Against the Double Blackmail

Against the Double Blackmail PDF Author: Slavoj Zizek
Publisher: Penguin Press
ISBN: 9780141984124
Category : Europe
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
How do we respond to the refugee crisis - by opening our doors, or pulling up the drawbridge? Both solutions, argues Slavoj Zizek, offer ideological blackmail, and both are wrong. He proposes that instead we see the crisis as an opportunity: a unique chance for Europe to redefine itself and its future. 'Zizek identifies the refugee crisis as one of the major global challenges of our time ...he argues for a politics of solidarity'

Against the Double Blackmail

Against the Double Blackmail PDF Author: Slavoj Zizek
Publisher: Penguin Press
ISBN: 9780141984124
Category : Europe
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Get Book

Book Description
How do we respond to the refugee crisis - by opening our doors, or pulling up the drawbridge? Both solutions, argues Slavoj Zizek, offer ideological blackmail, and both are wrong. He proposes that instead we see the crisis as an opportunity: a unique chance for Europe to redefine itself and its future. 'Zizek identifies the refugee crisis as one of the major global challenges of our time ...he argues for a politics of solidarity'

Refugees, Terror and Other Troubles with the Neighbors

Refugees, Terror and Other Troubles with the Neighbors PDF Author: Slavoj Zizek
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 161219625X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 144

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Book Description
Called "the Elvis of cultural theory" by The New York Times, popular philosopher and leftist rabble-rouser Slavoj Zizek, looks at one of the most desperate situations of our time: the current refugee crisis overwhelming Europe. In this short yet stirring book, Zizek argues that accepting all comers or blocking all entry are both untenable solutions... but there is a third option. Today, hundreds of thousands of people, desperate to escape war, violence and poverty, are crossing the Mediterranean to seek refuge in Europe. Our response, from our protected Western European standpoint, argues Slavoj Zizek, offers two versions of ideological blackmail: either we open our doors as widely as possible; or we try to pull up the drawbridge. Both solutions are bad, states Zizek. They merely prolong the problem, rather than tackling it. The refugee crisis also presents an opportunity, a unique chance for Europe to redefine itself: but, if we are to do so, we have to start raising unpleasant and difficult questions. We must also acknowledge that large migrations are our future: only then can we commit to a carefully prepared process of change, one founded not on a community that see the excluded as a threat, but one that takes as its basis the shared substance of our social being. The only way, in other words, to get to the heart of one of the greatest issues confronting Europe today is to insist on the global solidarity of the exploited and oppressed. Maybe such solidarity is a utopia. But, warns Zizek, if we don't engage in it, then we are really lost. And we will deserve to be lost.

Refugees, Terror and Other Troubles with the Neighbors

Refugees, Terror and Other Troubles with the Neighbors PDF Author: Slavoj Zizek
Publisher: National Geographic Books
ISBN: 1612196241
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Popular philosopher and leftist rabble-rouser Slavoj Zizek looks at one of the most desperate situations of our time: the current refugee crisis overwhelming Europe In this short yet stirring book, Slavoj Zizek—called “the Elvis of cultural history” by The New York Times—argues that accepting all comers or blocking all entry are both untenable solutions . . . But there is a third option. Today, hundreds of thousands of people, desperate to escape war, violence and poverty, are crossing the Mediterranean to seek refuge in Europe. Our response, from our protected Western European standpoint, argues Slavoj Zizek, offers two versions of ideological blackmail: either we open our doors as widely as possible; or we try to pull up the drawbridge. Both solutions are bad, states Zizek. They merely prolong the problem, rather than tackling it. The refugee crisis also presents an opportunity, a unique chance for Europe to redefine itself: but, if we are to do so, we have to start raising unpleasant and difficult questions. We must also acknowledge that large migrations are our future: only then can we commit to a carefully prepared process of change, one founded not on a community that see the excluded as a threat, but one that takes as its basis the shared substance of our social being. The only way, in other words, to get to the heart of one of the greatest issues confronting Europe today is to insist on the global solidarity of the exploited and oppressed. Maybe such solidarity is a utopia. But, warns Zizek, if we don't engage in it, then we are really lost. And we will deserve to be lost.

