The Myth of Migration | Michelle Ezeuko | TEDxSOAS
## Speaker Context * Speaker's goal: To use personal experiences to debunk the "myth of migration." * Framing established: The talk is *not* going to be a political talk, but it will "dub into politics" because migration has been politicized, and the aim is to debunk the myth because it is "ruining lives." * Speaker's advocacy role: To "carry on that conversation" (referencing the Windrush scandal). ## People * Peter Griffin: Won a place in Parliament in the 60s on the slogan "if you want a n-word for a neighbor vote labor." * Ken: Speaker's friend; immigrated to the UK in 2009 with lawful status, but became undocumented after increased renewal fees. ## Organizations * Home Office: Agency that enforces status checks and can detain/deport people. * EU: Entity that is funding the Libyan Coast Guard. * NHS: Has been accused of being conscripted to act as border enforcement, sharing data with the Home Office. ## Places * West Africa: Origin point from which slaves were taken; borders did not apply then. * UK: The location where the speaker currently resides and where the hostile environment is discussed. * India or Bangladesh: Destinations where corporations like Dyson can move factories to exploit cheap labor. * China: Mentioned in relation to the general concept of colonization/control. * Libya: Current example where the UK is complicit by funding the Coast Guard to curtail migrants from reaching Europe to claim asylum. ## Tools, Tech & Products * British passport: Allows visa-free travel to 185 countries. * Own passport (speaker's): Allows visa-free travel to 46 countries. * Afghanistan passport: Allows visa-free travel to only five countries. * Student Finance: System that the speaker could not access due to the hostile environment. * Legal aid: System/resource that the speaker lacked access to initially. ## Concepts & Definitions * Myth of migration: Described as the "most powerful insidious and dangerous myth of our time today." * Social construct: Used to describe borders, noting that borders "do not apply equally." * Economic globalization: Defined as "free trade and giving corporations the power to do anything really to maximize profits." * Criminalization of migrants: Described as a "form of governance" used by governments. * Hostile environment: Described as "a system that creates conditions that make it impossible for people to have lawful status and then punishes them for that reason." * Model migrant: The description used for those who have worked, contributed to the economy, and are perceived as the "perfect good migrant." * Taxpayer: A concept used to argue that migrants are also taxpayers, dismantling the "us/other" dichotomy. ## Numbers & Data * 185 countries: Number of countries reachable visa-free with a British passport. * 46 countries: Number of countries reachable visa-free with the speaker's own passport. * Five countries: Number of countries reachable visa-free with an Afghan passport. * 2017: Year when Walmart made more profit than the whole GDP of Belgium. * 1%: Percentage of people in England who own 50% of England's land. * 2,200: Number of global billionaires. * 12%: Percentage increase in wealth for the top group of people (relative to the bottom). * 5 billion: Number of people who grew 11% poorer. * 16 years: Duration that the speaker's mother has been paying taxes in the UK. * 30 months: Period interval for the speaker's status renewal. * £2033: Amount the speaker must pay every 30 months to maintain status. * 2010 to 2015: Timeframe for the "right to rent" law. * 78,000: Amount of money spent (in the month the talk was given) on challenging a discriminatory law. * 1.6 million: Amount spent per year on indefinite detention. * 4.4 million: Amount spent per year on indefinite detention. * 55%: Percentage of detained people who get sent back into the community. ## Claims & Theses * The myth of migration is the "most powerful insidious and dangerous myth of our time today." * When myths become normalized, their power becomes tenfold. * Borders are man-made and do not apply equally. * Poverty is not seen as a threat, even though it "kills and it's killing many people in the UK right now." * Climate change is not seen as a threat, even though it "is going to kill us" and "is already killing people in the global south." * Migration is being manipulated by bringing it "under the realm of security." * The method is "weaponizing hate fear racism and xenophobia into a system legitimizing that and using it to marginalize and abuse the most vulnerable people in our society." * Globalization is only making "very few people rich." * The environment allows the myth to foster by allowing governments to "mobilize hate [and] stoke fear to make themselves look strong and powerful" instead of addressing systemic issues. * The process of being tough on migration is now "seen as synonymous with good governance." * The system punishes innocent people. * The "good migrant bad migrant dichotomy doesn't exist." * The hostile environment is "predicated on making living in the UK so unbearable for migrants that they voluntary leave." * The immigration system is "really flawed." * The EU funding the Libyan Coast Guard is complicity in the myth/abuse. * The system violates laws; it is the law that is violating people. * The less we debunk this myth, the more we can focus on the systemic issues that are actually ruining our lives. * The best way to fight this myth is to "choose love." ## Mechanisms & Processes * Mechanism of the myth: "bringing the movement of people into the realm of security." * How borders function (according to speaker): Differently based on nationality (e.g., British passport vs. Afghan passport). * Process of criminalization: Governments know people are insecure and inequality is arising and instead of dealing with deep systemic