Raju Miah Blogs

UNHCR “1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees”

Define American “Words Matter”

Define American “Words Matter” Tal Kopan, “Justice Department: Use ‘illegal aliens,’ not ‘undocumented’” CNN

 

UNHCR “1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees”

• In 1951 the UN adopts The Convention
• Originally limited to only Europe but the removal of the geographical and temporal limits happened in the 1967 Protocol
• Quote – “A refugee, according to the Convention, is someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion”
• The convention principles are non-discrimination, non – penalization, and non-refoulment
  • Convention cannot be deterred by sex, race, ethnicity, disability, etc.
  • Specific exceptions apply but refugees should not be penalized for illegal entry
• This bring upon the recognition of seeking asylum can require refugees to breach immigration rules

 

 

Define American “Words Matter”

• Media using undocumented immigrants as illegal
• 40% for undocumented immigrants arrive legally through visas
• Not a crime for a removable alien to remain in the US
• Word choice matters especially in politics where bias and agenda can be deciphered through word choice alone
• The term illegal has obscured the definitions and meaning behind immigrants, misdemeanor, alien, etc.
• Quote – “Phrases such as “illegal immigrant” and “illegal alien” replace complex and ever-changing legal circumstances with an unspecified assumption of guilt.”
  • The generalization of immigrants with terms such as illegal and alien creates a humane issue where people are being mistreated based of their actions andf are being classes as one section. When we create generalizations of names for the sake of consistency we lose the individuality of each person’s case.
• How has word choice and how you call on somebody effected you in day to day life? Is this consistent through race, color, sex, or status or generalized like how the DOJ wants it?

 

 

Define American “Words Matter” Tal Kopan, “Justice Department: Use ‘illegal aliens,’ not ‘undocumented’” CNN

• The justice department is notifying US attorneys to call “undocumented” immigrants as illegal aliens
  • People without papers, waiting on their application, seeking asylum etc. is all categorized in one when we add the term illegal into anything,
• Quote – “A Justice Department spokesman did not dispute the authenticity of the email and pointed to the line about seeking consistency and remedying confusion.”
  • The article talks about the  Department trying to be consistent in their terminology and remedying confusion. But how can you be consistent in a society where immigration laws are always changing, what is illegal and legal is always changing, as well how we call each other because terminology will always be changing. We can’t start simplifying terms and people cause that when mistreatment happens and it dehumanizes people and makes them into statistics instead of special individual cases.
• If you worked at the Department of Justice what is one change you would do to give more of an advantage to refugees looking for help?

 

 

In the 1951 convention a refugee is denied as “someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” This definition was limited in Europe but removes geological limits on the Convention. Naming and how it effects our view on people that go through the process in migration is very important but looked over. The way we describe people illegal, alien, etc. makes them foreign and outlandish scaring people and automatically assuming it is bad. But when we explain the situations refugees go through talking about what they are exactly escaping from and look at it from a humane and caring point of view it shows another side to the migration. Illegal immigrant and refugee are not the same people can come to this country and still not be illegal it is considered a misdemeanor actually. People waiting on papers or asylum also not illegal but when we generalize such a broad term as migration then issues arise from that. So the reasoning behind the Department of Justice to keep things simple and to clear confusion is actually doing the opposite and obstructing our view on the clearer picture of migration.

 

3/5

 

1. • Australian Government Video, “No Way”
     • Video was made by the Australian Government to endure transparency of translated anti-people smuggling communication material being delivered to audiences offshore
     • Policy of the Australian government to safely remove any foreign objects in the water
     • No exceptions of age, gender, or race of the people smugglers
     • If you come to Australia illegally by boat it will not be your home
   • Stricter Asylum Regulations in Norway
     • Leaving your country whether for a better future, job, etc. is not accepted and must go back
     • Since 2014 almost 10,000 people almost died trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea
     • ” Why risk your life and use your savings to pay smugglers when you will not get permission to stay “
   • Gil Kerlikowski discussing the “Know the Facts” campaign
     • Interview near the border
       • U.S Customers and Border Protection Commissioner Gil Kerlikowske
     • Talking about bring clothes and health care services to the kids
     • Transportations and food was also given
     • Preparing for more people because of the laws in place

