THREAD
As @UnisNotBorders approaches another yr of organising during the Covid pandemic, we want to share highlights of what we've done in 2021 & what we hope to accomplish approaching our 6th yr of advocating for migrant university staff & students against #HostileEnvironment.
January 20201
@UnisNotBorders kept the pressure by amplifying in @FT the how UK universities were putting migrant student into destitution & how #NRPF, #HostileEnvironment & marketised higher education are all harming migrant students during pandemic: ft.com/content/3ab6be…
February 2021
@UnisNotBorders commences the #EmmaHardlyWorking campaign targeting @UKLabour Shadow Education Minister (from January 2020-March 2021) who failed to respond to our letter around migrant student destitution, & forced withdrawals. More here: facebook.com/UnisResist.Bor…
March 2021
Emma Hardy invited @UnisNotBorders to a meeting on the 9th March, but we declined b/c she failed to answer our letter. Hardy blocked us on @Twitter for calling attention to her hypocritical attitude re-migrant students. Full details here: unisresistbordercontrols.org.uk/2021/03/11/emm…
April 2021
@UnisNotBorders supported @infogamerist to remain in the UK & gathered support on the ground from @ucu in addition to organising a letter sent to @pritipatel & @NicolaSturgeon receiving 400+ signatures. Diane & her partner were able to successfully remain in the UK
May 2021
During the 2nd year of the pandemic, @UnisNotBorders continued to give online workshops, such as this one we facilitated on the #HostileEnvironment & marketised higher education concerning migrant staff & students, hosted by both @UEA_UCU & @UnionUEA on the 18 May.
June 2021
@UnisNotBorders facilitated a session at the @BorderAbolition two day conference to discuss how precarious migrant-led organisers can protect themselves & their voices within academic, media, & NGO spaces.
July 2021
@UnisNotBorders took a two month break from non-urgent casework after non-stop organising without a period of rest since the beginning of the Covid pandemic in the UK.
August 2021
@UnisNotBorders interrupted our rest break & set up the #CheveningCorrupt Twitter Storm addressing the deplorable manner Afghan @CheveningFCDO were being treated by the UK gov. We demanded that their scholarships resume & that their families be allowed into the UK.
September-October 2021
During the start of the new academic year, @UnisNotBorders trained up SU officers at @soassu, @USSU, @UoNSU, @EssexSU, @yourcambridgesu & @GuildofStudents on how the #HostileEnvironment + marketised higher education affects migrant staff/students in uni.
November 2021
Working with @Liberatetheuni, @migrants_rights & @pauseorpayuk, @UnisNotBorders put together a call for evidence to the ICIBI's review of the student visa process. We intend to show how destructive & unjust the #HostileEnvironment policy is re- migrant students.
December 2021
@UnisNotBorders members took part & supported the 3-day #UCUstrike & facilitated strike teach-outs with @RoehamptonUCU, @soassu, & @BirkbeckUCU. Post-strike, later in the month we spoke at a panel re-casualised migrant uni workers organised by @OxfordAntiCas.
During the pandemic we continued to support migrant students & staff with our on-going casework support as we have been doing since the start of @UnisNotBorders in 2016.
Please consider making a donation to help keep this free service running:
unisresistbordercontrols.org.uk/contact/
For 2022 we have major hurdles; the first being the Nationality and Borders Bill, that will make the lives of all migrants (documented, undocumented, & asylum seekers) even more precarious.
We look forward to working with migrant-led & migrant unions in stopping the bill.
The other hurdle is stopping the intensification of border controls via the #HostileEnvironment within UK unis.
In 2018 we found that 51% of uni staff & students didn't understand how border controls operate in their unis.
Knowledge is power- contact us for a workshop.
Everyone @UnisNotBorders wishes our supporters a safe & healthy 2022 🎉. Please continue to 😷& remember to ventilate your office & other shared communal spaces to prevent the spread of Omicron.
Remember to keep that 🔥 in your belly & turn rage into transformative actions.
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