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ABSTRACT The European refugee crisis has gained worldwide attention with daily media coverage both in and outside Germany. Representations of refugees in media and political discourse in relation to Germany participate in a Gramscian 'war of position' over symbols, policies, and, ultimately, social and material resources, with potentially fatal consequences. These representations shift blame from historical, political-economic structures to the displaced people themselves. They demarcate the 'deserving' refugee from the 'undeserving' migrant and play into fear of cultural, religious, and ethnic difference in the midst of increasing anxiety and precarity for many in Europe. Comparative perspectives suggest that anthropology can play an important role in analyzing these phenomena, highlighting sites of contestation, imagining alternatives, and working toward them. [ refugee, media, immigration, crisis, Germany, Europe] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various reports within the issue on topics including the impact of discourses of migration and deservingness on the experiences of displaced people, the debate on unauthorized migration in Israel, and the conditions of the Roma in Germany.

This article discusses the discursive framing of displacement and legitimacy for Roma migrants living in Germany to explore distinctions between 'economic' and 'forced' migration. Despite efforts towards their inclusion at the EU level, there has been an escalation in anti-Roma sentiment across Europe simultaneous with increased transnational mobility. Based on media analysis and ethnographic research spanning 2011 to 2013, the inconsistencies and ironies associated with distinctions between voluntary and forced migration - and the consequences of this distinction for experiences in a host country - are illustrated using three cases. These highlight the range of reactions to Roma as 'poverty migrants' (with its a priori assumption about welfare needs) to 'bogus' or illegitimate refugees, even when fleeing desperate circumstances. These framings, and the inconsistencies they inherently entail, highlight investment in European identity and citizenship as migrants are defined, categorized, and managed by states seeking to curtail population movements deemed problematic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This article discusses health concerns of migrant street-based male sex workers (SMSW) in Germany, a population that remains underexplored by health and social scientists. It is based on five months of ethnographic research in 2011/2012, including 46 semi-structured interviews with physicians, social workers, health department staff, and SMSW from Romania and Bulgaria. This is supplemented with annual reports by organizations providing assistance to this population in eight cities. The article contributes, first, an analysis of the increase in migrant SMSW as a response to economic opportunities (freedom of movement across European Union borders) and constraints (transitional measures restricting access to the labor market). It seeks to move beyond the myopic association between sex work and HIV to contextualize health risks as resultant of macro-level processes associated with migration. Second, the article contributes a summary of primary health concerns for this population. Especially troubling is their lack of access to regular medical services, reflecting a socio-legal position that often resembles that of unauthorized migrants rather than European Union citizens. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article examines organized efforts by citizens to provide medical aid to unauthorized migrants in Germany. A case study of an activist organization in Berlin highlights how prevailing forms of governance through citizenship are disrupted. Three major themes are explored. First, historical contingencies and policy realities explain why, given examples of grassroots protest by migrants in other settings, efforts in Germany have been driven primarily by citizens. Second, migrants' biolegitimacy shapes specific ideas of relative deservingness. As a result, advocacy for some groups, such as survivors of torture or refugees from specific geopolitical settings, is more highly valued than that which addresses needs of unauthorized labor migrants. Finally, although their sustained efforts have resulted in challenges to policy and called into question prevailing notions of citizenship, medical activist organizations have become increasingly institutionalized, which may jeopardize their goals. As this case illustrates, the distinctive ethics associated with providing medical care has the ability to disrupt the scaling of citizenship by the state by treating noncitizens – especially ‘illegal’ noncitizens – ostensibly as citizens, thus protesting citizenship as the exclusive organizing principle of German society. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Persons of migrant background, a highly heterogeneous group, now comprise one-fifth of the total population in Germany. However, delayed and conflicted responses to social inclusion have resulted in clear deficits in the health care system, with few serious attempts to assess migrants’ profiles and needs. This article provides a critical review based on meta-analysis of literature indexed in MEDLINE, a qualitative review of German medical and nursing curricula, and original ethnographic data. It examines discourses and practices embedded within larger national debates on migrant integration and their specific manifestations in the health sector in order to explain the current situation of unauthorized migrants. The historical arc of the last fifty years can be viewed as a progression of key themes based on interrelated concepts of deservingness and selective investment. Relative deservingness is evident in differential social positioning and access to resources, resulting in selective investment and decades of continued social inequality. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Unauthorized migrants face health disadvantages in many receiving nations. However, few studies have explored precisely how the condition of “illegality” influences illness experiences, medical treatment, and convalescence. This article presents a case study from Germany (2004–2006 and 2008), where unauthorized migrants face limited access to health care and the threat of deportation results in avoidance of services and treatment delays. This is confounded by unique laws which essentially criminalize health care workers for aiding migrants. This article provides a snapshot of 183 patients who attended a Berlin clinic that functions as the single largest source of medical assistance for unauthorized persons in Germany. The demographic information sketches a picture of labor migrants with a mean age of approximately 29 years. More women than men presented at this clinic, a result of its ability to successfully arrange prenatal care and delivery as well as a reflection of local labor markets. The diversity of countries of origin (n =55) is surprising, underscoring the utility of using illegal status as a unifying variable to highlight migrants'' shared position in the global economy and the resulting barriers to basic medical services. Patients presented with a range of illnesses typical for their age group. However, the effects of illegal status resulted in four areas of disparities: 1) limits to the overall quality and quantity of care for mothers and infants; 2) delayed presentation and difficulties accessing a regular supply of medication for patients with chronic illnesses; 3) difficulties in accessing immediate medical attention for unpredictable injuries and other acute health concerns; and 4) a lack of mental health care options for generalized stress and anxiety affecting health. In Germany, an incoherent policy environment contributes to inadequate services and treatment delays. Solutions must address these legal ambiguities, which represent a primary barrier to equity in a nation with otherwise universal health coverage. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Women's experiences of migration, and their relationship to a host country, vary significantly from those of migrant men simply because pregnancy is a possibility. The concept of “demographic theft” highlights popular anxieties regarding high fertility among foreigners, including undocumented migrants. This article examines pregnant undocumented women's experiences with the health care system and relationship to the state in Germany. It also provides a discussion of how a restrictive immigration climate, particular models of citizenship, and liberal family laws have resulted in unique practices surrounding paternity claims. It is based on long-term ethnographic data to highlight contradictions and ambiguities in the policy environment and utilizes the notion of stratified reproduction to bring new evidence regarding mothers' deportability and practices of paternity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Women's experiences of migration, and their relationship to a host country, vary significantly from those of migrant men simply because pregnancy is a possibility. The concept of "demographic theft" highlights popular anxieties regarding high fertility among foreigners, including undocumented migrants. This article examines pregnant undocumented women's experiences with the health care system and relationship to the state in Germany. It also provides a discussion of how a restrictive immigration climate, particular models of citizenship, and liberal family laws have resulted in unique practices surrounding paternity claims. It is based on long-term ethnographic data to highlight contradictions and ambiguities in the policy environment and utilizes the notion of stratified reproduction to bring new evidence regarding mothers' deportability and practices of paternity.