non-Muslims, felt the process of integrating was easier in Scotland than England. Three factors contribute to this perception: smaller number of Muslim migrants, less fear of terrorism and the particular features of Scottish people.
Read more here
NYC Mayor Bloomberg on the “Ground-Zero Mosque” debate
Following the announcement of plans to build a Muslim-led interfaith and cultural center a few hundred feet from Ground-Zero, a debate started in New York, across the United States, and internationally on whether such a center, which will also house a mosque, should be allowed so close to the World Trade Center site.
In a speech delivered on August 3rd, Mayor Bloomberg speaks on the importance of Freedom of Religion in the United States and its historic roots in New York city. He also highlights the crucial role of immigration in building the city:
- “Our doors are open to everyone – everyone with a dream and a willingness to work hard and play by the rules. New York City was built by immigrants, and it is sustained by immigrants – by people from more than a hundred different countries speaking more than two hundred different languages and professing every faith. And whether your parents were born here, or you came yesterday, you are a New Yorker.
We may not always agree with every one of our neighbors. That’s life and it’s part of living in such a diverse and dense city. But we also recognize that part of being a New Yorker is living with your neighbors in mutual respect and tolerance.”
Read Mayor’s Bloomberg’s full speech
How to work on Women’s Health issues across cultural differences
Female genital mutilation (FGM – also known as Female genital cutting), is a practice linked to cultural traditions that leads to severe physical and mental health consequences. It origins from earlier than Christianity and Islam, and is practiced heavily in certain parts of Asia and Africa. Despite an international protocol to end FGM and laws forbidding the practice in most countries, FGM remains an important tradition in many regions.
In Europe and North America, issues related to FGM are very often quoted as one of the challenges of adaptation that migrant families deal with in their new countries. Different initatives illustrate concerted efforts to end the practice with the help of the concerned communities:- In Ireland, the prevalence of FGM amongst African women has demonstrated that it is a real issue for service providers. Health professionals feel ill equipped to deal with the issue, noting a deficit of knowledge and skills on the subject and on how to meet the needs of concerned women. In partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the NGO AkiDwa has developped a program and a training manual on “Female Genital Mutilation, Information for Health-Care Professionals Working in Ireland”.
In addition to health-specific recommendations, the manual highlights several findings that are relevant to community work on culturally sensitive topics, such as approaches based on ethical and practical concerns when discussing the sensitive and complex issue of FGM with women affected, and methods to develop stronger prevention of FGM and how to reach out to migrant communities. The importance of building the capacity of migrant women and their families to challenge the practice of FGM and of increasing awareness from and within the communities were highlighted, in addition to translation services in clinics and the active engagement of religious community leaders to condemn the practice of FGM.- Download the training manual here
- Read more about the evaluation of the program here
- Ireland’s National Plan of Action to Address Femal Genital Mutilation
- In Norway, the Muslim religious leader Imam Abdinur Mahamud has taken a leading role in fighting against FGM. In addition to making public statements against FGM based on Quran and Sharia analysis, he has written a book on the subject, that will be translated in Norwegian, English and in Somali. In his book, the Imam from the city of Trondheim makes clear that all forms of female circumcision are in conflict with Islam.
- Read more here
These examples of initiatives involving local communities, and in particular religious and cultural leaders, could prove to be valid models for grass-roots consultations and empowerment on other sensitive topics, such as for instance the current European debates on the full veil.
- In Ireland, the prevalence of FGM amongst African women has demonstrated that it is a real issue for service providers. Health professionals feel ill equipped to deal with the issue, noting a deficit of knowledge and skills on the subject and on how to meet the needs of concerned women. In partnership with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the NGO AkiDwa has developped a program and a training manual on “Female Genital Mutilation, Information for Health-Care Professionals Working in Ireland”.
IOM International Dialogue on Migration
The workshop “Migration and Transnationalism: Opportunities and Challenges” focused on transnationalism as an analytical lens for the broad issue of migration and social change. It discussed the relationship between migration and transnationalism and the implications of transnational phenomena and practices for migrants and society, concentrating on the possible responses by policymakers.
Read about the workshop here
European Summit of Local Governments
The Summit debated the role of local authorities at the European and local level. The central question around which this summit revolved was that of how local governments should act to achieve more cohesive cities and therefore a more cohesive Europe. The AoC and IOM presented the Online Community on Migration and Integration during the AoC hosted session “The Alliance of Civilizations and the cities’ diplomatic initiatives.”
