Borders & Belonging

CERC Migration

Migration is a complex phenomenon – for individuals, it is a personal journey that can result in struggle or triumph depending on life circumstances; and for countries, it can be an economic driver, or a source of social tension or even conflict.

Host Maggie Perzyna, a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration and Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University, explores the complexity of migration with the help of leading academics and professionals working with migrants on the ground.

In Season 1, Borders & Belonging focused on debunking some of the biggest migration myths. In Season 2, Maggie continues her mission to shed light on voices and stories often overlooked, spotlighting regional issues and uncovering the global forces that shape them.

2023 Silver Signal Award Winner


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Episodes

Does brain drain hurt the Global South?
05-04-2023
Does brain drain hurt the Global South?
Many countries are mining the Global South for one of its vital natural resources – its people. This creates a ‘brain drain’ of professionals and academics leaving the Global South in search of better opportunities abroad. Why exactly is this happening, though, and what is the socio-economic harm done to the countries left behind? Is brain drain sapping the best and brightest from the Global South? Or is it just the effect of global mobility in an interconnected world? First, we’ll hear from someone who is himself part of the brain drain, Kevin Njabo. He’s the Africa director and associate adjunct at the Center for Tropical Research, University of California, Los Angeles. The conservation biologist grew up in Cameroon but had to go to Nigeria to study and the US to pursue his academic career.Host Maggie Perzyna then turns to two esteemed researchers delve into this topic: Ninna Sørensen, a senior researcher at the Danish Institute for International Studies, and Manuel Orozco, director of the migration, remittances and development program at the Inter-American Dialogue and senior fellow at the Harvard University Center for International Development. Maggie is a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration & Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University and this podcast is Borders & Belonging. In it, Maggie talks to leading experts from around the world and people with on-the-ground experience to explore the individual experiences of migrants: the difficult decisions and many challenges they face on their journeys.She and her guests also think through the global dimensions of migrants’ movement: the national policies, international agreements, trends of war, climate change, employment and more.Borders & Belonging brings together hard evidence with stories of human experience to kindle new thinking in advocacy, policy and research.Borders & Belonging is a co-production between the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration & Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University and openDemocracy. The podcast was produced by LEAD Podcasting, Toronto, Ontario.Show notesBelow, you will find links to all the research referenced by our guests, as well as other resources you may find useful.Art and documentary‘Arts of war: Ukrainian artists confront Russia’, by Blair Ruble, Wilson Centre (2023)Below, you find links to all of the research referenced by our guests, as well as other resources you may find useful.Media‘37 of 55 countries facing health worker shortages in Africa: WHO‘, by Madhumita Paul, DownToEarth (16 March 2023)‘Brain drain: Migrants are the lifeblood of the NHS, it’s time the UK paid for them‘, by Natalie Sharples, The Guardian (6 January 2015)‘Does migration harm developing countries? - five-minute debate’, by Alex Andreou & Paul Collier, The Guardian (7 October 2013) ‘‘Helicopter research’: who benefits from international studies in Indonesia?‘, by
Are Ukrainian refugees still ‘temporary’?
21-03-2023
Are Ukrainian refugees still ‘temporary’?
Since February 2022, over 19m Ukrainians have fled their country. Almost half probably remain spread across the world, most of them in Europe. They are considered temporary refugees – but are they really temporary? Where are these people, and what challenges face their host countries?First in this episode, we'll hear from Aleksandra and Michał Miszułowicz, a couple in Poland who helped resettled thousands of Ukrainian refugees as soon as the conflict began in 2022. Host Maggie Perzyna then turns to two academic experts to explore the situation of Ukrainian refugees: Izabela Grabowska, professor of social sciences at Kozminski University in Poland, where she is also director of the Centre for Research on Social Change and Human Mobility (CRASH), and Yuliya Kosyakova, professor of migration research at the Otto Friedrich University Bamberg and head of the research department at the Research Institute of the Federal Employment Agency in Nuremberg, Germany. Maggie is a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration & Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University and this podcast is Borders & Belonging. In it, Maggie talks to leading experts from around the world and people with on-the-ground experience to explore the individual experiences of migrants: the difficult decisions and many challenges they face on their journeys.She and her guests will also think through the global dimensions of migrants’ movement: the national policies, international agreements, trends of war, climate change, employment and more.Borders & Belonging brings together hard evidence with stories of human experience to kindle new thinking in advocacy, policy and research.Top researchers contribute articles that complement each podcast with a deeper dive into the themes discussed.Borders & Belonging is a co-production between the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration & Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University and openDemocracy. The podcast was produced by LEAD Podcasting, Toronto, Ontario.Show notesBelow, you will find links to all of the research referenced by our guests, as well as other resources you may find useful.Art and documentary‘Arts of war: Ukrainian artists confront Russia’, by Blair Ruble, Wilson Centre (2023)‘Children caught up in the Ukraine War’, by DW Documentary (2023)‘Defying Russian missiles and Soviet censors, Ukrainian art goes on show’, by Scott Rayburn, New York Times (23 November 2022)‘How Ukrainian refugees in Poland are coping a year on from the war’,  by BBC Newsnight (2023)‘Ukrainian refugees in Russia’, by ARTE.tv Documentary (2022)‘Uprooted’, by Andzej Gavriss, Creative Agency Don’t Panic, for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency (2022)Donate or get involved!Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)