    

   Sarah Bishop, “An International Analysis of Governmental Media Campaigns to Deter Asylum Seekers”

   • Analyzes the way that government funded deterrence campaigns offer material directives that
     1. Discursively divide the nature of the threats posed when individuals seek asylum
     2. Omitting knowledge and information from migrants about asylum creating blindness in the audience
   • Australia’s “Operation Sovereign Borders” campaign talks upon the struggles of controlling illegal migration and smuggling through the waters of Australia
     • ” However, the government has struggled to anticipate and control migrants arriving by boat. When asylum seekers reach Australia, they are placed in mandatory detention while their cases are processed.”
       • The country is having issues keeping control of people and not know where to put them. This makes officials put them in detention centers and cells making them seem as they committed a crime while they are just trying to escape danger and create a better life
       • This brings upon the issues of human rights vs law
         • Where is the line drawn between human rights and  law
         • Should law accommodate to human rights or what we have now is what we should keep.

    

   The campaign material we see shows the separation between law and human rights. Talking about the history of other countries and how they faced off the issue of human right vs law and what is right and wrong can help us see what solutions can be made to the immigration and border problems we have to this date. With the numbers rising and laws getting more stricter and people still dying in centers while they wait for paperwork to be sent back or in jail time is not on our side. So with examples of past events it can show the solutions to the problems that these countries are trying to fix. Instead of using scare tactics and threats there has to be another way to fix this,

    

   3/5

This Weeks Materials

• A House Divided by Immigration Status,” National Public Radio
• Caitlin Dickerson, “Baby Constantin,” New York Times
• Former First Lady Laura Bush, “Separating Children…Breaks My Heart”

 

Caitlin Dickerson, “Baby Constantin,” New York Times

 

• The youngest known child taken from his parents at the US Mexico border was a 4-month-old baby names Constantin Mutu
• Vasile and Florentina Mutu received medical treatment for physical and emotional harm from the separation from Constantin
• Vasile and Florentina Mutu left their home in early 2018 from Mexico to seek asylum
• Lose each other in Mexica after US border agents took them in in Texas, they were returned Romania from Mexico
• Vasile was pushed to drop his asylum application because of his past criminal record

 

 

Laura Bush: Separating children from their parents at the border ‘breaks my heart’

 

• Late June US citizens and immigrations  services employees received notices to prepare for unpaid
  • 13,400 employees around 2/3 of the staff
  • They run the legal immigration services
    • Like citizenship and green card applications
  • Visas given out is down 90%
  • Revenue since March is down 50%
    • Pandemic has made any revenue from business even immigration plummet
• Trumps new zero-tolerance policy has stripped parents from their kids
  • 2000 children taken 100 under 4 years old
• ” We pride ourselves on acceptance. If we are truly that country, then it is our obligation to reunite these detained children with their parents ”
  • Americas is very well known for a place of acceptance, liberty, and dreams. When that’s the image you presume to the world hope is given out to people in these countries and it is crushed upon arrival it doesn’t it contradicts the statement that America is known for. With boundaries and labels still being a thing we set upon each other the barrier between humane and illegal is foggier than ever.
  • How has migration set the tone of your families dynamic inside and outside the house?

 

My families migration history is pretty straightforward my parents were born and raised in Bangladesh and moved to American around 1997-1998. We preserve traditions and our cultures by celebrating holidays such as Eid, cooking traditional recipes like biryani, talking the dialect our parents learned. As well as the neighborhood I live in is dominantly Bengalis with Bengali owned, restaurants, grocery stores, and signs and decoration without language on it. The change of atmosphere my parents were in compared to living in America is a huge factor in the parts of our culture being left out. As we go outside, scroll through the internet, meet new people new ideals, cultures, languages, food, and many more is experienced in America. We start having favorites places to go or places to see and we start acclimating to the American lifestyle slowly losing touch with our own culture and traditions. Instead we find ourselves either in a confusion of which is us or a blend of both cultures.

