Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
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Khaled Hosseini, author: This watch was given to me by my father when I was 13 and its my most prized possession because it represents the oldest surviving relic of my childhood
Romola Garai, actor: This old biscuit tin which has some of my most treasured letters and momentos in it
More celebrity responses at http://pinterest.com/ refugees/the-most-important-thing-celebrities/ You can take part in this campaign by pinning a picture of yourself with your your most important thing at http://pinterest.com/refugees/the-mostimportant-thing/ UNHCR
ow migrants will vote in next years Scottish referendum on independence, and the impact of the vote on migrants, has hardly been discussed - but there are signs of controversy to come. The Scottish National Party is one of the few nationalist parties in the world to favour immigration, because of the countrys small population of 5.3 million and low birthrate, while the Government in London is committed to a severe
reduction in immigration. A Yes vote for independence could lead to a clash over the issue. Michael Moore, the Coalition Governments Scottish Secretary, recently raised the issue when he said that keeping an open border between an independent Scotland and the remainder of the UK would be completely at odds with the Nationalists suggestions for greater immigration.
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shocking and extraordinary telephone conversation with two kidnapped hostages in Egypts Sinai desert has given me evidence of what the UN has called one of the most unreported humanitarian crises in the world. Thousands of refugees from Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan are captured by criminal gangs and held for ransom. They are subject to appalling brutality. About 4,000 of 7,000 victims have died in the last four years, according to some estimates. The kidnappers use Sinai because swathes of it have become lawless since the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty stipulated that only limited numbers of Egyptian forces can go there. In an effort to learn more about these atrocities and to help draw them to public attention, I contacted an Eritrean activist who has been trying to help victims. She and I managed to talk to a kidnapper, Abdallah (A), on the phone. In the slightly shortened transcription of the conversation (full version at www.migrantvoice. org) the activist is indicated by M and N is for Nazek: A: I swear by God that I am losing money on them. M: Please give me a bit more time. I have a lady who wants to help. Can you speak with her?
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inside
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elcome to the new issue of Migrant Voice, the newspaper that presents an alternative position on migration. This year migration has been high on the news agenda. Whether used by politicians to attack one another, or to appease voters through tough rhetoric and even tougher policies, migration is again presented as a burden on the country and its overstretched resources. Migrants seem to have become the poster boys of bad government policies. We want to change that. In this issue, we show you the other side of the story. We celebrate the successes of migrants and the contribution they make to life in the UK whether
through business, culture or cuisine. And we look at the policies that affect them, such as family migration rules, access to the NHS and the living wage. You will get to know a little about the Latin Americans in south London, the Poles in Birmingham and the Roma in Glasgow. We do not shy away from sharing the harrowing experiences of two inspirational women, Efat and Gealass, from Iran and Iraq respectively, now settled in the UK and actively campaigning to improve the lives of others. Out of the Sinai desert we reveal the horrors of the growing, brutal trade in African migrants. We talk to a 14-year-old boy kidnapped nine months
ago and regularly tortured - still today held in captivity and pleading for the world to help free him. Closer to home, we find out how migrants feel about an independent Scotland. We have delved into the number of migrants in the house the House of Commons that is. And we challenge you to take the citizenship test. Theres more on many of these stories at www.migrantvoice.org. We also want to hear your thoughts. If you would like to make comments or suggestions, please email info@migrantvoice.org
Nazek Ramadan Editor-in-Chief
Editor-in-Chief Nazek Ramadan Editor Daniel Nelson Contributing editor Renata Rubnikowicz Editorial Manager Anne Stoltenberg Designer Ching Li Chew
With thanks to all the volunteer journalists, photographers, contributors and Migrant Voice staff, network members and trustees who took part in the production of the paper. Thank you to the Barrow Cadbury Trust, The City Bridge Trust, the European Integration Fund and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust for supporting the work of Migrant Voice. Thank you to the Open Society Institute for supporting our work, and in particular for funding towards the production of the paper. MV is a migrant-led organisation with a vision of an equitable society where migrants are recognised for their contribution, embraced as valuable members of our community, and their voices equally heard.
Printed at the Guardian Print Centre, Rick Roberts Way, London E15 2GN and the Guardian Print Centre, Longbridge Road, Manchester M17 1SL Migrant Voice is the newspaper of the registered Charity No 1142963 and the not-for-profit company 7154151 Migrant Voice. Published by and Migrant Voice 2013. Please seek permission before reproducing any of our articles or photographs.
A: Arabic only. M: Speak with her. We need to raise the money, we need her to help A: $15,000 by Thursday. M: Please give me more time to raise the money. A: When will you pay? Friday? M No please we need until Monday. A: OK The money must arrive in Israel by noon on Monday. I am doing this as a favour. At this point I joined the conversation: N: Hello, Good afternoon. Who am I talking to? A: Abdallah N: Hello Abdallah. Mona told me about the situation. Can I check with you what is happening. What is the situation and what is required? A: What is required is the money. You pay the money and they go free... N: Can you tell me about the boys. Are they OK? N: Then the phone went dead Later I managed to talk to 24-year-old Nasir Abdul Fadel. He was kidnapped in Sudan and taken to Sinai, where he has been held for six months. Nasir said that there was one other person with him in the house where he was a prisoner and ten others in houses around them. We cannot survive here. We get one meal a day: a loaf of bread and a glass of water. I cannot eat food; I cannot open my mouth because of my wounds. My body is in a very bad condition. We have only until Monday to pay $15,000 otherwise they will beat [us] until [we] die. They say if they get the money they will release us to either Cairo or Israel. Half the people who were kidnapped here before were sent to Cairo and half were killed. Five people died here and seven were freed. There were eight people in the house when I arrived from Sudan; 25 of us came together but I cannot see them any more... They [kidnappers] say to us regularly that we have to get the money and then they rape and beat us. They sometimes rape us with a bottle as well. We are in a very bad condition. We cant survive like this for more than two weeks. We have lots of injuries from the beating. If we stay here we will die. Please help us... In another conversation, 14-year-old Haftoum told me he was seized nine months ago with his 15-year-old cousin, who has since died from torture. At first Haftoum didnt want to talk. He said he had been beaten so badly that he is in severe pain. He has not had a single bath since his kidnapping. He cannot go to the toilet on his own: he has to be carried there. Haftoum
A lucky 13-year-old who managed to flee from the kidnappers. Feven Hadera helped him get to a refugee camp in Ethiopia
said that he has a hole in his backside; the kidnappers are using him for sex and they insert bottles into his rectum; his injuries are infected and covered with insects; he has never been given medication. I cant eat. We get bread and salt, not good food. If you do not help me in 2-3 days, I will die. I want to go to the doctor, my body is all damaged. I cant sleep; I cant sit down ... He has only one contact, a friend of his mother who is in Israel. She is the only one who is in touch with him. He said they were about 20 minutes by car from Israel. I am scared to die. It is too much. I cannot handle it. It is too long till Monday. I need to get free from this place Can you get for me money? he pleaded tearfully. As this newspaper went to press, the boys were still in captivity. We heard relatives were still trying to raise the money and negotiations with the kidnappers were continuing. Feven Hadera, founder of the UK-based African Women Empowerment Information Centre, who has visited refugee camps in Ethiopia and met freed hostages and heard their stories, said that she is kept awake at night worrying about the victims. But the problem is, people have to stop paying kidnappers or they wont stop seizing people. Its an impossible choice, she added. Amnesty International reported in April: Many people held captive in Sinai have been subjected to extreme violence and brutality while waiting for ransoms to be paid by families. Including beatings with metal chains, sticks and whips; burning with cigarette butts or heated rubber and metal objects; suspension from the ceiling; pouring gasoline over the body and setting it on fire being urinated on and having finger nails pulled out. Rape of men and women, and other forms of sexual violence have been frequently reported.
Read the full story at www.migrantvoice.org
he Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will rule in the next couple of months on the Home Offices controversial advertising campaign aimed at encouraging voluntary repatriation by undocumented migrant workers. The pilot scheme in several of Londons most multi-ethnic boroughs used vans carrying advertisements telling people to go home or face arrest. The campaign was accompanied by random stop and search patrols by UK Border Police at underground stations in the selected boroughs targeted at suspected undocumented migrants. The Government and the ASA have agreed not to comment until the ruling which should be in October or November, said an Advertising Authority spokesman. The advertising watchdog inquiry was sparked by dozens of complaints from the public. The offensive language used in the campaigns uncompromising Go Home message also led to allegations of racism from Liberal Democrat politicians who are part of the coalition government. Rights groups such as Amnesty International, Liberty, and Freedom from Torture came down heavily against the campaign, which they said created a climate of fear. The heavy-handed stop and search activity outside London tube stations harks back to a period before the Lawrence inquiry and raises questions about racial profiling in immigration control, the charities said, in a reference to the investigation into police handling of the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993. David Lammy, Labour MP for Tottenham, which covers one of the boroughs targeted in the campaign, wrote to Home Secretary Theresa May protesting that the van posed a threat to the cohesion and integrity of our society as a whole. The sight of these vans driving round London will
The Liberty Van hits the streets of London as the civil rights organisations response to the Go Home vans that it said were sowing division across London . Liberty said Driving a National Front-style slogan around ethnically diverse areas and ignoring their legal duty to counter discrimination and foster good relations is as un-British as it is unlawful. Photo: Liberty
only succeed in creating division in a city famed for its diversity. The aggressive nature of this ill-thought campaign will only lead to further barriers between local people and the authorities. After the barrage of criticism, the 10,000 pilot scheme was halted after a week in July. And in the wake of a legal challenge, solicitors Deighton Pierce Glynn said that the Home Office had agreed never to run adverts telling migrants to go home again without consulting local authorities and community groups and that it would give due regard to the effect a such a campaign
on the communities living in the affected areas. There were also complaints of racial profiling by UK Border Police as questions were raised as to why only people of colour were being targeted. Moreover, critics claimed the advertising campaign, which carried a number for undocumented migrants to text and give themselves up in return for a ticket home was ineffectual. In his letter to May, Lammy asked the government how many people texted the number provided and how many of these replies came from illegal migrants.
ne million Syrian children around half of the countrys refugees have now been forced to flee their homeland. Children make up half of all refugees from the conflict, the vast majority of them under the age of 11. Inside Syria, 7,000 children are believed to have been killed during the three-year conflict and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees estimates that a further two million are displaced inside the country. These children risk becoming Syrias lost generation. In March I met 12-year-old Ali in Jordans Zaatari refugee camp. With a mischievous smile, freckles and baseball cap, he would have seemed at home in any London street.
Youre from England? Arsenal! Arsenal! he chanted, as he offered me candyfloss and showed me photos on his phone. But only two weeks before, his younger brother had been killed by shelling, and rolling up his trousers, he showed me the scars on his legs from a sniper attack. All we want is freedom, he told me. But now we are too scared to go home. Despite providing shelter and safety from immediate danger, a refugee camp is no place to spend a childhood. Dislocation from home is traumatic for anyone, but being far from home with big gaps in schooling can leave children particularly vulnerable to exploitation from forced labour, military recruitment, early marriage or trafficking. The UN has called for almost 2 billion to address
the acute needs of refugees until December, but only 38 per cent has been received. Only a political solution can end the suffering. Until then, families must be free to leave Syria safely. Borders must remain open and Syrians in need of refuge in the UK and elsewhere in Europe should be offered protection a crucial first step towards restoring hope and rebuilding a future for the children of Syria.
An International Rescue Committee report said children in Syria had been exposed to unthinkable violence and nearly every child will speak about seeing family members attacked and killed. It said there are widespread accounts of children being directly targeted.
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here is no reason why Britain should be tying itself up in fits of anxiety over the prospect of the arrival of Bulgarian and Romanian migrants. Yes, on 1 January temporary restrictions on access to the labour markets as wageearning, direct employees for nationals of those two countries will come to an end across all the countries of the European Economic Area. Bulgarians and Romanians have had the right to enter and live in the UK since the two countries joined the European Union in 2007. They have been able to enter without visas, and have been free to work as agricultural labourers and to establish themselves in business or provide services as self-employed people. Many have also come to study at British colleges and universities.
Newcomers quickly find their way into the labour market and play a valuable role in promoting local prosperity.
A certain number have come to work in specific skilled jobs which the Home Office categorises as national priorities. The Office of National Statistics believes there are around 90,000 people from these two countries living in the UK at present, of whom about 21,000 are engaged in farm work at minimum wage levels. Surveys suggest that Bulgarians and Romanians in Britain are over-qualified for the work they are doing and will welcome the opportunity that will come in January to move into jobs that match their skills and qualifications. And yes, they may well be joined by compatriots who have migrated to countries such as Italy and Spain since the 2007 accession but who reckon they will have a better chance of finding employment in the UK. Nevertheless, tabloid scare stories about
floods of new migrants making claims on public benefits and services are unlikely to be proved correct. The evidence of previous movements of people after the liberalisation of controls most notably the arrival of people from eight eastern European countries after they joined the EU in 2004 is that the vast majority of newcomers quickly find their way into the labour market and play a valuable role in promoting local prosperity. Yes, issues arise when groups of people come to a new country and it would be wise for planning bodies in cities and regions to anticipate the need for decent standards of accommodation as well as for provision of assistance to help people in their new lives. Their integration into our communities will be greatly eased if we greet them as friends from the onset, and let them know they are welcome here.