More information here
Improving Labour Market Outcomes for Migrants in the European Union in the Context of EU2020 Agenda
The EC-funded IOM Independent Network of Labour Migration and Integration Experts (LMIE‑INET) presented the preliminary findings of its comparative study on Migration, Employment and the Outcomes of Labour Market Integration Policies in the European Union conducted by IOM in January-May 2010. The study investigates the interrelations between migration and employment in national labour markets of the EU Member States, as well as Croatia, Norway and Turkey, examines labour market outcomes for migrants and explores some of the issues that the findings raise for migration, employment and social policies.
More information on the research network here
More information on the expert seminar held in June 2010 hereMentorship Program for Ethnic Youth-at-Risk
The London InterCommunity Health Centre (LIHC) operates an innovative program in partnership with several local organizations of London, Ontario, Canada. The Ethno-Racial Mentoring Program matches 80 young people with mentors that will address their specific integration needs. The program aims to engage the young participants in the community as a way to help them step away from risky behavior.
This program is part of LIHC’s work for integration of migrants. Other programs include the Immigrant Senior’s Home Visiting Program and the program “Women of the World” that helps migrant women arrived to Canada “to recognize their own skills, develop friendships and to become informed about services and people who may help them to adjust to life in Canada.”
Read about this here
For more information, please visit LIHC website
IOM Member States discuss Migration and Social Change
The second intersessional workshop of the International Dialogue on Migration was held 19-20 July 2010 in Geneva. Titled “Societies and Identities: The Multifaceted Impact of Migration,” this workshop continued the year-long overarching theme chosen by the IOM membership, “Migration and Social Change.”A total of 178 participants attended the workshop, including a wide variety of stakeholders from 66 IOM member and observer states, 12 international organizations and 8 non-governmental organizations. Participants also joined from academia, civil society and the private sector.
The key purpose of this workshop was to foster dialogue between policymakers and practitioners on the ways in which migration has transformed their societies, with a focus specifically on the social and cultural dimensions of change. Through highlighting best practices and sharing innovative policy ideas, speakers provided a strong base from which to discuss the development of integration policies that reflect the varied needs of migrants in societies of origin, transit and destination.
Supplemental materials, including the agenda, background paper, relevant documents and speaker biographies and presentations can be found at the workshop’s website (english – français – español)
Speakers’ and panels’ summaries >>
European Citizenship – EURO_CITI: political participation of transnational European senior migrants
In the context of European integration and the emergence of a leisure-oriented culture, traditional lifestyles have been replaced by new patterns of behaviour. In this regard, a remarkable phenomenon is the increasing migration of mainly retired Europeans to the coastal regions of the Mediterranean. In the last decade, major changes concerning the social and political participation of such amenity-seeking migrants have been taking place, chiefly triggered by granting EU-foreigners active and passive voting rights in local elections.
Given the fact that many of the retired residents belong to the economic elite and were successful professionals, they count on powerful tools, know-how and resources to integrate and take leadership in local politics. Migrants from northern Europe founded their own parties e.g. in many Spanish municipalities and are currently active in the local councils. EURO_CITI is an innovative and interdisciplinary research project dealing with the different forms of political participation of retired European residents and principally aimed at discussing the practice of European Citizenship both in a conceptual and empirical framework.
For more information, please visit European Citizenship website
Islam lessons to promote integration in Germany
In an interview, the German Minister of Education, Annette Schavan defends that introducing Islam lessons in German schools will help Muslim migrants to integrate. She believes that Muslim communities in Germany should understand themselves as part of German society. For that to happen, there must be an open dialogue between Islam and Christianity. Prejudice can only be reduced if Islam becomes transparent to the German society. The integration of Islam courses as part of the curricula is therefore essential.
Schavan also shows her support to university Islam courses. Germany needs religious leaders who “have learned about their religion scientifically and thus also critically.”
Read this article here
Tariq Ramadan: fear of Islam in Europe is due to perceptions, not to immigration
The Muslim scholar of the University of Oxford describes in this interview what role Muslims have to play in Western societies. Tariq Ramadan recommends to separate the discussion about Europe’s immigration issues from the question of the participation in society of Muslim European citizens and the topic of Islamophobia.
Muslim Europeans are not all immigrants – therefore the concept of integration should not be used in reference to them. The issue is rather about how to live together in community and build the same Europe beyond different religious or secular identities.
