here - Migrants Organise

Transcription

Issue 1, 2012
www.migrantvoice.org
presenting alternative positions on migration
inside
4
Brits abroad
The other side of
the immigration
debate
13
Overseas
students crisis
Jeopardising
a British
success story
14
Maybe it’s because I’m (almost) a Londoner
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt are among the international celebrities for whom London has been home. Their £10m house has also been
home to Johnny Depp and to Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Story: page 3 Photo: Andreas Rentz/Getty Images
Wanted: funder
18
for UK ‘Ellis Island’
migration museum
Migrant Voice reporter
A
former immigration minister
is leading a team that aims to
create Britain’s first museum of
migration.
Britain has thousands of museums –
more than 100 in London alone – but no
major comprehensive museum devoted
to all aspects of British migration, both
incoming and outgoing.
Former Labour minister Barbara
Roche and her team believe it could
be as significant as the opening of
the International Slavery Museum in
Liverpool in 2007, which director David
Fleming described as the most important new British museum for 100 years:
the transatlantic slave trade was the
greatest forced migration in history.
The US has Ellis Island, once the
gateway for millions of immigrants
to the US, and Roche believes Britain
needs something similar: an institution
to celebrate the role of migration in the
national story.
“The great thing about Britain is that
it has absorbed migrants for centuries,”
says Roche. “I feel very proud to be
British and this project is about realising
that one of the best things about being
British is that we are made up of difference.”
A migration museum would also cover
British emigration: 5.5 million British
nationals are estimated to be living
abroad (roughly the same number as
continued on page 2
Brum’s Balti
bonanza
HP sauce, Typhoo,
Cadbury’s – now
another landmark
Europe’s royal
migrants
Freshening up
the bloodline
34
Rugby’s
non-racist
record
Hitz kicks out the
old rugby clichés
2
like us on facebook Migrant Voice
Editor-in-chief
Nazek Ramadan
Editor
Daniel Nelson
Editorial manager
Anne Stoltenberg
Designer
Ching-Li Chew
Lead photographer
Beth Crosland
With thanks to all the volunteer
journalists, photographers,
contributors and Migrant Voice
network members and trustees
who took part in the production of
the paper
In particular thanks to:
Nishit Morsawala
Ruchita Daswani
Lilian Posada
Mariko Hayashi
Amélie Belfort
Pilar Balet Robinson
Sara Davidson
Karina Cabrera
Thank you to the Barrow Cadbury
Trust 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.
Welcome to Migrant Voice
W
elcome to the new issue of Migrant Voice
newspaper which celebrates the success and
contribution of migrants and their role in
influencing life and culture in the UK, and shaping its
future.
It tells the stories of many migrants, including Brits
living abroad and of their hopes and aspirations.
Join us on a journey to the Balti Triangle in the heart of
the nation’s curry capital, Birmingham; follow the dreams
of our Olympic hopefuls such as Mo Farah and Tiffany
Porter in our sports pages; and find out how the Olympic
flame sparks romance between Europe’s royals and
their future migrant partners; discover the new fashion
Editor-in-chief
Nazek Ramadan
Concern as security companies
take over asylum housing
Pinar Aksu
A
multinational company that has won a contract
for housing asylum-seekers in Scotland has been
challenged to maintain standards.
Serco has been urged to adopt the “Scottish Standards
for Temporary Accommodation”, which outline minimum
housing and service standards for people in temporary
homeless accommodation.
The standards are promoted by the charity Shelter
Scotland and the Chartered Institute of Housing in
Scotland.
Michael Collins of the Glasgow City of Sanctuary group
commented: “Glasgow can be proud of our history as a
city of welcome for people seeking sanctuary. Asylum
housing provision, however, has been very hit-and-miss
and some of it, particularly in the private sector, has been
downright awful.
“We aren’t asking for special treatment for people
seeking sanctuary, just a housing service of the same
standard as that for other people who find themselves
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.
homeless.”
Collins, a former housing manager at the Scottish
Refugee Council, added, “In Glasgow and across the UK
there have been examples of shockingly sub-standard
housing being used.”
Provision of housing for asylum-seekers in Scotland
has often been controversial. For several years it was
provided by Glasgow Council, and has since been
managed by the private Angel Group and the charity
Ypeople.
But at the end of 2011 the UK Border Agency said
Serco would take over the job.
Two other multinational security companies, Reliance
and G4S, have also won similar contracts elsewhere in
UK. All are involved in the provision of immigration
detention services in the UK. Serco runs the Yarl’s Wood
detention centre in Bedfordshire.
Concern about putting responsibility for housing into
the hands of private corporations has been expressed
across the UK, particularly over the danger that standards
of support are being being lowered.
MUSUEM BID, from page 1
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 2012. Please seek
permission before reproducing any
of our articles or photographs.
talents in London and a strange but inspirational “kinetic
theatre” in Glasgow.
