Words as Survial

At the EDGE Funders Conference, held in Berlin in 2023, grassroots activists arrived not just with hope, but with lived expertise, ready to co-create justice. Instead, many of us were tokenized and sidelined, our presence reduced to symbolic inclusion rather than meaningful partnership. At the 2025 conference in Bogotá, themed “From Pledge to Action: Accountability in Philanthropy,” taking place from April 28–30, Jennifer Kamau from IW*S spoke for most of the grassroots organizations attending, in her input, that we must confront this imbalance head-on. True accountability means more than panel invitations or listening sessions — it means shared power, equitable funding, and a fundamental rethinking of philanthropy’s role. We are not here to be managed or observed. We are here to lead, build, and transform.

 As a migrant-led, feminist, anti-colonial group, International Women* Space — alongside the Migrant Justice Community of Practice — calls on funders to stop replicating the very hierarchies we aim to dismantle. In an era of rising authoritarianism and repression, grassroots movements are not only resisting, but offering bold, grounded visions of justice. Yet we remain underfunded and overextracted. If EDGE and its members are serious about systemic change, they must shift from comfort to commitment — from controlling narratives to co-creating liberation.

Read the whole Statement here.

“The issue is not just about listening— it is about acknowledging the lived realities, the diversity of our experiences, and the deep interconnectedness of our visions for justice. If funders truly cared about justice, they would stop building the vision of justice and social transformation in boardrooms, with communities and recognize that we all have a critical role to play in shaping the future. Right now, there is no real transformation—just the same old power structures, dressed up in new words.” 

Europe erects barriers and military defense systems to keep economically disadvantaged people out of the global South. The (post-)colonial responsibility for poverty and environmental destruction remains largely unnoticed. Resources are exploited unhindered and global injustices are perpetuated. Questions that are being addressed in this conversation are: What conclusions can be drawn from this? How can we break out of ignorance, violence and defencelessness in the age of migration?

Watch the conversation here: https://dorftv.at/video/46256

Have you got something in mind? Let’s amplify our voices together. Send us your texts and images: resilient-voices@iwspace.de

Deadline 30.04.25

Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission, EU Interior Ministers,

We, organisations led by migrants and racialised people, along with our supporters, write to European leaders to condemn the violent, punitive and immoral turn in European migration politics in recent weeks. 

In recent weeks, we, residents of Europe  organising amongst both new and long-standing migrant communities, have watched as EU leaders have declared war on migrants and international law.

From illegal proposals to suspend the right to asylum and adopt offshore migrant processing models, the creation of EU ‘safe’ third-country lists and extended periods of internal border checks in the Schengen area, to our consistent reality of prison-like detention centres, state violence and racial profiling, illegal pushbacks and violent and unlawful deportations, European leaders have reached a point of no return. 

These announcements are part of a trajectory of worsening demonisation of migrants and the complete erosion of international law. For almost a decade, the European Union has pursued violent, ineffective and expensive migration measures that expand prison-like detention centres, endorse racial profiling and facilitate pushbacks and violence at borders. 

Human rights organisations have consistently framed these developments as flagrant violations of international law. We agree. However, we should also clarify that European leaders are unashamedly emulating a fascist politics reminiscent of Europe’s genocidal and colonial history.  We see the consistent demonisation and blame of our communities as a clear attempt to distract Europe’s residents from decades of political, economic and environmental failures. 

Rather than orient policies toward safety, protection and social provision for all, European leaders have settled for a politics of securitisation, criminalisation, and violence. The EU has pursued migration policies geared toward criminalising our communities, militarising borders, and endorsing far-right and racist violence. 

What you frame as a ‘migration crisis’, is actually a global inequality crisis. Recent announcements on migration conveniently evade responsibility for Europe’s past and present role contributing to the root causes of migration: displacement caused by climate change and environmental destruction, resource and wealth extraction,  colonialism, conflict, military intervention and political destabilisation. The EU is presenting an inhuman, unworkable response to problems it itself has created and contributed to.  

Attacks on migrants rights are the beginning of attacks on everybody. Anti-migrant politics and the subsequent degradation of rights have opened the door for rollbacks in women’s rights and the right to abortion, anti-gender movements, anti-worker movements and the widespread repression of civil liberties.  The far-right forces that birthed this narrative and the centrist ones that normalise them are responsible for broader threats to democracy and the rule of law. Collectively, these trends disproportionately impact communities at risk of state violence, including (undocumented) migrants, racialised, queer and trans people, and sex workers.

We call on leaders to change course and present a meaningful alternative to current EU migration policy, which is illegal, immoral, and unworkable.

Instead of wasting billions on new offshore detention centres, illegal and costly deportation procedures, and the militarisation of borders, European leaders could implement  policies in compliance with human rights, toward economic well being, safety and community care, and invest in long-term solutions to address climate degradation, conflict, and economic decline. 

We need:

• Safe and legal routes for migrants, asylum seekers and refugees;
• Pathways to regularisation and an end to the criminalisation of people on the move;
• Address the root causes of why people flee their countries, including by ending EU investment in the militarisation and securitisation of borders, the weapons trade, fossil fuels, and other industrial strategies contributing to conflict and climate degradation in the global South;
• Policies that focus on addressing the needs of all people (including migrants, shift and gig economy workers, unpaid carers, and those in precarious work) instead of prioritising corporate profits;
• A comprehensive economic and social strategy for everyone living in Europe.

We call on European leaders to change course and end their war on migrants. Instead, reorient your policies to centre a politics of care, protection and safety for all, including migrant communities. 

Drafted by:

1. Equinox Initiative for Racial Justice – Europe
2. Greek Forum of Migrants – Greece
3. International Women* Space – Germany
4. Movement for Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) – Ireland
5. Equipo del Decenio Afrodescendiente – Spain

Read the letter with the signatories here.

This letter is the first joint initiative of the Migrant Justice Community of Practice. Consider joining the community of practice to develop future actions with us.