Christopher John Chanco

This article examines the humanitarian internationalism of the Jewish Labour Committee of Canada (JLC) between 1938 and 1952. Throughout WWII, the JLC sent aid to European resistance movements, and in its aftermath participated in the "garment workers' schemes," a series of immigration projects that resettled thousands of displaced persons in Canada. Undertaken independently by the Jew-ish-Canadian community, with the assistance of trade unions, the projects worked to overcome tight border restrictions and early Cold War realpolitik. In doing so, the JLC united Jewish institutions, trade unionists, social democrats, and anti-fascists across Europe and North America. It also acted in a pivotal moment in the evolution of Canada's refugee system and domestic attitudes toward racism. As such, the JLC's history is a microcosm for the shifting nature of relations between Jews, Canada, and the left writ large.

Cet article examine l’internationalisme humanitaire du Jewish Labour Committee du Canada (JLC) entre 1938 et 1952. Tout au long de la Deuxième Guerre mondiale, le JLC a envoyé de l’aide aux mouvements de résistance européens et a participé, après l’armistice, aux « garment workers’ schemes », une série de projets d’immigration qui ont permis de réinstaller des milliers de personnes déplacées au Canada. Entrepris indépendamment par la communauté juive canadienne et avec l’aide de syndicats, ces projets ont permis de surmonter les restrictions frontalières et la realpolitik du début de la guerre froide. Ce faisant, le JLC a réuni des institutions juives, des syndicalistes, des sociaux-démocrates et des antifascistes de toute l’Europe et de l’Amérique du Nord. Il a également agi à un moment charnière de l’évolution du système canadien d’octroi de l’asile et des attitudes de la population à l’égard du racisme. En tant que telle, l’histoire du JLC est un microcosme de la nature changeante des relations entre les Juifs, le Canada et la gauche au sens large.

By asserting the realities of settler coloniality in the evolution of southwestern Mindanao as a frontier space, this paper addresses a phenomenon consistently disavowed in mainstream historiographical accounts of the region. It raises three other broad concerns. First, that while resources, territory, and population are factors that figure centrally in the political economy of settler colonialism, they may equally be said to be bound up with the practices of state sovereignty in general, involving ‘white’ settler colonial relations as well as ‘indigenous’ ones competing for spatial hegemony at the frontier. Second, that these processes are embedded in historical narratives of the frontier and its inhabitants that echo, in similar or divergent ways, well into the present. Finally, that settler colonial studies would benefit from a stronger engagement with the political geographic literature and with analyses of the production of (post)colonial state space.

The rapid growth of Philippine cities has brought a host of problems and challenges, including sprawl, environmental degradation, unemployment, lack of adequate housing, increased vulnerability to hazards, and an overall decline in the quality of life of urban residents. As Mega Manila expands, its peri-urban fringes face the pressure of conversion to urban land uses, while core urban areas grapple with various urban issues on zoning and land use change. Given these issues, land use plans and policies serve as important sites of intervention in moving toward urban sustainability. Beyond issues of enforcement on the ground, this paper argues for the need to examine, evaluate, and refine the guiding framework for land use planning. We propose three ways of approaching urban land use planning and policy based on a review of relevant documents and field research in two case study sites. First, we emphasize the need to broaden sustainability as a guiding framework for land use planning b...

"At a celebration in Manila marking Quezon’s anniversary, Israel’s ambassador to the Philippines described him as a man of "integrity and moral conviction" for his work on behalf of Jewish refugees. "History," he continued, "provides today’s leaders with role models."

If the lessons that our leaders draw from the past inspire a retreat to nationalist extremism that speaks only the language of fear and power, of exclusion, discrimination and abuse, then they may be drawing the wrong ones.''

The following chapter revisits the rise of Dutertismo, with a focus on the role of the Filipino diaspora in the rise of populist authoritarianism back home and around the world. How does the case of the Filipino diaspora compare with other migrant communities from the Global South in terms of support for rightwing populist leaders? And how does it speak to similar situations in the Global North? The authors reflect on political trends that have tied these migrant diasporas—who are both marginalized and beneficiaries of the relative freedoms and human rights of Western democracies—to authoritarian rule and far-right nationalist politics in their home countries. The essay is at once a political analysis that draws on existing literature as well as a personal reflection on the diasporic experience on the authors’ part as Filipino writers living in the West, torn between countries with different cultural and political value systems. It concludes with thoughts on a troubled present, what it means to be an immigrant, the tensions between nationalism and internationalism, and on reimagining a better world.

Travail final présenté dans le cadre d'un cours sur les politiques migratoires européennes (sous la direction de Luna Vives et Laura Beaudonnet).

