🚨 18 October – Manifestation in Rome 🚨 We refuse to stay silent while Italy renews its bloody deal with Libyan militias. We call on all comrades, refugees, allies & citizens of conscience: join us in Rome to say NO to the Italy–Libya Memorandum! ✊🏾 📍 Piazza dei Santi Apostoli – Rome 📅 18 October

Let’s go, German pundits, explain to the world why everyone gets it so wrong, how nobody really understands, and how the blatantly obvious is in reality much more complicated!

How do civil society actors in #Malta navigate the politically contentious issue of #migration? New Border Criminologies blog post by @cettamainwaring.bsky.social (University of Edinburgh) and #SFB1604 member @mauricestierl.bsky.social #searchandrescue #Seenotrettung #Mediterranean #border

Several barriers impact solidarity work on migration in Malta, including the geography of the islands, socio-political environment and maritime imaginaries. But activism is still very much alive. From @mauricestierl.bsky.social and @cettamainwaring.bsky.social ⤵️ blogs.law.ox.ac.uk/border-crimi...

J Butler: “It is time to resist the injustice now normalized by those who capitulate to powers willing to destroy the basic principles protecting the university’s independence & who imperil the future of critical thought, dissent, and democracy itself.” www.chronicle.com/article/when...

Yesterday, our teams and survivors on the Ocean Viking were deliberately shot at by Libyan Coast Guard, on a vessel gifted by Italy. We demand a full investigation into these horrifying events and an immediate end to all European collaboration with Libya. www.sosmediterranee.org/sos-med-liby...

Three sisters fleeing from #Sudan were found dead on a rubber boat rescued by the #Nadir. What horror, produced time and again by the European border regime. There's no way to 'protect borders' without producing such necropolitical violence.

An effigy of refugees, burned by a crowd: this is where Europe’s brutal fantasy of border control has led us | Maurice Stierl

My piece for the Guardian on 10 years since Europe’s border crisis: “The burning of an effigy of refugees is what happens after a decade of dehumanisation. Many have implanted a dangerous border fantasy that will continue to divide, hurt and kill.” www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

“All these traumas are the reason why the Irish took almost 150 years before they could memorialise what they experienced in the 1840s. Those who inflict starvation are aware of this, they know that what they’re doing is actually dismantling a society.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/j...

The sanctions imposed by the United States on UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese set an unacceptable precedent and constitute a direct attack on the international human rights order. This is the first time that a state has imposed targeted punitive measures on a UN mandate holder.

"How did 'imported antisemitism', a far-right anti-immigrant buzz phrase, make it into the political mainstream?" Do read Mithu Sanyal's comment for the Guardian. @mithu.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

For ‪@eualive.bsky.social: EU Migration chief Brunner has begun talking about the 'weaponisation' of migration from Libya to the EU, orchestrated by Russia and Belarus - suggesting he may be considering invoking 'hybrid warfare' to justify harsher (or more openly harsh) methods in the Mediterranean.

"The #weaponisation and securitisation of #migration has a long history,” says Stierl, “the hybrid warfare narrative [...] is just the latest attempt to justify European deterrence efforts in places like #Libya, where the humanitarian situation is unimaginable for those stuck there.”

Out now: Collective article that examines the role of #reflexivity in the field of #migrationstudies, written by @mauricestierl.bsky.social, @laurastielike.bsky.social, @phischaefer.bsky.social, Inken Bartels, Anna Amelina, Iva Dodevska, Maissam Nimer, Omololá S. Olarinde-Olomola: buff.ly/v9aPfij

New article, right on time for #IMISCOE2025: “Reflexivity as Critique? A Conversation on the Politics of Knowledge Production in Migration Studies”. With L. Stielike, P. Schäfer, I. Bartels, A. Amelina, I. Dodevska, M. Nimer, & O. Olarinde-Olomola. journals.ub.uni-osnabrueck.de/index.php/zm...