The Washington Post and Laura Bush talked about the separation of children because of Trumps new border and immigration policies. The culture that is appearing is a confused state where people don’t know what is right or wrong, just or unjust, and what is the law and who decides when it is right and wrong.

 

Immigration Nation Episode 1: Installing Fear  /  Immigration and Customs Enforcement Video “Think you know ICE?”

 

 

Immigration Nation Episode 1: Installing Fear

• Ice is sweeping neighborhoods because of Trumps new act where illegal immigrants can be detained is warrant is made
  • They don’t have to commit a crime no more
  • As well as collaterals where illegal is detained because their we in the area of the illegal migrant originally intended to be caught
  • A event in the story that shows discrepancy between  supervisors and field agents where field agents are showing empathy towards illegal residents and some don’t even take collaterals but supervisors push for numbers and mandate to get more than 1 per operation
• half a million undocumented
• half a million permanent residents ” All a part of this life blood in this city”
• Term Good Game is used when illegal resident was caught
• In the episode Ice is shown in 2 different setting
  • The supervisors who stay in the base
  • And The police officers who are in the field
• Ice fugitive operations are deportations officers tasked with locating, arresting, and removing fugitive aliens
• In 2003 only 8 units now there are 129 units
• Domestic terrorist is what people call them
• Rule of law is broken when you are detaining people who are doing daily activities like doctors’ appointments and going to school
  • POV of Becca Heller a human rights lawyer
• Empathy and human emotion is lost and hindered with the new rule of picking up as many illegal migrants as they can
  • Names and faces get jumbled and politics take place where human emotions
  • Families being ripped apart of their families after decades have to forever leave their families behind not seeing them again
    • 2300 kids are ripped apart from their families all alone with the operations
  • Families are broken with these new acts and people are getting sent back to their countries they escaped form
  • ICE is sending people back without care of what happens to them once they cross
• ICE mentality that the law is the law and that they just follow what is being told gives a robotic and no emotion tone where moments of sadness that the interviews with the men getting deported sheds tears in the views eyes
• The Netflix episode uses movie like cinematics and transitions to amplify the dark and gloomy setting that’s upon what we don’t see every day.
  • With dramatic music, slow motion usage, camera angles, close ups and sound effects of chains and door knocking it gives a personal feel and experience on what an ICE officer see and goes through
    • Their emotions and how it effects them as a person a job that they applied for

 

The Netflix episode Immigration Nation – Installing Fear gives us a cinematic and dramatic view on ICE and what they do. We usually see the after of what ICE does or hear stories on the news or media but this documentary gives us a combination of documentary style interviews, cinematic movie like camera angles, enhanced sound effects, etc. With a look in to ICE culture inside their base where they are usually isolated from the process of removing illegals all they look for is numbers and doing the “right” thing. The definition of justice is lost and clouded in the world of ICE. Where is the line between criminal and human, the treatment and wording of Ice officials is disgusting treating them as numbers and as things. Usually justified by their own definition of right because it’s the “law” so it has to be right. The close interactions we see with families like for example Geronimo where we see him getting taken from his daughter and wife and have last goodbyes. Geronimo and his family doesn’t know why they are being taken away and ICE doesn’t know how to reply as to why they are taking him. This interaction shows the lost touch politics has to human emotion and to people who live in their jurisdictions.

Question – Should there be another step between when Ice captures illegal migrants and deportation? Should there be programs where illegal migrants can help back their community for residency?

Quote – ” I think when you punish people for showing up to their court dates or for going to the hospital or for reporting domestic violence you really break apart the rule of law but the purpose of ICE is to enforce the rule of law you’re getting some e really preserve outcomes”

 

 

Immigration and Customs Enforcement Video “Think you know ICE?”

• Super hero and motivating music
• All job aspects are being shown mostly jobs that are not in the field showing them taking people
• Jobs are focused on criminal activities and not removing people.
• Protecting children from sex crimes
• Pursuing human tights violating
• Cooperating border enforcements
• Protecting cultural properties
• Investigating cybercrime activities
• Victim identification
• Investigating smuggling and human trafficking
• Enforcing intellectual property

Question – How can ICE help clear up the line between crime and law with human rights and empathy?