Mrs T Mushaka, a migrant who has lived in Scotland for 13 years and has a British passport, speaks for the confusion of many when she says, In an independent Scotland, would I have to apply for a new Scottish passport? Will I still have freedom of movement in the four nations that make us the United Kingdom without a need to show my passport? Would I have to go through border controls to visit my friends and family in England or Wales? Would they visit me in Scotland without the need to carry their passports? All this unnecessary hassle is why I still prefer to stay in the Union. Its a complicated matter, dependent on the outcome of the referendum, and the reactions of both the Scottish and British Governments. Migration organisations are concerned that there is not enough debate on this and other issues that will affect the countrys newest citizens. The lack of debate has concealed a range of problems, including the dilemma for migrants who have acquired a British passport and may face the question of whether to transfer allegiance to an independent Scotland. The independence debate is relevant to migrants and their participation is crucial, but my major concern is the level of apathy towards the independence debate issue among minority ethnic communities, says Chinaka Odum, a pro-independence migrant activist originally from Nigeria. There are so many issues involved that will affect them directly, so it is vitally important that they get informed, he says. Scotland has a much smaller foreign-born migrant population than England: 3.8 per cent compared to 9.3 per cent. Less than a quarter of immigrants to the UK since 2007 have taken up residence north of the border, and they tend to be from European Union or Asian countries, with few Afro-Carribbeans. SNP stalwart Houmza Yusaf is a symbol of the partys stance: Scotlands 27-year-old External Relations Minister is the son of
migrants from Kenya and Pakistan. The Labour Party, however, is largely against independence and the deputy leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Anas Sarwar, also of Pakistani parentage, is emerging as a strong voice in the No camp. Pat Elsmie, director of the organisation Migrants Rights Scotland, says the issue is how to encourage people to involve themselves in the debate, with few migrants fully engaged: We find they are more concerned with getting on with their lives here, going about their work and business quietly. She says that none of the political parties are seriously considering why migrants matter or how we could be affected by the vote. However, migrants are gradually organising themselves on both sides of the battle-line. Facebook groups are popping up with names such as New Scots for Independence. On the pro-union side, Muslims for Labour is seen as a strong voice against independence. Odum admits his Nigerian neighbour is firmly against independence. But he believes that many migrants will vote for independence because of the rise of antiimmigrant sentiment in England. Given the anti-migrant rhetoric of the current UK Tory-led Westminster government, I am inclined to believe that migrants will campaign, debate, register and vote in droves because the debate in Scotland is entirely different. It is much less harsh than in England, says Odum. However, Jenny Marra, a Labour member of the Scottish Parliament, believes that migrants will be more secure if Scotland remains part of the UK. My great grandfather in Lochee, Dundee, found common cause with the jute workers of Lanarkshire and Lancashire as he fought to improve the working conditions in the
mills across Scotland and England, she told Migrant Voice. Our social progress has always been inspired and bolstered by working hand in hand with our brothers and sisters in other parts of these islands. Is it better that our migration policy is consistent across the whole geography of these islands? I believe its what people believe to be sensible and right. Dr Ima Jackson of Glasgow Caledonian University and the Glasgow Refugee, Asylum and Migration Network, says the November migration White Paper will provide clearer guidance of intent of the SNP Government. Even more important will be the rhetoric, the tone, the view of itself as a country and how it seeks to be seen by others that will determine Scotlands future approach to migration and migrants. But Graham Campbell, vice-convenor of Glasgows African and Caribbean Network, says the UK governments proposal for a referendum on EU membership could have a much stronger impact on migrants than the Scottish independence vote. Prime Minister David Cameron is threatening an in-out referendum on European Union membership which has serious consequences for EU migrants who are currently being scapegoated for things they have not caused - from an overburdened National Health Service leading to poor health care to a shortage of social housing, low wages, unemployment and cuts in benefits and welfare services, which they more often than not do not claim, he says. If Scotland remains within the UK, anti-migrant, anti-EU parties like the UK Independence Party and the British National Party will continue to set the agenda and force Conservatives and Labour into a bidding war on who can implement even more unfriendly racist UK immigration policies, he argues.
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ast year Home Secretary Theresa May laid rules on family immigration before Parliament in an obscure procedure and wreaked havoc on thousands of peoples lives. UK spouses with non-EU partners were expected to be earning 18,600 before they could sponsor their other half for a visa to join them in the UK, rising to 22,400 to also bring one child, and 2,400 for each further child. This prevents 47% of the UK working population from sponsoring a foreign partner according to the Migration Observatory. Research at Middlesex University shows that this rule discriminates against the young, the old, women, ethnic minorities, disabled people and those living outside London and the south-east. Because of the almost secretive way the rules were implemented, many families were caught out suddenly. Andy, married to a Chinese national having previously worked in China, was living with his wife and two sons in the UK. She was here on a temporary visa as they wanted time to see how she and the boys would adapt to life in the UK. She returned to China for an extended holiday to apply for a spouse visa and visit family members. The rules were changed during her time in China and she was separated from her husband and sons for more than a year. Izzy and Phil, an Anglo-Australian couple with three children, moved from Australia to be close to Izzys terminally ill mother. Although Izzys income is enough to satisfy the requirement, the Home Office is threatening to deport Phil to Australia because the couple has failed to prove their sustained relationship. People affected by the rules are usually taking one or a combination of three courses of action: campaigning against the rules alongside thousands of other similarly affected filing court cases against the restrictions, with a partial success being won in July when Justice Blake ruled that the interference in family life is disproportionate and unlawful. taking the European Route whereby couples move to another European Union country and work for a minimum of 13 weeks and then enter the UK as European citizens, who have no nonsensical rules barring them from living with whom they choose in their country of origin. For British people, to have to jump through such hoops to bring their rights in line with other EU citizens in the UK, the question has to be asked: What is the Home Office trying to achieve by splitting up families? As Izzy, who faces her husbands deportation puts it, The British immigration system is failing the British people. Immigration restrictions are not just a problem for immigrants.
hristine is talking on the phone. She is happy and tense. Happy because she is talking to her husband in Damascus. Tense because there have been six explosions today in the Syrian capital. Christine is a 32-year-old British PhD student from Leeds who applied for a visa for her Syrian husband, Ziad, in April. They met and married while she was studying Arabic in Syria. She fulfils all the new legal financial requirements for bringing in a spouse and has the support of an MP who took up her case with the Home Office and the minister responsible for immigration. Despite all this, her application has been rejected. On a technicality, the UK Border Agency did not accept the document provided by her bank to prove her financial status, but it didnt ask her for other evidence. Christine is furious. She blames a shift in the political climate of immigration. A new immigration law had been introduced, she argues, but it is not the changes in financial requirements that are significant: What changed is the political attitude. I feel that any tiny inconsistency in the application becomes an excuse to reject it entirely, instead of assessing it in an objective way. Many commentators have said that the law discriminates against vulnerable people, especially women, mothers, and young people, who find it almost impossible to sponsor a non-
European Union partner because their partners salary is not high enough to meet the laws requirements. Laura, a 25-year-old veterinary scientist in Edinburgh, is also struggling to sponsor her husband, Muhammed, who has a business management degree and lives and works in Egypt. When the government introduced an Englishlanguage requirement, 28-year-old Mohamed sat and passed the test. They were thrilled, thinking they had overcome the final hurdle only to find the requirements had been changed yet again. My salary is 18,100, which in Scotland is at the upper end of those with similar qualifications or experiences. The income level that I must fulfil is 18,600. So I had to take on a second job in Pizza Hut. But I dont get paid for time-off in my part-time job. If I am off sick or for any other reason the six months for calculating income starts again, she explains. The law also affects refugees, given certain categories of status which do not allow or entitle them to family reunification. They are particularly struggling because, not having been allowed to work while waiting for their status, they now find it hard to reach the level of income required. For example, David, a Georgian artist in his 50s, has been in the UK since 2001. He cannot bring his wife and nine-year-old son here because his salary is less than the regulations require, though is confident that it would have been enough to support his family. The money barrier is not the only problem that Christine, Laura and David share. All of them, and
many others, are in an emotional limbo. Lauras first years of marriage were shadowed by the constant fear that despite her efforts, it is not enough to fulfil the UKBAs constant changing of rules. David sees his sons life through Skype, and emphasises that nobody can substitute the role of a father. Christine is tormented by the impossibility of helping her husband in Damascus, even though he lives in a war zone where his life has been in danger more than once. If her next application is rejected, she will consider moving to Lebanon, although security there has also deteriorated. In addition, it would mean suspending my studies and paying back the funding I received, which is unaffordable. If the visa is rejected, there will be 10 or 11 months of appeal process during which Damascus might be destroyed and I wouldnt see him again. Such uncertainty and hardship puts pressure on relationships with spouses and children, and often affects health. Laura cannot stop worrying, suffers from insomnia and takes anti-depressants. I dont have a social life and have missed several important family occasions like birthdays, weddings and funerals because I have to work so much, she says. Christine, Laura and David feel their lives are on hold. How can I describe what it is to live separated from my family? asks David. How can I explain it in English? Even in Georgian I cannot describe how I feel.
moved to London from working in Dubai to return to my passion: studying sociology. I chose London for its diversity - a global village at the heart of Europe. What better place to study multiculturalism, I thought. My initial days were a disappointment. I was living in a homogenous part of the city, in East Finchley, far from the centre. I couldnt see the diversity for which I was primed. Then I moved to Holloway Road. As soon as I viewed my apartment on an estate, I made up my mind to live here. The curry smell from next door, the soca music played by youngsters downstairs, kids from every corner of the world playing in a small schoolyard, overwhelmed me with joy. It wasnt the prettiest neighbourhood or the safest, but it was vibrant and charismatic. When I tell other Londoners, they are shocked, finding it difficult to understand why one could love living in Holloway so much. Its the ironic nature of Holloway Road that makes it so unique for me: it has the community feeling of a little town, despite its location in the heart of London. It accommodates over 300 languages and hundreds of ethnicities, enabling intimate interactions between its inhabitants. Coming from Turkey, where diversity tends to be denied, let alone appreciated, Holloway is almost utopia. Walking from home to the tube station, I am intoxicated by the colours, music, food and people of far-off countries I may never get to visit. A truly global village. Yet the diversity looks effortless. An Indian-owned pound shop is close to a mosque used by Pakistani and Bangladeshi communities which happens to be near the Buddhist meditation information centre and is also close to a church. The Ghanaian restaurant on the corner is complemented by Chinese and Turkish restaurants to he
right and left. The Caribbean barber is close to a Korean natural medicine shop. The uniqueness doesnt come solely from the inevitably multicultural inner-city character of London but from the way people of the world manage to negotiate space in harmony. In which other cosmopolitan capital can you expect to establish personal relationships with the area in which you live to the extent that your Turkish bakery greets you every morning with your name and a goodie fresh from the oven, or your Sri Lankan fruit shop with a smile and whenever you shop there he gives a little extra of something that has just come in to the store. When Holi celebrations are taking place, you also see your neighbour making his way to Friday prayers and others on their way to a Sunday mass in church. West African tunes mix with Punjabi tracks on the street, kebab smells mingle with fufu from the Nigerian restaurant next door. It is perhaps not an uncommon scene for Londoners, but for sure it is for me and lots of other visitors. The easiness of living in diversity challenges current suggestions of a retreat from multiculturalism. At a time when discussions are taking place on whether European societies have reached their supposed maximum levels of diversity, places like Holloway prove it the other way. It is the diversity which made London so unique among European capitals. If all the elements of a global village I have mentioned were removed, would you be as eager to live in London? Or would you rather prefer living in voluntarily segregated communities that you see in European cities like Paris, Berlin and Rotterdam? Holloway represents everything I had imagined about London: the imperfection of urban life, the hustle and bustle, living with difference in an unisolated manner, the ethnic fusion. It gives me the hope and promise that living with difference is not a problem but a celebration of our particularities. European policymakers and urban sociologists have a lot to observe and learn in Holloway Road.
Stories of Holloway Road at www. storiesofhollowayroad.com/stories-home
From professional letter -writers to text addicts: how migrants stay in touch
Most migrants yearn to maintain contact with their families, friends and homelands. But how they do so depends on the changing technologies at their disposal.