In this long interview, Ramadan also addresses the different forms of secularism that can be adopted by different countries and the fact that Muslims must accept pluralism in Western societies. He believes that a lack of self-confidence is the Muslims’ biggest obstacle to integration in Europe.
Read the complete interview in French here
Ibero-American Forum on Migration & Development: focus on migration and economic recession
Representatives of the 22 Portuguese-Spanish speaking countries convene in San Salvador on July 22 2010 to discuss the impact of the financial crisis on migrants and their families.
IOM Deputy Director General, Ambassador Laura Thompson points out not only that migrants’ human rights have to be protected in the present time, but also that “migration can be a positive force to alleviate certain aspects of the economic downturn.” It is essential to find new ways to better manage migration so that it becomes a real contribution to development.
IOM article on the event here
Canada celebrates its multiculturalism and diversity
Every summer, Canada celebrates its multicultural reality with numerous festivals. These festivals bring together a rich diversity of cultural heritages, represented by ethnic and community groups living together in Canada. The communities present the music, food, costumes and dances of their country of origin.
The Surrey Fusion Festival, in Vancouver, is the most recent one but it is only one among many that take place during the summer in Canada. For instance, we find the Mosaïq festival, organized by the Multicultural Association of the Greater Moncton Area, the Kitchener-Waterloo Multicultural Festival, the Multicultural Festival in Halifax or Calgary’s Global Fest.
Schedules and more information about these festivals:
UK’s minister: banning the burka would be “rather un-British”
UK’s Immigration Minister Damian Green has stated that banning the burka in UK would run against the conventions of a “tolerant and mutually respectful society.”
In an interview to the Daily Telegraph, Green has presented the new government’s policies on immigration. They aim to control the migratory flows by changing the perception that migrants have towards the UK as a ‘soft’ country with regard to migration issues.
Although immigration policies will be tougher starting from mid-2010, Green reaffirms his decision to rule out a burka ban and any rule against religious minorities’ rights, especially Islam. The new head of the Muslim Council of Britain, Farooq Murad, has indeed praised the important freedom Muslims are given in UK. For Murad, this freedom is the proof of Great British’s sense of fairness and justice.
Read this article here
Soccer contributes to integration in Australia
The Mock World Cup in the city of Hume in Australia promotes the participation of soccer players with different backgrounds and cultures. Immigrants from eight countries representing Nigeria, Nepal, China, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Eritrea, Tanzania and Sudan took part in the event.
The initiative contributed to overcome language, cultural and social barriers with the universal language of sport and team work. The event has been supported by important local and national, governmental and sports institutions.
Read this article here
IOM fears of a possible exodus of Zimbabwean migrants from South Africa
In 2008, more than 60 people were killed during anti-foreigner attacks in South Africa – foreigners being seen as competition for the scarce jobs available.
In 2010, 1.5 million to 2 million Zimbabweans work and live in South Africa. After the end of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, many Zimbabweans flee the country for fear of new xenophobic attacks.
In this article, IOM spokesman Jared Bloch explains why these migrants “are returning indefinitely because of the fear of violence.”Read about this here
Caribbean Multicultural NAPA Festival 2010
Trinidad and Tobago brings to a close the NAPA festival organized by the Ministry of Arts and Multiculturalism. This internationally recognized festival is celebrated every year in one of the most multicultural countries in the Caribbean.
Indeed, Trinidad and Tobago has been a melting pot since the eighteen century. More recently, newcomers have enriched the cultural diversity of the country even more.
Trinidad and Tobago receives one-third of all Caribbean migrants in the region. These migrants have their origin in Venezuela and to a lesser extent, Guyana, Grenada, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.Read about this here
HRW proposes changes in the US immigration law to better protect migrants’ rights
Human Right Watch’s most recent report on US immigration law, called “Tough, Fair, and Practical” proposes several changes in US law that may result in a better protection of the migrants’ Human Rights.
These reforms include the legalization of undocumented immigrants, the facilitation of exploited workers reports, reconsidering the conditions for repatriation when a crime has been committed, etc.
When undocumented workers or their children suffer, according to the report, “all Americans are harmed” because, the US is based on a system than gets weakened when human rights are not fully respected.Read the article here
Download the full report hereOECD blames economic crisis for global fall in migration
The OECD has just issued its “International Migration Outlook 2010″. The report highlights that the number of migrants going to the most developed countries dropped by 6% in 2008.
