Exposed Thinking the Unthinkable by Nigel Harris, 2002, IB Tauris, £12.95 Reviewed by Terry Conway Paul Foot's quote on the cover of Thinking the Unthinkable promises a lot. He says, 'No subject in the modern world is less understood or more liable to prej- udice than immigration control. And no one is better qualified to untangle the issues and smooth out the prejudices than Nigel Harris.' At least some of the expec- tation this awakens is fulfilled in the first few chapters, dominated by descriptions of the reality of immigration controls for those subject to them. The book definitely has its strengths. Its geographic scope is broader than many similar books, touching on laws and practices in France, Germany, Singa- pore as well as Britain and the US and providing information that I had not seen elsewhere. The way that Harris looks at migrants predominantly as workers is also an interesting approach and means he provides unusual and interesting material. But doubts began to creep in quite early in my reading. His politi- cal stance is difficult to unpick. He uses some arguments with which any social- ist would agree. But there are also real The book explains convincingly not only that immigration controls do not work, even in their own terms, but also that making it impossible to enter coun- tries legally as a migrant or asylum seeker, necessarily strengthens the role of the mafia and traffickers. Harris is also refreshingly clear about the respon- sibility of mainstream politicians for whipping up racial prejudice and takes the tabloids to task in picking up that ball and running a very long way. His critique of the arguments used in favour of immigration controls is useful in arming activists to fight bigotry and prejudice, though some of this part is not as hard-hitting as one might wish. None- theless, it became apparent as I worked my way through that despite what Foot's quote promised, this was liberal outrage on immigration seriously undermined by reactionary positions on other questions. The fact that Harris approaches the question of migration from the point of view of the need for mobile labour would not automatically be a problem in itself. Many anti-racist activists in the Global Justice movement have pointed out the cruel irony that capital is allowed to move freely while people are not. Immigration and Capitalism But Harris' analysis presents capital- ist globalisation as a benign force. The unjust anarchy of the immigration system is presented as if it were out of kilter with the rest of neo-liberalism. The reality of course is that the immigration and asylum system is an essential element of neo-liberalism, a particularly perni- cious example of what is wrong with the world in which we currently live - a world in which profit before people costs Harris' approach to the question of women's role and domestic labour is par- ticularly infuriating. His position is that women need maids in order to work. I certainly felt like sending him a copy of Barbara Ehrenreich's Nickel and Dimed, which catalogues the plight of women, many of whom are immigrants, in low wage domestic jobs in the US. Harris on the other hand seems to think that the poor, including migrants, will always be with us to provide cheap labour. Of course this is not what he says explicitly, but it is the logic of the argument. Indeed in the end the main problem with the book is summarised on the back cover - not in Harris' own words but in those of his publisher who says, 'Immigration is the lifeline of the developed world's economy...[it] makes both the rich and the poor richer.' So Harris draws the conclusion that immigration controls should be abol- ished and that migrants should automat- ically have the right to work - but that at the same time migrants should not be given the same rights as 'native' people Demands such as the right to vote in the country you are living in are dismissed - leaving immigrants as second class citizens and the racist ideology whipped up by this a reality with a continuing
make cheque payable to T1 Research and send with this form to: Socialist Outlook PO Box 1109 London N4 2UU material basis The Ay Family Campaign There are many aspects of this book that are remarkably naive. On the children of asylum seekers he says, 'And if delays in reaching a final decision increased to four, five or six years, families with children in school could hardly be expelled.' (p134) But this is precisely what can happen, as we know from the August 2003 deporta- tion of the Ay family to Germany. The Ays are a Kurdish family who fled from Turkey in 1988 because of the of Turkish Kurdistan by occupation Turkey. They went first to Germany and then came to Britain in 1999. Mr Ay was deported from Britain back to Germany and then in May 2002 was sent back to Turkey. He has not been heard of since. Mrs Ay and her four children, now aged between 14 and 8, had been here for 3 years when they were first put in deten- tion. For almost a year they were moved around from detention centre to detention centre at the whim of the immigration service, although they spent most time in Scotland's only immigration prison, Dungavel. socialist Outlook subscribe to socialist Outlook for name address for international and european subscriptions please pay in Sterling Printed by East End Offset Lid (TU), London E3. = 020 7538 252l campaign was well supported Their not only in England but especially in Scotland with leading politicians from the Scottish Nationalists, the Greens and in particular the Scottish Socialist Party involved. Despite all this the family was deported to Germany in August. While there are exceptional qualities about this case, the callous disregard for human suffering by the law and the gov- ernment is not at all exceptional. And there have been many other cases where have been deported, includ- children ing children who have been born here, because their parents have been denied the right to stay. There are of course specific aspects to immigration cases that involve children. Children have the right to apply for leave to remain in their own name as the Ay children have now done. Where children have been at school, teachers, fellow students and their families and friends are often central to anti-deportation cam- paigns. But the Home Office does not agree with Nigel Harris that the needs of children mean that they cannot carry on with such deportations. Instead Home Secretary .. E-mail address .. issue_001 autumn, 2003 Socialist_Outlook David Blunkett has proposed to take the children of asylum seekers out of main- stream schools and segregate them with their families in large camps, like that being prepared at Bicester. Of course these issues still remain bat- tlegrounds. The Ay case has led to : major campaign against the detentic:: : children especially in Scotland and := Scottish TUC is organising a demor:.*.. tion in September calling for Dungare be closed all together. But the bland .:.. placency of Harris' statement sugges: there are no grounds for such protests As socialists, we are fighting for : sions between rich countries and fir: without imperialist exploitation and : :: We want a world in which the maice? is not exploited for its labour power :: a small minority who control both it.:: labour power and the natural wealt: c: the planet be it land, water or fuel. O. view is that demands for No Immigratic: Controls and For Full Rights for Migrants are essential to the fight against the capi- talist system - for a socialist world which is both possible and necessary. one year/four issues incl. P+P £10 Sterling UK one year/four issues incl. P+P £12 Sterling Europe one year/four issues incl. P+P £13.50 Sterling international
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