Photo: F
ot so long ago iIlliterate migrants had to go to a friend or professional letter-writer. The result tended to be formal and impersonal, because its not easy and sometimes not safe to express your feelings and divulge your secrets via a third party. Most people are too inhibited and cautious even to try. And for literate senders and receivers theres the problem of time-lapse. An elderly man consulted about this article recalled dashing off angry letters, or writing when he was feeling low and weeks later being puzzled by a return letter anxiously inquiring about his illness: he had long forgotten about the bad day that provoked his original letter. A well-written letter, on the other hand, would kindle love and affection and be a valued keepsake. A cack-handed journalist friend, Daniel, also remembers the problems he experienced with blueys, those deliberately flimsy aerograms on which you wrote and which, when folded along two dotted lines, were transformed into an envelope. Handy, except that he was so worried about them
coming unstuck that he would over-glue them to the point at which the paste would ooze out, making swathes of the letter unreadable. Louise remembers how letters from her mother contained recipes for food, wedding invitations and notices of funerals - and she always included accounts of what was eaten at these celebrations or funerals. Her fondest memory is of letters containing autumn leaves collected by her mother while walking in the woods in Michigan. Phones were transformative, but were fixed to the spot, cumbersome, expensive and often engaged. Internationally, calls often needed an operator who had to be asked to dial the number and then periodically cajoled, if not bribed, to actually make the call. Connection established, the operator might accidentally cut you off. Frequently there was a time-lag and an echo on the line that made conversation stilted, with silences as each party waited for the other to speak. Phones were, in a word, frustrating. And scarce. For many people, keeping in touch meant calling the only phone in the district or a nearby shop and asking whoever answered to send a message to your parents to come to the phone in two hours, when you would try again. Louise remembers the awkwardness: Telephone calls were very important, but very expensive and so they were spent repeatedly saying Louise is on the phone. Hurry, hurry or Can you
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hear me? Can you hear me? By this time, the threeminute call was over. We hurriedly said I love you. We didnt phone again for months. Her parents also taped music and news from the radio and TV. Now Louises own daughter is studying abroad: We communicate by telephone because they are now less expensive and by Skype. Skype means that I can find out all the odd things my mother worried about: if my daughter is eating enough, if she is ill. So becoming a mother and Skype have changed my life. For some, cassette tapes were also transformative. In Lebanon, remembers Nazek, whenever someone announced they were going abroad, they would be asked to deliver a tape. Requests were never turned down. Almost everyone who travelled carried tapes to different families they did not know, she recalls. Each tape was accompanied by a note giving the name and telephone number of its recipient so they could be contacted and asked to collect the precious package. A letter introducing the tape acted as the equivalent of an email to an attachment. News would
reach you that someone was travelling on a certain day and you would work out how long you had to make your tape. The tape would stay in the tape recorder until the day of delivery to the carrier and the whole family would be informed that a tape was being prepared so they could plan to make time to speak on it. Each family member visiting your home would record a message. Even neighbours, friends and friends of friends would feel obliged to leave a message saying something, anything! During the Lebanon war, hundreds of thousands of tapes were flying in and out of the country. I would listen to the tape my sisters sent me from Beirut several times a day, remembers Nazek. It was not always important what they said. Hearing their voices and their laughter was my assurance. No letters or words could replace their voices. I still have some of those tapes. Sara recalls how, in another Arab country, a friend told her that her new husband sent her very personal taped messages. She left one of the tapes in the car cassette player. It was stolen and copied and became a huge hit! Tapes later followed by Super8 films - were finally immortalised in a documentary, I Is For
India, made by the daughter of an Indian doctor who migrated to England in 1965. She based the film on the home movies and reel-to-reel tape recordings he sent home. As the family grows up and the temporary sojourn in England turns to years, Dr Yash Pal Suri talks longingly of keeping in touch and of meeting up again, about the familys decision to stay on, and about the way the natives wilfully mispronounce his name. Years later, the divided family divides again, as eldest daughter decides to make a fresh start in Australia. The pain of the Suris sadness is again captured on camera, and the poignancy reaches breaking point when Dr Suris films and tapes are replaced by a jerky computer link between UK and Australia and daughter admits her new job is not working out well. Through all these technological developments, of course, there were photographs. The memories of one Iranian in Britain sum up the experience of millions: When I graduated I had two photos taken to send to my parents. Shortly after they received the photos my father, who did not usually demonstrate emotions, wrote me a moving letter saying that those were the most beautiful photos he had ever seen. Himself a migrant, he had worked since the age of 14 supporting a family with no chance of getting education, paying for my education by sheer hard work. To him, this was the fruit of his labour. Years later, after I had lost my father, I was able to go home. I went into my parents bedroom and saw the very same photos on their bedside tables. Now each time I look at them it all comes rushing back to me. Today its easier. Shayna, an American living in Canada, talks to people back home many times a day, by text, email and phone, sometimes for at least an hour. She Skypes a lot, but also still sends cards to friends. The ease of communication is contagious. I moved away from my mother at the age of nine so I have years of experience communicating, she says. About five years ago, my mom surprised me because at the age of
59 she taught herself to text she started texting me non-stop! She has become a text addict. And though new technology seems to have spread to every corner of the globe, Ernest says that People from back home in Cameroon dont really use internet as over here, and I remember when my family saw me on the screen for the first time since I had travelled. Some of them could not believe their eyes: they were shouting and screaming loudly, calling my name to see if it was really me. Finally, a word of caution from Sara, who remembers the inconvenience of going to a poste restante office to see if anyone had written, and of making sure the postal clerk affixed the stamp to your letter rather than pocketing the money. She is not in favour of returning to the days when you had to wait weeks to hear from someone you loved - but counsels: If you are using email, smartphone or Skype its possible you never leave your world - or computer - behind and you engage less with the new world around you. With input from Sahar Ehsas
Photo: RedKnight7
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ancy coating your roast chicken with nutmeg? Spicing up your shepherds pie with some lively ginger or sprinkling some star anise into your apple and rhubarb crumble? There are two men who certainly do. Their mission is to sneak some spice into traditional British food. Theyve braved cumin and coriander in the Hibs football fans half-time meat pies; theyve prepped bikers chip-shop fish in a spicy marinade in Hastings and theyve dropped chili and coriander into the beloved Full English in a greasy spoon. Friends and chefs Cyrus Todiwala and Tony Singh have even dared to challenge the taste buds of the Womens Institute at a National Trust afternoon tea. Who do they think they are? Todiwala emigrated to the UK from Bombay 20 years ago while Singh is a fourthgeneration Scottish Sikh. Spices enhance our favourite British dishes, says Todiwala, who was chosen to cook the Queens jubilee dinner. Were like missionaries converting Britain to using spices. He and Singh travelled the length and breadth of the country in the BBC series The Incredible Spice Men to show how spices can make traditional meals even tastier. Dont be afraid, says Singh. Spicy doesnt mean hot. Spices are subtle, sweet, pungent and the easiest way to make everyday food sensational. Scottish-born and brought up in a traditional Sikh family, he tells how when his grandfather arrived from the Punjab 100 years ago he chose to live in Edinburgh because he was told the streets were paved
Spice men Todiwala and Singh Photo: BBC/Alchemy TV/Woodland Books Ltd
with gold and the rivers ran with whisky. My mum was born in Glasgow and was taught domestic science at school, so one day wed have something traditionally Indian for our dinner and the next day have a local Scottish dish, he told Migrant Voice. But we never ate fast food like chicken nuggets or kievs like our friends did. My favourite meal my mother made was salmon with spices - a dish I always make now. Singh recalls how other kids at school would say eww whats that horrible smell when he opened his lunchbox. It was the smell of spices that other kids werent familiar with that people now consider a wonderful aroma. Back then our mum cooked lunch while we were eating breakfast and we would smell of the food she made, which kids would comment on - but the hassle you got back then has today gone. Singh and Todiwala want to pass on tips from the cultures that help make British
Spicy doesnt mean hot. Spices are subtle, sweet, pungent and the easiest way to make everyday food sensational.
society what it is today. Suggestions include adding turmeric, cumin, coriander and chili to fish and chips; rubbing cardamom on to roast lamb; adding chili and coriander to cheese on toast; spreading honey and ginger on roast chicken; and popping cardamom and orange in bread and butter pudding. Singh says of this style of cooking: Its falling in love again with old familiar favourites that have been taken for granted and got left behind like wallflowers at a dance. When you taste the recipes I hope youll fall in love with our spiced-up classics. Todiwala confesses he now takes spices home to India when he visits from the UK as the quality of produce on the market here is so high. Singh agrees: Countries export the best spices and it gets sent back! When Todiwala came to the UK to run a restaurant in 1991 as a fluent English speaker the strangest thing I found was not the food. It was that I presumed everyone in Britain would speak English but they didnt. That was actually my first battle. The staff I had didnt speak more than 20 words of English, which made it hard to run a restaurant. But culinary differences quickly became a bigger cause for concern. I saw that even though the food had Indian names, they were not the dishes I knew or recognised. I began to think, was I misled about my own recipes? And I questioned my own cooking. I thought how can the UK be wrong? I had thought everything about Britain was perfect! More than 20 years on Todiwala is upbeat: Britain has been brilliant. If you want to succeed somewhere, you can succeed here.
Peckham Peace Wall Peckham was one of the most affected places in the 2011 London riots, and it was sad to see what happened to my local high street. But soon after the riots a wooden board covering a broken shop window was covered with post-it notes with peoples messages about their love for Peckham. I wrote my message too. It was the moment the community was built again and it made me feel part of it. The messages have been digitally hand-traced and have become a permanent wall on Peckham Square - Mariko Hayashi
Hawaianas and the beauty The flip flops that reached the world are now fashionable in Europe, but were once a symbol of poverty in Brazil - Simone Pereira
The hands of a migrant womens cooking project Each person shown comes from a different country (Serbia, Bangladesh, Algeria) and each pair of hands works on a different stage of the cooking process, working as a team to make delicious food which is shared by everyone - Sky Herington
Woman dancing A woman dancing during the opening of the London Olympics. For me this is a picture that makes me feel the beauty and peacefulness of the people there: to me they are saying we are here to be part of this society Mulugeta Fikadu
Home Emily Dickinson: Where thou art, that is home - Patricia Nganga
Cheese bread with coffee Once a symbol of the first republic of Brazil (1889 -1930) due to alternation in power between farmers of coffee plantations from Sao Paulo and cheese producers from Minas Gerais. Nowadays this meal is a symbol of homesickness for Brazilian immigrants Ricardo Zagotto
The Face2Face Project is cofinanced by the EU through the European Integration Fund
More photos and information on the artists can be found on mvf2f.tumblr.com
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Vox pop
What makes you British? and What question should be on the life in the UK citizenship test? Niki Anastasopoulou asked passers-by
David Whitter My education and my birth I dont know what questions make a person British, I just know that I am English. Understanding the parliamentary system: I think thats very important - a question like Do you understand what parliamentary democracy is?
Anna Cassar My passport does because I wasnt born in this country, but I have been here since I was six, so I would say a majority of myself is culturally British. I think an enjoyment of Im Sorry I Havent a Clue on Radio 4 and enjoying and understanding the jokes is a sign that I am signed up to British culture. The more dry and historical questions are not relevant but societal questions would be relevant, like the role of women in society; how women fought for and won the vote; and whats the difference between our country and other countries. Questions that make people think about their roles and responsibilities within our society as well as their rights - responsibility to vote, for instance and responsibilities regarding other minorities.
Tony Whitehead If you chose to identify yourself as British culturally that should be sufficient. If you chose to make this place your home and identify yourself as belonging here, then you are British. Some of those silly questions about battles and glorious events are totally unnecessary. But I think the way politics works in this country, the significant events that form society, such as universal suffrage and the abolition of slavery, are the sort of questions that could be asked; and perhaps some questions about popular culture. If you want to be British you should know about Coronation Street - that would be a more fair understanding of modern British life than when was the battle of Hastings.
Henrietta Bell Oh gosh! I have no idea. I was born in this country. Who is the prime minister?
Answers to citizenship quiz: 1c. Bloody Mary; 2 b. 100; 3 c. 1606; 4 c. marrying six times, a. breaking away from the Church of Rome; 5 d. 6,000 years ago; 6 b. The House of Lancaster, d. The House of York; 7 c.1642; 8 a. The Duke of Normandy; 9 a. Hill forts;10 b. Ernest Rutherford; 11a. 21%;12 a. They have all been awarded the Nobel Prize for literature; 13 d. 410; 14 d. The most famous battle of the Hundred Years War; 15 c. a red rose with a white rose inside it as a sign that the Houses of York and Lancaster were now allies; 16 c. Thames; 17 c. Turkey; 18 True; 19 c. 15; 20 True; 21 b. eastern England; 22 b. a criminal offence; 23 b. Lent; 24 c. 1928; 25 a. The Queen; 26 a. Yes, this is correct; 27 True; 28 True; 29 True; 30 a. to know and obey the law; 31 a. notify your local police force; 32 b. Represents constituents, helps create new laws and scrutinise and comment on what government is doing; 33 d. Pumpkins; 34 d. 11.00am; 35 b. St Davids Day, St Patricks Day, St Georges Day, St Andrews Day; 36 b. 1857
Arielle Saglio Being involved in the whole kinda society. Probably drinking tea and eating scones and shopping. Why do you want to come here? What do you know about the Queen?
Mohammad Latif Khan I have a British passport. Its very good that British people have a heart for poor people. It is not every country that is peaceful, as it is here. The test is a good thing. This government looks after old people and children. In India and Pakistan you have to pay for medicine. Everybody should know about society here
ne million Life in the United Kingdom citizenship tests have been taken since its launch in 2005. It must be passed by migrants seeking permanent residency status and British citizenship. The test takes 45 minutes and has 24 questions. At least 18 must be answered correctly for a pass. The information is contained in a handbook that has about 3,000 facts to be memorised. These include the House of Commons phone number, the height of the London Eye in feet and inches, and the year that Sake Dean Mahomet eloped to Ireland. More practical information, such as how to register with a GP, or ask for an ambulance, has been removed. Applicants need to memorise 278 historical dates, 34 website addresses and several brief excerpts of poetry. The test has sparked major controversy. Dr Thom Brooks, academic at Durham University and migrant from the US, is one of its most vocal opponents. He branded the test unfit for purpose and like a bad pub quiz. He says that the correct answers to several questions when he sat the test in 2009 were untrue. This included the number of MPs in the Commons, which has since been removed from the handbook provided to applicants. Despite this, applicants are still required to know the number of elected representatives in the Welsh Assembly, Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly. Applicants must memorise the number for the tax self-assessment helpline but not 999. Gender imbalances are also rife: the chapter on British history lists the dates of birth for about 30 men but only four women. No women artists, scientists or inventors are mentioned. Brooks has advised a public consultation to improve the test: Any such consultation must include engagement with people like me immigrants to Britain who have sat the test. It is shocking that no public effort has been made to consult with those who have sat the test and become British citizens. Lord Roberts, vice-chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Migration, said: I am delighted to echo Brooks call that the test, which is both impractical and irrelevant, be reformed. Surely future Britons should better understand how to participate in daily life, instead of knowing by rote which Emperor invaded Britain in AD 43? Dr Jairo Lugo-Ocando, a Sheffield University journalism studies lecturer originally from Venezuela, is similarly outraged. I remember when I took the test myself and was asked to say where Santa was born,
he recalls. Really? I mean, in the USA at least the test is about the constitution, which is the contract between the citizens and the state. In our case, the citizenship test is beyond the absurd and mainly reflects the xenophobic nature of those managing the British state. Take, for example, the fact that you can take the test in Gaelic and Welsh but not in Urdu or Hindi, when the fact remains that it is more likely that due to existing diaspora we get an immigrant from Asia than from Argentinian Patagonia. But of course, the truth is that this test has never been about integration, but exclusion. In it, language and local knowledge is used to exclude the black, the Muslims, the old women and those who the white-male dominated British establishment think wont fit in their world view of a pure white Christian England that calls itself Britain. Lugo-Ocando, who passed the test in 2011, says There is much talk about making procedures more tough without any thought about how they might be more fair. There have been three versions of the test and he believes the latest is the most flawed. It is unfit for purpose: it contains a confusing array of facts, is highly impractical and it is gender imbalanced. What we require is a national debate about what we want, if anything, from this test. The director of Migrant Voice, Nazek Ramadan, is also unhappy, How does knowledge about medieval stained glass and Monty Python make you a better citizen? she asks. You cannot assess how British a person has become by answering the questions in this test. This test does not ensure an understanding of your obligations and rights as a citizen of the UK nor does it guarantee any sense of belonging. What helps citizens-to-be to integrate are acceptance and the opportunity to engage in the various areas of life without barriers, prejudice and discrimination. They want to become citizens in todays Britain; in its current structures, institutions, culture and way of life, she said. Why not ask people to tell in their own words why they want to become citizens of this country; what they know and what they like about it and to explain why they now consider it their home. Some applicants say they are happy with the test. Jean Richard, for example, says he spent about two months studying and attempting mock tests and still remembered the answers a few months later though he also says that a lot of the information was not very useful. Others find the process more difficult. Naima spent six months studying and found it hard to memorise so many dates and figures. She says that she knows people who are deterred from applying for permanent residency because the test is so daunting.
