When Migrant Autonomy is Mistaken for Exclusion
BIRMM OP-ED N° 04/2025
By Duha Ceylan
Duha Ceylan wrote a text that challenges us to rethink what inclusion really means and to recognize the importance of spaces where migrants can gather autonomously, share knowledge, and imagine collectively, without having to justify their existence. This op-ed examines how migrant-led initiatives in academia—and beyond—are scrutinized in ways that maintain institutional comfort for those already in power. A must-read for anyone interested in migration, higher education, diversity, and the politics of inclusion.
Read the full op-ed here
The EU's new asylum 'safe countries' list is a fantasy wonderland
BIRMM OP-ED N° 03/2025
By Gaia Romeo and Frowin Rausis
Gaia Romeo and Frowin Rausis unpack how the EU’s new asylum legislation turns “safe countries” into a political fiction, at the expense of human rights, solidarity, and the EU’s own values. EU member states have recently agreed on new asylum legislation centred on the notion of “safe countries”. While presented as a milestone for EU asylum policy, these measures introduce an EU-wide list of “safe countries of origin” and significantly expand the use of third-country responsibility for asylum processing. BIRMM researcher Gaia Romeo, together with Frowin Rausis, critically examine the assumptions underpinning these policies and situate them within longer-standing attempts to externalise asylum. Their piece argues that “safe country” frameworks are weakly grounded in empirical realities, risk human rights violations, and are unlikely to achieve their stated policy objectives — while further eroding access to international protection.
Read the full op-ed here
Narratives of Mobility and Care: Women of 'Windrush' and Migratory Ambivalence
BIRMM OP-ED N° 02/2025
By Tola Ositelu
Tola Ositelu wrote an eye-opening piece on why the overlooked stories of Windrush women healthcare workers matter in today’s hostile migration climate. Britain’s NHS is often celebrated as a cornerstone of the British welfare state. Yet far less attention has been paid to the women of the Windrush generation whose labour sustained it, and whose stories remain fragmented, marginalised, or erased. In her op-ed, PhD researcher Tola Ositelu explores how care, migration and colonial legacies intersect, and why centring the experiences of Windrush women healthcare workers matters, particularly in today’s hostile migration climate. This op-ed connects care work, migration, and colonial histories to contemporary hostile migration policies.
Read the full op-ed here
More Than Work and Housing: Why Public Spaces are Crucial for Integration
BIRMM OP-ED N° 01/2025
By Tulya Su Güven
In this op-ed, Tulya Su Güven explains why everyday public spaces like parks, cafés, community centres are so crucial for the social ties of newcomers and why we should protect them. Integration debates often focus on work, housing, and language acquisition. But what happens after work, outside the classroom, and beyond formal policy frameworks? Tulya argues that belonging is deeply shaped by everyday public spaces - places of informal encounter where social ties quietly take root. Drawing on research with newcomers in Belgium, the piece highlights why these “ordinary” places are anything but marginal, and why policymakers should recognise them as core pillars of integration. If we want people to feel at home, we also need to make room for encounter.