The Walls Have Eyes: Petra Molnar and Migration & Tech Monitor in conversation with Books Against Borders

We will be speaking to Petra Molnar about her new book, The Walls Have Eyes: Surviving Migration in the Age of Artificial Intelligence (New Press, 2024), as well as members of Migration and Tech Monitor Verónica Martinez, Grace Gichanga and Mona Shtaya.

In an increasingly securitised and bordered world, the role and impact of technology on our freedom of movement - and the material experiences of those who act upon it - is more important than ever. From the immense capture of biometric data to the deployment of drones, 'robo-dogs', and border guards equipped with 'lie detectors', facial recognition technologies and much more, the 'smart border' is a key site of struggle of our times. With states increasingly exchanging such technologies, this is truly a global struggle, from Palestine, to Kenya, to Greece, to Mexico and beyond.

Interrogating the tech companies, states, and global structures of power that shape 'migration control' today, we will hear about the work of Migration + Tech Monitor and the landscapes of resistance against the violence of border technologies the world over.

We will be meeting on Zoom on Tuesday 9th of July. As with all our events, this is an open and free event where we are happy to hear questions, thoughts, and experiences from attendees, and will strive to make this a respectful space of collective learning and discussion. Please feel free to get in touch with any questions, either here, on social media, or by emailing booksagainstborders@gmail.com.

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Petra Molnar is a lawyer and anthropologist specializing in migration and human rights. A former classical musician, she has been working in migrant justice since 2008, first as a settlement worker and community organizer, and now as a researcher and lawyer. She writes about digital border technologies, immigration detention, health and human rights, gender-based violence, as well as the politics of refugee, immigration, and international law.

Petra has worked all over the world including Jordan, Turkey, Philippines, Kenya, Colombia, Canada, Palestine, and various parts of Europe. She is the co-creator of the Migration and Technology Monitor, a collective of civil society, journalists, academics, and filmmakers interrogating technological experiments on people crossing borders. She is the Associate Director of the Refugee Law Lab at York University and a Faculty Associate (and former Fellow) at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University.

Verónica Martinez is a bilingual multimedia reporter from the US/Mexico border. She covers immigration and women’s issues for La Verdad de Juárez, exploring the intersection of human mobility and gender on topics like access to abortion at the border and reproductive justice for migrant women. Her project will document the use of social networks and false information in mobile communities, as well as investigating the use of surveillance applications such as the CBP One application to manage access to asylum applications and the resulting hypersurveillance at the Ciudad Juárez-El Paso border.

Grace Gichanga is an advocate for the use of technology in addressing the justice gap. She is a lawyer and the founder of Wasafiri Foundation, a legal and psychosocial support hub for refugees, migrants and asylum seekers living in South Africa. Her project, a conversational legal education chatbot hopes to provide holistic support to migrant communities. Firstly, through access to practical legal information on pathways to documentation, as well as information on how to access education, healthcare and social services. Secondly, through an automated legal support helpdesk with access to a paralegal or social worker in the loop to provide additional support and lastly through a referral map of legal and psychosocial support actors in South Africa.

Mona Shtaya is a Palestinian digital rights defender working in the MENA region. She serves as the Campaigns and Partnerships Manager (MENA) and Corporate Engagement Lead at Digital Actions.Her project will explore the profound impact of technology on individuals living under occupation, with a particular focus on Palestinians and other groups enduring conflicts, oppressive regimes, or occupation. She aims to deepen understanding of how censorship and surveillance affect oppressed people and to promote the principles of collective, cross-border advocacy.

Books Against Borders a collective learning project exploring decolonial, abolitionist and anti-capitalist work. We view collective education as fundamental to our organising and aim to bring together our theory and practice to ensure that we approach our work with clear principles, working towards socialist, abolitionist alternatives. For more info, find us on Instagram and X/Twitter, or email us at booksagainstborders@gmail.com