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Rushanara Ali
Born: Bangladesh, 1975 Migrated to UK: 1982 Party: Labour Constituency: Bethnal Green and Bow One of six children, Ali was the first of her family to go to university, studying at Oxford before going onto assist Oona King, former MP for Bethnal Green and Bow and herself the daughter of migrant parents. She is the first UK MP of Bangladeshi origin and is one of the first female Muslim MPs. Ali is now Shadow Minister for International Development and has done a lot to encourage the UK government to support Bangladesh in issues around climate change and poverty.
iverse is not the first word that springs to mind when thinking about Parliament, where white, middle-aged, middle- or upper-class men predominate. But times are changing. The 2010 election saw a record intake of non-white MPs, bringing the total sitting on the green leather seats of the Commons to 28, compared with 15 after the previous election - though this number would have to be 91 to reflect the composition of the population. Labours Yasmin Qureshi, was the first woman to be elected who was born in Pakistan, and Rushnara Ali, MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, was the first MP to be born in Bangladesh. Labours Chi Onwurah, whose father is Nigerian and who spent her childhood there, is the first African woman to win a parliamentary seat, in Newcastle Central. Priti Patel became the Tories first Asian female MP, winning Witham in Essex to become one of 19 Asian MPs. The Liberal Democrats continue have no non-white MPs. There are also a number of white MPs who hail from elsewhere, such as Daniel Kawczynski, a Conservative who was born in Poland, or Labours Gisella Stewart, who is from Germany. A quick check by Migrant Voice suggests that at least six per cent of current MPs are either migrants themselves or with migrant parents. The percentage is still small. But the situation is improving. Sir Robert Rogers, Clerk of the House and Chief Executive of the House of Commons, believes a more diverse parliament would just look and feel a lot more normal. Rogers is championing the diversity cause in the House of Commons. He believes that the key to improving engagement is to explain what parliament does, explain what it does for citizens, explain that its not a load of arcane rules carried out in a sort of fusty ecclesiastical building. Thats necessary, he says, in order to deter the public from thinking Ah, thats for the fat cats, or thats for people whove been to Eton and Oxford, and thats not for me. Rogers stresses the value of having a wide range of perspectives, backgrounds, personal orientations of every sort in any institution because if you have a more diverse workforce, it will be a better one. Among initiatives to improve access to parliament and to encourage more participation by people from more diverse backgrounds is ParliREACH (the initials stand for Race, Ethnicity And Cultural Heritage), a grassroots workplace equality network at the House of Commons. It aims to promote ethnic and cultural diversity among MPs, and the staff of MPs and of the House.
In an interview during the election campaign in 2010, Ali noted that her constituency is incredibly diverse with a great rich tradition and history.[where there have been] many, many waves of migration alongside a settled white population white working families whove been here for a long time and they also have a very proud historyAs a constituency MP, my duty of responsibility will be to the whole community, and to everybody from different backgrounds. We bring a perspective as Bengalis, just as women in Parliament bring a perspective as women, and its richer as an institution to have diversity.
Ed Miliband
Born: UK, 1969 to a Belgian/Polish father and Polish mother Party: Labour Constituency: Doncaster North The opposition leaders mother is a Polish Jew and Holocaust survivor. She was a human rights campaigner and member of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in its early days. His father was a Belgian-born Marxist academic of Polish Jewish origin who fled to England during the Second World War. Miliband makes no secret of his background, but rather has been known to use it to his political advantage. In a speech to the Labour Conference in October 2012 he said, My conviction is rooted in my familys story, a story that starts 1,000 miles from here, because the Milibands havent sat under the same oak tree for the last 500 years. Both of my parents came to Britain as immigrants, Jewish refugees from the Nazis. I know I would not be standing on this stage today without the compassion and tolerance of our great country, Great Britain.
The pioneers
n the 19th century the struggle for diversity in the Houses of Parliament was largely about religious representation. Daniel OConnell was elected Member for County Clare in Ireland in 1828, but was unable to take his seat until the Catholic Emancipation Act was passed the following year. Nineteen years later Lionel de Rothschild became the first practising Jew to sit in the Commons. He refused to take the traditional Christian oath of allegiance. He was elected five times but it was not until the House changed its rules and allowed him to swear on the Old Testament that he finally took his seat. The first MP of colour was probably David Ochterlony Dyce Sombre, who was of mixed European and Indian descent. In 1841 he was elected as a Radical-Liberal to the seat of Sudbury, in Suffolk but was kicked out a year later amid allegations of bribery. Dadabhai Naoroji, born near Mumbai in 1825, a partner in the first Indian firm established in Britain, was elected Liberal MP for Finsbury Central in London from 1892 to 1895. Naoroji was a critic of British rule in India. Prominent pro-British Indians decided to put up their own candidate, Mancherjee Bhownaggree, who represented the London seat of Bethnal Green North-East from 1895 to 1905 and was a Conservative. Shapurji Saklatvala, a Parsi also from Mumbai represented Londons Battersea North constituency for Labour from 1922 to 1923 and as a Communist from 1924 to 1929. There were no other minority ethnic MPs until 1987 when Labours sweeping victory also brought to the House of Commons: Diane Abbott (Hackney North & Stoke Newington), daughter of Jamaican immigrants; Paul Boateng (Brent South), who is of mixed Ghanaian and Scottish descent; Bernie Grant (Tottenham), who was born in Guyana; and Keith Vaz (Leicester East) who was born in Yemen to Goan-Indian parents. Abbott was the first black woman MP.
Gisela Stuart
Born: Bavaria, Germany, 1955 to a German father and a Czechoslovakian mother Migrated to UK: 1973 Party: Labour Constituency: Birmingham Edgbaston I dont feel like a migrant, Stuart says. I made a choice and that was it. London was the place to be when she came to the UK from southern Germany as a teenager: I arrived in England in January 1973, I had a suitcase, the offer of a job and hardly spoke any English at all. I entered politics without any connections and noone owed me any favours. It was the Labour Party which was open enough to offer me the chance to be a candidate. The announcement that I would run in 1994 produced a press release from the Conservatives which said they hoped Id enjoy my brief stay in England. Ive not forgotten that. Stuart has been Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston since 1994. Britain is a much more open country than people realise. Birmingham welcomed me with open arms. Im proud of that Her nationality has proved both a drawback and a comparative advantage in her political career. Stuarts German background was deemed controversial by some when she was elected to office in former PM Neville Chamberlains former constituency, which had been a Conservative seat for over 70 years. I use it as an example talking to sixth formers, she says. The Cold War for them is ancient history,
Another organisation helping to increase representation of minorities is Operation Black Vote (Our work spans a number of areas including voter registration, lobbying politicians, mentoring schemes and political leadership programmes). It is very important to put people from minority backgrounds in a position to become ambassadors and go back and speak directly to people about how things work, says Francine Fernandes, the organisations deputy director. The typical politician simply doesnt resonate as someone from our community.
so I try and tell them that the world can change. This is my imaginary conversation with Neville Chamberlain. But dont worry, its all peaceful and democratic! If we are meant to represent the people, then people from different backgrounds have to be there. We still have some way to go, but then I think that the youngest Birmingham MP is Shabana Mahmood and I smile.
Diane Abbott in 1987 just after she won the count and became the first Black woman to be elected to the House of Commons. Photo: Hilary Clarke
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or migrants, April Fools Day this year was catastrophic rather than funny. It marked the implementation of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO), which removed 96 per cent of all immigration work from the scope of legal aid. The remaining 4 per cent essentially asylum representation and assistance for some victims of domestic violence will not be sufficient to sustain the existence of law firms specialising in legal aid-funded immigration law. Many offices are therefore likely to close down, or simply stop providing publicly funded help to migrants. LASPO also abolished access to legal aid for people struggling to access welfare benefit payments. This occurred on the very day that the UKs benefits system began to be subjected to a process of dramatic overhaul, with existing benefit payments transferred to the new Universal Credit system. While many migrants are largely without recourse to public funds and consequently without access to welfare benefits, those
granted leave to remain in the UK may well be eligible. Already, many support agencies are dealing with families left in destitution following the unlawful withholding of welfare payments. The consequences of this can be fatal, as it was for Mrs E.G. and her infant son, who starved to death in Westminster having been recognised as refugees in need of protection. There is now no legal possibility of challenging the Department of Work and Pensions for such unlawful practice. This situation, dire as it is, looks set to become worse. The Governments consultation paper, Transforming Legal Aid: Delivering a more credible and efficient system, proposes more dramatic cuts to the system and perhaps most disastrously for migrants the introduction of a residence test. This will remove the right to Legal Aid for people who cannot prove that they have been lawfully resident for 12 months. While asylum-seekers are excluded from the terms of the residence test, those who have been failed by the asylum system will be affected, as will recognised refugees and many other migrants. This matters, not least because evidence suggests that the Home Office routinely
breaches its legal duties towards refused asylum-seekers, failing properly to apply the Immigration Rules where refused applicants request new evidence to be considered as a fresh asylum claim. It is also clear that the Home Offices decision-making processes are far from robust, and that case-workers are not always as well-informed as they might be. One Home Office refusal letter handed to me by a client, for example, referred to Lebanon as a city in Palestine. In such instances, judicial review is the only route to justice. Yet if the proposed measures become law, even this final course of redress will be removed, leaving vulnerable individuals entirely at the mercy of unaccountable and poorly informed officials. Sadly, the period in which responses to the consultation were invited has now ended. But the battle is far from over. On 27 June a debate on the proposal in the House of Commons was followed by a debate on 11 July in the Lords. The impact is still not clear, but it is not too late to make your voice heard. The Joint Committee on Human Rights has opened an inquiry into the proposed changes. Deadline for submissions is 27 September.
Ruth Grove-White, policy director of the Migrants Rights Network, sees trouble ahead in Government plans for healthcare.
he UK is unique in Europe in locking up migrants for years, without time limit, says Jerome Phelps, director of Detention
Action. Asylum-seekers and migrants find indefinite detention deeply traumatic, particularly where they have already experienced persecution or mental health problems, says Phelps. They think of the UK as a home of human rights, yet find themselves locked up in detention centres that are identical to highsecurity prisons. Around 27,000 migrants were held in UK detention centres in 2011. Over half for less than two months but since there is no time limit on detention, some are held for much longer. They are asylum-seekers whose claims are being processed or have been refused, and migrants who have overstayed their visas. There has also been concern about overcrowding and poor conditions in detention centres. Until recently, children were regularly detained along with their families. In May 2010, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg pledged to end the detention of all children in
immigration centres by the following year. In December 2012, however, 31 children were being held, up from 17 the previous month. At an average overall cost of 120 per bed per day, detention centres are expensive to maintain. Many billions of pounds are spent each year in the UK alone. The UK needs to change its approach, away from knee-jerk reliance on detention and towards engagement with migrants in the community, says Phelps. Vincents story: How can I be sent somewhere I dont know? I was detained from August 2010 until the beginning of November 2012. When I was granted bail I thought the end of detention would mean the beginning of freedom, but I was wrong.
People held in EU detention facilities cannot be detained for more than 18 months. The upper limit varies between countries: 45 days in France and Poland, 18 months in Italy and Germany. The UK has no time limit.
Im staying at a designated address far away from my family in London. I have a curfew and other restrictions that make travel to see them impossible. My family moved from Guadeloupe when I was really young. I grew up in east London and never dreamt that Id find myself in this position. They moved me to Dover IRC (Immigration Removal Centre]. From there to Gatwick, Colnbrook, Harmondsworth, Morton Hall and finally to Middlesborough. There are different rules at every place depending whos running it, and you never quite know whats going on. All you know is that youre a small fish and you have no control over your life. Thats left to the UKBA [UK Border Agency]. You also know that if youve got money you can get by more easily. Theres corruption and uncertainty that you just have to deal with. I managed to keep contact with my family over my 26 months in detention, but moving has made that really difficult, especially now Im miles away from where they live. Why waste all this money and create this animosity? Its sad. Ive been living here for practically my whole life and suddenly I found myself in detention facing deportation to a country that I dont even know.
nce again, migrants entitlements to free healthcare services in the UK are under threat. Following high-octane talk among ministers of the need to combat health tourism, the Government has issued a controversial set of healthcare reform proposals. If enacted, they will substantially change the relationship between many migrants living in the UK and the National Health Service. Currently the rules affecting migrant entitlement to free NHS care differ between secondary care (including hospital care and specialist medical services) and primary care (for example, a GP surgery). Most migrants are entitled to access free secondary healthcare services only if they are considered to be ordinarily resident in the UK, meaning that they should be both lawfully present and settled in the UK. Certain immediately necessary medical services, such as A&E care, antenatal care and treatment of a number of transmissible diseases, are exempt from the secondary healthcare charging regime, as are certain groups of migrants including European Economic Area nationals, asylum-seekers and refugees. Primary care treatment is more readily accessible: GPs have the discretion to register any foreign nationals, including temporary and irregular migrants, for free care. The Government wishes to change the rules in two main ways, which could prove highly detrimental for both migrants and wider communities. Firstly, the intention is to introduce an additional charge for many migrants coming to the UK from outside the EU through a new healthcare levy, paid before they enter. This
could add thousands of pounds to the cost of a visa for students, family migrants and economic migrants. The levy would supposedly contribute to the costs of their potential NHS care regardless of the facts that many migrants already contribute to the costs of the NHS through their taxes and National Insurance contributions, and that many do not use the NHS while they are here. Secondly, the Government plans to ensure that access to free GP services is no longer available for irregular migrants and some short-term migrants, particularly tourists and visitors. There are widespread concerns among migrant organisations and healthcare groups about the implications of restricting access to primary care services, particularly for longterm residents with irregular status. It is inevitable that some healthcare problems among these groups will go undiagnosed, potentially resulting in the spread of certain diseases and the worsening of treatable conditions. In addition, a new document-checking system will need to be implemented in all GP surgeries in order to identify who will be charged for services, effectively requiring them to act as ad hoc immigration officials. These changes are currently under consideration by the Government, and are likely to generate widespread opposition if introduced as part of a new Immigration Bill later this year. They would drive yet another wedge between migrants and supposedly universal public services in the UK and may further undermining the longer-term well-being and integration of many diverse communities.
