In all coverage of the migrants who drowned off coast of Italy, no explanation of transnational migration flows beyond “unrest in Africa.”

.@saramsalem will be tweeting from here later today regarding transnational migration & how it’s influenced by global economical structures

Hi! Sara Salem @saramsalem here! Wanted to talk to everyone about transnational migration today…

Yesterday the bodies of six Egyptian and Syrian migrants were found off the coast of Italy – aljazeera.com/news/europe/20…

What I find interesting in the coverage of these deaths is the complete lack of context re. transnational migration. (1)

Why are people risking their lives to move to Europe? Other than vague descriptions such as “unrest in Africa,” media doesn’t address this

Imbalance in distribution of resources is not an accident – Europeans living at this standard means most of the world has to live with less.

.@EleanorCS Very true. Accurate reporting might also show the role Europe has played still plays in underdeveloping African countries.

@WritersofColour I always find it ridiculous that these parasitic countries complain of a drain on resources because of immigrants

.@SandiaElectrica Yes! Not only are these developed countries parasitic, but they need cheap labour to continue to expand.

@WritersofColour I often wish I could transmit the info from Eduardo Galeano’s ‘Open Veins of Latin America’ into people’s heads

.@SandiaElectrica Oh wow, this book looks AMAZING! Can’t wait to read it! Thanks for the tip 🙂 amazon.com/Open-Veins-Lat…

@WritersofColour and the places they stole from remain on the back foot with export based economies, benefiting only the elites & the west

@WritersofColour‘Ask why they do this&u find they dnt hav reasons to go to europe-only reasons to not stay home;that is the pressing issue’

@writersofcolour Also those resources were – in the first instance – seized through colonial conquest. Historical context matters.

.@madomasi Yes! Historical context is almost always missing from analysis about migration, especially colonialism & its continuing impact.

Migration isn’t just about “those people leaving poor countries so they can live a better life” -> very shallow analysis. (1)

Question to ask is: why is the current global economic system the way it is, thus forcing current migration patterns? (2)

@kawrage @WritersofColour Esp when the myriad forms migration takes are so often lumped together & conflated w/ “asylum seekers”/”refugees”

Human aspect of migration is often ignored. Some mothers leave behind their children to take care of another woman’s children for money.

.@tehdannyhughes Yes this acknowledgment is missing from a lot of Europe’s left, who like to “save Africans’ w/o thinking of their privilege

@WritersofColour I’ve also heard some really sad stories of suicides caused by broken relationships, heartache and longing.

Much of the narrative in European media around asylum seekers is also problematic. There seem to be two dominant themes. (1)

@WritersofColour I agree, I also think the framing of “tolerant” is problematic as anything. It is not progressive to merely tolerate ppl.

The Netherlands, for example, proposed giving asylum to gay Iraqis. This was then used to show how tolerant NL is for “saving gay Iraqis.”

@WritersofColour Labelling such as asylum seeker, refugee, etc. is imperialist in tone and intent. National borders are anti-social.

Taking credit for allowing in asylum seekers/migrants w/o acknowledging your role in creating situation they are fleeing from is problematic