Also in this issue we investigate policy areas that
impact on both migrants and the country, such as the cap
on students’ visas and the language tests for
foreign spouses.
We want to hear your thoughts. If you would
like to make comments and suggestions, or if you
would like to get involved in our work, please email
[email protected]
Frank Meisler’s Kindertransport memorial outside Liverpool
Street station, London commemorates the rescue mission
before the outbreak of the Second World War when Britain
took in nearly 10,000 predominantly Jewish children from Nazi
Germany and other European countries. Photo: StoneColdCrazy
foreign nationals living here) and some 60 million people around the world claim British ancestry.
Roche emphasises the importance of making people
realise such a museum “is for all of us, not just for one
particular group or community, because as the writer,
Robert Winder says, we’ve all come from somewhere
else’. The only thing that distinguishes us is how far
back we go.”
Suggestions for the location include East London’s
Docklands area, Birmingham, Cardiff, Southampton
and Liverpool.
She says the main problem is finding a major donor –
“maybe someone of migrant heritage who feels particularly patriotic because of all that he or she has managed
to achieve in Britain.
“We know this project is ready to fly and we’re just
waiting for the right person or people to have the courage and vision to fly with us,” she says.
We want to know what you think about the paper,
tell us at [email protected]
3
follow us @MigrantVoiceUK
Where the streets are
paved with celebs
Joanna Cordero takes a tour of London, and finds she’s among the stars
W
hen it comes to star-spotting,
“I would rate London in the
top three with Los Angeles
and New York,” James Bonney from a company that operates bus tours
of celebrity homes, has said.
“Most celebs who cross or consider
crossing the pond from the US or elsewhere
seem to be doing so for professional reasons
or for love but inevitably they eventually fall
for the city itself, for its culture and diversity,”
said Bonney.
Madonna owns several properties across
the UK and lived in London with thenhusband, Guy Ritchie, between 2000 and
2008. Although unsure at first, Madonna
became enamoured with the city. She told the
Daily Mail that: “I just fell in love with it.
“I am delighted to be here. I am not
delighted that people keep saying that I
don’t like being here. Why did I buy so many
houses here if I didn’t like it?”
Pint-sized singer and actress, Kylie
Minogue, moved to London over 16 years
ago from Australia where she became famous
for her role in “Neighbours” and has since
made a music career in which she has sold
over 68 million records.
She reaffirmed her love of Chelsea by
buying a property just moments away from
her old home. She is often seen out with her
Spanish model boyfriend, Andres Velencoso
Segura.
Icelandic singer-songwriter Björk moved to
the capital in 1992 to launch a solo career. In
1994 she won Best International Female and
Best International Newcomer at the BRIT
awards. For her, London was the best place to
grow commercially.
She once commented, “When I was a
teenager in Iceland people would throw rocks
and shout abuse at me because they thought
I was weird. I never got that in London no
matter what I wore.”
Atlanta-born former Destiny’s Child, Kelly
Rowland, told the Daily Mirror that she loved
British culture – singling out its humour,
traditional Sunday brunches and sticky toffee
pudding.
Like Björk, American actress Gwyneth
Paltrow is also a fan of the capital’s fashion
diversity.
“In Chelsea, it’s very designer, and within
that, you’ll have the more horsey, traditional
English girl - that posh kind of dressing,”
she said in an interview. “In east London
you have the funkiest styles, where they’ll
bring back the ‘80s and stuff like that. You’ll
Kylie Minogue: House in Chelsea
Photo: Paul Robinson
Madonna: Several properties
Photo: Adam Sammler
London is
my home.
I will never
renounce
being
American
but there is
a part of
me that is
British now
see a forward kind of fashion there. Then, in
Notting Hill, you’ll see Sienna Miller -style,
sort of Bohemian chic [and], in north London
it’s a mix of all of the above.”
She moved to London to be with her
rocker-husband, Chris Martin from Coldplay.
The couple lives in a 33-room mansion in
Belsize Park.
The globetrotting Jolie-Pitt brood also
called London home, setting up a base in
Richmond-on-Thames, while Brad Pitt shot
the film “World War Z” in Glasgow. The
couple and their six children lived in a £10
million home just around the corner from
Oscar winner and fellow American, Sandra
Bullock.
Their mansion has also been the residence
of other Hollywood A-listers including
Johnny Depp, Michael Douglas and wife
Catherine Zeta-Jones.
Self-confessed Anglophile, Kevin Spacey,
made the move from New York to a
Kennington flat in south London to take
over the artistic direction of the Old Vic.
In an interview with the Mirror he said, ”
London is my home. I will never renounce
being American but there is a part of me that
is British now. I may go for dual citizenship who knows,” he added.
Another Anglophile, US film director Tim
Burton fell in love with London’s cityscape
after moving to a house in Belsize Park close
to his partner, British actress Helena Bonham
Carter.
London’s streets and gothic architecture
that recalls vintage British horror films are
among his inspirations.
