An idea by Terhi Marttila
Or human movement,
is an essential component of human behavior
can be likened
to a process of
Image courtesy of JrPol [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)]
move, in order to
seek opportunity
the pursuit of opportunity
creates osmotic pressure
for human particles to cross
the selectively permeable membrane
from areas of less opportunity
to areas of greater opportunity
(usually determined by random chance, ie. birthplace)
is what determines
whether any given selectively permeable membrane
will allow a human particle to pass through
Given that some human particles are not allowed to pass the selectively permeable membrane,
We have become accustomed to speaking about
"illegal" immigrants
had to present a PASSPORT
as they propagated on the surface of our planet...
for the moral right of humans to move
given that the distribution
of opportunity
across our planet
is not homogenous
"Citizenship in Western democracies is the modern equivalent of feudal class privilege - an inherited status that greatly enhances one's life chances. To be born a citizen of a rich state in Europe or North America is like being born into the nobility... " (Carens 2015, 226)"
Carens, Joseph (2015) The Ethics of Immigration. Oxford: Oxford University Press
"Like feudal birthright privileges, contemporary social arrangements not only grant great advantages on the basis of birth, but also entrench these advantages by legally restricting mobility, making it extremely difficult for those born into a socially disadvantaged position to overcome that disadvantage, no matter how talented they are or how hard they work." (Carens 2015, 226)
Carens, Joseph (2015) The Ethics of Immigration. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Carens, Joseph (2015) The Ethics of Immigration. Oxford: Oxford University Press
by virtue of their right to protection under refugee and asylum law.
Note that in order to claim this right, these human particles must pass through the selectively permeable membrane of European Union.
To do this, they must first illegally enter the country, for example, they cannot book a plane ticket in order to claim this right.
In other words, by virtue of the design of the system and our current social order, countless human particles qualify for entry and residence through the selectively permeable membrane yet in practice, by virtue of the design of the system and our current social order, they have no realistic and legal means to exercise this right.
to enable human movement over water
crossing, among others, the Mediterranean sea.
to enable human movement in the air
are put into air vehicles and moved in OPPOSITION to the osmotic pressure
is COUNTERED
because certain human particles
illegality is determined by
what is written in the law
The law?
Or the human particles?
“Migrants and other “asylum seekers” can only become “illegal”, after all, if there have been legislative or enforcement-based measures to render particular migrations or types of migration “illegal” — to illegalize them.” (Nicholas De Genova, 2017)
De Genova, Nicholas (2017) “‘Crises,’ Convulsions, Concurrences: Human Mobility, the European Geography of ‘Exclusion,’ and the Postcolonial Dialectics of Subordinate Inclusion. In PARSE Journal: “Exclusions”, Issue 8. Available at: https://metapar.se/article/crises-convulsions-concurrences-human-mobility-the-european-geography-of-exclusion-and-the-postcolonial-dialectics-of-subordinate-inclusion/ (Accessed May 2019)
point towards a necessity
to transition from movement as osmosis
BACK TO movement as diffusion
"The control that democractic states exercise over immigration plays a crucial role in maintaining unjust global inequalities and in limiting human freedom unjustly. (Carens 2015, 230)"
Carens, Joseph (2015) The Ethics of Immigration. Oxford: Oxford University Press
to particles
when a semipermeable membrane
is removed
Image courtesy of JrPol [CC BY 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)]
human particles
would diffuse
much like in the previous gif
"For a long time, there was no real hope of transcending [the feudal system, nor slavery].
Carens, Joseph (2015) The Ethics of Immigration. Oxford: Oxford University Press
so I cannot press a button
that would dismantle
these membranes
we can create expressive media
in order to bring into existence
a space in which to play with
ideas which yet seem beyond feasibility.
Carens, Joseph (2015) The Ethics of Immigration. Oxford: Oxford University Press
De Genova, Nicholas (2017) “‘Crises,’ Convulsions, Concurrences: Human Mobility, the European Geography of ‘Exclusion,’ and the Postcolonial Dialectics of Subordinate Inclusion. In PARSE Journal: “Exclusions”, Issue 8. Available at: https://metapar.se/article/crises-convulsions-concurrences-human-mobility-the-european-geography-of-exclusion-and-the-postcolonial-dialectics-of-subordinate-inclusion/ (Accessed May 2019)
Image from 20 years of No One Is Illegal (2017)
Image source: https://noii2017.wordpress.com/
Image source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/Kmii_logo_de.jpg
a project initiated at Documenta X, 1997
by artist Florian Schneider
composed of a manifesto claiming that
no human is illegal and calling for
rights and legalisation for "illegal" migrants
For the full manifesto see: The kmii Manifesto