"Le 6e sommet Union européenne - Union africaine conclu en février 2022 portait l’espoir d’un partenariat renouvelé entre l’Afrique et l’Europe. Sans surprise, la question migratoire figurait à la tête de l’agenda (Conseil européen, 2022). En effet, le Sommet UE-UA s’inscrit dans une série de rencontres organisées depuis 2012 visant une plus grande coopération en matière de migration et mobilité entre les dirigeants politiques des deux continents (« Partenariat Afrique-UE sur les migrations, la mobilité et l’emploi », s. d.). La gestion des migrations s’y retrouve pleinement rattachée à d’autres dossiers, dont la pandémie, le développement durable, la sécurité, la lutte anti-terroriste et le changement climatique."

Ce texte s’intéresse à la place qu’occupent l’asile et le migrant dans la mémoire collective européenne. Nous constatons que l’Europe comme projet s’est fondée sur une tension entre les valeurs d’accueil -, puisées dans la mémoire collective de son passé sanglant, - et la volonté d’exclusion d’autrui non-occidental.  Force est de constater que les valeurs humanistes dont l’Europe se réclame sont trahies dans les faits, à savoir le durcissement des politiques visant à repousser les flux migratoires du Sud et la criminalisation des organisations humanitaires œuvrant en défense des droits des migrants (Malik, 2021).

Dans un premier temps, nous aborderons brièvement l’histoire de l’asile et la dialectique entre l’exclusion et l’accueil des migrants qui est au cœur du projet européen. La discussion sera ensuite consacrée à la construction de l’étranger comme problème ou menace dans les politiques migratoires européennes et dans le débat public. La conclusion débouchera sur une réflexion ouverte sur l’avenir de la question migratoire en Europe et ses impacts sur les liens que le continent vise à tisser avec le Sud.

In this piece, I explore the writings of the Tunisian Jew Albert Memmi, placing him on a tangent with other writers like Aimé Césaire, who posed similar questions around race, nationalism, political identity, and the contradictions of modernity after the Holocaust. Like Memmi, Césaire among others, expressed the political within the autobiographical, while negotiating a complex relationship with his own community, the west, and the organised left. Above all they emerged from, and wrote in response to, a historical period joined at the hip in the aftermath of two tragedies: the Holocaust and colonialism. Through this exploration of Jewish and post-colonial representations of these contested moments in modern history, I expand on Michael Rothberg's thesis on the multidirectionality of Holocaust memory.

Coordinated with authors, copyedited chapters, and managed the editorial team alongside lead research consultant Roselynn Musa for CPDE’s 2015 Global Synthesis Report on Development Cooperation, CSO Development Effectiveness, and CSO Enabling Environment, which drew on contributions from civil society organisations from Africa, Latin America, Europe, West Asia and the Pacific.

This transnational history of the Jewish Labour Committee of Canada (JLC) retraces the organisations narratives, networks, and practices of diaspora solidarity, from the moment of its establishment and into the post-war period. The JLCs activists refracted their solidarities through the lens of a diasporic Jewish identity. At a time when Canada imposed strong barriers against refugees, the JLC worked to send aid to the anti-fascist resistance in Europe while participating in a series of immigration schemes to bring Jews from displaced persons camps over to Canada. It was in this unique moment that the JLC could also launch pioneering human rights and anti-racism campaigns within the labour movement. Representing one section of the organised Jewish community in Canada, the JLC proved a critical part of the transformation of the countrys treatment of refugees and minorities in the following decades.

This transnational history of the Jewish Labour Committee of Canada (JLC) retraces the organisations narratives, networks, and practices of diaspora solidarity, from the moment of its establishment and into the post-war period. The JLCs activists refracted their solidarities through the lens of a diasporic Jewish identity. At a time when Canada imposed strong barriers against refugees, the JLC worked to send aid to the anti-fascist resistance in Europe while participating in a series of immigration schemes to bring Jews from displaced persons camps over to Canada. It was in this unique moment that the JLC could also launch pioneering human rights and anti-racism campaigns within the labour movement. Representing one section of the organised Jewish community in Canada, the JLC proved a critical part of the transformation of the countrys treatment of refugees and minorities in the following decades.

Achieving “durable solutions” is a central goal of the contemporary refugee regime. Durable solutions are often equated with three routes to resolving displacement—voluntary repatriation, local integration or resettlement—and the concept is closely tied to ideas about permanency, protection, and the rectification of refugees’ legal limbo. Despite its contemporary prominence, the genealogy of the concept of durable solutions has not been fully considered. Accordingly, this article traces the origins of the concept of durable solutions for refugees from 1921 to 1960, examining how such solutions have been framed in international law and through the work of a key set of international organisations: the League of Nations, the UN Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, the International Refugee Organization, the UN Conciliation Commission for Palestine, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. By hi...