A is for Asylum Seeker: Words for People on the Move / A de asilo: palabras para personas en movimiento

Rachel Ida Buff

Rachel Ida Buff

A is for Asylum Seeker: Words for People on the Move / A de asilo: palabras para personas en movimiento

Translated by: Alejandra Oliva

Fordham University Press | 2020

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/9780823289172

Overview
Contents

About this book

A clear and concise A-to-Z of keywords that echo our current human rights crisis

As millions are forced to leave their nations of origin as a result of political, economic, and environmental peril, rising racism and xenophobia have led to increasingly harsh policies. A mass-mediated political circus obscures both histories of migration and longstanding definitions of words for people on the move, fomenting widespread linguistic confusion. Under this circus tent, there is no regard for history, legal advocacy, or jurisprudence. Yet in a world where the differences between “undocumented migrant” and “asylum seeker” can mean life or death, words have weighty consequences.

A timely antidote to this circus, A is for Asylum Seeker reframes key words that describe people on the move. Written to correct the de-meaning of terms by rhetoric and policies based on dehumanization and profitable incarceration, this glossary provides an intersectional and historically grounded consideration of the words deployed in enflamed debate. Skipping some letters of the alphabet while repeating others, thirty terms cover everything from Asylum-seeker to Zero Tolerance Policy. Each entry begins with a contemporary or historical story for illustration and then proceeds to discuss the language politics of the word. The book balances terms affected by current political debates—such as “migrant,” “refugee,” and “illegal alien”—and terms that offer historical context to these controversies, such as “fugitive,” “unhoused,” and “vagrant.”

Rendered in both English and Spanish, this book offers a unique perspective on the journeys, histories, challenges, and aspirations of people on the move. Enhancing the book’s utility as an educational and organizing resource, the author provides a list of works for further reading as well as a directory of immigration-advocacy organizations throughout the United States.

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Un claro y breve abecedario de palabras clave que hacen eco en nuestra crisis humanitaria presente.

Mientras millones son forzados de huir de sus naciones de origen debido a peligro político, económico, y ecológico, racismo y xenofobia han llevado a políticas más y más severas. Un circo político en los medios oculta a ambas las historias de inmigración y las definiciones antiguas de palabras para personas en movimiento, creando confusión lingüística amplia. Bajo esta carpa de circo, no hay consideración para historia, defensa legal, o jurisprudencia. Pero en un mundo donde las diferencias entre “migrante indocumentade” y “solicitante de asilo” pueden ser la diferencia entre vida y muerte, palabras tienen consecuencias graves.

Un antídoto oportuno a este circo, A de Asilo re-enmarca palabras claves que describen a personas en movimiento. Escrito para corregir la de-significación de términos por retórica y políticas basadas en deshumanización y encarcelación lucrosa, este glosario provee una consideración interseccional e histórica de las palabras usadas en debate inflamado. Brincando a unas letras del alfabeto mientras repite a otras, treinta términos cubren todo desde Asilo a Tolerancia Cero. Cada artículo empieza con una historia contemporánea u histórica para ilustrar, y después discute la política alrededor de la palabra. El libro balancea términos impactados por debates políticos contemporáneos—como “migrante,” “refugiado” y “extranjero ilegal”—y términos que ofrecen contexto histórico a estas controversias, como “fugitivo” “sin casa” y “vagante.”

Escrito en inglés y español, este libro ofrece una perspectiva única en las jornadas, historias, retos, y aspiraciones de personas en movimiento. Aumentando la utilidad del libro como un recurso educacional y organizacional, la autora provee una lista de obras para más lectura, igual que un directorio de organizaciones de defensa de inmigrantes a través de los Estados Unidos.

Author information

Buff Rachel Ida :

Rachel Ida Buff teaches history and comparative ethnic studies at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Author of Against the Deportation Terror: Organizing for Immigrant Rights in the Twentieth Century, she has also written for The Nation, The Washington Post, Truthout, and Jewish Currents.

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Rachel Ida Buff ensena historia y estudios étnicos comparativos en la Universidad de Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Autora de Contra el Terror de Deportación: Organizando para Derechos de Inmigrantes en el Sigo XX, también ha escrito para The Nation, The Washington Post, Truthout y Jewish Currents.

