Podcast
25. Europe: Building solidarity with Migrants and Refugees
Earlier this year, Poland’s citizens were praised for showing Ukrainian refugees such generous support as they crossed the border fleeing Russia’s invasion. But alongside that feel-good news came other, less positive story – the open hostility shown to black and brown, queer and Roma people also trying to cross to safety. And the brutal treatment that border guards meted out to Syrian and Afghan migrants also attempting to enter Poland from Belarus. Activists trying to mobilize solidarity with any new arrivals are accustomed to expressions of xenophobia and racism from their fellow countrymen, whether overt or furtive, and to politicians stigmatizing minorities to build their base. But does that have to be the whole story? Is there a possibility of building deeper empathy and more support with the necessary work? Anna Alboth works for the Minority Rights Group in several European countries and has long experience of supporting migrants and refugees. She reflects on what might be possible. And in the Coda, muslim community activist Raheel Mohammed celebrates “waywardness” as a strategy for refusing oppression.