Here we are again with a need to classify everything into a certain box so we can close it and move on. ‘Migrant’ apparently didn’t cut it, so we invented the word ‘trans migrant’. As if the word migrant wasn’t dehumanising enough we wanted another one to indicate that these who seek safety and prosperity are in transit. Those who have a certain country in mind to seek asylum, those who are picky and think Belgium isn’t good enough, those are ‘trans migrants’. Our need to label this kind of migrants dehumanises them even further. Where there still was some interest in the human behind a refugee, a asylum seeker there is almost none left for the ‘trans migrant’. Why should we care if they don’t think our country isn’t good enough?
This discourse is harsh and unemphatic. In addition it allows politicians to take measures that are unworthy of respect. ‘Trans migration’ is framed as a problem, trans migrants consequently are seen as problems as well. They are treated as weeds which we need to get rid of as quickly as possible before are gardens are infested. If I hear politicians or the media use this kind of language I am ashamed. Is this what Flemish voters want: a regime which is prioritising it’s own?
Again I feel that philosophy and in particular Hannah Arendt and Immanuel Kant can be great resources to contest this hideous ideas or at least reflect on them. Arendt beliefs that scapegoating one particular group is a characteristic of a totalitarian regime. Within this regime there is no more room for open communication and other opinions. Every idea is framed to fit into this one particular narrative. This is a dangerous road which leads to the blurring of facts and fiction (fake news).
Kant’s categorical imperative: “Act only according to that maxim by which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”, can remind us of our responsibility towards others. Is this treatment of migrants and/or trans migrants really how we want humans (and consequently ourselves) to be treated?!! Food for thought!!
Hannah's Blog: Superdiversity 
The word ‘transmigrant’ does indeed sound slightly negative. This is due to the way the media presents the the term in the news/newspapers. It’s unfortunate that people their perception is influenced by this. It’s our responsibility to ignore this information and take the people themselves into account, rather than the term that they’re labelled with.
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I completely agree with what you’re saying. ‘We’ forget – or at least try to forget by dehumanising them – that we’re dealing with people. However, you can try to forget as much as you want or try to believe your lies as much as you want, we are still and always will be dealing with humans. I can only imagine how much they must hate humanity for being treated this way. Everybody deserves respect and we should always treat people with kindness and the same way that we would want to be treated if we were in their place. The problem is that we can’t imagine what that’s like – their lives – because we are very privileged. But… we don’t seem to realise this either.
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