1. A shared tragedy in Greece and Macedonia
Hundreds of refugees crossing the river between Greece and Macedonia. The Channel 4 news’ video.
2. The AfD won in Germany – does this mean that Merkel lost ?
This past Saturday, Alternative für Deutschland scored an exceptional result in the local elections in three German Lands (Baden-Württemberg, Saxony-Anhalt and Rhineland-Palatine). However, the success of the populist extreme right does not necessarily mean that the pro-refugee policies of Angela Merkel and local governors lost. Actually, the opposite happened. Alberto Nardelli’s analysis for the Guardian sorts the truth out.
3. Doubts about the refugee agreement between EU and Turkey
The agreement between the Turkish Prime Minister and the leaders of the European States certainly impacts the situation of migrants; but in what way ? And more, is this agreement legal and consistent with the 1951 Refugee Convention ? Here’s the analysis by Robin Cohen, professor emeritus of Development Policies at the University of Oxford.
4. Violence –also in Europe– against refugee women
Almost 400,000 women applied for asylum in Europe in 2015. One third of the refugees crossed German and other European borders. During their journey in Africa or in the Middle East, many of them are reportedly harassed and abused. We now learn that violence against women continues – also in Europe.
5. The mayor’s profile
Giusi Nicolini, the mayor of Lampedusa, from the US perspective. Ozy dedicated a long profile to one of the most important characters in the refugee crisis.
6. Black life jackets
Wearing black lifejackets so the Coast Guard won’t see them. Migrants crossing the little gap between Turkey and Greece’s islands wear those lifejackets that make them invisible in the darkness. But these plastic jackets are also useless. Valerio Catali’s video for Tg2 news (one of Italy’s state broadcast channels.)
7. Ai WeiWei in Idomeni’s mud
“What we have seen here is unbelievable: in the middle of Europe, all those people stuck here, and no hope for them of even being transferred anywhere else. This is a huge violation of human rights, right in front of us”. The Chinese artist and activist Ai WeiWei shared his point of view under the pouring rain in the Idomeni camp.
8. The “birth” of the political refugee
In the 19th century, after wars and revolutions, a new figure emerged: the “political refugee”. However, 70 years after the legal recognition of the 1951 Geneva Convention, the vocabulary used by European states reflects the contradiction between their duty to protect and their fear of foreigners. A reflexion by Sylvie Aprile and Delphine Diaz for La vie des idées.
9. The migrant crisis in multimedia
A multimedia summary of the latest developments on the migrant crisis in Europe. Video, articles, infographics and animation to tell what has happened so far. Good work, as usual, by New York Times.
10. Trump, a return to a (racist) past
(Many) similarities and (few) differences between the language used by Donald Trump and that of the Ku Klux Klan, 20 years ago. In the successful race (for the moment) in the Republican primaries, the American billionaire is using nationalist and anti-migrants theories of the Ku Klux Klan. From the “100 percent Americanism” to the wall against migrants, The Atlantic explores a 100 years old history – which seems to be repeating.
