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| Global University Unit Report - Migration |
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| Global University students in discussion onboard |
Joined by speakers from Algeria, Japan, the Philippines, Poland and the UK, Global University's first unit tackled the issue of migration, contrasting the free flow of goods and capital across national boundaries, with restrictions placed on human movement by many developed countries' insistence on territoriality and sovereignty. Students looked at the reasons behind the growing phenomenon of migration to the centres of wealth, to legal provision for immigrants' rights, to attitudes in the countries of destination. Also visited by the International Students, the onboard programme featured lectures, workshops and Q&A sessions, with group research into specific aspects helping deepen their understanding of population movement. Tours in port placed the issues covered onboard within a specific context, transforming facts into faces and allowing the participants to ask individuals about their personal experiences of migration. Covering issues of human rights, society and identity some presented their findings in an open lecture, adding their impressions of the situation in different countries to the factual evidence they had gathered. Looking at the issue of how social groups form, one team created a ship-wide questionnaire to determine participants' reasons for boarding Peace Boat, their expectations of the experience and the realities of creating a space able to welcome people from all backgrounds. A common point expressed by Global University students was the desire to find out about issues not often encountered at home and reflect on how to apply their insights to the situation in Japan. |
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| Aisha Soudani lectures on immigration in Marseilles |
Providing examples of activism worldwide, from aiding migrant workers, to protecting the rights of children of mixed descent, to representing asylum seekers in court, the guest speakers were invited onboard by programme coordinator Nicola Liscutin, lecturer at Cambridge University. In a joint lecture, Annette Elder, a lawyer working within Britain's legal aid system and Aisha Soudani, representative of Schebba, an organisation working to empower immigrant women in Marseilles, discussed historical trends of migration into Europe, relating reception of immigrants to the prevailing economic climate. Referencing the media portrayal of immigrants as unlawfully using channels available for asylum seekers to enter Europe for economic reasons, the two women commented on the worrying growth of support for nationalist parties. Soudani spoke of Le Pen's success in the first round this year in France and emphasised the necessity to mobilise people at a grass-roots level to enroll on the electoral register and reject right-wing extremist candidates. Addressing Global University students in a separate seminar, she questioned the notion of French identity after years of immigration from former colonies, before taking questions on the activities of Schebba and problems faced by families who choose to start a new life in a foreign country. |
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| Lawyer Annette Elder, discussing issues related to asylum seekers in the UK |
In a further seminar, Annette Elder focused on the current situation for asylum seekers in the UK, at a time when they are criminalised by legal structures, the political climate and public opinion. With clients from all categories, Elder is well qualified to talk about the infringement of their core human rights such as freedom of movement, liberty, and access to judicial remedy. She commenced by outlining four main categories of migration in Europe, from EU nationals and legal immigrants, to asylum seekers and those who enter the region illegally, before speaking of the difficulty the latter categories face in obtaining the social, civil and political rights they are entitled to. Pointing out the connection between labour market needs in each country and the channels available for legal immigration, Elder explained how, following widespread economic recession in the 1980's, entrance was severely restricted, making it near impossible for asylum seekers to find legal routes into the UK. Today, having applied for refugee status, asylum seekers and their families are often housed in detention centres or migrant ghettos, suffer from discrimination and difficulties of social integration and, without the right to work, are forced to live well below the poverty line. |
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| Participant Michiko presenting the findings of her group |
Unit One's final guest lecturer was Sylwia Ingmire, coordinator of the London-based Roma Support Group, who has helped establish a number of outreach centres for Roma people arriving in the UK after fleeing persecution in other European countries. Sylwia noted that hostile attitudes towards Roma people have hardly changed since Roman times, when they faced expulsion or the death penalty throughout most of Europe. Despite being the continent's largest ethnic minority, Roma people remain one of the most marginalised groups in Europe, suffering widespread discrimination not only in their countries of origin, but, as her involvement has shown, experiencing problems accessing the welfare provisions allocated by the state in the UK. Ingmire explained how the Roma Support Group works to advise Roma people of their rights, advocate on their behalf in legal processes and provide programmes that engage them in a constructive way, contribute to their empowerment and help break down negative stereotypes in the wider community. Her seminars provided students with yet more telling examples of the reasons behind migration and complicated issues faced by those arriving in societies unwilling to provide the asylum they seek. |
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| Peace Boat's
39th Voyage index |
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PEACE BOAT is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations. |
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