News from the Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging
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COVID - 19 news
The Humanitarian Health Crisis
CMRB co-director Giorgia Doná, was interviewed by Jennifer Sadler-Venis on the humanitarian health crisis for 'Global Insight', the business law and human rights magazine of the International Bar Association, June
COVID-19 & Unaccompanied Asylum-Seeking Children in the UK
The daily lives of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children are wrought with challenges and uncertainty. As they wait months, sometimes even years, for their asylum status to be determined, they are expected to adapt to a new culture, learn English, build new relationships, and overcome past experiences.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, these children are now facing further obstacles. This briefing document, prepared by Roxanne Nanton, graduate from the CMRB affiliated Master in Refugee Studies, with support of Professor Giorgia Donà, presents the impact of COVID-19 on the lives of unaccompanied asylum-seeking children in the UK. It will also identify the responses to COVID-19 from the government and the charity sector, as well as recommendations for the transition to the post-COVID-19 phase.
Grey zones in the times of the COVID-19 pandemic
Georgie Wemyss and Nira Yuval-Davis discuss how the current global pandemic has exposed racism and inequality.
Webinar, 1 June 2020, 5pm - 8pm, Migrant Rights? From policies to politics in a post-COVID era.
A panel consisting of Don Flynn, Adam Hanieh, Heaven Crawley and Eleonore Kofman and co-chaired by Nira Yuval-Davis and Rachel Humphris will consider the following and other questions:
- What lessons are to be learnt from the earlier failure to advance a rights-base for immigration policy?
- How will the current economic crisis impact on the rights of migrants? What might emerge for the rights agenda from the confused haze of Brexit and the COVID virus?
- Has public reaction to the hostile environment scandal opened up space for an intersectional mobilisation in support of the rights of migrants?
For more information and to register, please go to the Eventbrite page. The webinar will be hosted online and joining instructions will be sent to registered attendees.
The webinar is organised by Scientists Against the Hostile Environment of which CMRB is a member.
Access to higher education for asylum seekers and refugees
CMRB co-director Giorgia Dona discusses how the COVID-19 crisis affects access to higher education for asylum seekers and refugees at a SonaTalks LIVE series.
Coronavirus and the banality of evil
Catherine Rottenberg and Nira Yuval-Davis write that "The UK government's failure to respond swiftly and effectively to the pandemic can and should be considered evil".
The impacts of COVID-19 on the camp in Hitsats, Ethiopia
Dr Natalia Paszkiewicz, a graduate of the CMRB affiliated Master in Refugee Studies, examines the impacts of COVID-19 on the refugee camp in Hitsats, Ethiopia, titled 'Down with Issayas! Down with Abiy!' by Nizar Manek and Natalia Paszkiewicz.
Bordering under the Coronavirus Pandemic
Georgie Wemyss and Nira Yuval-Davis reflect on everyday bordering under the coronavirus pandemic.
Europe's Refugee Crisis amidst COVID-19
Giorgia Donà talks on the Indus News talk show Scope with Waqar Rizvi, Dr Liza Schuster and journalist Catherine Guilyardi (De Facto) on the impacts of coronavirus on migrants, asylum seekers and refugees. Starting 18:06 minutes into the programme.
Webinar: The Hostile Environment, COVID-19 and the Politics of Care
CMRB members are contributing to a webinar on 5 October hosted by Social Scientists against the Hostile Environment.
Speakers: Susan Cueva - Hostile Environment and care workers experiences, Ruth Pearson - COVID-19 and Social Care: the consequences of three decades of privatisation and financialisation, Eleanore Kofman - Care and the Uncaring Politics of Migration, Lynne Segal - The hostile environment, racism and the complexities of care.
Refugee Week 2020: Asylum & Protection in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Thursday 18 June, 17:00 - 19:00
To mark Refugee Week 2020, CMRB are co-hosting an online public event alongside United Against Inhumanity (UAI in the UK) and the International Centre for Eritrean Refugees and Asylum Seekers (ICERAS).
The talk will feature a keynote speech from prominent refugee campaigner Lord Alf Dubs.
The event will also commemorate the legacy and commitment to refugees of Mona Mahmoud, student in the CMRB affiliated Master in Conflict, Displacement and Human Security programme.
Equality, governability and belonging at the time of pandemic by Professor Nira Yuval-Davis
Hosted by Fundació Catalunya Europa.
Those who tuned in on 8 June were unable to hear the English language version. The English version that Nira did the following day can viewed here.
Other CMRB news
Everyday Bordering Podcast
This Podcast focuses on the paper "Everyday Bordering, Belonging and the Reorientation of British Immigration Legislation" written by Nira Yuval-Davis, Georgie Wemyss and Kathrin Cassady.
Speakers:
- Sociology Editor Vanessa May
- Nira Yuval-Davis
- Georgie Wemyss
- Kathryn Cassidy
This article is about everyday bordering in the UK and its relationship with contemporary politics of belongings. It analyses the shift in the UK immigration legislation from the external, territorial border to the internal border, incorporating technologies of everyday bordering in which ordinary citizens are demanded to become either border-guards and/or suspected illegitimate border crossers. Read now.
