Gemma Bird
@gemmabird.bsky.social
Senior Lecturer in Politics & IR at the University of Liverpool. Activist scholar working on the politics of migration and solidarity in the EU & African political theory. Views my own. She/her
Trump’s Davos speech is just one racist, colonial, misogynistic stereotype after another! Rambling and offensive throughout!
January 21, 2026 at 2:49 PM
Trump’s Davos speech is just one racist, colonial, misogynistic stereotype after another! Rambling and offensive throughout!
Reposted by Gemma Bird
There ought to be consequences for the abusive use of meritless prosecutions to harass activists.
Rights groups hail acquittal after seven years of aid workers prosecuted during Greece refugee crisis
Lesbos court clears aid workers of people smuggling, a move Human Rights Watch called a vindication of their lifesaving activities at sea
www.theguardian.com
January 17, 2026 at 9:54 AM
There ought to be consequences for the abusive use of meritless prosecutions to harass activists.
Wrote a piece with @davideschmid.bsky.social on the “new” Guest Worker schemes in Europe and how they borrow from practices of the past!
European governments that have pledged to clamp down on immigration are still expanding schemes for workers to come on short-term visas.
Their goal is to maximize predatory exploitation of migrant workers without giving them any rights or security.
Their goal is to maximize predatory exploitation of migrant workers without giving them any rights or security.
Guest Worker Schemes Are a Machine for Labor Exploitation
European governments that have pledged to clamp down on immigration are still expanding schemes for workers to come on short-term visas. Their goal is to maximize predatory exploitation of migrant workers without giving them any rights or security.
jacobin.com
December 17, 2025 at 8:14 PM
Wrote a piece with @davideschmid.bsky.social on the “new” Guest Worker schemes in Europe and how they borrow from practices of the past!
Heading to the The University of Leeds for the day as the lovely people of the political theory seminar series kindly invited me to speak. Looking forward to testing out some of the ideas from the book I have been working on for the last eight years and that I am now in the final stages of editing!
November 17, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Heading to the The University of Leeds for the day as the lovely people of the political theory seminar series kindly invited me to speak. Looking forward to testing out some of the ideas from the book I have been working on for the last eight years and that I am now in the final stages of editing!
Reposted by Gemma Bird
See below EOI for AHRC-funded PhDs at UoL. Keen to supervise a project on critical approaches to migration.
The @livunihss.bsky.social AHRC-funded ‘Crafting Care’ Doctoral Focal College is accepting applications for 2026. EOI due by 1st Dec. I am keen to supervise a project on the politics of abortion care. Get in touch with your project idea! www.liverpool.ac.uk/humanities-a... @livunipol.bsky.social
Project Areas 2026 | Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences | University of Liverpool
www.liverpool.ac.uk
November 10, 2025 at 7:48 PM
See below EOI for AHRC-funded PhDs at UoL. Keen to supervise a project on critical approaches to migration.
Really excited to be spending the day in the @liverpooluni.bsky.social VG&M with the exhibition “A Place Along the Way: Stories from the Island of Samos” as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science where we are also collecting your recipes as a response to the wonderful work of Project Armonia.
November 8, 2025 at 11:12 AM
Really excited to be spending the day in the @liverpooluni.bsky.social VG&M with the exhibition “A Place Along the Way: Stories from the Island of Samos” as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science where we are also collecting your recipes as a response to the wonderful work of Project Armonia.
Really excited to be involved in a pop up exhibition Migration, Refuge & Solidarity‘ on 7th & 8th Nov at @victoriagallery.bsky.social. I will be sharing audio-visual exhibition ‘A Place Along the Way: Stories from the Island of Samos’ as a part of it. vgm.liverpool.ac.uk/whats-on/exh...
Migration, Refuge & Solidarity - Victoria Gallery & Museum - University of Liverpool
vgm.liverpool.ac.uk
October 17, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Really excited to be involved in a pop up exhibition Migration, Refuge & Solidarity‘ on 7th & 8th Nov at @victoriagallery.bsky.social. I will be sharing audio-visual exhibition ‘A Place Along the Way: Stories from the Island of Samos’ as a part of it. vgm.liverpool.ac.uk/whats-on/exh...
Reposted by Gemma Bird
Congratulations to Dr Sarah Elmammeri, our former PhD candidate and the winner of the Manchester Jean Monnet Centre of ExcellenceDoctoral Thesis Prize.Her lecture titled ‘Between Layers of Borders: Reflecting on EU Policies and Asylum Seekers’ reflects the very best of our PhD student scholarship.
October 15, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Congratulations to Dr Sarah Elmammeri, our former PhD candidate and the winner of the Manchester Jean Monnet Centre of ExcellenceDoctoral Thesis Prize.Her lecture titled ‘Between Layers of Borders: Reflecting on EU Policies and Asylum Seekers’ reflects the very best of our PhD student scholarship.