ICE is portrayed drastically different in this short clip compared to the Netflix episode. With upbeat and motivating music and clips of different job requirements ICE has it gives a hopeful approach to the video like they actually fixing something.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4/5

 

Today’s Sources

• Parag Khanna and Kailash Prasad, “How Coronavirus Could Make People Move,”
• “ The Importance of Effective Communication While Working from Home ” Platform Magazine
• World Economic Forum, “ Shutdown of Border Leaves Migrants in Limbo ”

 

-World Economic Forum, “ Shutdown of Border Leaves Migrants in Limbo ”

• Officials are going to turn away most migrants from the southern border even if they are escaping violence
• Trump wants to tighten the border control so the virus doesn’t spread
• 7 months waiting for asylum of new York
• Where they live you get extorted, attacked in your own house, and death threats
• Had to hide their identity

Centro Scalabrini a shelter for asylum member

• People in the shelter
• Chad World the acting secretary of Homeland Security says they are doing what’s best for the health of the migrants and the workers near the border

Quote – “ I’m 68 I shouldn’t even be down here I should be up in room for 2 months but my heart doesn’t let me do that ” 3:09

• This quote came up in the interview with Pat Murphy who is Casa Del Migrant the main reason why I like this quote because it shows the difference between people who work and help migrants to actually receive help and politicians whose superficial and mundane personas show they barley care.
• Food For Thought – If politicians worked hands on and on site of the border, how would their actions and personas change?

 

-“ The Importance of Effective Communication While Working from Home ” Platform Magazine

• The flexibility that comes from working from home
  • Time
  • More sleep
  • Food anytime
  • Parents can stay with their kids
• While working from home has upsides downsides can be that communication in the workspace is altered or hindered because of the lack of face to face contact and experience.
• Another issue arises which is mixing home life and work life
  • A lot of people can’t be full time parents, worker, student, and teacher at the same time they describe it in the article
• Joseph Rix a decision science analyst at USAA has 7 years’ work from home experience he gave some tips and thoughts
  • You have to make your own dedicated work space
  • Have a set schedule
  • Since its pandemic times it’s going to be hard staying home with family members and kids in the house
• Ella Barton who is an events coordinator for the US Chamber of Commerce says getting responses between coworkers is harder because they are not near you
  • Using email, texting, and calling is convenient where you can do it anytime but the issues arise from the response times and connection to internet.

Quote ” Without face-to-face contact, remote workers must be intentional about communicating with co-workers, bosses, employees and others.” This quote caught my eye cause the word intentional was used meaning that before quarantine communication in the workspace was limited and avoided. This can help companies determine the best course of actions if sales and advertising go up because communication rises between employees then the company might permanently adopt the work from style

Food For Thought – Would a hybrid work from home and in person workspace be beneficial to a company? Think about if sales was face to face but the advertising team was work from home?

 

-Parag Khanna and Kailash Prasad, “How Coronavirus Could Make People Move,”

• The question arises from how the corona virus changing “how we live” to “where we live?”
• People are predicting people will move out of crowded city areas and into more spacious land where the virus is less likely to spread
• Migration has stopped
  • Flights being canceled
  • Executive orders
• Talks about how moving out US and in a country with a more universal and better healthcare might appeal to people moving now that the virus opened our eyes to what life may be like for a while

 

 

We all have experienced our lives slowly shift from the beginning of the year to now. Some might love it like my introvert sister who stays home all day watching anime and school work. On the other hand there people like me who needs to go outside for that mental break and fresh air. But there is up and downs to the situation we are living in saving time from not traveling, less expenses on food and shopping since stores and restaurants were closed. With our hectic New York lifestyle we actually had time to be with family. Some disadvantages that raised from being in quarantine and the work from home lifestyle is that you lose that in person experience and bonding. That social aspect of doing a presentation in front of people or working and meeting with students outside of your class time we  lost that experience that going to college was supposed to bring. My orientation in my home is setup with my work space in room with my laptop and pc. Every day is pretty similar just some days I have zoom classes some days I don’t, after I would go workout, then come home to my workstation and do homework and study for the remainder of my day. Some patterns and skills like email checking, journal writing, and time management raised form school at home because you have no body to push yourself but you. Being limited to only digital interactions a lot of boredom occurred peoples responsibilities shifted. More people either became more religious or started to go have fun more with the more time quarantine gave us. Keeping a constant interaction with you friend’s like through snapchat or Instagram is a good way to stay connected. With co-workers using their numbers instead of email works better in my opinion. With classmates a group chat is very useful because usually a question arises and instead of typing it individually to each other you can shoot a text to everyone at the same time.

