Call for proposals: Publication on "Integration beyond Migration"

(via Black Women in Europe Blog)


picture credit

Call for proposals: Publication on "Integration beyond Migration"

As a reflection of the debates in the Member States, the current EU debate on integration repeatedly combines the issues of migration and integration by maintaining a restrictive approach to integration policy focusing primarily on the integration of Third-Country Nationals. As a typical example, the 2004 EU Common Basic Principles on integration have been developed within the broader framework of the management of migration and its consequences, and therefore primarily concern migrants and Third-Country Nationals. However, people from a migrant background born in Europe or people from a European minority ethnic or religious background can no longer be considered as migrants as they are facing an entirely different set of challenges and hurdles in their integration process - many of which are certainly more akin to the integration/inclusion issues faced by specific economic classes of the majority community (in terms of poverty, underachievement in education, etc.). The linkages between anti-discrimination, integration and social inclusion therefore need to be rethought to develop a new approach to this policy area and enhance policy coherence. It is important that EU integration policies not only focus on new arrivals, but on the social inclusion of all migrants and minorities, irrespective of when they arrived in the EU.

Deadline 2o September 2010. More details here.

Moving Up

On a slightly off note, I just wanted to congratulate my lovely Aunt Genevieve who was recently named Ghana's new ambassador to France.



As they say in Ghana, ayekooooooooooooooooooo! (means something like "well done", but better).

Invisible Inflows

Two Latin American women who've been living in Spain without papers - Source

We recently had some family visitors from Germany, and at one point I was asked how life is here in Slovenia for immigrants.

This is a tough question. I gave a few anecdotes about poor pay, about other people of various backgrounds and their experiences, about how I get the sense that the Slovenian market doesn't really seem to know what to do with immigrants unless they are uneducated Bosnians here to do manual labour. All in all, it is very tough to say exactly how things are. It is one thing to talk about The Erased, but yet another thing to talk about The Invisible -- those who do not appear on public register, and even when they do, they cannot materialize on the social register. The immigrant experience is so very personal in so many ways that I would never be able to (and am not really interested to) comment on. But on the public scale, I rarely see immigrants on television except for the few times that the cart out some fortunate (usually European) foreigner who has triumphantly learned the language. So it's all so tough to say.

Today I came across this fantastic survey of immigration in Malta, Cyprus, and Slovenia. It is only 17 pages and certainly worth a read. Very illuminating.

"Where Slovenia is defined as a country of immigration there is an implicit understanding that this refers to mainly European migrants. People from outside of Europe (i.e. ‘Asians’ as defined in the table) are deemed at best to be a transient population, on their way further west to Italy, France or the UK. The experience of 2000 served to reinforce this perception. Asians, it was suggested during one of the interviews, are not attracted to Slovenia because of its image as a ‘communist’ country.

The distinction between the two migrant groups is problematic for two reasons. There is first and foremost the risk of racially profiling migrants. It is the non-white population who seem not to form part of the Slovenia’s immigration profile. In the case of some Asian migrants residing in Slovenia, this has led to questioning their motives for being there. The recent growth in the number of Chinese migrants, who work mainly in Chinese restaurants, has become a source of intrigue and suspicion. There are doubts over the economic viability of the restaurants, and an assumption that the businesses are simply fronts for illegal activities."

Read more here.

Old Friends

The Initiative of Five at a meeting in New York, 1960

Gregor and other people kept mentioning this "thing"to me, a "thing" in which Yugoslavia used to be a part of with a bunch of other countries including many African nations. As a result of said "thing" there were a lot of Africans coming to work and study in Yugoslavia and a lot of Yugoslavians going to work in Africa (and other places). I was never quite sure was this "thing" was so I finally sat down and Google'd it.

It turns out it was the Non-Aligned Movement. A group of nations whose purpose, according to the Wiki, is/was to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their "struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, Zionism, and all forms of foreign aggression, occupation, domination, interference or hegemony as well as against great power and bloc politics." Wow! People used to have big ideas 50 years ago! I guess all that just sounds like crazy talk now. The picture at the heading of this entry features the founding members AKA "The Initiative of Five" (Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Sukarno of Indonesia and Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia). This picture is a great find, and I am most excited to see Nkrumah and Tito together since my family is from Ghana!

The group certainly seems to have had its ups and downs since the end of the Cold War, and the movement has weakened considerably, with most of the European countries have deserted the group to get (or vie for) EU membership. Nonetheless, my discovery of this group, has got me excited about the past and the future. It makes me feel like things are not so startling new here in Slovenia. It makes me feel like the world isn't so big and strange after all, and even though things have changed a lot in the last 50 years, maybe I'm just here to work with and live amongst long-lost old friends.

In A Land Far Far Away

On this, the eve of Kosovo's "independence"*, I feel the need:

first, to post the map of former Yugoslavia so my family and friends can see how far away Slovenia is from the drama


Look Mom, look Pop, no danger!

AND
secondly, to post some educational links about the situation for your leisurely perusal:

• Kosovo on Wikipedia
• Doug's (only slightly dated) summary of Kosovo's current situation
• Recent brief thoughts from Doug on A Fistful of Euros
• Recent educational discussion on Pengovsky
• Dr. Filomena's poll
• New Kosovareport

Knowing is Growing, peoples!


