Interviews

I´ve been using a mixed-method approach in my conversations here, where multiple-choice answers are followed by space for comments. Since I´ve been informed that it´s ethically ok to do so, I´ll include interesting conversations in the comments section.

Granada, El Ejído...

Scattered reflections from the South.

Barra en el patio

In the patio of Castillo de Guzman el Bueno - a 9th Century fortress and now homebase for Fadaiat. At night DJs se music to live streaming images from Tangiers or Latvia, juxtaposed and projected onto the fortress walls. A further question raised by Fadaiat is how 4. technology which disregards borders can prompt radical encounters and challenge borders. And, importantly, does it make for good dancing?

Foobar TV

At night artists, architects, analysts, anarchists activists and presented movies or projects and the day's workshops were summarized. The theme of 3.cartography as an instrument of power and also of changing power relationships generated some of the most fruitful workshops, discussions and presentations.

Interesting - what parallel between mapping of territory and "mapping" of people through gradations of citizenship...

Setting

Tarifa - A city where one must really dig for a view that is not beautiful. Here are a few. Fortress Europe is both a new and an ancient concept on this coast.

Tagsueber1

The format of Fadaiat: During the day we had 2-4 "talleres" or workshops, which informed the evening presentations. There were also informally organized evening "Salons." I´ll list here the topics which I found most provocative and rattle off a few thoughts of my own.

1. Precariousness / Die Prekaeriat/ la precarizacion de la existencia. This is Fadaiat's most important contribution to the discourse on immigration and the future of the left in Europe and beyond. A brilliant answer to the riddle prompting Fadaiat, which is 'how to reconcile immigrant solidarity with leftist anti globalization forces?'

The answer is inscribed in Spanish history. Dissolve the binary prompted by citizenship, and focus on challenges faced by immigrants... and "native" workers (many Spanish workers were immigrants until very recently, and importantly many of them remember) ... and shared also by students buried in debt, artists, and 'knowledge workers.'
Importantly, "precariousness" cannot be applied universally to, for example, pscyhological conditions, as was argued by Sandro Mezzadra.

2. Biosindicalismo / Holistic unionism. Chavez's idea of a "Union in the Community" was well received and this would be an innovation to Europe in my opinion. As one old local reminded the group, however, it is essential to preserve the movement's memory. Bio unionism sounds very similar to what the Green Party advanced in the early 80's, and it would be important to learn from mistakes of the past. Interestingly the word 'ecology' came up to describe everything but nature.

Fadaiat (through my eyes) (for better coverage of the event see Fadaiat 2005 ´s page (with an English tr.) or the Neighborhood Public Radio site, which should be up in a few days. Rather than trying to document the event, I´ll suggest interesting questions which Fadaiat raised for me

I took this picture in Cádiz, birthplace of the first and frequently-cited Spanish Constitution. I had forty minutes between train from Madrid and bus to Tarifa, and I received the same answer I would later receive in Málaga: no, there aren´t any immigrant neighborhoods in this city.

The only immigration I could really make out was a very ancient migration of building styles and technologies.

From Fadaiat

Much to say from Tarifa -- I´ll leave it to the comments.

Franco´s Statue removed

Not only immigration: in many ways Spain is now experiencing what other European nations went through 15-30 years ago. An interesting comparison would be the removal of this statue with the dismantling of the statues of Lenin which were a staple of the Eastern European landscape for a half-century.

From Architecture exhibition at Nuevos Miniserios: "How to make possible the co-existence of the old population with the new?"

Lavapies: home to anarchists and immigrants. "In the true sense one's native land, with its background of tradition, early impressions, reminiscences and other things dear to one, is not enough to make sensitive human beings feel at home." Emma Goldman, Lituanian-born American anarchist.

Sign: House of Bangladesh (Small Grocery Story in Lavapies, Madrid). "The diverse spread of origin countries has been recogized as a characteristic trait of the Southern European immigration model." Joaquin Arango, 2000.