It also points out that the decreasing trend in migration in Western countries may affect their economic recovery. As the EU’s home affairs commissioner, Cecilia Malmstrom states, the EU will continue to need migrants to fill in the labor gaps and overcome the challenges of ageing.
In that sense, OECD affirms that migration helps boost region economy and that it is urgent to overcome stereotypes that blame foreign workers with unfair competition against nationals. Finally, the OECD also cautions against the vulnerable situation of migrants in this time of economic downturn.
More information on the report here
Jeb Bush calls for more efforts to integrate newcomers in the USA
In this article published in the Washington Post, the former governor of Florida Jeb Bush and Robert D. Putnam put the current heated debate on immigration into a historical perspective. They retrace America’s past experiences in migrant integration, and highlight the fact that this process has always been gradual and progressive.
The article calls for communities and governments to increase efforts in providing education and language classes to newcomers, while rethinking the repartition of immigrant-related responsabilities and duties between local and national governements.Read the article here
Migration and Integration in the UNAOC Rio de Janeiro Forum
3rd Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (28-29 May 2010, Rio de Janeiro): a network of political and corporate leaders, civil society activists, youth, journalists, international organizations, and religious leaders convened and agreed on joint actions to combat prejudice and build the conditions for long-term peace.
The working session Building Partnerships for the Online Community on Migration and Integration was held on May 27th and the newly launched website was introduced during this session. The small but significant group of participants included representatives from civil society, and from local and national governments. Potential partners discussed ways to build partnerships around the Online Community on Migration and Integration, notably by disseminating the call for good practices in integration to National and Local Goverments, Civil Society and the private sector of each country. Other contributions were discussed, such as cooperation on launching debates or workshops in the regions represented.
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On May 28th, the thematic session 4 Living Together in Urban Societies explored the advantages that cities can achieve from overcoming barriers of ethnicity, culture, social status and distance and connecting people – across neighborhoods and across continents. The session highlighted intercultural cities that realized their ‘diversity advantage’, inviting speakers to exchange on practical methods to resolve disputes and build dialogue, on places and spaces to build a common urban citizenship and to learn from the rich experience of cultures living together in the host city of Rio de Janeiro.
Speakers agreed that diversity in cities was a factor enabling growth and development. They nonetheless highlighted the challenges in addressing poverty and inequality in urban contexts. Second, the role of multilevel governance, and in particular municipalities, was underscored as critical in enhancing the diversity advantage of multi-cultural urban societies, and the role of local governments. Third, speakers addressed the importance of learning about practical, concrete and feasible projects and good practices, such as new technologies and education for a better understanding of cultural diversity.
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On May 29th, the thematic Session 10 Migrants as Agents for Change and Development was based on the observation of a recent increase in the attention given to the positive effects and potential of migration, considering migrants as agents of progress. This session was aimed at addressing the ways for stakeholders at various levels to further the potential of development and positive change through migration. Panelists and public discussed whether efforts for social cohesion can feed into the prevention of international conflicts, and how integration policies can help to foster migrants’ contribution to development and change.
Speakers opened the panel by reaffirming the clear nexus between migration and development, and the necessary acceptance of a cultural, ethnic and religious diversity approach to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. The experience of Brazil’s migration history and rich multicultural dimension was cited as an example. Despite the positive effects of migration, including the important role of remittances, the movement of people is not treated in the same way as the movement of goods and services. The current legal frameworks seem to be inadequately defined to deal with the nature of today’s migration flows, from refugees to labor migrants and irregular forms of migration. The diversity of migration streams also show that integration can be much more successful in certain contexts than others (such as intra-regional vs. transatlantic) – although it was noted that building barriers to migration contradicted the ideal of an open and prosperous world, and tended to further discrimination and hatred. Despite growing interactions of migrants with host societies, integration will remain a challenge as long as the fear of the other continues: both need to accept the notion of change and not be afraid of integration.
Relevant stakeholders must build a more positive and collective agenda, to fight against discrimination and xenophobia, and to further reinforce the link between integration and respect for human rights.
Read the summary report hereClick here for more general information on the Rio Forum
Swiss TV shows integration of migrants in their new homeland
SF Wissen is the knowledge platform of SF, the Swiss Television Company. It offers links and archives to some 7000 videos on a variety of topics.
