‘Most of this is symbolic’: the new wave of anti-migrant vigilantes in Europe | Migration

SHe walked from the center of the male Reykjavík, who carried black shirts decorated with iron cross, and Buzzy drew attention on Friday night. In Poland and the Netherlands, the alerts were ready to refuse the asylum seekers they encountered during the German border. In Belfast, they wandered after the sunset, and demanded to see the identity documents of immigrants and colorful people.

Each of the groups, which has been part of a renewed anti -immigrant vigilant wave that emerged in recent months in Europe, has tried to use themselves as a kind of protective force. But those who examine the alerts warn that their actions often worse their safety concerns, add fear and fuel them on the right right.

“Most of them do not stop migration. They do not create any more security on the streets,” said Tora Bjørgo, a professor at the University of Oslo and former director of the university. “This is a demonstration for the media and often for political purposes because often extreme right and right -wing organizations use it as a way to promote and to get new members.”

Europe has long seen the anti -immigrant vigilant waves that emerged as the anti -immigration discourse hardened. This summer was not an exception: in the state of Murcia in the southeast of Murcia, Spain had turbulence for days. “Hunting” people With foreign origins, Belfast in Northern Ireland struggled with a intimidation campaign targeting color people. In Poland, the self -declared “citizen patrols” insisted that sometimes hundreds of numbers were needed at the beginning of this summer, gathered on the German border, asylum seekers were needed to prevent the movement between the two countries.

The Netherlands had a similar movement, going to the German border near the Human Ter Apel villages and sold in June. High visibility vests and lamps, they reported One night, he pointed out the vehicles and asked people to show identity.

RIGHTS CAMPAIGNS AND Governments His actions were based on fear and defined them as super charging with misinformation. Racist messaging on social media, which is rocketed by 1,500%in front of the unrest in Spain. accordingly WATCHING CENTER CENTER OF WARSOVA Helsinki Human Rights Foundation He associated the actions in Poland with a radical narrative that depicts migration as a threat and offered social fears and the insecurity of state institutions ”.

Even though the alerts move with fear, they usually provoke among the people they claim to protect it. Stating that militant styles rarely exhibited a very frightening violence capacity, especially for minorities, Bjørg said, “There is little evidence that people feel safer,” he said. “A few of the participants are well -known criminals and violent people, so they usually cause more fear than they create a sense of security.”

For some, alertness offers a tool to re -brand themselves. Research in a group in Norway in 2016, many people The members had a crime history from domestic violence to drug trade and theft. “This is a way to improve his postures in the community, Bj said Bjørg. “This is a demonstration of masculinity and protection of women.”

Latest Reports From Iceland And Northern Ireland argues that convicted criminals remain the basis of these movements. Fjölnir Seæmundsson, President of the National Police Union, Iceland, said the police were told to the police. He argues that their goals are to protect the Icelands from immigrants, and that women threaten them against people who criticize them, including telling them that they should “silence for good”.

The idea of ​​people who thought that they could take the law into their own hands was a source of concern. He told Vísir to the local news site. “There are many examples that show that this is just bad.”

According to Dr Matthijs Gardenier, a sociologist at the University of Paul-Valéry Montpellier, despite their relatively small numbers, these groups allow them to potentially refer to how we see migration in social media and traditional media.

When Gardenier began to investigate on the anti -immigrant vigilances in Calais ten years ago and a few years later in Dover, this power took a look at the first hand. “Many did not have, but the images they published online, especially in the UK, can be seen millions of times. And then the paintings and other media began to pay attention.”

This attention was rapidly affected. “They were using patrols to show the refugees who escaped from the wars that escaped from anything – they may have a great impact on safety concerns, not as people who are in the field of humanitarian concerns,” he said.

In this way, the alerts became part of a wider ecosystem, and the migration helped the creating of the case when those who insist on the need to be handled only through border walls and fences. “This process started without these groups, Gard Gardenier said. “But I think they strengthen this process and feed on groups that want the borders to act as a large security device.”

Ultimately, as the groups walked through the streets throughout Europe, creating content and capturing cuffs, they were extremely right to win the most. “Patrols, activities, everything they do, a visual show for social media, produces magnificent images,” he said. “Then this fascination plays a role to shape public opinion and force people to vote on the right.”