Isabel Ahammad trained in the Philippines and came to Britain as a nurse in 1971. She works as a nursing assistant. Photo: Louise Sweet
he NHS is an example of how the integration of immigrants is positive for Britain, according to a poll earlier this year, and nearly three-quarters of people who expressed a preference believe that the NHS would not survive in its current form without the work of doctors and nurses from abroad. Niki Anastasopoulou talks to one of those doctors. Antonio moved from Italy to Britain three years ago when he was 32, full of hopes and dreams of building his career as a doctor. He says his move was the culmination of several factors, including a lack of meritocracy in Italy and fewer opportunities to get the job he really wanted as a hospital
that will make everybody happier. The working environment is like a boat which everybody feels a part of and therefore they feel more responsible if things go right or wrong. On the negatives side, he says that equal opportunities is just a phrase: I can feel that, deep down, because I have not attended the same universities as they did, they think that my education is not as good as theirs. He feels that working in the NHS has improved his clinical work. He correctly rediagnosed the conditions of several patients: Seeing how well they got because of my different approach is definitely the greatest satisfaction.
Arts
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No borders in Muzikstan
by celebrating sanctuary birmingham
hen Birminghams 189 million library a flagship project for the citys redevelopment and the largest public cultural space in Europe opens this year, a group of seven migrant and refugee women will be among the organisations taking part in the celebratory events. They are members of Shelanu, Hebrew for Belonging to us, who meet once a week to design and make jewellery inspired by the city they now live in. Members range in ages from 30 to 72. They will invite visitors to contribute to an artwork which over a week will reflect diverse experiences of migration to Birmingham. The ties between the womens countries of origin and Britain were underscored earlier this year when the Herbert Art Gallery and Museum in Coventry commissioned them to create a jewellery range inspired by the museums collection. Its displays include a Peace and Reconciliation gallery focused on the experiences of the Blitz in the Second World War and an explanation of how the city has developed global links as a result of reconciliation work. Nicola Gauld, curator of the Caught in the Crossfire exhibition in which the womens work was displayed, says, I was really excited about the range of jewellery produced by Shelanu Collective for the exhibit.
I was particularly interested to see that the makers had taken inspiration from John Pipers painting of Coventry Cathedral, which he began the day after it was bombed during the Second World War. The fact that Shelanu works with refugee women, many of whom may have direct experience of conflict, makes this commission even more poignant. Another recent success was the development of a jewellery range, Migrating Birds, inspired by the womens experiences of migrating to Birmingham. It was created with the support of Rita Patel, a British Asian jeweller based in Birminghams Jewellery Quarter. We also show our work at craft fairs and people love it and are very interested in our story the migration from different countries and our effort to build something new together, says Kinneret, who had never made jewellery before she came to the UK from Israel four years ago. Ruth, a migrant who has lived in UK since 1980, says, The involvement with the different exhibitions I love so much because you meet people from everywhere. It makes me feel good and relaxed. Members work is sold collectively and all profits go back into the social enterprise. We work together as a team, and we have many activities outside and inside ... I am able to help others and share my knowledge, explains Alice Nzeyimana from Burundi, who also had never previously made jewellery.
irminghams Balsall Heath area is dancing to a new tune, thanks in part to refugee and migrant musicians. Arts funding is being slashed in he West Midlands and many long-standing organisations are going to the wall, but new venues and collaborations are keeping creativity alive. The Old Print Works in Birminghams Balsall Heath area, for example, is a vibrant haven for the arts, particularly for musicians from migrant communities. Two organisations, Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham and Muzikstan, put on regular nights that bring together diverse musicians, develop collaborations and introduce audiences to new music. There is a huge amount of talent in refugee communities, says Sid Peacock, artistic director of Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham, which supports musicians from refugee backgrounds. A lot of musicians find that they struggle to use their talents here. They dont know the industry, they dont have the connections and mainstream venues dont know they exist. Celebrating Sanctuary tries to bridge that gap and help performers make a living out of their talent: That is hard enough for artists who are born here, and its even more of a challenge for forced migrants. Audiences at these sessions and festivals can experience anything from Vietnamese theatre to Klezmer tunes, as well as unusual instruments, such as the kora and the tar. Peacock also offers direct support to refugee musicians, and has initiated exciting cross-cultural collaborations for example, between percussionist Joelle Barker and Hassan Salih Nour, a vocalist and musician born in Gabet in eastern Sudan. Salih plays oud, bass, mandolin and tambour, the traditional instrument of northern Sudan, and is keen to perform with other musicians. He lived in the Netherlands and Cairo and has now found his home in Birmingham, where he is recording. He has teamed up with Barker, and they have played at Sudanese community events and more
mainstream performances. I like playing with Joelle, says Salih. The Sudanese rhythms are very difficult to pick up, but she is such an excellent percussionist she can do it. We work well together. But he is hungry for more. When I lived in Holland, we had nights where if you wanted to play and the stage was free you could do so. You would meet other musicians and play together. I would like to do that here: to find new people to play with, to develop my work, and perform more. Salih has also linked with Muzikstan, a community of performers founded by Kurdish refugee and musician Zirak Hamad. Every other Thursday, Muzikstan play in Birmingham. They transform any space into a Bedouin-style camp which may host a jazz group or a classical quartet. Hamad arrived in Birmingham from Iraq in 2002 with nothing except two English words, yes and no. He mainly used yes, and became a force in the citys music scene, bringing people together and persuading them to contribute their time and energy. He returned to Iraq earlier this year, but he started something really exciting, says Muzikstans Sophie Handy. Muzikstan is a free event. Donations are collected to support the musicians and people give generously. The performers get paid a fair fee and people give according to their means, she adds. Its working really well and were getting invitations to take Muzikstan on the road. Its the fantastic crowd and help behind the scenes that makes Muzikstan what it is, she says. There are stirrings of more lasting and sustainable partnerships. Isata Kanneh, originally from Sierra Leone, the director of Celebrating Sanctuary Birmingham, says, Weve been talking with Muzikstan. We want to create something that will bring artists and the community together to strengthen the regeneration that has started here and build the capacity of all the different communities in the area. Its early days yet, and money is tight, but were confident that if its out there, well find it. So Hassan Salih Nour may get his wish. He has certainly landed in the right place. The Old Print Works is an example of what can happen when different communities come together around a common interest.
For several years, Menjura has led music workshops in festivals and schools with different bands, teaching Colombian songs to large groups. Finally last year his dream of having his own choir came true. He was approached by the Colombian Embassy to establish a project reaching out to young Colombians in the UK, so he created the London-Colombian Choir. Menjura persuaded the embassy that the choir should be open to all: This is London, the city where people from everywhere come together: all this blending of cultural background creates the magic of the city. What is the problem with people joining our choir and singing our music? But his Colombian identity remains an important part of his music. Its a big question, What does it mean to be Colombian? he says. Colombias public image has suffered from its history of drug cartels and kidnappings and Menjura finds it frustrating when people make assumptions about Colombians based on these stereotypes. Its hard for me to accept, he confides. Sometimes I dont know if I want to slap the person or feel sorry for them for being so ignorant. Instead, by showing another side to Colombia through his music, he challenges stereotypes: Through music I share my culture, my passion, I make people happy. The future carries uncertainty, for theres no guarantee his visa will be renewed next time. But sometimes I dream of having a big London community concert with people from everywhere playing the same thing. Having a project like that in England would be amazing. What of his original dream? Well, he has seen the Kings Singers live many times, he has got to know the group and has even run workshops with them.
www.menjuramusic.com
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They wanted to finish us off we have risen above what they did. We are fighters
Jade Amoli-Jackson endured atrocities and deprivation before fleeing her country to seek safety in Britain. Incredibly, reports Tom Green, her spirit is uncrushed and her poetry inspires people all over the country.
No need to hide Immigration controls will come back his paintings to haunt us any more
ne of Africas most significant artists, Ibrahim El-Salahi, has lived quietly in Oxford for 15 years. After some difficult times in Sudan including dismissal as Undersecretary in the Ministry of Culture and Information, and six months imprisonment without trial he turned to the English landscape for new inspiration. In his first spell in Britain, studying at the Slade School of Fine Art, he had found the Brits a little cold to start with but finally judged them genuine, generous and very friendly I love the sense of democracy, of order and discipline. Yet his connection to Sudan remains strong and he regularly returns to Sudanese landscapes, traditions and motifs in his work, as well as Arabic calligraphy and the theme of freedom unsurprisingly, considering that during his wrongful imprisonment he continued drawing on scraps of paper, at personal risk, that he cut up and buried in separate pieces. I am Ibrahim, I am Sudanese, I am Arab, I am a citizen of the world, he has said. His art is both a private, inward exploration of himself and a universal message for humans wherever they are,
Ibrahim El-Salahi in front of Reborn Sounds of Childhood Dreams 1 1961-5 Installation images of Ibrahim El-Salahi: A Visionary Modernist Photo: Tate Photography Ibrahim El-Salahi
magine your husband or wife is seized by soldiers and taken 300 miles to the capital. You manage to find out where they are detained and you travel there only to learn they have been murdered. To add cruel insult to appalling injury, you are forced to pay for the return of your partners headless body. It gets worse. A new government comes to power, promising a return to law and order. But abuses continue, and your children are abducted. For four months you search for them but then you, too, are abducted, along with others, some of whom are shot dead. You endure two months of captivity, rape and hunger. How could anyone find the will to survive such an onslaught? Jade Amoli-Jackson did. A soldier helped her escape and in 2001 she fled from Uganda to Britain. She has never found her children: the Red Cross continues to look for them in Uganda. Amazingly, Amoli-Jackson has become a poet and equally amazingly it is wit and warmth as well as emotion that characterises her work. A psychotherapist with the organisation Freedom From Torture suggested that, as a former journalist, she join the organisations Write to Life group. It was the group, and a course at Morley College [which runs adult education courses in London] that introduced me to creative writing, she recalls. This year she published a collection of poems, Moving A Country, divided into four sections that all refugees will understand: Home, Flight, Arrival, Home. Writing makes me feel alive again, makes me feel human again. All those people who did whatever they wanted to finish all of us off we have risen above what they did. We are fighters, she told the e-zine, Words With Jam. Starting with memories of her grandfather bluffing his way through conversations in English, a language he could neither speak not understand, in order to impress fellow villagers, the collection includes memories of Jades rural childhood where, unlike many girls at the time, she was able to attend school and learn English. The poems also recount some of her traumatic experiences and how she helped others cross into Kenya, as well as the hope, despair, humiliation and relief she subsequently experienced. In one poem, says Lucy Poescu, Amoli-Jacksons mentor at the Write To Life group, Jade recalls the abruptness of leaving Uganda, revealing how she ran out of the house without packing anything, even my sanity, and her sadness at how the country she once called home had become a butchers den. Finally, the poems speak of her experience of a new home in London, with her alternately moving and humorous take on everyday life. I am always amazed by the clarity and poignancy of her writing, says Poescu. Amoli-Jackson is generous with her gratitude to those who have helped her along the way.
Bridget Anderson Author of Us and Them: the dangerous politics of immigraion controls
However painful your journey is, she says, friends and colleagues can lift up your spirit and make you live again. She is a long-standing volunteer with the Refugee Council and performs her poems at events across the UK. Most of the refugee stories we read about in the media are negative, points out Poescu. This wonderful collection of Jades work directly challenges the negative press given asylum-seekers. Jades courage shines through her writing and pays testament to the strength of the human spirit. Moving A Country Move the evergreen trees Meandering rivers Lakes and seas Wild and domestic animals Birds of all sizes Pack them all up Place in the suitcase of my brain Leave behind the soldiers Covered in old sacks Or place them on the tip of My foot then Ill Kick them into the deep blue sea So my head cant remember And my heart cant bleed And the dark memories Can fade slowly away I ran out of the house Without packing anything Even my sanity How can a country I called home Become a butchers den And my bed a foreigners heaven! I walk through fire And find no water to cool My burning heart Only the distant memories Fond memories of my youth And the good old days I search my head and heart But the huge dark Memories planted in my brain remain I will treasure the good ones And loathe the bad ones!
a message that proclaims the oneness of all human beings, in El-Salahis words. It is a call for self-understanding and understanding of others, a call for tolerance and an end to prejudice and war. Nevertheless, recognition has been a struggle, both in Sudan, where he recalls his first show was totally ignored, and Europe. This year, aged 83, full recognition came with Tate Moderns first retrospective of an African artist, displaying 100 of his paintings from a half-century of work. To come in from the cold after all this time is a wonderful thing, he said in an interview with The Guardian.
ritain and Iraq are joined in popular perception by war. But for Ghareeb Iskander the connection is poetry. Born and educated in Iraq, he left because I couldnt bear staying where there was no freedom. His family were political opponents of Saddam Husseins government, which arrested his two brothers we lost them in Iraqs mass graves. He focussed on writing, but it was not easy to live and write under such a criminal regime. Most of his eight books were published in Lebanon. When he finally moved to London at the age of 36 I felt in love with the city: theatres, galleries, poetry. London is the hearth of the world and it is not so far from the Middle East you can find yourself as a writer. And he did. He felt an affinity because, he explains, modern Arabic poetry has been
influenced by British poets such as T. S. Eliot. Iskander contributed to the link by translating several Englishlanguage poets into Arabic. He also published his own book, Chariot of Illusions, with the help of Exiled Writers Ink, which provides a platform for artists living in exile in Britain and Europe generally. The poems are about his experiences: At the end of the day, we write as poets about our life, what we feel. This is why Chariot of Illusions was about exile, Iraq, what we suffered in Iraq, what we feel and hope. A section of his most recent book, Gilgameshs Snake, is about London and the chapter title, The Book of Silence, seems surprising for a noisy city. But Iskander explains: London is crowded, we feel busy here, but as soon as you close your door, you can live your life as you wish. He says that I still get lost in the city, which is good for a writer. Sometimes I feel I am neither in London nor in Baghdad. My state is a state of suspension. You are neither here, nor there. But you get used to here/there.