One of the sections is called “Neue Heimat Schweiz” (New Home: Switzerland). It provides a snapshot of different patterns of the integration of “New Swiss” in their host country, and collects videos from the SF programs related to migration and integration.
The reports highlight successful models of social integration, such as a this story of a Kosovar refugee who became an award-winning cheesemonger, this video of a Migrant Serb of Bosnia who is now Lieutenant for the Swiss Army, a report on a social worker from Albanian background, dedicated to the integration of youth from the Balkans, an interview of a Tamil war refugee engaged in local politics or the successful example of a Chinese refugee who owns a fashion label in Zurich.
Check all videos (available in Swiss German only… for the time being!)
Global Migration: an omnipresent force
This New York Times article describes the role of migration in today’s world as the third wave of the Globalization. Jason DeParle highlights how a variety of political, economical and social issues and debates are actually linked to immigration.
This recent “transnationalism” is due to several new factors: the real global reach of migration today, the high amounts of money involved (for countries of destination and of origin), the increasing proportion of women in the migrant stock, and the new communication technology available all over the world, that increases peoples capacity to interact across borders.
The article notes that the general public has high expectations towards Governments in managing migration.European and North-American Muslims identify strongly with their countries of residence
The Gallup Coexist Index 2009, A Global Study of Interfaith Relations, found that North Americans are more likely to be tolerant or integrated than Europeans.
The survey classifies respondents in 3 categories: those who are “isolated”, the “tolerant” who are respectful and open to other faiths and practices, and the “integrated” who feel respected by others and are willing to learn more about different religious traditions.British, French, and German Muslims are more likely to identify strongly with their religion than non-Muslim respondents – and they are also identify more strongly with their country. General European populations seem to be unsure about the loyalty of European Muslims to their countries – this contrasts with a strong majority of European Muslims who think that Muslims are loyal to their countries of residence.
As for what integration really means, the majority of the all categories of respondents’ agree that language skills, work employment and education access are the main components of integration success.
Read the article summarizing the results here
Read the full survey on the Muslim West Facts Project website
Immigration improves employment, productivity and incomes in the U.S
According to a study released by the Migration Policy Institute called “The impact of immigrants in recession and economic expansion”, immigration improves employment, productivity and incomes in the U.S. Professor Giovanni Peri claims that the impact of immigration in the short term varies depending in the country economic health. According to Peri, “When an economy is expanding, immigration creates new sources of employment and does not affect natives.”
Integration and anti-radicalization in Amsterdam
This New York times article retraces the experience in migrant integration made by Job Cohen, former Mayor of Amsterdam and candidate to the national elections. Russel Shorto describes how Cohen has dealt with the shock caused by the assassination of filmmaker Theo Van Gogh and what innovative measures were taken in the city of Amsterdam. The Mayor focused on maintaining the dialog with Muslim immigrant communities, including with the 2 percent of them that were potentially becoming radicalized.
Allez la France! Crossed stories between football & immigration
The French Museum on History of Immigration (Cite Nationale de l’histoire de l’immigration, located in the Palais de la Porte Doree) examines the relation between soccer and immigration. This exhibition is launched at the occasion of the opening of the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
Alternatively described as a factor of rapprochement between cultures, as a meeting point for migrants or as a sport responsible of creating xenophobia and racism, Soccer and its practice constitute a mirror of construction of national identities. As such, it reveals central issues of the French society of today.
The aim of the National City of History of Immigration is to give immigrants their real place in the history of France. The mission of the Museum is to collect and show a variety of elements relating to the history of immigration in France since the beginning of the 19th century.
The exhibition is open from May 26 to October 17, 2010.
Click here for more info regarding this eventEthnic Germans and Immigrants on better terms than expected
The Expert Advisory Board for Integration and Migration (SVR), which was founded in 2008 by eight major foundations involved in social and political advocacy and research, released its first annual report. It contains what the board calls the Integration Climate Index (IKI) which basically takes the temperature of relations between ethnic Germans and immigrants. According to the study “the forecast is sunny and warm.” However, The overwhelmingly positive results do not mean that there are no problems with integration in Germany.
EU: Arab Mediterranean Challenges – Unemployment & Migration
Labor regulations in Arab Mediterranean Countries (AMCs) impose rigid rules and costs but only provide a low level of protection for the majority of workers, increasing migration pressures for them as well.