Should we call people climate refugees?
07-03-2023
Should we call people climate refugees?
As temperatures rise around the planet, floods, drought and deforestation are forcing people in the Global South from their homes and livelihoods. The media likes to call them climate refugees, but is that accurate? This episode will unpack the catchy phrase and guide us through some of the nuanced intersections between the environment and migration. First, we'll hear from Daniela Paredes Grijalva. In 2019, she was on the Indonesian island of Sulawesi, where, just months earlier, a strong earthquake had caused a tsunami and a rare phenomenon called soil liquefaction. The consequences for the islanders were absolutely devastating. Here to help host Maggie Perzyna separate the myths from the facts surrounding climate-induced migration are Kathleen Hermans, senior researcher at the Leibniz Institute of Agricultural Development in Transition Economies (IAMO) in Halle, Germany, and Robert McLeman, professor of geography and environmental studies at Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo, Canada, and a policy adviser on the effects of climate change and global migration patterns.Maggie is a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration & Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University and this podcast is Borders & Belonging. In it, Maggie talks to leading experts from around the world and people with on-the-ground experience to explore the individual experiences of migrants: the difficult decisions and many challenges they face on their journeys.She and her guests will also think through the global dimensions of migrants’ movement: the national policies, international agreements, trends of war, climate change, employment and more.Borders & Belonging brings together hard evidence with stories of human experience to kindle new thinking in advocacy, policy and research.Top researchers contribute articles that complement each podcast with a deeper dive into the themes discussed.Borders & Belonging is a co-production between the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration & Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University and openDemocracy. The podcast was produced by LEAD Podcasting, Toronto, Ontario.Show notes Below, you will find links to all of the research referenced by our guests, as well as other resources you may find useful. Art and documentary ‘Climate Refugees’, by Michael Nash, Multicom Entertainment Group (2010) ‘Fleeing Climate Change – The Real Environmental Disaster’, by Thomas Anders, DW Documentary (2019) ‘Planet SOS from Palau to Alaska: Where will climate refugees go when the tide rises?’, by Al Jazeera (2019) ‘The Age of Consequences’, by Jared P. Scott, STARZ Documentaries (2016) Donate or get involved! ‘Hudara’: Standing with communities ‘Refugees International’ ‘
Are migrants the answer to labour shortages?
22-02-2023
Are migrants the answer to labour shortages?
Nations in the global North are struggling with labour shortages dubbed in the media as ‘the great retirement' and ‘the great resignation'. Unemployment rates are running at near-record lows. As a result many nations are letting more temporary migrant labourers in to fill the gaps. Is this a good idea? In this episode we'll hear from someone on the frontlines in the fight for migrant workers’ rights: Syed Hussan, executive director of the Migrant Workers Alliance for Change, a group in Toronto, Canada, that comprises farmworkers, domestic workers and refugees, many of them are undocumented. Then host Maggie Prezyna speaks with two experts will share insights on the complexity of the labour shortage and how the migrant labour piece fits into the economic puzzle. Armine Yalnizyan is an economist and Atkinson Foundation Fellow on the Future of Workers, a regular media contributor and adviser on economic policy to the Canadian government. And Martin Ruhs, is the Professor of Migration Studies and deputy director of the Migration Policy Center at the European University Institute in Florence. He is a migration policy advisor for various governments and international institutions.Maggie is a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration & Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University and this new podcast is Borders & Belonging. Maggie will talk to leading experts from around the world and people with on-the-ground experience to explore the individual experiences of migrants: the difficult decisions and many challenges they face on their journeys.She and her guests will also think through the global dimensions of migrants’ movement: the national policies, international agreements, trends of war, climate change, employment and more.Borders & Belonging brings together hard evidence with stories of human experience to kindle new thinking in advocacy, policy and research.Top researchers contribute articles that complement each podcast with a deeper dive into the themes discussed.Borders & Belonging is a co-production between the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration & Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University and openDemocracy. The podcast was produced by LEAD Podcasting, Toronto, Ontario.Show notesBelow, you will find links to all the research referenced by our guests, as well as other resources you may find useful.Art and documentary‘El Contrato’, by Min Sook Lee, National Film Board (2003)‘Migrant Dreams’, by Min Sook Lee, Cinema Politica (2016)‘This is Evidence: Re-picturing South Asian migrant men in Greece’, exhibit curated by Reena Kukreja (2019)Donate or get involved!Migrant Rights Alliance for ChangeMedia‘Canada and the U.S. both face labor shortages. One country is increasing immigration’, by Julia Ainsley, Joel Seidman and Didi Martinez, NBC News (7 January 2023)‘Contending with the pandemic, wealthy nations wage global