City of Refugees

City of Refugees PDF Author: Susan Hartman
Publisher: Beacon Press
ISBN: 0807024678
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description
A gripping portrait of refugees who forged a new life in the Rust Belt, the deep roots they’ve formed in their community, and their role in shaping its culture and prosperity. "This is an American tale that everyone should read. . . . The storytelling is so intimate and the characters feel so deeply real that you will know them like neighbors."—Jake Halpern, author of Welcome to the New World War, persecution, natural disasters, and climate change continue to drive millions around the world from their homes. In this “tender, intimate, and important book—a carefully reported rebuttal to the xenophobic narratives that define so much of modern American politics” (Sarah Stillman, staff writer, The New Yorker), journalist Susan Hartman follows 3 refugees over 8 years and tells the story of how they built new lives in the old manufacturing town of Utica, New York. Sadia, a Somali Bantu teenager, rebels against her mother; Ali, an Iraqi interpreter, creates a home with an American woman but is haunted by war; and Mersiha, a Bosnian baker, gambles everything to open a café. Along the way, Hartman “illuminates the humanity of these outsiders while demonstrating the crucial role immigrants play in the economy—and the soul—of the nation" (Los Angeles Times). The 3 newcomers are part of an extraordinary migration over the past 4 decades; thousands fleeing war and persecution have transformed Utica, opening small businesses, fixing up abandoned houses, and adding a spark of vitality to forlorn city streets. Utica is not alone. Other Rust Belt cities—including Buffalo, Dayton, and Detroit—have also welcomed refugees, hoping to jump-start their economies and attract a younger population. City of Refugees is a complex and poignant story of a small city but also of America—a country whose promise of safe harbor and opportunity is knotty and incomplete, but undeniably alive.

Nowhere Boy

Nowhere Boy PDF Author: Katherine Marsh
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
ISBN: 1250307589
Category : Juvenile Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 368

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Book Description
"A resistance novel for our time." - The New York Times "A hopeful story about recovery, empathy, and the bravery of young people." - Booklist "This well-crafted and suspenseful novel touches on the topics of refugees and immigrant integration, terrorism, Islam, Islamophobia, and the Syrian war with sensitivity and grace." - Kirkus, Starred Review Fourteen-year-old Ahmed is stuck in a city that wants nothing to do with him. Newly arrived in Brussels, Belgium, Ahmed fled a life of uncertainty and suffering in Aleppo, Syria, only to lose his father on the perilous journey to the shores of Europe. Now Ahmed’s struggling to get by on his own, but with no one left to trust and nowhere to go, he’s starting to lose hope. Then he meets Max, a thirteen-year-old American boy from Washington, D.C. Lonely and homesick, Max is struggling at his new school and just can’t seem to do anything right. But with one startling discovery, Max and Ahmed’s lives collide and a friendship begins to grow. Together, Max and Ahmed will defy the odds, learning from each other what it means to be brave and how hope can change your destiny. Set against the backdrop of the Syrian refugee crisis, award-winning author of Jepp, Who Defied the Stars Katherine Marsh delivers a gripping, heartwarming story of resilience, friendship and everyday heroes. Barbara O'Connor, author of Wish and Wonderland, says "Move Nowhere Boy to the top of your to-be-read pile immediately."

Iraqi Refugees in the United States

Iraqi Refugees in the United States PDF Author: Ken R. Crane
Publisher: NYU Press
ISBN: 1479849618
Category : Social Science
Languages : en
Pages : 258

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Book Description
How Iraqi refugees navigate life, belonging, and exclusion in America The US invasion of Iraq in 2003 caused the largest forced migration in the Middle East since 1948, with millions of people fleeing to Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Iran, European Union, Australia and the United States. In Iraqi Refugees in the United States, Ken R. Crane explores the uphill climb faced by Iraqi refugees who have sought belonging in a country engaged in an ongoing War on Terror. Drawing on numerous interviews and fieldwork, Crane explores the diverse experiences of a community of Iraqi refugees, showing how they have struggled to negotiate their place in the wake of mass displacement. He highlights the promise of belonging, as well as their many painful encounters with exclusion. Ultimately, Crane provides a window into the complexities of what “becoming American” means for Iraqi refugees, even as they are perceived by other Americans as “security threats.” As debates about immigration and refugee status continue to play out in headlines and the courts, Iraqi Refugees in the United States provides important insight into the global refugee crisis.