Yesterday, our monitoring aircraft crew sighted three bodies floating in international waters off Libya. On a second flight, we discovered two more. A Libyan militia boat, funded by Italy, was nearby but refused to respond to our calls. [1/3]

Die #Bundesregierung stoppt die finanzielle Hilfe für die zivile #Seenotrettung. Dabei sei deren Präsenz auf dem #Mittelmeer unabdingbar, um Menschenleben zu retten, denn sichere #Fluchtwege fehlen, so IMIS- & #SFB1604-Mitglied @mauricestierl.bsky.social‬ im Interview mit dem MDR. buff.ly/i2xUqrC

Abschottungspolitik um jeden Preis. Die Bundesregierung beendet die finanzielle Unterstützung der Seenotrettung – ein fatales Signal. Habe heute dazu mit dem MDR gesprochen. www.mdr.de/audio-296944...

After 104 days of being unjustly detained for his advocacy for Palestinian rights, Mahmoud Khalil is finally home with his wife and newborn son.

Wenn der Genozid in Gaza möglich ist, wenn die Bombardierung der 15-Millionen-Stadt Teheran möglich ist, wo sind noch rote Linien? 1/5

For 3 years, I was leading the post-doc group ›The Production of Knowledge on Migration‹. By the end of the month, our collective work is coming to an end, at least formally. Inken Bartels, Philipp Schäfer & Laura Stielike will give a final lecture next week - come by! @imisosnabrueck.bsky.social

🧵 Two Years Since the Pylos Shipwreck On June 14, 2023, the deadliest maritime tragedy in recent EU history occurred off the coast of Pylos, Greece. An estimated 750 people, mainly from Syria, Pakistan, and Egypt, were on board.

"One's own deportation as an adventure story" @fr-hessen.bsky.social Apparently, the EU border agency #Frontex produced this 'cute' poster to explain the process of deportation to children. Monstrous. Abolish @frontex.bsky.social!

Statistics on deaths at sea vary considerably and are themselves deeply contested, and geographical designations of 'the Sahara' or 'the Mediterranean' are anything but specific — but that has not prevented the circulation of dubious estimates on ‘desert deaths’, warns Dr Maurice Stierl.

Why do so many actors claim that migration across the Sahara is deadlier than migration across the Mediterranean? I've traced this claim over the years. Following my longer study, now a shorter piece in @euobserver.com. Not happy about the title, didn't chose it... euobserver.com/migration/ar...

The article that our research team ‘The Production of Knowledge on Migration’ published in @migrationjrnl.bsky.social is now #OpenAccess: 'The Moral Economies of Reflexive Migration Studies'. @laurastielike.bsky.social @phischaefer.bsky.social & Inken Bartels. academic.oup.com/migration/ar...

Today we launch the Malta Migration Archive in Valletta. The Archive sheds light on border violence in Malta and documents state practices of non-assistance and pushbacks to Libya. Find us at: maltamigrationarchive.org

When the #Madleen was sailing to #Gaza, it witnessed how dozens of people were abducted by EU-sponsored Libyan militias. Now the crew was abducted by Israeli forces. Meanwhile, activists in LA rise against ICE abductions. These struggles are connected. Solidarity with all of them! #FreedomFlotilla

In a new article @geopoliticsjournal.bsky.social @cettamainwaring.bsky.social and IMIS & #SFB1604 member @mauricestierl.bsky.social explore how actors in #Malta navigate the politically contentious issue of #migration. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.... #MigrationStudies #borders #Mediterranean

Islands of Solidarity? Migration and Activism in Malta Glad that this new article is out now in @geopoliticsjournal.bsky.social! In it, @cettamainwaring.bsky.social and I explore how actors in #Malta navigate the politically contentious issue of (sea) migration. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

😭😭😭 More of this. More of ordinary people standing up to the government militias abducting their neighbours. More resistance 💪

+++Eil+++ Jetzt gibt es eine Entscheidung zu den Zurückweisungen, die die Bundesregierung seit Mai durchführen lässt. Das VG Berlin hat in mehreren Fällen heute die Maßnahmen als europarechtswidrig beurteilt. Auch Berufung auf Art. 72 AEUV wurde verworfen. www.berlin.de/gerichte/ver...