From Gilgameshs Snake, The Book of Silence: Poem 7 His heart Or just the loss can complete that anguish that song; He passed the pain path alone he passed the brooklet That he was crossing waiting for a cloud that did not rain. Or the absence Which he calls a presence Call it what you will: a lost existence a lifetime hanging like a pendulum of a broken clock call it war Or call it shrapnel Call it what you want theres nothing more difficult Than that false truth!
or decades policymakers and communities have been talking about the impacts of immigration on our lives: far less attention has been paid to the impact of immigration controls on citizens and on citizenship. But immigration controls are increasingly a feature of daily life, no longer a matter that is left to the dark corners of detention centres, to be discussed between immigration officers, migrants and, if they are lucky, their legal representatives. Controls feature in TV series, endlessly flaunted and debated in newspapers: we even had vans driving around areas of London warning migrants In the UK illegally? Go home or face arrest. Immigration enforcement is profoundly changing the nature of our communities. Enforcement is increasingly sub-contracted to employers, public servants and carriers that is, citizens themselves. Furthermore, the attempt to restrict migrants access to certain rights leaches into citizens access to those same rights. For example, the currently proposed residence test for legal aid will disqualify anyone who is not able to prove they were a lawful UK resident at the time of their application, and had been a lawful resident at some point for a year or longer. This is clearly aimed at migrants, but will include British nationals who have been residing abroad. Similarly, recent proposals that landlords should check the residence status of tenants to protect against welfare tourists will affect citizens, both as landlords and as tenants. Such measures may be popular because they are seen as affecting immigrants, but because EU nationals must be treated equally with UK citizens, they must be cast in ways that mean they have the potential to affect UK citizens. Too often migrants are imagined as in competition with citizens, for jobs, for school places, for hospital beds and for welfare benefits. This is a zero sum game which benefits nobody and means that anti-migrant sentiment is fostered rather than focussing on the root of the problem: the prevalence of low waged, insecure work, the lack of affordable housing and the deregulation of the private rented sector, lack of investment and contracting out of public services. Working together whatever our citizenship and immigration status is more important than ever. Anderson is professor of migration and citizenship and deputy director at COMPAS, a migration research organisation.
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found himself challenging his schoolmates stereotypes. One evening, a group of boys started talking about how Chinese people eat dogs, unaware at first that Leon who has never eaten dog was sitting nearby. Amused, he turned and said with a serious face, German shepherds I find a little too lean, but bulldog stew is great. Embarrassed, the boys were silenced, until Leon started laughing and they realised he was joking. Sarah and Leon began to settle into their new lives. Leon learned English and how to play rugby. Sarah learned Chinese and made friends with the locals, not easy to do in a society so wary of foreigners. Yet the Chinese also place a high importance on family life and Sarah often found herself confronted by local people concerned about her distance from her family. Theres my yoga partner, who invites me home for lunch and tells me off for not wearing enough layers and my favourite vendor, who fusses and forces fruit on me, in case Im not getting my five a day. Then theres the lady who comes and plonks her baby on my lap if Im sitting on my own. Arriving young in a new country, Leon was accepted by most people he met. Now, 12 years on, he is surrounded by friends from England and abroad. Both Sarah and Leon speak of the difficulty of being apart from their family and, in Sarahs case, of many friends as well. Learning the bureaucracy, culture and language of a different country can be bewildering. Mistakes are easy to make and offence is easily caused. As Sarah said, as a migrant you have to get used to people thinking youre a little bit eccentric. Being a migrant is always difficult, but
Sarah and Leon agree that they would not trade the experience for anything. Leon has embraced English life: he studied at an English university and now lives and works in London. For him, England is his home. Experiencing the challenges and joys of moving to a new place, however, has given him a thirst for travel. One of the biggest benefits of living in different countries, he says, is learning about how other people see China, a perspective I would never have received otherwise. Sarah enjoys the unpredictability of living in new places: I like being surprised by new things and situations where you cant live according to a familiar script. She also speaks of the changes in herself as a result of migration: she has become more tolerant, more accepting and better at knowing when to keep my mouth shut!
ome people in Britain moan about migrants, but without them they might have less to laugh about. The British have a global reputation for being good at comedy. But the standup variety, live or on television, was once dominated by white males with a penchant for racist, sexist and homophobic jokes. Over the past 20 years the comedy scene has become as diverse and vibrant as the country itself, with people from different backgrounds helping expand the range of the famous British sense of humour. Professional footballer Charlie Williams, whose father was from Barbados, helped open the door for comedians from a diverse heritage in the late 1970s. He died in 2006. Williams found his talent for comedy at school, where he said he could deal with racial prejudice by fighting or making people laugh. He chose the latter, saying: I never liked soiling my clothes. Other British black comedians, such as Lenny Henry and Meera Syal took up the reigns from Williams. Now it is becoming much easier, and Britain is all the richer, and funnier, for it. Starting out [as a comedian] was very hard back in the day especially, says Patrick Monahan, 37, born in Iran of Iranian and Irish parents. It was even harder if you were a woman of a certain ethnic background. And as Monahan says, social media such as Twitter mean that audiences have more of a voice in policing and criticising the material with which comedians of all backgrounds choose to entertain their audiences. When Monahan began his career, he found that due to his last name, north-eastern British accent and looks, he was more likely to be accepted as British compared to other ethnic comedians. Making comedy from his particular background helped him gain a following, but I didnt want to be typecast so I changed my material to other things that are going on in my life.
ritish Pakistani comedian Humza Arshad is best known for his YouTube video series Diary of a Badman, which makes fun of the relationships of a young man and his family. With his unique combination of rap, Urdu catchphrases and funny storylines, the south London star has generated a 35 million international viewing fan base in less than three years.
The 27-year-old draws his inspiration from his mixed cultural background to bring a spicy freshness to Britains comedy scene. My parents instilled Pakistani values in me from the very start as they wanted me to know and respect my motherland and my roots, says Arshad. What sets him apart from most other comedians is his desire to educate audiences about the highs and lows of being a British Muslim. He has campaigned for the return of Shaker Aamer,
the last British citizen to be held in Guantanamo Bay, and has worked alongside the London police, delivering workshops to students on topical issues such as knife crime and gang violence. But it is on the streets of Croydon, south London that Arshad is most appreciated, with fans pestering to meet Badman and even adopting his signature bobble hat style. His advice? You should always think outside the box, never give up, and be yourself.
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bonds with both girls, and once saved the life of youngest daughter Carla when she fell into deep water on a family holiday. Basia just threw her coffee aside and leaped into the pool to save her. Things like that bond you really strong, says Barbara, as David looks lovingly on. Basias dad found it difficult to accept David as he hoped she would return to Poland. He also found it difficult to accept that David had children. Because of the multicultural background of Davids family and one of Davids dads best friends was Polish - it was easier for them to accept the relationship. Davids parents liked Barbara: they knew who she was as they worked together. The families met when Barbaras relatives visited Scotland. They speak fluent English, apart from her 75-year-old dad. David smiles as he tells me that on the phone they have the same conversation: Yak she mash tata Krupa? [How are you dad Krupa?] Yaki mialesh dzyen? [Hows your day been?] Basia says, My dad loves David because he always helps organise stuff at home. Hes repaired the washing machine, the lights in the house, fixed plugs, labelled the cables which had always confused my dad.
When I ask how they are going to bring up their child David says in one breath: He or she will be learning Polish and Scottish traditions, Polish and English languages. The way Ive read about teaching a child is to differentiate it, so if Barbara is speaking in Polish and Im speaking English the child will pick up both languages, and will associate me with English and Barbara with Polish. I will be learning Polish along with the child. They realise that because they live in Scotland the main language will be English, but they want to make sure that theres enough Polish culture, enough spoken and written Polish, so that both sides of the upbringing are there. For me its important because of the family, says David. Barbaras family will always be Polish. For me its a really good thing if our child can speak Polish when we go to Poland. Its frustrating that I cant communicate well with Barbaras father. Theres times when were there and Barbara just needs to go out and Im left with her father and Im trying to communicate. It can be really complex when communication becomes hand signals and things like that, and I dont want that complex situation for the child. Id rather my child go to Poland and
speak Polish. Asked about cultural differences they first talk about Christmas. Poles have the big dinner and open their presents on Christmas Eve. They say its good because they celebrate both days and give each other small presents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. David says he wouldnt dream of stopping Barbara having her traditions, her ways of doing things. The same, Barbara wouldnt try to change the way I do things. It will all have to be integrated into our relationship. I am an atheist but I go to the Church with Barbara when she wants to celebrate some important days. For any relationship to work people need to accept each other. David is accustomed to the Polish culture and says that in reality there arent that many differences. He knows, for example, that it is perceived as unmannerly if a man in Poland doesnt hold the door for a woman. But he says he was brought up with decent manners and it is normal for him anyway. I think your upbringing is down to your parents, behaviour is more personal than cultural. I dont believe that Barbara is any different to a Scottish woman, or an English woman, or a French woman
year after the London borough of Southwark recognised Latin Americans as an ethnic group, campaigners are still trying to convince other councils to follow suit. Without recognition, say campaigners, local authorities cannot quantify and help provide the health, housing and education needs of the estimated 186,500 Latin Americans living in Britain, mainly in London. Recognition, they say, would also enable local authorities to ensure the community enjoys equal opportunities. One of the guiding spirits of the recognition movement was Claudio Chipana, who left his native Peru 24 years ago to attend a philosophy conference in London. He learned of the challenges facing Latin American migrants, such as workplace discrimination, and in 2010 he co-founded the Latin American Recognition Campaign (LARC).
La Bodeguita Restaurant in the Elephant and Castle shopping centre, which has many Latin American shops Photo: Dena Arya
he last census put the number of Brazilians in England and Wales at 50,570. But research or guesstimates by Brazilian associations has suggested the figure could be nearer 250,000. They are probably the largest group of Latin Americans in the country. Many have come for work and better lives. To help them build a fairer society and encourage participation in their new British surroundings, the Brazilian community in London has created a Citizenship Council. An equally important aim is to provide a platform to tackle social and legal issues associated with immigration. They are concentrated in London. In the Willesden Junction area, for example, a Brazilian community has boosted the local economy by opening a variety of shopping and trading businesses. Marina is one of the many Brazilians who have made the UK their home. I could not find a job in Brazil and I had always dreamed of living in another country. Despite facing a daunting uphill battle, Marina has changed her life in eight years, she has built a family, learned the English language and secured a decent job. But with the rise of Brazils economy and excitement around international events, such as the soccer World Cup in 2014 and the 2016 Olympics, many Brazilians have decided to try their luck back home. Brazil has itself become a hotspot for immigrants, particularly Haitians.
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fat Mahbaz was arrested in Iran at the age of 14, along with her father. She was interrogated for two days about what she had been reading and writing. She was threatened with imprisonment, like her brother, who was tortured in jail for two years. After the 1979 revolution Efat met the man who was to become her husband, Shapoor, at a meeting of political activists. It was love at first sight, but the changing political climate forced them into hiding. They were spotted and arrested in 1983, interrogated and tortured. Efat spent seven years behind bars, of which less than 10 minutes was spent in a trial without lawyers: Shapoor was executed after five years. To survive her ordeal, she decided to write about the incredible brutality inflicted on political prisoners, some of whom were driven mad by the atrocities. Her memoir, Efat (Forget-me-not) tells of her life until her escape to Germany. She plans to have it translated into other languages, so that the whole world can know why I am where I am.
Arrested at 14
She completed her university education in Germany and moved to the UK to learn English, because London is reflective of a more multi-cultural society. Here she set up a branch of Mourning Mothers in the wake of the killing of many youngsters during a prodemocracy uprising in Iran. I wish my country would change one day and have some democracy - during my lifetime - my people deserve this, she says. I wish for the women in Iran to become stronger and equal. They all deserve this. Efat has now set up Sharzad, to support the rights and voices of deaf migrants. It has a particular emphasis on combatting domestic violence. She is an unofficial ambassador for the rights of Iranian women and political prisoners, speaking all over the world. Now 55, her strength of character and spirit has enabled her to survive appalling acts of cruelty. I will forgive the people who tortured me if they say sorry, because this would mean that the perpetrators had demonstrated a capacity for change which is the key to a better world.
but says she saw many even worse off, including children starved to death and women gang-raped by policemen in front of their husbands. Gealass three children fled to the UK, and she followed in 2003, stuffed inside a jute sack stacked between fruit and vegetable boxes. She reached Britain, her asylum application was refused because of Saddam Husseins overthrow and she endured years of homelessness and physical pain. One day she gathered her strength, decided that there is more to life as long as she is free and can breathe, joined the Iraqi Kurdish Association, started volunteering and became a leading member of a project to fight for Kurdish womens rights. Its pressure has helped changed laws in Kurdistan, including strong punishment for female genital mutilation, restrictions against the taking of second wives and the establishment of womens refuges. Now a British citizen, she spends seven days a week campaigning for a better world. Its inspiring but no surprise. As she says, Since my early years I have been on a mission to search for the truth and justice in every corner of my house, the streets and the world around me. I try to find solutions for lifes difficulties.
nternational students are set to bear the brunt of the UK governments plans to cut net migration into the country to the tens of thousands by 2015. There is no cap on the number of visa applications by students from outside the EU, and Prime Minister David Cameron has gone out of his way to make this point clear. Yet if it is to meet its net migration target, the government will have to drastically reduce the number of young people coming to study. Between June 2010 and June 2011, the number of international students entering the country totalled 242,000, or 40 per cent of the total number of official immigrants. To reach the governments net migration target, non-EU student numbers would need to be reduced by 87,000, according to the Migration Advisory Committee. The mixed message seems to be having an effect. In the 2012 academic year 50,000 fewer international students opted to study in the UK than in 2011, raising alarm bells in the corridors and offices of the UKs higher educational establishments. Students from India, China and Brazil in particular are choosing to study elsewhere in the belief that the UK will not welcome them. Calls for the government to rethink its policy have come from Universities UK, The National Union of Students (NUS), the Russell Group of elite UK universities, five parliamentary committees as well as leading business figures. The financial stakes are high. Every year, international students contribute about 8 billion to the UK economy through tuition fees (ranging from 10,000 to 30,000 per year for international students) and offcampus spending, while receiving no loans or
to the UK to study. The fear is that the UK will lose its strong position in the market for international students and its reputation for a university sector that is open to ideas and people from across the world. This is a fast growing market and if we want to win the global race we have to get serious about growing our market share, said Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi. As a result of the concerns, there is a strong argument from many MPs and student bodies for international students to be excluded from the UKs net migration figures. As Sarah Mulley, associate director at the IPPR, has said, the decline in the number of foreign students comes at a considerable economic cost to the UK at a time when we can ill afford it.
