On Tuesday, Nov. 18, the University of Connecticut Asian American Cultural Center held a migrant rights teach-in event in the Student Union with the goal of sharing information about migrant experiences and organizations that help undocumented individuals. The event included guest speakers with experience both as migrants and as experts in migrant rights.
Qazi Rahman, a visiting assistant professor at the UConn Hartford campus, spoke first at the event. Rahman works for the Department of Social and Critical Inquiry and has co-authored a chapter in the Bangladesh Environmental Humanities Reader.
“It is a typically Eurocentric system, where because of the European borders and law, they have developed [an idea of] ‘this is how countries should be’, and because of colonization this particular system was transcribed to other countries,” said Rahman. “Many of the borders in Africa and even Asia are made arbitrarily, which ran through tribes, ran through different communities and in my case ran through my ancestral home.”
Rahman’s section of the teach-in focused mainly on the existing economic and legal struggles for migrants coming into the United States, drawing inspiration from his own experiences as a migrant.
“I got admitted into the PhD program in the United States in 2015, I could only come here in 2018 because I kept getting rejection despite getting scholarship here,” Rahman said. “The reason being there is somewhere out there, a bomber with the same surname as me. My name is Qazi Arka Rahman, and Rahman is a common surname for Muslims.”
To help attendants understand the issues that refugees face, Rahman rephrased the struggles of refugees in college student terms. “If UConn stopped existing, the students that come here would still be students, but they would need to find a new college. The status of their education should not be a question.”
The second speaker at the event was Sister Mary Jude, who is the Director for the Office for Hispanic Ministry in Norwich. According to Sister Mary Jude, although individuals cannot change the law, it is a moral responsibility to advocate for undocumented immigrants.
“In spite of all the political overtones we cannot be silent, because these are people just like ourselves and the only reason we’re not in that position is because of some good fortune of things outside of our control,” said Sister Mary Jude. “A few months ago, a man was taken from his job. He left behind a 20-year-old wife and a two-week-old baby, she speaks no English, so the accompaniment group stepped up and accompanied her with what she needed to do.”
Sister Mary Jude and the Office of Hispanic Ministry have been involved in the community and have helped dozens of undocumented immigrants with accompaniment. According to Sister Mary Jude, accompaniment can mean many different things depending on the individual’s needs, including translation, courtside assistance or neighborhood patrols for potential ICE vehicles.
When asked whether she thought that the raids were going to come to Connecticut, Sister Mary Jude responded “All the indication seems to be that they will be coming here too. The thrust is to take everybody out, so therefore it’s gonna happen here as well. If it’s not on a large scale, it’ll be in pockets to scare people.”
“It comes back to the human dignity,” Sister Mary Jude said. “They’re not seen as people worth it, people with dignity, people who can make America great again. If you are easily disposed of, then they’ll dispose of you; it’s a racist issue.”