Pass the Crayon

"The EU cannot continue to shrug off its responsibilities indefinitely and pass them on to countries with low-resources, using its political and economical power to bargain the cost of reception of asylum seekers for its own benefit."

"The United States' border policy directly contravenes the 1951 Refugee Convention, which states that all asylum seekers have the right “to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution" (Article 14). Despite the fact detention and processing at the border clearly flouts this law, it is common practice - just look at Europe's third country deal with Turkey!"

"It’s odd to think about how legislation that was created nearly 20 years before you were born still impacts your life today, how if it weren’t for the erasure of some numbers in whatever immigration database that was kept at the time my life (or even my birth) would have a radically different face."

"Napuli is resolute in her belief that everybody has the right to live wherever they wish. Her message, and the message of all the Insel 36 residents is clear – “Kein Mensch ist Illegal” (No Man is Illegal)."

We explore the differences between U.S. and German migration policy, comparing their diametric responses to the recent 'migration crisis', and considering the current and future effects of these policy decisions.

In 2015, the Migration Crisis in the European Union (EU) reached its peak, with over one million people fleeing their homelands. Unfortunately, thousands of these asylum seekers died in the process of attaining their freedom, either through drowning, starvation, and other perils associated with flight. While many Europeans believe that asylum is important, they also believe “the process needs to improve,” (European Parliament, 2017). It’s not a surprise that refugees and asylum seekers from the Middle East or Africa are attempting to make a new home in the United States and Germany. Both these countries are two of the leading economic forces in the world, and asylum acceptance rates in Germany are the highest in Europe.

The 'refugee crisis' more-or-less began in late 2014 with...

'You, Me, and The Distance Between Us', by Ellen Murial, portrays the reality of migrant camp life in all of its dirt, distress, boredom and banality. It also dissects the life of its volunteers, who very rarely get considered as more than a bunch of earnest drones searching for a cause. 

I went to watch 'You, Me and The Distance Between Us' a few weeks ago. The performance took place at M29 Theatre, a community housing project located near Gesundbrunnen. Pillows were strewn across the floor, the ambiance mellow, the room packed with people. The lights suddenly go down, the room goes quiet, and a lone figure stands on stage.

(image via Hamilton House)

Ellen Muriel introduces herself, providing us with a brief bio of her volunteering experience. Almost imperceptibly, her cadence shifts from normal dialogue to spoken word, possibly as a way of juxtaposing 'volunteer' Ellen, with 'performer' Ellen. I wondered, how will Ellen successfully manage to emb...

On International Women's Day, I attended 'Frauen und Flucht: Vulnerabilität – Empowerment – Teilhabe', an event which gave a platform for grassroots female refugee initiatives to discuss ways in which we can start to prioritize refugee women's voices more within the wider refugee discourse.

On March the 8th, I saw a lot of women walking around holding red roses (at first I was confused before guessing it had something to do with IWD), and later on, as I walked along Kottbusser Damm, I encountered the International Women's Day March itself- banners with empowering slogans waved proudly in the air, papier mache vaginas floated in the breeze, voices boomed from megaphones and music pumped from speakers. I turned down Lenaustrasse feeling pleased that I had witnessed the march, and invigorated for tonight's event. I arrived at Refugio, the community space for refugees, and host for "Women and Flight: Vulnerability, Empowerment and Parti...

We finally bring you the second installment of ‘Who Is A Refugee?’, our two-part review of a recent UCL debate, featuring esteemed refugee academics Professor Elsbeth Guild, Ahmad Al Rashid and Dr Phillip Cole. 

In Part 1 the talk centered around defining refugeehood under the current UN convention, establishing its parameters, and discussing whether these parameters remain compatible with our contemporary geopolitical and environmental landscape. All speakers recognised the fact that the current EU migrant system is severely dysfunctional, and in its current form, is letting down thousands of people who have fled their native countries for legitimate reasons.

In the next phase the speakers consider solutions to protracted refugee situations, and balance the advantages and disadvantages of changing the basic UN Refugee Convention, or keeping it the same and creating adjacent conventions. The ethical problem of distinguishing different groups by their level of ‘need’ as defined by the out...