Collective

Semilla Migrante

00:01:53 Who started Semilla Migrante? You’ve mentioned the two founders, Juan and Carlos. How did this project start and who else is involved in building Semilla Migrante?
00:03:43 Do you want to add anything, Carlos?
00:04:31 When we talk about Semilla Migrante, we’re talking about Girona, right? Are you just in Girona or are you in other places in Spain?
00:05:19 Someone might ask, “Well, it’s clear that you want to support migrants, but what exactly do you do for a living? When you say ‘support’, what are you referring to?”
00:07:24 Do you want to add something, Juani?
00:08:28 On the website, from what I have read about the collective, the project is presented as a multidisciplinary initiative. You talk about an anti-racist community intervention, but, from that perspective, in what sense is it multidisciplinary? What tools are you using or crossing?
00:11:39 And of course, the other question that has to do with your description is about the position of anti-racism. You talk about an anti-racist position in Semilla Migrante, but what are you trying to say from this position?
00:16:15 You have spoken, Juani, about the possibility of reparation, can you explain to us what you mean by this process of reparation? I’m asking because you’re talking about causing discomfort, and that’s going to generate a certain amount of violence that can create distance. So, it may seem very paradoxical, and yet it’s part of the same process, isn’t it?
00:20:01 This ties in very well with the next question, because one of the activities Semilla Migrante carries out is therapeutic support. You’re also talking about providing support from an anti-racist perspective, and the question that many people might ask is: what kind of problems are you supporting people through? How does this trauma you are talking about manifest itself, and how does it manifest as a need for support from a different perspective?
00:26:07 You mentioned the concept of migratory grief and I think many people are going to ask “How, exactly, is it different from regular grief?” Do you have any established parameters to distinguish one from the other? Or are we talking about a different condition than that of a person who has not had to migrate?
00:33:41 Of course, we are problematizing the structures that contain us and that we are born into, and, in a way, Semilla Migrante is sending a message that it is necessary to politicize the therapeutic approach. We cannot simply treat the person as an isolated entity. Are you in contact with healthcare professionals? Are there any attempts to train healthcare professionals to prevent what you mentioned, Joana? I’m referring to the situation where you went to the appointment and the psychologist said “Look, you have a lot of accumulated sadness, let’s see if we can overcome this with the corresponding drug.”
00:37:05 This interview also compliments other interviews that have to do with approaching death, illness, and health, from different perspectives. What happens when an undocumented body dies here?
00:44:11 We have 15 minutes left, and I’m going to clarify two things that I think are important. The first is, if someone wants to contact Semilla Migrante to support a process or because they are looking for a way to be supported, how can they connect with you?
00:45:35 So you support formal education, non-formal education, institutional education and, hopefully, sector-specific education as well. They simply need to get in touch.
00:45:45 I want to end with a question that I pose to all the people who are in this constellation of forces, which has to do with what motivates us to dedicate ourselves to this. We have here three professionals from very different sectors who decide to contribute effort, time and energy that they might not have, because this is self-driven and not productive work. What sustains you, what summons you, what invokes you to action?
00:50:34 I’m going to ask you this last question because the Constellation of Commons is a place of good news.
00:50:44 Can you tell us any good news from Semilla Migrante?
00:53:30 And that we can also join hands with the academics and together, in the end, we can transform realities and support each other in the process. Thanks to the three of you for this conversation and for existing.

Semilla Migrante is a migrant-led, anti-racist collective dedicated to community-based intervention, working both from within and for migrant communities. Its approach centers on cultivating collective spaces where relationships are strengthened, social justice is advanced, and structural and systemic forms of racism are actively challenged.
It also functions as a space of shared knowledge, where experiences, insights, and community-based tools are exchanged. This space seeks to recognize and honor the diverse knowledges of migrant communities, fostering collective learning, mutual support, and grassroots organizing.

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