As result of immigration from the Arab Mediterranean Countries, the European Union is facing a new challenge in providing decent work opportunities for local unskilled labor.
The European University Institute (RSCAS) was selected by the European Commission to carry out a study on the “Labor Markets Performance and Migration Flows in Arab Mediterranean Countries: Determinants and Effects”. It analyzes data from selected Arab Mediterranean Countries (Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and the Occupied Palestinian Territories) and also examines the impact of the emigration on the countries of origin.
Singapore: UN Special Report on racism & xenophobia
Mr. Githu Muigai, a Kenyan national, commenced his mandate as Special Rapporteur on 1 August 2008 after being appointed by the Human Rights Council. He is a lawyer specialized in international human rights law. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on racism was established in 1993 by the Commission on Human Rights to examine incidents of contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, as well as governmental measures to overcome them. “While there may be no institutionalised racial discrimination in Singapore, several policies have further marginalized certain ethnic groups” emphasized the UN expert, “this is a situation that must be acknowledged and acted upon in order to safeguard the stability, sustainability and prosperity of Singapore”.
Read the rapporteur’s statement
Turkey lobbies for rights of migrants in Europe
Turkey is pressing the Council of Europe to adopt strong resolutions in the hopes that member states, especially those that are part of the European Union, will extend better protections to minorities, including Turkish expats and migrants living in Western Europe.
5 Myths about immigration
Immigration continues to be one of America’s most polemic topics. With the adoption of the new law in Arizona, the state has entered a new period of bitterness and harshness. But as in the past, much of the debate is founded on mythology.
IOM report highlights labor violation laws in Italy
The IOM report prepared as part of the PRAESIDIUM project funded by the Italian Ministry of Interior explains how the exploitation of both irregular and regular migrants is organized. The report recommends that the relevant authorities investigate migrants’ inhumane working conditions. The IOM legal counseling aims at providing a residence permit and social protection to migrants who testify against corrupt employers.
Read more about the IOM report
Migrants Right to Health in South Africa
A two-day national consultation on “Realizing Migrants’ Right to Health in South Africa.” was held in Pretoria on April 22. While the right to access healthcare is guaranteed by the South African constitution, migrants still continue to face challenges in accessing care. The conference is focused on bridging health policy and service delivery coordination and implementation to migrants in South Africa.
Learn more about the conference
Doing Business in a Multicultural World: Challenges and Opportunities
In partnership with the United Nations Global Compact Office, the UN Alliance of Civilizations engages the business community in establishing dialogue and improving understanding and cooperative relations among nations and peoples across cultures and religions.
Jointly developed by the UN Alliance of Civilizations and the UN Global Compact Office, the publication “Doing Business in a Multicultural World: Challenges and Opportunities” aims at raising the visibility of best practices in the corporate sector toward supporting cross-cultural relations. It explores the cross-cultural challenges companies are facing, highlights good practices and lessons learned and illustrates why and how business can play a vital role in fostering intercultural understanding, and make the best of diversity brought in by migration.
Read the full report here
The Local Dimension of Migration Policymaking
This study offers a fresh perspective on immigrant integration policy in European and North American cities. Seeing where and how immigrants and their receiving societies interact on a daily basis, the authors Tiziana Caponio and Maren Borkert shows how societal inclusion is administered and produced at a local level. Comparing Switzerland, Italy, Germany, the Netherlands and Canada, the cases display great variety in their theoretical and methodological approaches. In all the countries considered, we see that the local level has an undeniable relevance despite differences in state structures.
More information about this book
Handbook on how to implement a one-stop-shop for immigrant integration – The Portuguese experience
This Handbook is a source of inspiration for various actors in the European Union in implementing integration policies in the field of service provision. The Portuguese experience, within this innovative One-Stop-Shop strategy, managed to achieve good cooperation between different public services, located in the same building, together with the creation of new services to meet the concrete needs of immigrants. The One-Stop-Shop service is mainstreaming the provision of immigration services, facilitating the integration process. Portugal also proved to be innovative in involving cultural mediators from the different immigrant communities in public administration service provision. The Portuguese experience proves that mediators play an important role on promoting immigrant reception and integration, reducing access barriers and distrust in Government services.
Building Inclusive Societies
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Header illustration © Estelle Tijou | Terms and Conditions | Code of Conduct | Contact
Header illustration © Estelle Tijou | Terms and Conditions | Code of Conduct | Contact