*I am tempted to post a link to the Merriam-Webster definition of independence, but I don't want to have any fur fly. I'll stand here on the safe sidelines for now.

Friendly Skies No More

I just got this from my mother.....

The Guardian
Monday February 11 2008
Bush orders clampdown on flights to US:
EU officials furious as Washington says it wants extra data on all air passengers

The US administration is pressing the 27 governments of the European Union to sign up for a range of new security measures for transatlantic travel, including allowing armed guards on all flights from Europe to America by US airlines.

The demand to put armed air marshals on to the flights is part of a travel clampdown by the Bush administration that officials in Brussels described as "blackmail" and "troublesome", and could see west Europeans and Britons required to have US visas if their governments balk at Washington's requirements.

According to a US document being circulated for signature in European capitals, EU states would also need to supply personal data on all air passengers overflying but not landing in the US in order to gain or retain visa-free travel to America, senior EU officials said.

And within months the US department of homeland security is to impose a new permit system for Europeans flying to the US, compelling all travellers to apply online for permission to enter the country before booking or buying a ticket, a procedure that will take several days.

The data from the US's new electronic transport authorisation system is to be combined with extensive personal passenger details already being provided by EU countries to the US for the "profiling" of potential terrorists and assessment of other security risks.(click here to read the rest)

At first glance, the article struck me as a bit alarmist, but it appears to be true. Here is another report from The Daily Mail.

Apparently, Brussels is urging the EU states to stand together and bargain collectively but the Czech Republic seems be scrambling to sign it, with Greece next in line...Now I'm not holding out much hope that Slovenia will be some kind of maverick and stand up and say no, but I hope that -- as the current president of the EU--they might at least be swayed to toe the party line....We'll see.

Uh... Where?

For all those people who are STILL confused as to where in the world I live, Der Spiegel recently published a very good and thorough profile of Slovenia , with background on the country and the potential (good and bad) ramifications of Slovenia's current position as EU president.

As for WHY I am here, I'm still in the process of getting my head checked....



(thanks, Dr. Fil!)

Srečno Novo Leto? Let's Get On The Map!

Happy New Year! Or so I thought....



I've spent the last three weeks trying to explain to friends and family where in the world I have moved to and just last night I had to explain to a sofa full of people that not only do I not live in Russia, but I've never even been there. It's been pretty maddening. So I've been quite eager for the Slovenian EU presidency to get the show on the road so the place can finally get on the map (and I can sip drinks and eat party snacks in peace). But according to this BBC article , sexing up the place is not part of the plan...

"We want to make the Western Balkans stable and predictable, maybe even boring," says Mr Kacin (Jelco Kacin, Slovenian Member of the European Parliament).

"That's why we would like to fill the gap between Ljubljana and Thessaloniki [in Greece] with member states."

And Slovenia? Is that boring, I wonder?

"Since we are taking over the presidency in a few weeks I believe that we are boring enough that everybody is recognizing Slovenia as a boring, predictable state."


In a world with tabloids chock full of people famous for nothing, why oh why would Slovenia want to do so much and still go unrecognized? It simply makes no sense. While I've already suspected Slovenia of having a slight problem with self-esteem, this new plan is downright self-loathing. Something must be done!

Lucky for everyone, I am headed down to LA in just a few days. I'll see what I can do to get Slovenia an A-list publicist or Hollywood agent, someone that can get the country seen and heard. It won't be easy, but it'll be worth it! This campaign has only begun and it is headed in the wrong direction. I can call Slovenian people many things, but boring isn't one of them...bored maybe, but never boring!

Footloose and Borderfree

While people in America are scrambling to erect borders on every eligible piece of land, in many European countries the borders are falling down as part of the Schengen agreeement . Slovenia is one of those countries, and is featured in an informative little pictorial on the BBC news site. The crummy photo representing Slovenia gives me a somber reminder that when I go dancing across one of those borders in a few weeks I'll probably be passing some very sad, soon-to- be-unemployed, border guards.

Slovenia in the Economist

I have been amazed with how horrendous news coverage is here, in the states. I watched NBC Nightly News and their major stories were about snow, staph infection, and a special CSI unit for pet crimes. There was nothing they'd reported on that was Actual News. Even when I took off my Expat Snob glasses it was still abominable. There are a number of stories that I'd been following via BBC and Sky News when I was in Europe and I haven't heard any mention of them on any channel since I've been here. I have not even seen any coverage of Iraq or anything. I guess I am going to have to rely solely on the internet for news whilst I'm here.

One of the stories I have been following with great interest is the Kosovo imbroglio in Serbia. The Economist has a good write up (a few weeks old, I'm sorry) about the effect Slovenia's fast approaching EU presidency may/could have on helping the EU deal with this conflict. I hadn't really considered the points the article raises, but now I have my fingers crossed that Slovenia will be The Little Engine That Could on this issue.


(Photo from Economist by Peter Schrank. Thanks to Marko Bucik for linking that article!)