Public Engagement around the Hidden Histories of South Asian and African Seafarers
Newham resident Asif Shakoor was in conversation with Dr Georgie Wemyss from CMRB speaking about his research into his grandfather's experiences as a seafarer in WWI. His grandfather docked at Royal Albert Dock in 1917 and 1918. Asif talks about how this has led him on a journey of discovery about the contributions made by Asian and African sailors in Britain's war effort in 1914-1918.
Help decide the street address for the new home of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly
The Mayor of London needs your help to choose a street address for the new home for City Hall at the Royal Docks.
CMRB has been involved in discussions on renaming the street which will be the official address of the Mayor of London when the Greater London Authority Offices move to the Royal Docks.
The winning street name will be announced in July.
The three shortlisted names are:
People's Way
This name celebrates ordinary people in the Royal Docks and across London. It also reflects how City Hall will be a place to meet our city's representation, as well as a nod to local activism, specifically the "People’s Plan for the Royal Docks" from the 1980s.
Kamal Chunchie Way
This name champions the untold stories of the ethnically diverse seafarers in the Royal Docks' history. Kamal Chunchie was a race relations pioneer from Sri Lanka who founded The Coloured Men's Institute in 1926 for sailors and local residents - this is a chance to honour and celebrate this important history.
World's Gate Way
This name highlights the Royal Docks as London's gateway. The docks didn’t just bring in goods - people came to the docks from all over the world
Access the survey
See more information.
Webinar: Migration Trajectories and Transnational Support Within and Beyond Europe
The Utrecht University Focus Area on Migration and Societal Change, the Dutch Association for Migration Research and the IMISCOE Standing Committee on Migrant Transnationalism (MITRA) are delighted to invite you to the webinar "Migration Trajectories and Transnational Support within and beyond Europe". The webinar lines up the contributors to a recently published Special Issue in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and will bring together new empirical analyses from diverse settings documenting the experiences of migrants residing within and beyond the boundaries of Europe. It features CMRB members Marie Godin (University of Oxford), and Giorgia Donà (University of East London).
See more information.
Migration, borders and technologies: an introduction to techno-borderscapes
At an online webinar on 11 November, at the University of Vienna, Professor Giorgia Dona will discuss the relationship among migration, borders and technologies by examining the role of mobile digital devices in the everyday lives of migrants in transit and their encounters with state agents, humanitarian actors and activists at the border.
See more information and register
Webinar: The politics of Social Reproduction, Migration and the Hostile Environment
Monday, 16 November 2020 at 5pm
SSAHE (Social Scientists Against the Hostile Environment) webinar brings together feminist, antiracist and Marxist perspectives to interrogate the connections between unpaid and paid work in social reproduction through racialization and migration. With an increasingly racialised and migrant workforce in socially reproductive jobs, with precarious social and welfare rights, what does it mean to work for reproductive justice? How can thinking through social reproduction help us to understand global connections and disconnections? How can we foster solidarities for reproductive justice locally and transnationally?
Speakers:
Sara Farris: Social Reproduction in the times of a pandemic
Yasmin Gunaratnam: The violence that sustains us, plantations, care and the pandemic
Gwyneth Lonergan: Migrant women, reproductive justice, and the hostile environment during the COVID pandemic
Bangladesh 50 Years: Identity and belonging in the East End before and after the Liberation War of 1971
CMRB Co-Director Dr Georgie Wemyss has been appointed to the steering committee of a joint project of the National Portrait Gallery and Tower Hamlets Archives that marks 50 years since the independence of Bangladesh in 2021.
Find out more information on the project.
Book launch Webinar: Translocational Belongings: Intersectional Dilemmas and Social Inequalities by Professor Floya Anthias
We are delighted that our first event of the new academic year is to co-host the launch of CMRB member, Floya Anthias' new book via a Webinar Monday 14 September at 5pm. Speakers will be Profs. Floya Anthias, Avtar Brah and John Solomos. The event will be chaired and introduced by Profs. Umut Erel and Nira Yuval-Davis.
Digital Social Care Provision for Children in Vulnerable Contexts
Congratulations to CMRB Co-director Giorgia Dona and Master in Refugee Studies Alumni Roxanne Nanton who have been awarded a grant to examine "Digitally Advanced Services in the Charity Sector - A Case Study of the Refugee Council’s Digital Social Care Provision for Children in Vulnerable Contexts". The CMRB-Refugee Council project is funded by DEAS (Digitally Enhanced Advanced Services ) Network Plus and will start in September 2020.
Imagining the Future: Engaging young people on environmental challenges to create new and sustainable livelihoods in Algeria
Congratulations to our CMRB member Dr Latefa Narriman Guemar who will represent CMRB as partner in the successful BA funding application "Imagining the Future: Engaging Young People on Environmental Challenges to Create New and Sustainable Livelihoods in Algeria" led by Coventry University.