John Watkins Plaza, London School of Economics Photo: Nigel Cox
benefits from the UK government. The annual net benefit to Sheffields economy alone is 120 million. The benefit to London is 2.5bn a year. The OECD, the rich countries organisation, estimates that around 25 per cent of international students stay in the UK after graduating. About 15 per cent stay permanently, according to a report by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR). Those who stay continue to contribute by starting businesses, creating jobs and forging international business links. The impact to the economy of losing so many young, highly qualified and motivated migrants ... would likely be very large, says IPPR. In a debate on international student visa policy in the House of Lords, Lord Wilson, Chancellor of Aberdeen University, pointed out the public relations benefits of taking in overseas students. The British governments approach is having the opposite effect. According to an NUS survey, 40 per cent of international students in the UK would not advise a friend or relative from their home country to come
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The university sector will lose its reputation.
nly a very small number of asylumseekers in the UK see k access to higher education, but those who do face impossible challenges. Emma Williams, chief executive of Student Action for Refugees (STAR), says that With no access to loans or bursaries, higher education has become a hopeless dream rather than a reality for the educationally high-achieving asylum-seeker. The law allows UK universities to charge asylum-seekers either home fees or international fees. Students across the national STAR network are lobbying universities to sign the Equal Access pledge calling for: 1. All those seeking refugee protection to be able to study as home students, and 2. Students seeking refugee protection to be recognised as having additional needs just like other vulnerable people and to be given the same access to additional support, such as bursaries.
Jonatanes story
I arrived in the UK as a teenager with my family. We had to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) due to my fathers political activities. While growing up in the DRC I witnessed many injustices. I dreamed about the rule of law and how it can protect the innocent and punish the guilty. Thats why I wanted to become a lawyer. I was lucky to be offered a place to study law at the University of Kent, even though my claim for asylum had not yet been decided. However the university said that I had to pay international student fees. I could not afford this. My solicitor said I should wait until a decision in my asylum case had been made and then go to university. I had to wait. It turned out that I had already been granted refugee status before the start of the academic year I just didnt know it. The Home Office told my solicitor about their decision only four months after they granted me asylum. To my dismay the university insisted that I had been offered a place at international student rates even though I now had refugee status. It took me nearly nine months to convince them to let me pay home student fees. I finally started my law degree in 2003 and paid the same fees as my UK course mates. I have many good memories of my university days. I learned so much about the law and beyond. My degree also gave me a new perspective on my future: I decided that rather than becoming a barrister I wanted to pursue a career in international development and help those suffering from conflict, especially in my native continent Africa. One of my favourite memories of university is attending my graduation ceremony and seeing how proud my father was of my achievements. I have since obtained a masters degree in international law with international relations and have worked with a number of organisations in the UK and in South Africa. I am also now a British citizen.
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Award winners, from left: Constance Nzeneu; Cynthia Masiyiwa; Jasminka Hadziosmanovic collecting the award on behalf of her daughter Emina Hadziosmanovic; Remzije Sherifi. Photo: Jason Wen, Spot of Bother.
he Migrant and Refugee Woman of the Year Awards honour the inspirational leadership shown by new citizens and highlights their stories of courage and success and how they give back to this country. The inspiration for the awards came in 2011 when activist Zrinka Bralo won the prestigious Voices of Courage Award from the Womens Refugee Commission in New York. Bralo says she was literally speechless at the idea of being honoured and recognised as a refugee working to support other refugees, and that it made her realise that much of the good work done by refugee and migrant leaders goes largely unnoticed. At the 2013 awards ceremony actress Juliet Stevenson said: There are so many award ceremonies where those who already have are given more and those who are already acknowledged have even more fuss made of them. These awards are much, much more valuable than that, because they give prominence and they shine a light on those who get no attention at all for the incredible, inspiring work they are doing.
This years winners: Remzije Sherifi: a Kosovan Glaswegian who began volunteering within days of arriving in Scotland in 1999 from a refugee camp, despite not speaking English and being seriously ill. She runs Maryhill Integration Network which supports migrants and Scottish people. Constance Nzeneu: a Cameroonian from Cardiff, a lawyer who fought for her right
to stay for three years and now leads Women Seeking Sanctuary Advocacy Group Wales. Cynthia Masiyiwa: a Zimbabwean Londoner who arrived aged 15 and grew up to become an organiser with Citizens UK and Active Horizons where she helped employ 60 young people during the Olympics. Tina Gharavi: a filmmaker and Geordie from Iran, and director of the film I am Nasrine, a coming-
of-age story about two Iranian teenagers seeking sanctuary in the UK. Emina Hadziosmanovic: a Bosnian from Birmingham, who faced racism at school, but went on to do a PhD in clinical psychology and to train in new ways of helping traumatised refugees. Three journalists, Len Grant, Jackie Long and Zoe Williams, won the Speaking Together Media Awards for outstanding reporting of women and migration.
group of women asylum-seekers who knit hats, scarfs, and hot waterbottle covers is working on an unusual order 500 breasts. Birmingham health visitors pay the women, many of them refugees, 5 a breast. We use them to show how mothers can breastfeed and how to express milk if necessary, a very useful self-help skill for all breastfeeding mothers, particularly if they have premature babies, said a spokesperson for a Birmingham Healthcare Trusts infant feeding team. Why woollen breasts? They are cheaper than imported plastic versions. The breasts are produced in a variety of skin shades and sizes and are a fun teaching aid, helping staff start an open discussion about breastfeeding when meeting new mothers, the spokesperson added. The group includes knitters from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Zimbabwe. Said one, I enjoyed making them because they will be useful for new mothers and also cancer patients we looked that up online. It keeps me busy, its not healthy to have an idle mind, and it stops me thinking about the Home Office, said another. Meanwhile, other members of Birminghams Hope Housing knitting group continue making more conventional objects, which are sold at local events. Money raised goes back into the knitting project.
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aced with prejudice, ignorance and discrimination, a group of 12 Roma in Glasgow have fought back with brooms. Although some billboards supported by Scottish government say Scotland welcomes migrant Workers, says a member of the group, thats not the reality we are experiencing since we arrived in Glasgow. The group travelled from Slovakia and the Czech Republic after their countries joined the European Union. They established Romano Lav (Roma Voice), to learn from the 2,000 other Roma in the citys multi-ethnic Govanhill area and to spread information about the Roma community. They work mainly as labourers and face the issues that confront all migrants as well as discrimination and persecution because of their ethnicity: the Roma have been called Europes most discriminated against minority.
The clean up team (above) and getting down to the job (right) Photos: Oxfam Scotland
By moving to Scotland we had huge expectations that we have come to a country of freedom where people are treated equally. However, we soon realised that things here are not always nice and shiny, said another group member. Nobody will stand up for us, he says, except schools, which they praise for doing a good job in terms of integration, charities such as Oxfam or West of Scotland Equality Council and, surprisingly, the Scottish media which mostly tell positive and truthful stories about us.
Even government institutions like Jobcentre Plus or Revenue and Customs regard them as trouble-makers who dont want to integrate, they say. One of our aims in coming together is to challenge negative perceptions about the Roma community in Glasgow. We know that Roma have been perceived as coming to the UK to claim benefits and cheap housing and it is often said that we do not want to work or have any interest in the local environment. For many of us, the opposite is true. To challenge those perceptions, they hit upon a novel idea: an environmental clean-up. Working with Oxfam and various community groups, they created the CleanGreen Team. Ten Roma worked voluntarily for 12 weeks focusing on street-cleaning and tree-planting, litter-clearance and waste removal, and learning English to improve their chances of employment. We were basically cleaning the streets of Govanhill and planting trees in order to
sweep up the prejudice against us. They won a newspaper award for the best clean-up campaign. Many Roma expressed pride as it was the first time our work has been formally and publicly acknowledged. Said another group member: Romano Lav gave me an opportunity to be heard and challenge the stereotypes about my community that I took for granted. Govanhill official David Zabiega reckons the volunteers put in 1,800 hours of work. Oxfams Jim Boyle considers the initiative worked so well that the Roma should be paid directly to run a similar but longer project from design to delivery. Romano Lav is now sharing Roma culture with other Glaswegians through drama, photography, music and it is also running traditional dance classes, though so far have attracted only their own children. We hope that these and future activities will help us to break down barriers, said a group member, so Glasgow can become a warm home for all of us.
here has been much publicity about the 500,000 Poles who have come to work in the UK since Polands accession to the European Union in 2004. But did you know that around 200,000 Poles came to Britain during and after the Second World War? This old wave of migrants were Polish servicemen and their families. The families had spent a number of years in refugee camps abroad and in parts of the British Empire, including India, Palestine and Uganda. There were also a number of Polish orphans whose parents had died during the war either before or after active service in the army or airforce. A recent exhibition, In war and peace, collected memories of Birminghams Poles, organised by volunteers from the Midlands Polish Community Association, highlighted the lives of individual Poles who settled in Birmingham after the war. It featured the life stories of individuals who had fought in Polish resistance units or who were deported to Siberia when Russian forces invaded eastern Poland. Some Poles had been forced into conscript labour by the Nazis in factories or in farms in Poland, Germany or occupied France. The Yalta Conference agreement between
the Allied leaders (Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin) led to Poland losing 20 per cent of its territory to the Soviets. As a result of this displacement around 200,000 Poles came to the UK. After the Yalta Conference Winston Churchill pledged: In any event, His Majestys Government will never forget the debt they owe to Polish troops who have served them so valiantly, and for all those who have fought under our command, I earnestly hope that it may be possible to offer the citizenship and freedom of the British Empire if they so desire. Churchill lost the 1945 election and the successor Labour Government offered Poles incentives to return to Poland. Around 105,000 did so. However, many were unwilling to return to Soviet-occupied eastern Poland. Many Poles, alongside Jewish, Baltic and other peoples who were unable to return home, became Displaced Persons protected by the Polish Resettlement Act of 1947. Many Poles who came to Birmingham were exiles from eastern Poland. They represented a cross-section of Polish society: professional people, workers, intellectuals, career army officers (including two Generals), professors, judges, teachers, doctors and dentists. Despite their skills, many had to take unskilled work or retrain, which some found
difficult and demeaning. Because of fears of unemployment trade unions were often opposed to Polish workers taking British jobs. Nevertheless, it was recorded that there were 7,000 Poles working in mines, foundries and factories in the Midlands. According to the Birmingham Gazette in 1949 many Poles had a tough time as low-paid labourers because of the conditions imposed on them by agreements made by trade unions and employers. They were highly regarded as hard working but remained in danger of losing their jobs regardless of how long they had worked for the company. A welfare officer quoted in the newspaper said, We are building up a class of semi-slave labour. The trade unions that encouraged it should look beyond the present and call a halt to it. We talk of equal rights and fair play and here we are withholding those rights from the Poles. As the social and political climate evolved so did the lives of the Polish people living in Birmingham. Despite their traumatic and difficult introduction to UK life, these exiles have quietly made significant contributions to economic and educational life of the Midlands. With thanks to Anna CieleckaGibson and The Midlands Polish Community Association.
licja Kaczmarek is driven by an urge to help people. Which is lucky, because as soon as she finishes her day job in the health service she starts another. The second job, running the Birminghambased Polish Expats Association, fills her evenings: there are meetings and incessant phone calls with people wanting advice about employability, education and the legal system, and with others who want to collaborate with the association. I have always been interested in social work. I tried to do it in Poland but I just could not make ends meet. I did not want to become bitter, having to work for a Syrena Theatre performance in the theatre. Photo: Syrena Theatre archives, Performance in the jazz caf (right) Photo: Jazz Caf archives. minimum wage, like many of my friends. So she moved to Holland for a year and to Birmingham in 2004, the year Poles gained the right to live and work in the UK. She made friends, studied, got a job, quite odd that we now have this worked hard, determined to get the best out half a century. I grew up with that Renata Rubnikowicz close relationship. Every time I of her new life and give something back to and my children acted in it, says he Polish Social and Cultural go to the embassy for an event her new community. Mudziska. Were always sold out. Association (POSK, its Polish I think, hmmm, once I was here Kaczmareks charisma and persistence Weekends are particularly busy, initials) in west London is buzzing. demonstrating. Things have really, are key to the Polish Associations survival, with events in one of the halls, in the Its open to all, including really changed. together with her fundraising skills which jazz caf, the restaurant and the art non-Poles and non-members. A The original aims were to maintain gallery. The Polish University Abroad have generated finance for four projects - a registered charity, it hosts a wealth of the Polish Library, set up in 1942 community centre, a play group, English is based here, as is the Association of organisations and events. Next year to preserve Polish culture from the courses and an enterprise club. Polish Engineers. it celebrates its half-century, but the Nazis, and bring all Polish-related She dreams of a Polish community A huge variety of stuff goes on, annual membership is still 10, as it organisations into one place. and its open to the wider community in which Poles are not ashamed of their was when the building opened. Weve never had any funding background and spend their free time with so that we get inspiration and Some of the Poles you meet there its very much Poles doing it for other communities. mixing. Which I think is brilliant, are almost commuters, working themselves, says Mudziska. She admits that many do not speak she says. in London but visiting Poland as Individuals bought a brick and English and work long hours in low-skill jobs. The challenge is to get people to often as budgets and budget airline organisations donated more. It was But remember, she says, the community is carry on running the place. Thats schedules allow. a community effort, to the extent as diverse as any other, and Poles come from going to be the tricky bit. Although The Polish Consulate uses our that young people like myself built all backgrounds in search of different goals we have a skeleton paid staff, the theatre box office to issue passports the youth club and then ran it. Now including the chance to experience life in executive committee, people like for children, says Joanna Mudziska, businesses rent offices in the building myself, are all volunteers. another country, for a gap year or to enjoy the associations chairperson. The childrens theatre, where But Mudziska is confident. Weve the complete separation of church and state. Because I was brought up in the children act alongside professionals, Meanwhile, her biggest dream is for her survived 50 years. I dont see why we time of communism, I find it has been running for more than newborn son to sleep through a whole night. shouldnt survive another 50.
