The new public enemy or victims of the state?

Migrants in contemporary European politics and the media

Film screening and debate at Fafo in relation to the “Human Rights, Human Wrongs” Film festival
Thursday 4 February 2010, 15-17
At Fafo's conference centre, Borggata 2B, Oslo.
The debate will be in English.

News reports about migrants increasingly focus on their mobility as a transgression of European immigration management and a threat to local populations. Not only are they crossing borders, they are also seen as challenging European citizens right to work and welfare. It is in particular irregular migrants, often referred to as illegals in news reports that seem to cause most moral indignation. This was highlighted in recent events in town of Rosarno in Southern Italy, where rioting broke out in early January after an attack on immigrant farm workers by local youths. Hundreds of irregular migrants is reported to work in the agricultural industry of the region, as is also the case in many other countries in Europe. The migrants involved in the riots were mostly Africans, and after a second day of attacks on migrants in the city police escorted them out of the city. Similarly, there has recently been discussion on the rights of irregular migrants to receive health care in Norway.

In today’s event we will discuss irregular migration, but from the point of departure of the documentary “Europe or Die Trying”. It is one of three parts of the BBC Panorama series “Migrants, Go Home!” where reporter Paul Kenyon explores controversial questions in European immigration control. The control of “Europe’s external borders”, as Kenyon illustrates, among others involves a highly questionable collaboration between Libya and Italy both to stop boats crossing the Mediterranean and detention centres for migrants in Libya itself.

The film is 30 min long and Kenyon himself will be present during the event. The panel will discuss the representation of irregular migrants and their routes in European media: how come people engage in high-risk activities to achieve mobility? What are the human rights of irregulars? And what are the responsibilities of European states towards irregular migrants? Yet, there is also a tendency to describe migrants as victims without agency, but is this an appropriate way to describe them?

The debate

Fafo researcher Cecilie Øien will host the debate.

The other participants in the debate will be:

BBC reporter Paul Kenyon

Senior researcher Jørgen Carling, The International Peace Research Institute (PRIO), Oslo

Independent researcher Laura Agustín

The event is open to the public and free of charge. No registration required.

Links

Human Rights, Human Wrongs, festival programme

BBC's Panorama web site