Vol. 79/No. 36 October 12, 2015
Refugees and ‘Open the borders’ Refugees and ‘Open the borders’
You describe the demand for Europe, North America and the world to open its borders to Syrian refugees as “utopian.” [But] workers must take responsibility for coming to the aid of these victims of imperialist wars and exploitation. Your editorial only addresses the plight of Syrian refugees, when four-fifths of those attempting to enter Europe are not Syrian. What is your policy to non-Syrian refugees, such as the sub-Saharan Africans attempting to cross the Mediterranean? Or the Latin Americans risking their lives to enter the United States?
On the question of immigrants and refugees, it is one thing to oppose concrete demands, such as those put forward by the Militant in its Sept. 28 editorial, to a general and utopian call for open borders. But it’s an unnecessary error to go on to say that under capitalist rule, open borders “would lead to increased competition among workers, unemployment, lower wages, and social misery.”
This could create the impression that the Militant believes that immigrants or refugees, and not capitalism, are to blame for these social ills, and, by logical extension, favors restrictions on immigration.
Terry Coggan
Auckland, New Zealand
I agree with the editors that “Open the borders!” is both a utopian and unclear slogan that doesn’t help advance a course for working people to fight along.
However, the phrase “if adopted under capitalist rule” seemed an unnecessary hypothetical. I felt the demand for open borders was utopian precisely because it’s impossible under capitalism. In that sense the slogan reminded me of demands to “dissolve the police” or “end police brutality,” both of which in a general sense represent aspirations of our class but in practice offer only a radical substitute for political activity.
Harry D’Agostino
New Paltz, New York
I don’t think you can say that the “Welcome refugees” rallies are calling for “Opening the borders.” Most of those workers and students, about 30,000 in Sweden, were in favor of a more humane treatment of refugees looking for shelter in Europe.
Such demands should be supported as well as the U.N. right to seek asylum.
Lasse Erlandsson
Stockholm, Sweden
Related articles:
Refugees, class struggle and the fight to unify the working class
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