MEDIACTIVE ideas/knowledge/culture |
The
fourth issue of Mediactive takes on asylum. The media representation
of the asylum-seeker as stranger, social parasite, virus, recalls the
anti-semitic reaction to Jewish immigration at the beginning of the twentieth
century. What do the hateful and racist representations of migrants and
the individual paranoia invoked by cultural difference tell us about European
cultures? New Labour's employment policies and flexible labour market
suck in cheap illegal migrant labour even while its leading politicians
call for the rapid expulsion of economic migrants. How might we manage
the flow of people in a European-wide context? It is not easy to love
one's neighbour as one's self, but refugees and those seeking better life
for themselves and their families call for an ethical response from the
host society. Can we create a collective response to migration which is
just and equal, and based on mutual give-and-take and an ethic of concern
for the other?
The issue asks what it means to be a good neighbour; analyses the dynamics
of hate and xenophobia; addresses the politics of human security; argues
that refugees/asylum seekers are the coming condition humaine;
and sets out the ideas for a new European identity.
Contributors: Zygmunt Bauman, Rosemary Bechler, Farhad Dalal, Jonathan
Rutherford, Nira Yuval-Davis.
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