Undocumentary – blog

UNDOCUMENTARY is an upcoming web documentary on the daily realities faced by undocumented migrants living in Europe. It was made by PICUM, an international NGO that promotes respect for the rights of undocumented migrants within Europe and seeks dialogue with other organisations with similar concerns and goals.

PICUM travelled to Almeria (Spain), Nicosia (Cyprus), Milan (Italy), Paris (France), Amsterdam (The Netherlands), Brussels (Belgium) and Gothenburg (Sweden) to gather the stories of those on the frontline, including irregular migrants, migrants’ rights defenders, professionals and public authorities.

The documentary is divided into four chapters to mirror PICUM’s main areas of work/expertise: Access to Health Care, Fair Working Conditions, Access to Justice for Undocumented Women and Access to Education and Housing for Undocumented Children and Their Families. The introductory clip will highlight the crosscutting issue of the criminalisation of undocumented migrants and their advocates, as well as providing basic information on who undocumented migrants are and why it is important to use the terms ‘undocumented’ or ‘irregular’ instead of ‘illegal’ .

UNDOCUMENTARY offers a wide range of multimedia tools –video, audio, photographic, info graphic– to give the viewer the possibility to interact with the story, for example by choosing to watch a part of the video instead of another or by accessing different extra resources integrated to them.

The importance of education to a child’s development is paramount. While no EU member state explicitly bars undocumented children from registering in school, numerous barriers effectively prevent them from attending. Some school administrations refuse to register them. In others immigration authorities use the education system to detect undocumented families by pressuring education institutions to report them. Fear of detection prevents many undocumented families from registering their children in schools. Moving to higher education is also riddled with problems – simply getting a diploma to certify completed studies is difficult, which prevents access to colleges. Unstable and unsuitable housing conditions also affect school attendance and performance.

Access to housing is one of the main problems for undocumented migrants whose situation is characterized by having to move frequently. Many are forced to live as nomads because of the uncertainty of their income and their irregular status. Undocumented migrants often develop strategies to avoid controls on the housing market. They live in the homes of friends and relatives, share rooms with other migrants, pay provisions to legal residents who act as the formal tenants or they rent on the unofficial housing market. Subsequently, housing can be very expensive and, quite frequently, apartments are overcrowded, in poor condition, and do not meet the basic legal standards for safety and sanitation.

PICUM went to Amsterdam, The Netherlands, to talk with Defence for Children International – Netherlands about their campaign against the Dutch government’s policy of evicting undocumented children and their parents from reception centers following a failed residency bid. In Paris, France, the Réseau Education Sans Frontière tells us about its campaign for undocumented students who have come of age and lost their residence permits by turning 18 years old and no longer being considered children.

Gender discrimination increases migrant women’s likelihood to experience violations of their human rights and when combined with an irregular status, often contributes to a worrying culture of impunity. In Europe, the increased linkage between migration control mechanisms and access to basic services means that undocumented migrant women experience numerous barriers to empowerment. In many countries they are unable to access health care, obtain social assistance and may face arrest or deportation if they make contact with the police to report violence or abuse.

PICUM met with an undocumented Afghani woman in Gothenburg, Sweden, who was subject to violence and abuse by her family and could go neither to the police nor to the hospital as she feared being deported. Most strikingly however, her irregular status meant she was not even allowed to enter a women’s shelter, a paradox in a country considered a leader in gender-equality and anti-discrimination. In Paris, France, the NGO “La Cimade” speak about their campaign to address the double discrimination faced by undocumented women based on their migration-status and gender. Positive examples do exist however, with legislation in Spain providing access justice and social support for undocumented women.

Migrant workers, regular and irregular, are employed across the European Union and thus contribute considerably to its economy. Undocumented migrant workers are more likely to accept substandard working conditions and can be easily intimidated and exploited by their employers due to their precarious status and their fear of being expelled if they speak out. They often work long hours, in dangerous and unhygienic conditions. Many do not receive their wages or receive less than was agreed upon and may be fired without being given due notice. If they are apprehended whilst carrying out irregular labour, undocumented workers will generally face deportation without being able to claim their last wages.

PICUM went to Almeria, Spain, to film the segregation and exploitation experienced by thousands of undocumented migrants working in the greenhouses to grow salad, vegetables and fruits for North European supermarkets. NGOs claim these abuses meet the UN’s official definition of modern-day slavery. Modern-day slavery can also be found in other segments of the economy like construction, hotels and catering as well as in the domestic sector. Domestic workers are employed in places that are particularly isolated from the public space and are not subject to inspections by public authorities. We interviewed domestic workers in Brussels, and trade unionists in Paris, to find out how employers take advantage of the vulnerability and fears of undocumented migrants in order to exploit them and to understand what are the best strategies to make these workers come out of the shadows.

Undocumented migrants in Europe face serious problems and obstacles in gaining access to health care services. For them, a deterioration of their physical and/or mental health is more likely to result from poor access to health care services and the continual fear of being discovered and expelled. While numerous international human rights instruments have been ratified by EU member states and refer to the right of everyone to access health care as a basic human right (regardless of one’s administrative status), the laws and practices in many European states deviate or ignore completely these obligations. It is a fact that a high percentage of undocumented migrants do not access any kind of health care even if they are entitled to it.

PICUM visited three countries (Italy, Belgium and Sweden) to show how different the level of access to health care can be from one country to another. Many people will be surprised to know that a country known for its excellent reputation on human rights like Sweden has one of the worst policies in Europe on health care for undocumented migrants, while in Italy, a country often mentioned for its outrageous measures in the field of migration, undocumented migrants can access a wide range of health services.