Reposted by Gemma Bird
1️⃣ Reporting on migration & accountability can often feel futile
Not today
The ECHR ruled Greece violated the right to life in the 2018 Agathonisi shipwreck: 16 dead, incl. 7 children & 2 babies
@rsaegean.org fought for the families; We had investigated w/ former @spiegel.de colleagues
Decision ⬇️
Not today
The ECHR ruled Greece violated the right to life in the 2018 Agathonisi shipwreck: 16 dead, incl. 7 children & 2 babies
@rsaegean.org fought for the families; We had investigated w/ former @spiegel.de colleagues
Decision ⬇️
HUDOC - European Court of Human Rights
The HUDOC database provides access to the case-law of the Court (Grand Chamber, Chamber and Committee judgments and decisions, communicated cases, advisory opinions and legal summaries from the Case-L...
https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/?fbclid=IwY2xjawNbU3tleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETBac3JwWWhXRWVwZ25KeUVrAR5i_i-_IxCFXZkcLzr-LWO2r_VlwDHI6_yWOvify7BqAaKpltIMdjDXWWWy0Q_aem_po49uLWm4ySAmtc28DE0Cg#{%22itemid%22:[%22001-245252%22]}
October 14, 2025 at 4:24 PM
1️⃣ Reporting on migration & accountability can often feel futile
Not today
The ECHR ruled Greece violated the right to life in the 2018 Agathonisi shipwreck: 16 dead, incl. 7 children & 2 babies
@rsaegean.org fought for the families; We had investigated w/ former @spiegel.de colleagues
Decision ⬇️
Not today
The ECHR ruled Greece violated the right to life in the 2018 Agathonisi shipwreck: 16 dead, incl. 7 children & 2 babies
@rsaegean.org fought for the families; We had investigated w/ former @spiegel.de colleagues
Decision ⬇️
Reposted by Gemma Bird
Pleased to share our new article in which we critically engage with the role that the “categories of migration” play in determining who does and does not “belong” in Europe and how they are changing.
#OpenAccess from the Journal of Race, Ethnicity, and Politics -
Who is Disposable? The Making and Re-Making of the “Bad” Migrant at Europe’s Borders - https://cup.org/473YrJ8
- @gemmabird.bsky.social & @davideschmid.bsky.social
#FirstView #JREP10
Who is Disposable? The Making and Re-Making of the “Bad” Migrant at Europe’s Borders - https://cup.org/473YrJ8
- @gemmabird.bsky.social & @davideschmid.bsky.social
#FirstView #JREP10
October 8, 2025 at 7:04 AM
Pleased to share our new article in which we critically engage with the role that the “categories of migration” play in determining who does and does not “belong” in Europe and how they are changing.
“Cinema is a friend for life”. Never a truer word spoken from @markcousinsfilm.bsky.social at the @cinemaforall.bsky.social #100YearsGala
September 20, 2025 at 7:20 PM
“Cinema is a friend for life”. Never a truer word spoken from @markcousinsfilm.bsky.social at the @cinemaforall.bsky.social #100YearsGala
Loved attending the opening of Lightbulb Moments at the The University of Liverpool yesterday and sharing an object in it. It’s a privilege to work with the amazing Project Armonia and to be able to bring their cook book sharing the power of food and stories to a whole new audience is very special.
September 12, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Loved attending the opening of Lightbulb Moments at the The University of Liverpool yesterday and sharing an object in it. It’s a privilege to work with the amazing Project Armonia and to be able to bring their cook book sharing the power of food and stories to a whole new audience is very special.
Reposted by Gemma Bird
“#Gaza is being obliterated, reduced to a wasteland.
Gaza is being emptied from its starving population forced to move into the so called “humanitarian” area of Mawasi.”
Full statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini: www.unrwa.org/newsroom/off...
Gaza is being emptied from its starving population forced to move into the so called “humanitarian” area of Mawasi.”
Full statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini: www.unrwa.org/newsroom/off...
September 9, 2025 at 10:06 AM
“#Gaza is being obliterated, reduced to a wasteland.
Gaza is being emptied from its starving population forced to move into the so called “humanitarian” area of Mawasi.”
Full statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini: www.unrwa.org/newsroom/off...
Gaza is being emptied from its starving population forced to move into the so called “humanitarian” area of Mawasi.”
Full statement by UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini: www.unrwa.org/newsroom/off...
Some great summer reads!
September 8, 2025 at 7:47 AM
Some great summer reads!
Reposted by Gemma Bird
“I had to break the news to my wife. She hasn’t been able to stop crying since she heard the news. What is the value of this life if you have to be separated from the people you love? Both of us are completely shattered by this."
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
‘It kept me going’: halt to refugee reunion scheme in UK shatters hopes
Afghan man seeking asylum and permission to bring wife to Britain describes shock at home secretary’s announcement
www.theguardian.com
September 3, 2025 at 11:21 AM
“I had to break the news to my wife. She hasn’t been able to stop crying since she heard the news. What is the value of this life if you have to be separated from the people you love? Both of us are completely shattered by this."