Oliva Alejandra :

Alejandra Oliva is Communications Coordinator at the National Immigrant Justice Center in Chicago. She is a freelance writer and editor and has served as a volunteer translator for the New Sanctuary Coalition of New York City.

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Alejandra Oliva es Coordinadora de Comunicaciones en el Centro Nacional de Justicia Para el Inmigrante, Chicago. Es escritora freelance y editora, y ha servido como traductora voluntaria para la coalición de Nuevo Santuario de Nueva York.

Reviews

Ravi Ragbir, Executive Director, New Sanctuary Coalition:
The old saying that ‘sticks and stones will break my bones but words will never hurt me’ is completely wrong. Words hurt. Words start wars. Words have been used to dehumanize and demonize the immigrant population. Thousands of people are detained, separated from their families, their loved ones, deported. Children are ripped from their parents, they are kept in cages. People are dying in the desert. But words can also stop wars, heal, and build solidarity. A is for Asylum Seeker is a great resource, a tool to help us change the way we use language and create a place where we can all live in dignity.

Jennifer Gugliemo, Living the Revolution: Italian Women's Resistance and Radicalism in New York City, 1880-1945:
This is just the book we need right now. It will draw you in and hold you, from the first word to the last. It is so much more than a historical glossary. It is a reminder that words have power. They create the world around us. Each word in this book is an offering, a reclamation, a seed of liberation.

Isabel Sousa, Florida Immigrant Coalition:
A unique and stimulating perspective on the intersectional journeys, histories, challenges and aspirations of different types of migrants in the world, with an emphasis on the United States. This book uplifts the fundamental humanity at the core of the migrant experience regardless of nationality, religion, race, or economic purpose.

An essential primer for the era of forced migration, militarized borders, detention centers and for-profit carceral systems. Rachel Ida Buff’s profound, readable new book is filled with clarity, context and critical guidance for all who 'dream in the many languages of liberation.'---Rabbi Brant Rosen, Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi's Path to Palestinian Solidarity

Frontmatter Free access PDF PDF	i
Contents Free access PDF PDF	xi
Introduction Free access PDF PDF	xiv
Introducción Free access PDF PDF	xv
Translator’s Note Free access PDF PDF	xxxii
Nota de Traductora Free access PDF PDF	xxxiii
Asylum Seeker Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	1
Asilo Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	3
Accompaniment Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	10
Acompañamiento Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	11
Camp Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	18
Campamento Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	19
Caravan Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	26
Caravana Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	27
Citizen Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	32
Ciudadana Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	33
Climate Refugee Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	40
Refugiada Climática Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	41
Denizen Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	48
Habitante Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	49
Deportee Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	56
Deportade Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	57
Detainee Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	64
Detenide Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	65
DREAMer Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	72
DREAMer Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	73
Enemy Alien Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	80
Extranjero Enemigo Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	81
Expatriate Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	88
Expatriada Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	89
Foreign-Born Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	96
Nacides en el Extranjero Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	97
Fugitive Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	104
Fugitivo Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	105
Guest Worker Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	112
Trabajador Invitado Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	113
Illegal Alien Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	118
Extranjero Ilegal Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	119
Immigrant Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	124
Inmigrante Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	125
Itinerant Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	130
Nómade Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	131
Know Your Rights Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	138
Conozca Sus Derechos Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	139
Migrant Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	144
Migrante Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	145
People on the Move Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	152
Personas en Movimiento Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	153
Refugee Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	160
Refugiade Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	161
Sanctuary Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	168
Santuario Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	169
Unaccompanied Minor Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	176
Menor Desacompañade Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	177
Undocumented Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	184
Indocumentado Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	185
Unhoused Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	192
Sin Casa Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	193
Vagrant Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	200
Vagante Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	201
Visa Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	208
Visa Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	209
Xenophobia Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	216
Xenofobia Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	217
Zero Tolerance Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	226
Tolerancia Cero Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	227
Epilogue: The Right to Stay Home Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	234
Epilogo: El Derecho de Quedarse en Casa Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	235
Acknowledgments Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	242
Agradecimientos Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	243
Works Cited Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	247
Para Leer Más Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	257
Resources for People on the Move / Recursos Para Personas en Movimiento Access restricted Content is available PDF PDF	259

A is for Asylum Seeker: Words for People on the Move / A de asilo: palabras para personas en movimiento

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