Climate Refugees or Future Migrant Labour Force: A Decolonial Critique of Matthieu Rytz’s Anote’s Ark (2018) and Climate Displacement Discourse in the Pacific

IF 1.4 Q2 SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY
Ti-han Chang
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Between 2010 to 2020, the global media generally had a very positive view of the voluntary migration schemes or humanitarian refugee visas promised by their Pacific allies (e.g., Australia and New Zealand). However, the actual implementation of climate migrants’ relocation tells a different story, particularly in the case of I-Kiribati people. This paper examines Australian and New Zealand’s governmental policies of immigration for the Pacific islanders over the last two decades. Drawing on a decolonial theoretical approach inspired by Jonathan Pugh, David Chandler and Elizabeth DeLoughrey, in conjunction with Prem Kumar Rajaram’s post-Marxist migrant economy theory, this paper argues that the Australian and New Zealand governments ultimately only paid lip service to humanitarian aid for climate displaced people. In fact, the proposed schemes for I-Kiribati people or other Pacific climate migrants ultimately serve to convert the migrant populations into the host country’s labour force, of use for its neoliberal economy. The second half of the paper turns to an analysis of an award-winning climate documentary produced by a Canadian film maker, Matthieu Rytz. Rytz’s Anote’s Ark (2018) aligns with the “migrating with dignity” policy proposed by the former I-Kiribati president, Anote Tong. Bringing in Malcom Ferdinand’s decolonial analysis of the figure of Noah’s ark in the climate discourse, the paper problematises the general political consensus advanced by this particular type of contemporary climate documentary and challenges the feasibility of the “migrating with dignity” approach. Most importantly, it questions whether climate migrants can truly build a future with dignity in their host country if they are conditioned to supply the migrant labour market.
气候难民或未来的移民劳动力:对马修·雷茨的《阿诺特的方舟》(2018)和太平洋地区气候流离失所话语的非殖民化批评
2010年至2020年期间,全球媒体普遍对其太平洋盟友(如澳大利亚和新西兰)承诺的自愿移民计划或人道主义难民签证持非常积极的看法。然而,气候移民重新安置的实际实施情况却截然不同,尤其是基里巴斯人民的情况。本文考察了过去二十年来澳大利亚和新西兰政府对太平洋岛民的移民政策。借鉴乔纳森·皮尤、大卫·钱德勒和伊丽莎白·德洛雷启发的非殖民主义理论方法,结合普雷姆·库马尔·拉贾拉姆的后马克思主义移民经济理论,本文认为澳大利亚和新西兰政府最终只是口头上承诺为气候流离失所者提供人道主义援助。事实上,针对基里巴斯人民或其他太平洋气候移民的拟议计划,最终将把移民人口转化为东道国的劳动力,为其新自由主义经济服务。论文的后半部分转向对加拿大电影制片人马修·雷茨(Matthieu Rytz)制作的获奖气候纪录片的分析。雷茨的《安诺特的方舟》(2018)与基里巴斯前总统安诺特·汤提出的“有尊严的移民”政策一致。本文引入马尔科姆·费迪南德对气候话语中诺亚方舟形象的非殖民化分析,对这种特殊类型的当代气候纪录片所提出的普遍政治共识提出了质疑,并对“有尊严的移民”方法的可行性提出了挑战。最重要的是,它质疑气候移民是否能够真正在东道国建立一个有尊严的未来,如果他们习惯于提供移民劳动力市场。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies
International Journal of Asia Pacific Studies SOCIAL SCIENCES, INTERDISCIPLINARY-
CiteScore
0.70
自引率
0.00%
发文量
28
审稿时长
20 weeks
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