The migrants that the West doesn’t talk about
07-02-2023
The migrants that the West doesn’t talk about
From the way Western media and politicians talk about migration, you’d never guess that only 30% of refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants are heading for the Global North. Instead, most people on the move like this are travelling from one country in the Global South to another.Why does this get so little coverage? What are the most popular destinations for migrants in the Global South? Do migrants moving South to South face the same problems as those headed North: harassment at border crossings, problems with documentation and discouragement from destination countries?Hear from Vani Saraswathi, a journalist who has spent years documenting the experiences of migrants working in the Gulf states. Then host Maggie Prezyna speaks with experts Nicola Piper (University of Sydney) and Joseph Teye (University of Ghana) to explore the unique patterns and challenges of South-South migration.Maggie is a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration & Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University and this new podcast is Borders & Belonging. Maggie will talk to leading experts from around the world and people with on-the-ground experience to explore the individual experiences of migrants: the difficult decisions and many challenges they face on their journeys.She and her guests will also think through the global dimensions of migrants’ movement: the national policies, international agreements, trends of war, climate change, employment and more.Borders & Belonging brings together hard evidence with stories of human experience to kindle new thinking in advocacy, policy and research.Top researchers contribute articles that complement each podcast with a deeper dive into the themes discussed.Borders & Belonging is a co-production between the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration & Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University and openDemocracy. The podcast was produced by LEAD Podcasting, Toronto, Ontario.Show notesBelow, you will find links to all of the research referenced by our guests, as well as other resources you may find useful.Donate or get involved!MIGRANT-RIGHTS.ORGKafala system, Human Rights WatchMedia‘Decolonising knowledge production on south-south migration’, by Mariama Awumbila, Leander Kandilige and Mary Setrana, MIDEQ (25 March 2022)‘Q&A: South-South migration has long been overlooked. Why?’, by Eric Reidy, MIDEQ (8 July 2021)‘New labour law ends Qatar’s exploitative kafala system’, by Pete Pattisson, The Guardian (1 September 2020).‘What or where is the ‘Global South’? A social science perspective’, by Sebastian Haug, London School of Economics (28 September 2021)Research projects and policy‘Africa regional fair recruitment report: The recruitment of...
Why has China become an international student hub?
24-01-2023
Why has China become an international student hub?
For years, many students from China sought to further their studies in countries like the US or the UK. But in the past decade or so, China has itself become a hub for international students. In this episode, two leading researchers will shed light on this phenomenon, and help us understand how and why China has become such a popular destination for students globally. Hear what it's like to be a foreign student in China from Aya, who fled the war in Syria with her family and sought refuge in China when she was only 13 years old. Then host Maggie Prezyna speaks with experts Obert Hodzi (University of Liverpool) and Ben Mulvey (University of Glasgow) about the advantages and challenges of studying in China.Maggie is a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration & Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University and this new podcast is Borders & Belonging. Maggie will talk to leading experts from around the world and people with on-the-ground experience to explore the individual experiences of migrants: the difficult decisions and many challenges they face on their journeys.She and her guests will also think through the global dimensions of migrants’ movement: the national policies, international agreements, trends of war, climate change, employment and more.Borders & Belonging brings together hard evidence with stories of human experience to kindle new thinking in advocacy, policy and research.Top researchers contribute articles that complement each podcast with a deeper dive into the themes discussed.Borders & Belonging is a co-production between the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration & Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University and openDemocracy. The podcast was produced by LEAD Podcasting, Toronto, Ontario.Show notesBelow, you will find links to all of the research referenced by our guests, as well as other resources you may find useful.Donate or get involved!China International Student Union, Twitter.Media‘China gears up for return of international students’, by Mimi Leung, University World News (24 August 2022).‘Coronavirus forces foreign students in China to choose: Stay or go’, by Alexandra Stevenson, The New York Times (12 February 2020).‘The discourse of international student mobility between China and Africa’, by Benjamin Mulvey, Youtube (16 February 2021).‘The end of China’s non-intervention policy in Africa’, with guest Obert Hodzi on the China in Africa Podcast (28 October 2018).‘Increasing number of Africans preferring to study in China’, by Zou Shuo, China Daily (10 November 2021).‘Meet the Author - Interview with Ben Mulvey’, on Podcasts by Network for Research into Chinese Education Mobilities (May 2020).‘