Laws of EU15 Ranked According to Immigrant Tolerance

(Published El País 13.6.2005) / (Note: the British Council study whose results are reported here are based strictly on the content of each nation´s laws. Also note that this study was conducted before, and without regard to, the Spanish regularizations of 2005.)

1. Belgium (most tolerant)
2. Holland
3. Switzerland
4. Portugal
5. Spain
6. France
7. Finland
8. UK
-- Average score (based on five inputs: labor market, obtaining residence, obtaining nationality, family consolidation, anti-discriminatory measures)
9. Italy
10. Ireland
11. Germany
12. Austria
13. Luxembourg
14. Greece
15. Denmark (least tolerant)

Economic Incentives for Human Rights

Under King King Mohammed VI and his predessor Morocco has taken steps towards human rights recognition, though the Western Sahara is, as ever, an open sore.

But why has Morocco made significant concessions on human rights in comparison to, say, Libya?

Those who realistically wish to initiate human rights reforms would do well to look to the political economy of Morocco, in relation to Spain, Portugal and Europe.

Rotten in Denmark and Lame in Spain

The anti-immigrant Danish People´s Party´s growing clout was reflected in February´s elections. Denmark´s immigration and asylum laws are widely hailed/decried as the strictest in Europe.

Last week saw an arson attack on the home of Denmark´s Minister of Immigration by a leftist group calling themselves "Beatte without Borders."

Meanwhile after a two day reunion here in Spain the OSCE culminated in the Cordoba Declaration, vowing again to keep better track of rising anti-Semitic and racist violence. As this article notes, the OSCE has no powers of enforcement beyond expulsion (and if anyone can find a historical example of this please pipe up). Many doubt with good reason that such pledges and laundry lists will result in enforced anti-racist policies.

If the extreme left-wing continues to marginalize itself with such acts -- similar to the "eco-terrorism" in California which fueled a public discourse linking activism/dissent to domestic terrorism to international terrorism -- and if the human rights community is content to echo "feel good" rhetoric, what pragmatic spheres of action exist for the concerned citizen and/or professional?

Castilla y Leon = Brandenburg? Galicia = Sachsen?

Many rural regions of Spain are experiencing human desertification a la East Germany. This article focuses on Castilla y Leon, but the theme of depopulation was also center-stage in recent state elections in Galicia. I was startled to read that the PP candidate supported more open immigration policies, but of course there are promising solutions involving immigration. However there would have to be some financial incentive for immigrants not to follow in every Galician´s footsteps to Madrid or Barcelona...

On the theme of Galicia (and the legalization human realities which pose no threat to society), I strongly recommend a movie which takes place mostly in Galicia called Mar Adentro.

Madrid Immigration Newspapers

My impression after 2 weeks here is that very well-written papers which cover immigration in general (Si Se Puede, Somos Iguales) suffer from funding shortages. Newspapers aimed at a general Latin American audience seem to be doing quite well and appear regularly, though I´ve yet to track down North African or Eastern European analogues. Papers specific to a single nationality are everywhere but are more than 1/2 advertisements.

Significance of Switzerland

Switzerland´s `yes` in its referendum to become part of the Schengen area should not be a surprise. The EU has thrived according to economic convenience and died in high profile crusades.

The SEA of the mid 80´s and the EU/EC´s other breakthroughs with political content have required strong leadership and, more importantly, economic optimism

Foes of "Amnesty" in America

The Heritage Foundation rails against proposals for opening up routes to normal legal status for immigrants in America. I´ll jot down a few problems with this article in the comments section.

Spanish Stat´s Suggest Benefits of Regularization

May 2005 showed a drop in unemployment entirely unprecendented in Spain´s history. While some claim that this drop -- 88.500 fewer unemployed Spaniards -- is due to new statistical methods or general Spanish economic progress, most newspapers concede that the regularization at least was a factor. In the same month, 218.498 new contributors to Social Security funds were recorded. No one seems to be contesting that this has been mostly an outcome of regularization.

First the "non"...now the "nee." Who is to blame...?

Apparently, immigrants! A radio-show riding this trend in the coverage of the constitution´s crash.