For more information on the project, see here
Scope with Waqar Rizvi | France slammed over mistreatment of refugees | Episode 270 | Indus News
CMRB Co-director Giorgia Doná was Guest Speaker at the Indus News Lahore on "France slammed over mistreatment of refugees", Scope Show hosted by Waqar Rizvi, 4 July 2020
Digital Education Storytelling Exhibition Launch @ Living Refugee Archive, Tuesday 23 June, 5pm
The Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB) is delighted to invite you to a talk where we will explore the Living Refugee Archive (LRA) digital archives and findings from our recent digital storytelling research project on the educational experiences of refugees in the Middle East. The event will feature talks from Paul Dudman, Prof. Giorgia Dona and Jessica Oddy.
Refugee Week 2020: Asylum & Protection in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic. Thursday 18 June, 17:00 - 19:00
To mark Refugee Week 2020, CMRB are co-hosting an online public event alongside United Against Inhumanity (UAI in the UK) and the International Centre for Eritrean Refugees and Asylum Seekers (ICERAS).
The talk will feature a keynote speech from prominent refugee campaigner Lord Alf Dubs.
The event will also commemorate the legacy and commitment to refugees of Mona Mahmoud, student in the CMRB affiliated Master in Conflict, Displacement and Human Security programme.
Asif Shakoor: My story of researching BAME Seafarers, Friday 26 June 3 - 4pm
As part of the London Festival of Architecture, join CMRB co-director Georgie Wemyss in conversation with Asif Shakoor on his seafaring heritage spanning Europe and Pakistan. The conversation will take place over Zoom to mark Newham Heritage Month and is free to attend.
Equality, governability and belonging at the time of pandemic by Professor Nira Yuval-Davis
Hosted by Fundació Catalunya Europa.
Those who tuned in on 8 June were unable to hear the English language version. The English version that Nira did the following day can viewed here.
New Facebook group
Join our group on Facebook and stay up to date with CMRB. Here we share recent publications, migration-related articles as well as our latest news and events. We also encourage group members to contribute to the group.
Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship
Congratulations to CMRB Co-director Emeritus Prof. Nira Yuval-Davis, who has been awarded the Leverhulme Emeritus Fellowship to examine "Climate Change and the Politics of Belonging".
This research explores how the growing concern over the extreme effects of climate changes affects governments and people’s everyday politics. At a time of global increase in nativist movements and anti-immigration sentiments, there is also a recognition that these issues cannot be solved on a national basis and that climate change has become a major new driver of human displacement and migration. The research examines media and policy debates as well as grassroots activism on these issues in two countries where issues of migration and security of borders have been central - the UK and Israel.
The research project is due to start on 1 November 2020 and will last for 24 months.
Mosaik +UEL: University Partnerships Providing Tools for Student-Led Learning
Learn more about the "Mosaik +UEL: University Partnerships Providing Tools for Student-Led Learning" that offers insights into the co-creation of digital e-learning platforms that apply Life Stories as a research and pedagogical tool for and with refugees.
How Media and Conflicts Make Migrants
CMRB co-director Gargi Bhattacharyya's new co-authored book "How Media and Conflicts Make Migrants" explores how we understand global conflicts as they relate to the "European refugee crisis", and draws on a range of empirical fieldwork carried out in the UK and Italy. By Kirsten Forkert, Federico Oliveri, Gargi Bhattacharyya and Janna Graham.
New CMRB sponsored report on How Social Scientists can Inform Debates on Migration, Racism and the Hostile Environment
CMRB members are among the co-authors of the 2020 report Migration, Racism and the Hostile Environment: Making the Case for Social Sciences, led by Social Scientists Against The Hostile Environment (SSAHE), a project of the Special Interest Group on Refugees, Migration and Settlement established by some Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS).
Prize-Winning study highlights how borders and migration affect everyone
The book Bordering, together with a related paper that has won the 2019 Sage Sociology Prize for Innovation and Excellence, was compiled by the University of East London's Co-Directors of the Centre for Research on Migration, Refugees and Belonging (CMRB), Professor Nira Yuval-Davis (Honorary) and Dr Georgie Wemyss, together with former colleague Dr Kathryn Cassidy from Northumbria.
Paper on Fortress Europe wins award
"Reversing the Gaze on Fortress Europe: Visual Interferences Produced by Migrants in Transit at the France-UK Border", jointly written by CMRB member Marie Godin and co-director Giorgia Donà with photographer Crispin Hughes, has won the Best Paper Award Senior Scholar. The award was presented at the conference "Digital Fortress Europe: Exploring Boundaries between Media, Migration and Technology" held in Brussels October 30-31, 2019 by the European Communication Research and Education Association, Diaspora, Migration and the Media Section, and sponsored by Sage Publishing & Intellect Books. The paper uses visual photographic narratives created by migrants and refugees to create visual interferences that problematise the border and Fortress Europe from their perspective.
Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging
The Centre for Migration, Refugees and Belonging is located in the Department of Social Sciences at the University of East London.
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