Developed nations are partially responsible for the economic inequality and political instability that causes many immigrants, asylum-seekers and refugees to leave their home countries, New York University English and comparative literature professor Robert Young said in a Thursday lecture at the Haldeman Center. In the lecture, "Migration and Globalization, from Benjamin to Fanon," Young examined the difficulties that immigrants face and their motives for migration.
Young opened and closed the lecture with the stories of asylum seekers Walter Benjamin and Frantz Fanon, using these stories to demonstrate the physical and psychological struggle immigrants face.
Benjamin and Fanon were both victims of restrictive immigration rules, Young said. Benjamin, a German-Jewish philosopher and literary critic, committed suicide after he was denied entrance to Spain while trying to escape the Nazis. Fanon, a prominent anti-colonialist during the middle of the 20th century, called for the dissolution of boundaries to create a unified Africa.
"Chancing death is standard fare for the migrant, the asylum seeker," Young said. "They cannot contemplate a return home. Their hopelessness is measured in their suicide statistics."
Young cited two major causes of mass migration, both of which he partially attributed to Western nations: military conflicts, which he said Western countries promote by giving "aid in the form of weapons," and economic inequality, which he said stem from Western countries' influence on international trade and price practices.
Migration patterns reflect the discrepancies between rich and poor nations, Young said, as immigrants seek a better life in a seemingly more privileged country.
Young also criticized the concept of the nation-state, saying that territorial boundaries often do not correspond with the ethnic, religious and cultural boundaries of different populations.
"The refugee ... doesn't bring that state into crisis," Young said. "[The refugee] historically has always been a product of the nation-state."
Young related his arguments to recent debates in the United States and other Western countries concerning immigration.
"There's a recognition that economically, labor is required," Young said. "But politically, it's very hard to say that. In some sense, the illegality of their entrance is convenient for the state."
The controversy surrounding immigration is also a generational issue, Young said. Middle-aged people try to make themselves feel secure by strengthening border control, he said.
"Whatever security installed, migrants will always use ingenuity and risk," Young said.
Young's address was given as the James Hoffman Memorial Lecture, which annually honors the memory of James Hoffman '82, who died in a car accident the summer after his graduation from the College.
