13
Apr
Film Review: “Io Capitano”
“Io Capitano” (2023), directed by Italian filmmaker Matteo Garrone, was nominated for the 96th Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film. Although it did not secure a win, the film stands out for shedding light on an aspect of migration that is lesser seen on screens and in the media: the arduous journey before reaching Europe’s shores.... Read More
10
Mar
Listening to child refugees and asylum seekers in Australia-what matters most
Background In 1992, Australia adopted a policy of mandatory detention of people arriving in the country without a valid visa. This policy was targeted towards asylum seekers, and over time policies became increasingly punitive with the aim of deterring people from arriving through channels described by successive governments as ‘illegal’. Those policies have been rightly... Read More
12
Feb
The Dominance of Christian Charities in US Refugee Resettlement
“Do you believe in a God?” This is one of the first questions that was asked of me in 2021 when I was offered a job at a Christian refugee resettlement agency. Once hired, I was required to sign a statement of faith, which is written as the Apostle’s Creed. If this is required for... Read More
23
Jan
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Migration, Refugees and Statelessness Interdisciplinary Conference November 2023 University of Melbourne
Organised and hosted by the Melbourne Social Equity Institute, the annual Migration, Refugees and Statelessness Interdisciplinary Conference showcases the work of refugee and migration scholars throughout Australia. This one-day event was held in November 2023 at the University of Melbourne. The day was organised into four sessions: 1) Borders, identity and belonging. 2)Research, reflexivity and... Read More
3
Jan
Post-Coup Human Rights for the Rohingya: Paving A Path Forward
In early 2021, the military in Myanmar – the Tatmadaw – seized power in a coup d’état. Its actions, on the one hand, mean ill for the Rohingya ethnic group, which has long faced persecution in the country. On the other hand, its power grab may have inadvertently united several ethnic groups against itself in... Read More
20
Dec
The Greater Manchester Migrant Destitution Fund: Promoting Dignity amidst the Hostile Environment
The Greater Manchester Migrant Destitution Fund supports people who are forced into destitution by their immigration status with cash grants of £80 per month. The largest group of people applying to the fund are people who have been refused asylum. For such people, who may have been wrongly refused asylum amidst the Home Office’s notorious... Read More
17
Nov
Map of Hope and Sorrow: Stories of Refugees Trapped in Greece, Helen Benedict & Eyad Awwadawnan
Footnote Press, 2022, 328 pages Helen Benedict is a well-known journalist, academic, novelist and non-fiction writer, often writing on themes of war and violence against women. She and her Syrian co-author and translator Eyad Awwadawnan focus here on the stories of five refugees — painfully traversing Syria, Nigeria, Cameroon or Afghanistan — to Europe, which... Read More
7
Nov
Book Review: The World is not Big Enough
Vanessa Russell, Hardie Grant Books, 2021 With some nervousness, this refugee supporter took the plunge in 2001 and did what many others have boldly attempted: to contact a refugee stuck inside the Australian detention system and try to improve their life. The suggestion from the Melbourne-based Refugee Action Collective and Spare Rooms for Refugees (Kate... Read More
24
Oct
Freedom of expression at risk as US agency ends COVID-era interpretation services
Introduction In a move that has caused much anger and confusion, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is no longer providing free interpretation services for asylum seekers. Since September 2020, USCIS provided applicants with its own telephonic interpretation services in 47 critical languages. However, on September 13, 2023, the agency rolled back its... Read More
16
Aug
Book Review: Cruel Care: a history of children at our borders
Jordana Silverstein, Monash University Publishing, 2023, 309 pages NOTE These reviews are not peer-reviewed by credentialled experts, so usually avoid professional criticism. Their purpose is to promote awareness of authors and new books to a non-specialist audience – most academics do not prioritise writing book reviews for lay readers. In this case, the theoretical perspectives... Read More