issues, they "mobilize hate they stoke fear." * Hostile environment mechanism: "taking away legal aid increasing fees detaining people deporting people requiring the burden of proof to be on migrants." * Systemic problem highlighted: Governments use the myth to allow them to "take advantage of the vulnerable and to do whatever they can to keep that system in place." ## Timeline & Events * Centuries: Time frame during which migration has been happening. * Time of colonization: When borders did not exist (e.g., when Britain colonized the world). * 60s: Decade when Peter Griffin got a place in Parliament. * 2009: Year Ken immigrated to the UK. * 2010 to 2015: Timeframe for the "right to rent" law. * Last five years: Duration over which hate crime has over doubled. ## Examples & Cases * Colonization example: When Britain colonized the world, borders did not exist. * Border example: The issue of the Irish border, framed as something maintaining a "social construct." * Passport example: British passport (185 visa-free); Speaker's passport (46 visa-free); Afghan passport (5 visa-free). * Corporation example: Dyson moving factories to India or Bangladesh to exploit cheap labor. * Profit/GDP example: Walmart making more profit in 2017 than the whole GDP of Belgium. * System failure case: Windrush scandal, resulting in 11 people dying as a result before cases could be resolved. * Friend's case: Ken becoming undocumented in 2009/later due to increased renewal fees, and requiring friends to raise noise to the press for his release. * Legal challenge example: The right to rent appeal, which found the law against human rights. * Institutional failure example: The NHS sharing data with the Home Office, conflicting with doctor-patient confidentiality. * Political slogan example: Peter Griffin winning a place in Parliament with the slogan "if you want a n-word for a neighbor vote labor." ## Trade-offs & Alternatives * Trade-off 1: Speaking about the myth vs. it being a political talk (Speaker frames it as *not* being a political talk, even though it will "dub into politics"). * Trade-off 2: Current law vs. Human rights (e.g., the "right to rent" appeal finding the law against human rights). * Trade-off 3: Maintaining the system vs. Justice (e.g., the system punishes people for existing). * Trade-off 4: Focus on individual acts vs. Systemic flaw (Focusing on individual cases misses the fact that "the whole system is flawed"). ## Counterarguments & Caveats * People do not question the messages given about migration. * The law allowing migration isn't absolute (e.g., the speaker notes that sometimes people must go to "bad lawyers...in order to save money"). * The Hostile Environment effect is critiqued by arguing that people are not going to "voluntarily leave." * The government's defense is that it is "willfully misleading to conflate the situation experience on people from the windows generation with measures in force to tackle illegal immigration." * The counter-argument regarding detention is that it "just makes no sense" to detain, traumatize, and then release people. ## Methodology * Method of debunking: Using personal experiences and research findings. * Method of argument: Showing disparities in border rules (passport comparison) and economic data (Walmart vs. GDP). * Method of investigation: Citing specific historical events and recent legal challenges (Right to Rent appeal). ## References Cited * DTaP Go: Academic source used by the speaker to explain the actors instilling fear. * Refugee Convention: Human right enacted after the Holocaust. * The Windrush Scandal: Cited as a major point where the system failed the public. * The Youth Strike for Climate: Mentioned as an example of young people protesting for the future. ## Conclusions & Recommendations * Debunking the myth of migration is framed as "an act of justice." * People should stop suffering because of the myth through speaking out. * The best way to fight the myth is to "choose love." * We need to build our future based on "freedom based on love based on basic human rights." ## Implications & Consequences * If the myth is not debunked, society remains vulnerable to "weaponizing hate fear racism and xenophobia." * Consequences of current systems: Indefinite detention, abuse, deportation, and making life in the UK unbearable for migrants. * If systemic issues are ignored, people will continue to suffer from climate change, poverty, and inequality. ## Open Questions * Why are people so sure that people are going to voluntarily leave the UK due to the hostile environment? * How can the fundamental conflict between the system and human rights be resolved? ## Verbatim Moments * "the myth of migration is the most powerful insidious and dangerous myths of our time today." * "deeming debunking the myth of migration is an act of justice." * "borders are man-made so if you're hearing in the breath sick talks the issue of the Irish border it's because of how they're going to maintain that border because it's very much my maid it's a social construct." * "it's bringing the movement of people into the realm of security." * "weaponizing hate fear racism and xenophobia into a system legitimizing that and using it to marginalize and abuse the most vulnerable people in our society." * "Dyson can take you know their factories move it to India or Bangladesh and exploit cheap labor there there's no border issue." * "it's only making very few people rich." * "the system punishes us all and eleven people died as a result of Windrush before that cases could be resolved." * "the hostility environment has been essentially what it was." * "it's not a system of law it's not a lawful system rather it is the sister it no this is not a glitch in a system sorry it is the system they have violated no law it is the law that is violating them." * "choose love that's all you can do"