The Courage of Hopelessness

The Courage of Hopelessness PDF Author: Slavoj Zizek
Publisher: Melville House
ISBN: 1612197078
Category : Philosophy
Languages : en
Pages : 336

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Book Description
In THE COURAGE OF HOPELESSNESS, maverick philosopher Slavoj Zizek returns to explore today's ideological, political and economic battles, and asks whether radical change is possible. In these troubled times, even the most pessimistic diagnosis of our future ends with an uplifting hint that things might not be as bad as all that, that there is light at the end of the tunnel. Yet, argues Slavoj Zizek, it is only when we have admitted to ourselves that our situation is completely hopeless - that the light at the end of the tunnel is in fact the headlight of a train - that fundamental change can be brought about.

The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon

The Syrian Refugee Crisis in Lebanon PDF Author: Robert G. Rabil
Publisher: Lexington Books
ISBN: 1498535135
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 151

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Book Description
This book examines the unfolding of the Syrian refugee crisis in relation to the spillover of the Syrian civil war in Lebanon and against the background of Lebanon–Syria relations and Lebanon’s socio-political, cultural, legal, and economic conditions. It surveys Lebanon’s response plans to the refugee crisis as part of the development of the international response plans to address the protection and needs of the Syrian refugees and Palestinian refugees from Syria, as well as the impacted host communities and institutions. At the same time, this book emphasizes the dramatic shift in popular and institutional attitudes towards the refugees as a response to and as a growth of the sheer magnitude of the refugee crisis, which made Lebanon the only country in modern history with the highest per capita concentration of refugees in the world. By examining these attitudes against the background of achievements and failures of the response plans, the impact of the crisis on state institutions on the local and national levels, and the collective consciousness of a nation barely surviving the scars of its civil war, this book not only underscores the deepening tragedy of Syrian and Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, but also the consequential tragedy of many Lebanese, who have been forced into poverty and whose livelihoods have been affected by insecurity and the almost complete collapse of social services. As a result, the tragedy of the Syrian refugee crisis has become an international crisis affecting vulnerable persons across nationalities, and, unless it is addressed diplomatically and its response plans sufficiently funded, the tragedy will only deepen across continents.

Asylum

Asylum PDF Author: Edafe Okporo
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1982183748
Category : Biography & Autobiography
Languages : en
Pages : 224

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Book Description
A “moving…dramatic” (David Ebershoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Danish Girl), and urgent call to action for immigration justice by a Nigerian asylee and global gay rights and immigration activist Edafe Okporo. On the eve of Edafe Okporo’s twenty-sixth birthday, he was awoken by a violent mob outside his window in Abuja, Nigeria. The mob threatened his life after discovering the secret Edafe had been hiding for years—that he is a gay man. Left with no other choice, he purchased a one-way plane ticket to New York City and fled for his life. Though America had always been painted to him as a land of freedom and opportunity, it was anything but when he arrived just days before the tumultuous 2016 Presidential Election. Edafe would go on to spend the next six months at an immigration detention center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. After navigating the confusing, often draconian, US immigration and legal system, he was finally granted asylum. But he would soon realize that America is exceptionally good at keeping people locked up but is seriously lacking in integrating freed refugees into society. Asylum is Edafe’s “powerful, eye-opening” (Dr. Eric Cervini, New York Times bestselling author of The Deviant’s War) memoir and manifesto, which documents his experiences growing up gay in Nigeria, fleeing to America, navigating the immigration system, and making a life for himself as a Black, gay immigrant. Alongside his personal story is a blaring call to action—not only for immigration reform but for a just immigration system for refugees everywhere. This book imagines a future where immigrants and asylees are treated with fairness, transparency, and compassion. It aims to help us understand that home is not just where you feel safe and welcome but also how you can make it feel safe and welcome for others.

Poetry from the Future

Poetry from the Future PDF Author: Srecko Horvat
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141987707
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 190

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Book Description
'A compelling vision, an urgent necessity, and not beyond reach' Noam Chomsky The past is forgotten, and the future is without hope. Dystopia has become a reality. This is the new normal in our apocalyptic politics - but if we accept it, our helplessness is guaranteed. To bring about real change, argues activist and political philosopher Srecko Horvat, we must first transform our mindset. Ranging through time and space, from the partisan liberation movements of Nazi-occupied Yugoslavia to the contemporary culture, refugee camps and political frontlines of 21st century Europe, Horvat shows that the problems we face today are of an unprecedented nature. To solve them, he argues in this passionate call for a new radical internationalism, we must move beyond existing ways of thinking: beyond borders, national identities and the redundant narratives of the past. Only in this way can we create new models for living and, together, shape a more open and optimistic future.