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ritain is believed to be home to the largest Somali community in Europe, with the population estimated at 115,000 by the Office for National Statistics. Seamen and merchants were the first Somali migrants in the 19th century and they were followed by the arrival of Somalis who stayed on here after serving in the Royal Navy in the Second World War. The countrys recent civil war provoked the third round of arrivals. One example of the impact of this industrious community can be seen in and around Coventry Road in the Small Heath suburb of Birmingham, where women in traditional dress are noticeably prominent among the traders and business owners. With the economy in the doldrums, business is tough, but Fatima says she is glad to be running her shop in the Somali Business Village, which was founded in 2004 by a Somali migrant. Fatima fled the conflict of Somalia and lived as a refugee in Sweden for 15 years before moving to Britain because she believed there would be fewer obstacles here to running a business. Her daughter, Hawa, is studying English and linguistics at Wolverhampton University and hopes to become a teacher. She helps in the shop when she can. Fatima enjoys talking to customers from different backgrounds who come to her shop, which sells perfume, carpets, duvets, Islamic apparel and household items Both she and her daughter say they are determined to make the best of their life and contribute to the country that has accepted them as citizens. Another trader in the market, Sulayman, became a businessman to fulfil his ambition of becoming a lifestyle entrepreneur. His parents were Caribbean migrants and he was born and bred in Britain. You dont have to be Somali to have a business in the Somali Business Village or to be a customer. Everyone is welcome.
he Savoy in Sauchiehall Street claims to be Glasgows oldest shopping centre and its now also one of the most cosmopolitan. Historically, its where old-style Scottish folk go for anything from bread to pets, from a new bathroom to getting your phone unlocked. But the traditional vendors have been joined by a range of small businesses run by recent migrants to Scotland. Its a microcosm of a newly diverse Scotland, with Scots and migrants working hard together, doing business, and giving people what they want in a friendly, unpretentious atmosphere. So alongside Campbells butchers, the oldest trader in the market, you can buy West African yams and sweet potatoes. As well as fish and chips there are wigs, creams and lotions you wont see in Boots. Four years ago, for example, Sines hair and beauty emporium became the first in the city to sell African and European hair extensions. Maquood Akhter moved his business to the Savoy from London after seeing potential in Glasgow. Similarly, theres a small hairweaving business, where Giselle says, When I first came to Glasgow there was nowhere to have my hair done. I wanted to provide that, and now lots of people come. Then theres Andy Cho from Hong Kong, who owns and runs China Wok: Lots of Chinese students come here, from Glasgow Caledonian University and the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and lots
of Spanish students who seem to really like the real Chinese food we provide. I have also noticed a lot of Africans in the last few years. Traditionally it was mostly old people here: not so many young people were coming, but now we are noticing that because we provide real Chinese food and not the European-style Chinese food we are getting more young people. Belinda Ndebele, working at Sines, has also seen the clientele change over the years Ive been here. It used to be all South Asian but now we get more Africans and Scottish and less Asians. In MacFarlanes, the cobbler which has been in the emporium for 12 years, Stuart also points to the increasing ethnic mix of the shops. He welcomes the newcomers because variety brings in new customers. Stuart, who works with his father in the family business, is concerned by on-off proposals for an 80 million proposal to turn
the Savoy site into offices, a tower with a 221-room hotel and a new shopping centre. It would be glitzy and modern but a unique and traditional shopping experience would be lost.
ere invisible in the workplace, were invisible in society, says Eduardo, a Colombian who has worked as a cleaner at companies across London for over 20 years. He is not alone. There are no solid figures, but most estimates agree that at least 113,000 Latin Americans live in London, primarily Brazilians and Colombian. Eduardo is the narrator of Invisible: Londons second class citizens, a short documentary about four Colombian cleaners who work at famous London locations, such as John Lewis and the Tower of London. The film follows the stories of two workers badly abused by their managers, but also focuses on the many cleaners standing up for their rights and demanding a London Living Wage. The main characters in the film came to London for economic and political reasons. Eduardo left Colombia to escape political repression, while the others moved after the economic crisis hit Spain.
Though many Latin Americans in London work as managers and on the boards of large companies, over half of all Latin American migrants work in jobs such as cleaning and security. Invisible focuses on the murky world of cleaning subcontractors firms hired by companies to carry out their cleaning services. There is a drive to increase efficiency in cutting costs, but the only way to do this is to cut workers pay and hours. In reality this means cleaners working up to 18 hours a day in different locations, and with no job security, pensions, or sick pay. Discrimination, a lack of awareness of their rights and low pay are frequently problems. A shocking 40 per cent of all Latin Americans in London experience workplace abuse and discrimination. Latin Americans in London have an employment rate of 85 per cent and only 1 in 6 claim state benefits, even when entitled to. These facts fly in the face of much of the medias portrayal of migrants. Whether migrant or British-born, many people are suffering. It is
just that migrants tend to be more vulnerable and more susceptible to being made scapegoats. Unemployment is not the fault of migrants. An economic recession is not the result of migrants. Unjustly vilifying mothers and fathers who work up to 18 hours a day on very low wages to earn enough for their family deflects attention from the real culprits of unemployment and a severe recession: greedy companies driven to boost profits, reckless banks and weak politicians. Invisible focuses on the brave characters standing up for their rights and campaigning for a London Living Wage. They are making gains too. One success story is of Laura, a young Colombian who works as a cleaner at a south London hospital. She won the Living Wage there last year. The treatment of people by large cleaning companies is an indictment on London as a whole, and when Eduardo and fellow cleaners stand up and demand fairer wages and working conditions, it is a fight every Londoner should be a part of.
any of the 300,000 Filipinos in Britain were invited to work here as nurses, carers, physical therapists in the NHS. A significant number are domestic workers or in the hospitality industry. We provide skills that the UK needs, primarily for families, the elderly, children and the sick. It is also worth mentioning that we provide our service with lots of TLC, which makes people feel happy
and safe. But there is another aspect to our activities: we are also making a major contribution to health, welfare and the eradication of poverty in The Philippines combatting the problems that forced many of us to migrate in the first place. We were forced to work or live abroad to escape the poverty caused by the grabbing of our land and the extraction of our natural resources by richer countries. Money sent home by Filipinos
abroad - worth $24 billion in 2012 has been a major contributor to the economy. It is estimated to account for about 12 per cent of gross domestic product. In 2000 the then government declared The Year of Overseas Filipino Worker in the Recognition of the Determination and Supreme Self-Sacrifice of Overseas Filipino Workers. Jamima Fagta, a project worker with the Filipino organisation, Kanlungan
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toast, butter and baked beans. London, Britain is my home and though we complain about this and that I can see the goodness in the shadows: the bus driver who turns a blind eye when your Oyster beeps wrongly; the fellow passenger who helps when you look lost in front of a Tube map. Home is knowing when to talk, when to grin and when to make your own way. In the last year I have been hopelessly lost, been surrounded by people speaking gibberish, eaten curry for breakfast, constantly been served tea without milk, made to pose stiffly in casual photos. I have missed fancy dress parties and simple silly fun. I have repeatedly been stared at and asked the same questions, constantly either stuck on the sidelines or thrown into the centre simply for my differences. Apart from friends and family, it was the little things I missed. There is
a lot to be said for comfort, familiarity and understanding the world around you. My trip helped me develop greater empathy but I missed toast, just as many other Brits of diverse backgrounds miss their favourite comforts.
efeating opponents, wining titles, participating in major athletics events while passing exams and getting an engineering job is hard enough and even more so when its all achieved despite cerebral palsy. But though Mahdi Nezami has never been able to walk and is confined to a wheelchair, he has never regarded anything as impossible. He studied in Iran in ordinary schools with no facilities for disabled students. His mother travelled to and from school several times a day to help him. In Iran, he points out, there is inadequate government provision for people with disabilities, but families and friends care for and support each other; here, the government provide facilities and reasonable financial support, but we are more isolated emotionally. He went on to study industrial engineering at the University of Tehran and after moving to Britain about 12 years ago got a masters in IT networking at Roehampton University in London. In Iran, he excelled in shotput and discus for more than ten years. He bagged 11 medals, but the highlights of his sporting career were the two golds and two bronzes he won at the Atlanta and Sydney Olympics. In the UK, after a difficult start when he had to live in temporary accommodation, he linked up with the British Paralympic Association and took part in a number of competitions, including European championships. He helped train British athletes at two Paralympics. He is still making a big contribution, coaching youngsters at a club in Nottingham. It is my belief that I should fight and challenge myself to have a better life, he says. There is no disappointment. Life is full of energy, full of hope and full of colour.
Sport is a family affair for Elena Baltacha, Britains No1 womens tennis player off and on for almost 10 years. Born in Ukraine, she moved with her family when her footballing father changed clubs: he played for Ipswich Town, St. Johnstone and Inverness, and Caledonian Thistle. Her mother was an Olympic athlete, and her brother played soccer for St. Mirren and Millwall.
Of course you need to have talent in whatever sport you are doing, but you need to have great people around you, who will guide you down the right path. The other thing is also a lot of hard work at training and a very competitive spirit. You need the will to fight for every single point.
he kick-off whistle blows. Almost before anyone else can move, the forward chips the ball over the heads of the opposing team and it sails into the net. Goaaaaal! The opposition is stunned. Spectators can scarcely believe it. Team-mates gather round to congratulate the striker. Dr Samana Fazels goal was one of the highlights of the Womens Islamic Games in Iran even though her team lost. But it was no fluke. Fazel has been playing football since her family moved from Kenya to Britain when she was just seven and she took up sports with a group at her local mosque. Soccer rapidly became her game of choice. While studying dentistry she captained the university womens dental team, with a 100 per cent victory record, and then played for her hospital team in London. Now a dentist in Birmingham, Fazel is a trustee of the organisation All Sports Women (ASW) and is busy trying to get more women playing sport. That first step is vital. Its getting them through the door for the very first time that is
hard, and its daunting for them, says 32-yearold Dr Aisha Ahmad, the British Pakistani who is the organisations founder and chief executive officer. Women are often busy or uninterested in sport, she says but once they join they realise how much fun they can have. Ahmad gained a football coaching qualification in 2004 and began coaching local women and girls in Birmingham, welcoming everyone but with a special focus on ethnic minorities. She admits that initially she had to overcome resistance from some Muslims, but says that overall, the support has been fantastic. She emphasises that some women are under-represented in sport not because of their faith but as a result
of discrimination by ruling bodies such as the International Football Federations ban on players wearing the hijab (head and chest veil). There are now 80 members. Some had not played sports for 20 years: We have watched them grow in ability and confidence and now they are eager to get involved and love the competitiveness of tournaments and friendly matches. Joy Fillingham is typical, in that she had never played sports before reading about the group from a flyer at the university where she lectures. She wanted to get fitter and meet a wider group of people, but was terrified that as soon as she tried to kick or throw a ball she would be ejected for lack of ability. However, she was quickly accepted by the group, enjoys playing football and has become a board member. She takes particular pleasure in bringing in members regardless of age or ability. That suits the CEO. Ahmad is actively looking for volunteers and members, and plans to try attracting women from other communities, such as Sikhs and Christians, because dialogue between faiths is another of her aims. And one of those new members may prove to be the woman footballer or netball player who scores a wonder goal.
Sport
Lord Ouseley: Players are more confident. Photo: Kick It Out.
the black players and black fans like myself had been abused, Id say to them, We need to do something about it, and theyd say, No, Ive got to keep my head down and concentrate on my football, I cant rock the boat leave it alone. For years, that was the situation. If I complained to the authorities theyd reply You would complain thats the nature of your organisation. But weve heard nothing from the players no official complaints. Ouseley compares players reticence with the situation in the country 30 years ago when ordinary people were being racially harassed on the streets and in their homes, being firebombed and with excrement pushed through their letter-box. As in football, people didnt want to complain for fear that it would make it worse for themselves. Now, says Ouseley, thats changed. For the first time, in the middle of last season, someone walked off the pitch after complaining twice about abuse from the crowd an action Ouseley cites not as evidence that racism is getting worse but proof that
players are becoming more confident. So when Roberts and other players said they felt that not enough was being done it was a defining moment because players were saying, No, were not going to put up with it any more. Enough hasnt been done. The more you speak out the more the authorities have to respond, he notes, because the players are powerful. Ive been saying that for years: Hey, you guys, you are so powerful that if you down tools one day, football stops. Kick It Outs activities have been expanded to fighting homophobia and sexism, but Ouseley is adamant that racism continues to be the organisations over-riding priority. Two key issues are the dearth of black managers and of top-flight Asian players. On managers, the long-time equality campaigner says the issue is part of the problem that exists within Western societies where discrimination is continuing. The stereotypes and prejudice that barred the way for black players was
finally overcome by their performance on the pitch: with management its harder to break the barrier: It still takes a while to convince chairmen of clubs that a black manager is going to be a successful manager. We are trying to build a cohort of coaches with all the qualifications. Once they have the experience and the opportunity to demonstrate their competence and be successful, others will follow, says Ouseley. One of the barriers, he says, is that coaching is very cliquy. Club chairmen bring in the sort of manager they know. The managers bring in their own coaching and technical staff with whom they are used to working. In both cases the people tend to be white males. So you try to do is open it up and get a greater cohort of qualified coaches so ultimately they get the experience to move up. Thats what we are seeing now - but on a slow basis. Similarly, a massive number of Asians play football but its taking time to get Asian role models at the top of the professional pyramid.
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