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Gemma Bird
They tried students and they tried care workers, but that wasn't enough. Now they're coming for families.
My impassioned thoughts on today's sickening family reunion announcement.
open.substack.com/pub/notanoth...
My impassioned thoughts on today's sickening family reunion announcement.
open.substack.com/pub/notanoth...
Now they're coming after families
If today’s announcement felt like another crossing of the Rubicon, that's because it is.
open.substack.com
September 1, 2025 at 8:19 PM
They tried students and they tried care workers, but that wasn't enough. Now they're coming for families.
My impassioned thoughts on today's sickening family reunion announcement.
open.substack.com/pub/notanoth...
My impassioned thoughts on today's sickening family reunion announcement.
open.substack.com/pub/notanoth...
This is appalling! People flea unimaginable horrors, claim asylum and will then face another awful challenge of fighting to be back with their family. This is just an added layer of cruelty in a broken system that no longer truly gives the refuge it should! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
UK to make it harder for refugees to bring family members to country
Home secretary to announce overhaul of family reunion policy in attempt to quell fractious immigration debate
www.theguardian.com
September 1, 2025 at 7:12 AM
This is appalling! People flea unimaginable horrors, claim asylum and will then face another awful challenge of fighting to be back with their family. This is just an added layer of cruelty in a broken system that no longer truly gives the refuge it should! www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025...
Reposted by Gemma Bird
“All of those who have influence must use it with determination and a sense of moral duty. Every hour counts," says UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
The amount of aid entering the #Gaza Strip is insufficient to meet the scale of humanitarian need. This can be reversed.
Let aid in.
The amount of aid entering the #Gaza Strip is insufficient to meet the scale of humanitarian need. This can be reversed.
Let aid in.
August 26, 2025 at 10:13 AM
“All of those who have influence must use it with determination and a sense of moral duty. Every hour counts," says UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini.
The amount of aid entering the #Gaza Strip is insufficient to meet the scale of humanitarian need. This can be reversed.
Let aid in.
The amount of aid entering the #Gaza Strip is insufficient to meet the scale of humanitarian need. This can be reversed.
Let aid in.
Condemnation and words are not enough. Political figures worldwide need to do so much more in the face of these constant atrocities! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
Israel bombed Gaza hospital a second time, killing rescuers, say health officials
At least 20 people, including five journalists, died as they rushed to help those wounded in the first strike
www.theguardian.com
August 26, 2025 at 6:43 AM
Condemnation and words are not enough. Political figures worldwide need to do so much more in the face of these constant atrocities! www.theguardian.com/world/2025/a...
“In Gaza, to be an academic today is to refuse to be reduced to a statistic.” www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
‘Too hungry to think, too weak to sit upright. Concentration slips away’: the struggle to stay focused as an academic in Gaza
It is hard to keep the mind sharp when the body is thin and dehydrated, but solidarity is teaching starving students their thoughts still matter
www.theguardian.com
August 19, 2025 at 6:55 PM
“In Gaza, to be an academic today is to refuse to be reduced to a statistic.” www.theguardian.com/global-devel...
The British media keeps calling the situation in Gaza a hunger crisis, but this underplays the reality. What we are witnessing is a starvation crisis, this is an active choice not to deliver aid, not a passive outcome with an unknown cause!
July 24, 2025 at 5:04 PM
The British media keeps calling the situation in Gaza a hunger crisis, but this underplays the reality. What we are witnessing is a starvation crisis, this is an active choice not to deliver aid, not a passive outcome with an unknown cause!
Reposted by Gemma Bird
Doctors Without Borders joins more than 100 organizations to sounding the alarm that lifesaving aid must enter #Gaza.
www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/palestine-as...
www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/palestine-as...
Palestine: As mass starvation spreads across Gaza, our colleagues and communities we work with are wasting away | Doctors Without Borders / Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF ...
Over 100 humanitarian groups, including MSF, urge governments to act as starvation spreads in Gaza.
www.doctorswithoutborders.ca
July 24, 2025 at 2:07 PM
Doctors Without Borders joins more than 100 organizations to sounding the alarm that lifesaving aid must enter #Gaza.
www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/palestine-as...
www.doctorswithoutborders.ca/palestine-as...
Reposted by Gemma Bird
Gaza: More than 30 people killed 'as Israeli troops open fire towards Palestinians waiting for aid'
Gaza: More than 30 people killed 'as Israeli troops open fire towards Palestinians waiting for aid'
More than 30 people have been killed after Israeli troops opened fire towards crowds of Palestinians waiting for aid, according to witnesses and hospital officials.
news.sky.com
July 19, 2025 at 9:38 AM
Gaza: More than 30 people killed 'as Israeli troops open fire towards Palestinians waiting for aid'