Isles of the Left

Building Walls: Fear and Securitization in the European Union

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The report from Transnational Institute reveals that member states of the European Union and Schengen Area have constructed almost 1000 km of walls, the equivalent of more than six times the total length of the Berlin Wall.

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Asylum Seekers: Burden, Cheap Labour or … Human Beings?

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The asylum applicants are met with two contradictory demands: to be traumatised and persecuted enough to be recognised as refugees, and to be physically and emotionally fit in order to contribute to the host country’s economy.

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‘Deserving’ vs ‘Undeserving’: Refugees vs Economic Migrants

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Suffering seems to be an obligatory justification to enter Europe. In a fairer and more balanced system, economic migrants would have not had to take a perilous journey just to find work. But if trauma is the expectation, they get traumatised, too.

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Regardless of Season, Playing Ping-Pong with People’s Lives is Unacceptable!

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When we focus our arguments on the bad weather and on the Christmas season, we downplay the significance and severity of the actual issue, which then fades from the fore of public debates.

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