When AI is managing migration, should we be afraid?
06-12-2022
When AI is managing migration, should we be afraid?
Climate change and other disasters are displacing ever more people. Could artificial intelligence help predict impending crises and where humanitarian aid will be needed? Could algorithms be used to match refugees to regions where they will have the best chance of thriving? And what happens when you take human judgement out of the process, or if data is used to exclude some migrants unjustly?Hilary Evans Cameron (Toronto Metropolitan University) starts off the discussion with a refugee case to show that human-decision making, itself, can be dangerously unreliable. Then host Maggie Prezyna speaks with experts Ana Beduschi (Exeter University) and Tuba Birca (Vrije Universiteit Brussel), who walk us through what AI is, how it works and what are its risks, pitfalls and potential for good.Maggie is a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration & Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University and this new podcast is Borders & Belonging. Maggie will talk to leading experts from around the world and people with on-the-ground experience to explore the individual experiences of migrants: the difficult decisions and many challenges they face on their journeys.She and her guests will also think through the global dimensions of migrants’ movement: the national policies, international agreements, trends of war, climate change, employment and more.Borders & Belonging brings together hard evidence with stories of human experience to kindle new thinking in advocacy, policy and research.Top researchers contribute articles that complement each podcast with a deeper dive into the themes discussed.Borders & Belonging is a co-production between the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration & Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University and openDemocracy. The podcast was produced by LEAD Podcasting, Toronto, Ontario.Show notesBelow, you will find links to all of the research referenced by our guests, as well as other resources you may find useful.Media‘A helping hand from outer space: Doctors Without Borders utilise satellite data for humanitarian missions’, by Reliefweb (5 October 2020)‘A Robot Lawyer Is Officially Assisting With Refugee Applications’ by Dom Galeon, Futurism (3 December 2017)‘Germany to use voice recognition to identify migrant origins’ by BBC, (17 March 2017)‘How artificial intelligence is changing asylum seekers’ lives for the worse’ by Nicholas Keung, Toronto Star (9 November 2020)‘Jordan: Is the UN’s biometric registration for Syrian refugees a threat to their privacy?’ by Zoe H. Robbin, Middle East Eye (23 October 2022)‘Racial discrimination in face recognition technology’ by Alex Najibi, Harvard University (24 October 2020)‘
Human Smuggling or Human Trafficking? Why the Difference Matters
22-11-2022
Human Smuggling or Human Trafficking? Why the Difference Matters
Politicians sometimes talk about human smuggling and trafficking as if they were the same thing. It’s not always because of ignorance: they want to gain support for blocking the flows of all migrants and refugees.In this episode we hear from Luca Stevenson of European Sex Workers Rights Alliance, who explains that, even with sex workers, we have to look at what drives them to the trade in the first place and recognise that laws to prevent trafficking can cause vulnerable women even more harm. Host Maggie Prezyna speaks with Kamala Kempadoo (York University) and Gabriella Sanchez (University of Massachusetts), who argue that we need to look deeper at the systemic injustices behind smuggling, at what drives people to risk everything for a chance of a better life.Maggie is a researcher with the Canada Excellence Research Chair (CERC) in Migration & Integration program at Toronto Metropolitan University and this new podcast is Borders & Belonging. Maggie will talk to leading experts from around the world and people with on-the-ground experience to explore the individual experiences of migrants: the difficult decisions and many challenges they face on their journeys.She and her guests will also think through the global dimensions of migrants’ movement: the national policies, international agreements, trends of war, climate change, employment and more.Borders & Belonging brings together hard evidence with stories of human experience to kindle new thinking in advocacy, policy and research.Top researchers contribute articles that complement each podcast with a deeper dive into the themes discussed.Borders & Belonging is a co-production between the Canada Excellence Research Chair in Migration & Integration at Toronto Metropolitan University and openDemocracy. The podcast was produced by LEAD Podcasting, Toronto, Ontario.Show notesBelow, you will find links to all of the research referenced by our guests, as well as other resources you may find useful.Donate or get involved!European Sex Workers Rights AllianceButterfly: Asian and Migrant Sex Workers Support NetworkDerechos Humanos Integrales en Acción (DHIA)Media‘OECS: Cuban medical brigade shouldn't be compared to human trafficking’ Dionne Baptiste, D. , Loop Carribean News (21 June 2020)‘Trump Administration ups pressure on Cuban medical programmes’ by the Carribean Council (2022)‘Cuba’s Shameful Trafficking of Its Doctors’ by Jonathan Cuneo & Samuel Dubbin, The Wall Street Journal (21 June 2020)‘The violent, hopeful world of children who smuggle people’ by Gabriella Sanchez & Cameron Thibos, openDemocracy (3 May 2022)‘