No Borders Media Podcast interviews two migrant justice organizers who have first-hand accounts in supporting and organizing for the Migrant Caravan in late 2018. They highlight the gendered aspects of the caravan; that it included many non-binary and LGBTQ+ individuals fleeing homophobic and transphobic violence and discrimination, and a women-led hunger strike demanding more asylum cases processed per day and an end to migrant detention camps.
Despite Canada being physically removed from the caravan, the podcast also highlights Canada’s complicity in the crisis. Canada supported a military coup in Honduras in 2016 which led to significant instability and forced migration. Additionally 90% of the mining companies in Honduras are Canadian owned, like Goldcorp, who has been involved in mining projects that have had detrimental effects on the land and agriculture in the region, forcing people to migrate.
No Borders Media is important because of its source of knowledge. Transnational feminist scholars cite the importance of relying on knowledge from the grassroots movements rather than entirely from the academy. Transnational feminist scholarship would be ineffective without involvement of grassroots mobilization. No Borders Media has ties with the No One Is Illegal movement in Canada and offers important perspectives on issues of migration from the perspective of migrant justice activists.
This interview also does well in tying together gender, sexuality, migration, and how these are affected by multinational corporations and nation-states who benefit from neoliberal policy, such as Canada. News and media sources that are able and willing to draw the connections between migration and Canadian foreign policy allow for a clear, accurate depiction of migration and its implications on human life. Finding alternative sources to mainstream media when studying something as complex as migration is important in ensuring the dominant white/Western, statist narratives aren’t enforced.
No Borders Media: Twitter, Facebook, Soundcloud
Keywords: neoliberalism, resource extraction, migration, migrant caravan, Goldcorp
Author: Petro Poroshenko
I found this podcast really interesting and eye-opening - it gave me new insights into the ways in which Canada and the US create the conditions that displace people and necessitate migration from countries like Honduras, while simultaneously demonizing and criminalizing migration. Demonizing migration also enables border authorities to commit acts of violence against migrants, like sending tear gas and rubber bullets into a peaceful protest, as they can be framed as a protective measure. I think you made a good point in acknowledging the importance of finding sources of grassroots knowledge on transnational feminist issues - I can only imagine this becoming more and more important as migration continues to be an issue centred in both the news medi…