 

4/5

 

 

 

The Courage Poster by UNHCR has many aspects to hit that portray it to be a artifact that can go through narrative analysis it hit all 4 characteristics with a unified subject, a casual relationship, a stative or active component, as well as events being in time order. The narrative encourages the brave nature and the fearlessness refugees go through to migrate out of their countries. We tend to overlook the life and death situations that they face being comfy in America where food, water, and shelter is almost handed to us. Where as these refugees escaping from these countries are fighting just for basic human rights. The narrative in which the poster is from UNHCR there main priority is to protect these refugees there values are very humane and sees people as people and not some alien or outside being trying to colonize their territory. Where media views refugees as either dangerous, virus like, and foreign UNHCR gives home and empowerment to refugees seeing them as courageous and brave. The narrative portrays ethical standards in a different form by explaining what refugees go through being attacked, dehydrated, starving, and attacked tugging on our heart strings and using our imagination to only imagine what they go through. By explaining in detail the process a refugee goes through to even escape the country they are from we create out own ethical standards in our head because we wouldn’t want to go through even half of what they go through.  One question I have on the after seeing the poster is the after on the person life it would inspire even more people and change other peoples opinions on the negative thoughts that come with the word refugee. Showing how they are just people like me and you and who is reading this, where we have access to even read about their lives.

 

Some artifacts I found interesting

• First one is an interview with Joe Biden
• Second Speech by Maximo Alvarez
• Third a children book by Anna Kim

Joe Biden Outlines Immigration Plan For First 100 Days In Office | NBC News

From <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPr4f-DIP1o&ab_channel=NBCNews>

• Talks about fixing where Donald Trump left off (undoing damage)
• Modernizing the immigration system
• Provide a road map for citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants
• Immediate action to protect the eligible 100,000 dreamers

 

Cuban Immigrant’s Teary-Eyed Speech About His Love For America Sends SHOCKWAVES Across Nation

From <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbWQHiamkfY&ab_channel=BlazeTV>

• Maximo Alvarez emotional and teary eyed speech
  • A Cuban Immigrant who became Sunshine’s Gasoline Distributors Founder and President
• Views President Trump as a family man friend and views him as a president who put America first
• Talks about the sacrifices family’s made to come to America to live here and become a citizen death, starvation, etc to run from Fidel’s Castro communist ideals
• Chooses President Trump because of America and Freedom

 

Danbi Leads the School Parade by Anna Kim

• A children Book – Take on how migration effects children especially in school where they are by themselves and have to deal with the issues that come from being an immigrant
• Language barrier between teacher and student causes trouble in learning ability
• Connecting to other students is challenging as well due to lack of similarities
• Creates a game where her culture and America culture can combine creating an atmosphere all students can play and get along like a melting pot.

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Migration is something we see naturally in nature where birds and other species would move for survival. The way it is painted in our textbooks is also splattered on the media we consume everyday. Migration is seen negativity in due to people worry of their country being ” taken over ” or lack of jobs. The picture I chose for my header which was illustrated by Ewa Mazur caught my attention for 2 reasons specifically. The art style which put a different take from the serious tone that news channel gives you when they talk about migration. Using a colorful crayon look brings upon a different view on migration through a kids perspective more specifically an unbiased and innocent look on migration. Thus bringing upon my second reason of seeing migration as something beautiful bringing cultures, religions, traditions, music, food, etc together is something quite pleasant to think about in a society where labels and boxes are subconsciously put on by us.