Reading Reflection 7/5

FIGURE OF THE MIGRANT THOUGHTS

1. It's always interesting to me how many assumptions we have that we don't openly think about or recognize. The assumption or stereotype of migrant as a 'failed citizen' is one that I think many of us subconsciously have, even if we do not believe that they have failed because of their own choices. In many cases, we view them as being from a failed state, and this judgment, too, is one that should be openly addressed and critiqued.
2. The chapter mentions that 'the most 'dispossessed refugees have created some of the most interesting non-state social organizations'. I am recording this partially as a reminder to look for some of these later. Often when people think of immigrant organizations it is criminal organizations that come to mind.
3. A few years ago I read an interesting piece about the idea that organized crime is an almost necessary step for any immigrant community in a “1^st world” country. I wish I could find that again and read it in the context of what we've learned in this course, because although it's an interesting concept I doubt it's validity or practical applications on a lot of levels. For one, it seems tied to the idea of migrants being failed citizens in a very specific way. In addition, it effectively absolves states of the responsibility to create paths to employment that are accessible for first generation immigrant families; because it is worthwhile or necessary to pass through organized crime on the way to integration, why should states to seek to stop it with immigration policy rather than through law enforcement?

ARRIVAL CITY THOUGHTS

1. The architectural factors here are as fascinating as they are saddening. These kind of fully designed and specifically purposed community structures always interest me, especially when they become used for other purposes. For example, the 'pyramids' described in this chapter remind me in some ways of Kowloon Walled City, a now demolished community of apartment buildings. Kowloon was a fortress that was then repurposed into tiny apartments and then demolished in the 90's when the building became ~10 floors of unregulated slums that law enforcement would not enter. Obviously this has not yet happened to the pyramids, but one of the main factors in Kowloon becoming what it became was the lack of shops and market space in the area, leading people to open unregulated stores, doctors offices, and other services out of their small homes.
2. The points about Kreuzberg in this chapter are really interesting to read, now that the names of streets and stations brings up images of my experiences there. I would not have guessed however, that there was, in 2010, a 50% unemployment rate for Turks around Kottbusser. I assume this is not the case anymore, but I would love to see more recent statistics. Kottbusser Tor still noticeably has a Turkish community, with it's large, relatively busy Turkish grocery being a central and visible point, but I would guess that the unemployment is much lower now.
3. The German government's willingness to take in migrants as a solution to their failing social security system (due to a declining birth rate) is just another example of how states are never even remotely benevolent to anyone who is not already a citizen. In a total vacuum, no state would take in refugees or migrants just based on a moral need to do so. It is always because of a need for workers, a need for money, or a need to appease the desires of allied nations. I have yet, throughout this course, to see a modern example that significantly breaks from these three. The idea that some people have of the benevolent, welcoming, and often Christian state is, in my opinion, a total myth perpetuated by the government.