Zygmunt Bauman, one of the most influential thinkers of our time, says many Europeans' fear of refugees boils down to the idea of the "precariat" - people whose lives are marked by precariousness, anxiety and fear.
As more EU countries raise walls and the backlash against foreigners grows, Al Jazeera spoke to the Polish sociologist about why people fear refugees.
Bauman believes that in this era of global upheaval and movement, seeing people who have lost everything reminds us of our own vulnerabilities - how we could so easily lose our homes, our jobs and our loved ones.
This animation is based on an interview with Zygmunt Bauman on Talk to Al Jazeera.
