Starmer says migrants should speak English – but all of the UK’s languages are important for integration: William Perugini/Shutterstock When Keir Starmer said: “If you want to live in the UK, you should speak English”, it laid bare an assumption – that English is the only language that counts in the UK. This view not …
UK Border Force returns migrants in the Channel to France – expert Q&A: The White Cliffs of Dover. James Heming/Shutterstock The UK Border Force has returned a group of migrants to France after their small boat got into trouble in the English Channel. This appears to be a departure from past policy, at a crucial …
South Africa needs to manage migrants better. That requires cleaning up the Department of Home Affairs: Legal grievances against the South African Department of Home Affairs, including contempt of court cases, are depressingly common. Too frequently the minister has to apologise to a court, or to ask for more time, on behalf of the department. …
How the Welsh language is being promoted to help migrants feel at home: The Welsh government has announced plans to make Wales a 'nation of sanctuary'. Ceri Breeze/Shutterstock You can read this article in Welsh. The UK government alone decides who can enter the country and how migration and asylum policies are made. But devolved …
Male domestic workers in South Africa – study sheds light on the experiences of Malawian and Zimbabwean migrants: An estimated 800,000 people work as domestic workers in South Africa. Most are black women from marginalised backgrounds. It’s therefore not surprising that the bulk of the literature about domestic work focuses on females performing cleaning, cooking …
Professionals in Sweden are pushing back hard against a rightwing plan to make them snitch on undocumented migrants: Workers in the welfare sector are currently giving Sweden’s government a significant headache in a dispute about upholding professional ethics. They are opposing a planned law that would require them to “snitch” on undocumented migrants. And since …
Mort de migrants en mer : la véritable responsabilité incombe aux politiques mises en place par les États européens: Photo : Oliver Weiken/picture alliance via Getty Images Le 15 juin, le chalutier surchargé Adriana a sombré lors de son voyage illicite de la Libye vers l’Italie, provoquant la noyade de centaines d’hommes, de femmes et …
Zimbabwean migrants: South Africa’s anti-immigrant sentiments are hindering policy reform: Effective African economic development depends on economic integration and free movement of people. GettyImages The South African Minister of Home Affairs, Aaron Motsoaledi, recently lost a court case that anyone could have anticipated was unwinnable. He probably expected to lose it too. He lost it …
Unravelling the Windrush myth: the confidential government communications that reveal authorities did not want Caribbean migrants to come to Britain: In the twilight hours of June 21 1948, a weathered five-deck troopship transporting 1,027 passengers moored off Gravesend on the south bank of the river Thames. That evening, immigration officials would begin carefully processing those …
‘I’m always delivering food while hungry’: how undocumented migrants find work as substitute couriers in the UK: Luca* had not been working long as an online food courier when we met him on a cold winter’s day in a square in the city centre. This was where many food couriers waited for orders to “drop” …
South Africa is scrapping special work permits for Zimbabweans – migrants will be left exposed: Immigrants, mostly Zimbabwaens, crowd the entrance of a government refugee centre in Johannesburg, in 2008. John Moore/Getty Images Hundreds of thousands of Zimbabweans have flocked to South Africa to escape economic hardship since the 1990s. The South African government has, …
How racism and inequality affect even ‘desirable’ EU migrants in the UK: shutterstock Everyone knows Italy, as soon as you come here they’ll be like, “Oh Italian, cool! I’ve been there,” so it’s a way of chatting, breaking ice […] but I don‘t know if it’s the same for other foreigners. Like my friend from …
Tunisie : les retombées considérables des propos offensants du président contre les migrants noirs: Le président tunisien, Kais Saied (à droite), rencontre le président de la Guinée-Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo, à Tunis, le 8 mars 2023. Présidence tunisienne / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images La déclaration du président tunisien Kaïs Saeïd selon laquelle des “mesures …
Tunisia: President’s offensive statements targeted black migrants – with widespread fallout: President of Tunisia, Kais Saied (R) meets Guinea-Bissau's President Umaro Sissoco Embalo in Tunis on 8 March 2023. Tunisian Presidency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images The statement by Tunisian President Kais Saied that “urgent measures” were needed “against illegal immigration of nationals from …
Tunisia’s president is targeting migrants to divert attention from serious domestic problems – a classic tactic: Thousands in Tunis protest soaring prices, corruption and denounced recent comments by the Tunisian president against sub-Saharan migrants. EPA/Mohamed Messara Tunisia’s president Kais Saied recently called for urgent measures against illegal immigration of sub-Saharan African nationals. He said they …
LGBTIQ+ migrants and asylum seekers in South Africa: major new study identifies a diverse, wide-spread community: South Africa is the only African nation to formally extend refugee protection to LGBTI+ people. Luca Sola/AFP via Getty Images Since 1998, South Africa has recognised persecution based on gender and sexuality as legitimate grounds for asylum. This makes …
Half a million Ethiopian migrants have been deported from Saudi Arabia in 5 years – what they go through: Ethiopian migrants stranded in Saudi Arabia arrive at Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2021. Minasse Wondimu Hailu/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images Tens of thousands of migrant Ethiopian workers have been forcibly repatriated from …
World Cup 2022: what the dream of football success means to migrants: Photo-po / Shutterstock The FIFA World Cup in Qatar has already been hit by controversy around human rights and the treatment of migrant workers in the host country. As fans around the world board planes to go to the tournament (and then return …