New article! For years, I wondered why international organisations claimed that migration across the #Sahara was deadlier than migration across the #Mediterranean Sea. In 2022, I started tracing this claim & my findings are now out! #openaccess. www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

The cynical criminalisation of rescuers at sea continues. But what a powerful response by Mediterranea, who announce today that they will launch a new ship! "The power of those who save lives is greater than the power of those who let them die." mediterranearescue.org/en/news/maer...

17 members of the Hellenic Coast Guard face felony charges, nearly 2 years after the #Adriana sank and up to 700 people died off the Greek coast. Given the madness of the world, I’d consider this ‘rare good news’. #Pylos @rsaegean.bsky.social rsaegean.org/en/pylos-shi...

#Pylos #shipwreck #Greece: Criminal prosecution and referral to main investigation on felony charges against 17 members of the Hellenic Coast Guard, including senior officers of its leadership. Joint press release: (1/9)

Neue Folge: Mit Shai Hoffmann analysiere ich im Podcast "Über Israel und Palästina sprechen" die deutsche Nahost-Berichterstattung - tief und faktenbasiert. Im Zentrum: die Rolle des Springer-Konzerns, Doppelstandards, Selbstzensur, außenpolitische Korridore und Verantwortungslosigkeit (...) 1/x

Vor aller Augen geht das Töten in #Gaza weiter. Wer die Menschenrechte dort nicht verteidigt, wird sie auch hier verlieren. Sprich darüber. Nicht eines Tages. Jetzt. Ab heute kannst Du dazu hier die neuen medico-Plakate/Postkarten bestellen und das Sharepic zum Teilen herunterladen.

Morgen in Berlin!

New article Researching and Understanding Far-Right Politics in Times of Mainstreaming, co-authored with @georgenewth.bsky.social & @k8ebrown.bsky.social We explore a ‘fifth wave’ of far-right politics in which the identities of the mainstream & far right are mutually constitutive cup.org/3YFVnzn

Bundespräsident Frank-Walter #Steinmeier beabsichtigt morgen den israelischen Ministerpräsidenten Benjamin #Netanjahu zu treffen. Gegen Netanjahu liegt aktuell ein internationaler Haftbefehl wegen Kriegsverbrechen und Verbrechen gegen die Menschlichkeit vor.

"Escalating atrocities in Gaza present an urgent moral crossroads and States must act now to end the violence or bear witness to the annihilation of the Palestinian population in Gaza." www.ohchr.org/en/press-rel...

@alarmphone.bsky.social reported about a shipwreck of a boat carrying 50 people. Only 2 survivors have been confirmed, while the fate of the rest is still unknown. How have we reached a point where deaths along EU borders have become so normalised that their loss of life rarely even makes the news?

Seemingly, there is no bottom to this downward spiral of depravity and inhumanity.

"Cooperative Research: A Conversation across Disciplines, Histories and Cultures" Join this stellar Roundtable next Thursday 8th of May 6 pm at @unimarburg.bsky.social featuring @spaceforpeace.bsky.social @mauricestierl.bsky.social Karolina Kluczewska & more (Details below & linked) 👇👇

A ship full of international activists sending goods to Gaza was attacked by a presumed drone strike and caught fire last night. This is political warfare in international waters.

"Our data reveals that business is booming for companies involved in the border economy." By @mayblin.bsky.social, Joe Turner, @thomdavis.bsky.social, @isakjee.bsky.social & Tesfalem Yemane. Thanks friends, this is what research can do. www.opendemocracy.net/en/beyond-tr...

The Civil Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (short CMRCC) has published its 17th issue of Echoes, entitled "Platform of Hope". Do check it out! civilmrcc.eu/echoes/echoe...