“I’m much happier in [London] - I like
the weather, I like walking, I like being a
foreigner. I felt like a foreigner growing
up in LA so now I feel comfortable being a
foreigner,” he told Time Out magazine.
“And maybe it’s because I watched too
many Hammer horror films, but I feel like
I’m living in one, which makes me very
happy. I do like it when it rains. It depresses
a lot of people but I get quite excited when it
rains. Maybe it’s because I’m from southern
California,” he added.
4
we want to know what you think about the paper, tell us at [email protected]
Sara Davidson, 50
‘It’s a class issue.’
Having lived in more than six
countries and on three continents
she currently lives in the UK.
“I spent six months in Iceland as
a student, and another year in Norway,
where I also worked. Students are seen as
migrants, which is a shame as they are more
expatriates.
I worked 18 months in Australia, as an aid
worker in Bangladesh, India and Sri Lanka.
I went to India, then to Australia, then to
Burma and Nepal.
I tried to integrate. In Australia I shared a
house with Australians and other travellers.
In Sydney’s poorer areas I became friends
with immigrants and locals.
I was a migrant worker in Australia.
Essentially, an expatriate is a positive term,
it means you have more responsibilities
and that somehow there’s a chance you’ll
willingly go home.
Migrants have to take what they get,
can’t go back as easily. Migrant is now a
criminalised term – it could mean expatriate,
refugee, asylum-seeker.
In India, there is a great consciousness of
its colonial past and certain prejudices from
the middle-class.
It’s easy to forget quickly that we too used
to go abroad and we still applaud people for
going abroad ... migrants, however, are treated
suspiciously. It’s a class issue.”
Brits abroad: the other
of the immigration deb
DR Lina Lewis, 48
‘I miss the greenery’
She and her husband and family
have lived in Bahrain for almost
a decade.
“We have been working
abroad for more than 10 years.
Unfortunately our holidays are
spent at home in UK to make up
for working abroad. We would
love to travel with family but
never had the opportunity.
I miss the greenery, discipline,
the variety of places to visit,
museums, theatres and our
homes. We are part of the
local culture but we are always
foreigners and never actually part
of it. Sadly with more time spent
abroad, you feel you don’t belong
here or there. That’s the price
you have to pay for a better living
and job satisfaction.
You contribute to the local
culture but once your job is done
you
fear you
are not
needed and
thus you are
not welcomed.You leave your
home to provide your family
with a better future, financial
security and job satisfaction.You
consider it home but deep inside
home is where your family is and
sometimes it gets lonely, although
you are surrounded by friends
and colleagues.
Your friends become your
family you can rely on when
needed. However, as Bahrain is
‘home’ to many expats, friends
come and go. It’s ok when you
are young and busy building your
future, but then you look for
security, family and where you
grew up to think of home.”
Immigrant, migrant, traveller, expatriate: Nishit Morswala talks
to people from UK who seek fun and fortune overseas
I
n Britain, controversy about immigration has raged for years. But emigration gets less attention.
Australia is the most popular
country for Brits looking to live overseas,
with 21 per cent in a Post Office survey
making it their No.1 choice, followed by the
US, Canada and Spain.
The survey found that a quarter of people
— and a third of students — have considered
a move overseas, and that a better quality
of life was the main biggest incentive. The
number of people who left the UK in 2010
was 124,000.
About two million Britons have left the
UK since 1998, and around a million have
returned.
Around 60% of those leaving are of
working age, in the 25-to-44 age group who
are going for a job or are looking for one.
Jessica Crowe has been living in Mexico
City for more than six months: “Leaving your
country of birth gives you a better idea of
what you consider home to be.”
“I always wanted to see the world,” says
31-year-old Martin Barnett. “I was still young
and single when I went to New Zealand for a
snowboarding trip so I stayed…”
Barnett spent seven years abroad – three
each in New Zealand and Australia and one
more in Southeast Asia – and he loved every
bit of the migrant experience.
“Of course there are problems, like
migrants have in every other country,” he
says. “My girlfriend is Japanese and once
a group of people passed racist remarks at
her while we were walking down the street.
Some Aussies would joke about how Brits
were taking their jobs when I worked as
a bartender: it was all very light-hearted
but you never know what the underlying
sentiment is.”
5
Dr Seth Lazar,
with his wife, Lu
Barnham, and
son Amos, at Rye
Beach, Melbourne:
Once a traveller,
now an immigrant
Emma Sylvester, 28:
‘I can only see the move as a positive’
An actress who at the time
of the interview
lived in London, she and
her partner are moving
to Australia in pursuit of
a better, less stressful
life.
“I’ve travelled to China,
Thailand, India, Zimbabwe,
the US, Europe (France, Italy,
Greece, Turkey, Germany
and Austria) but never lived
abroad as such.
My partner and I are
moving to Melbourne. We
are sick and tired of the
expense of London living,
cold winters, overcrowded
cities, the London riots...My
partner Joe is a chef and his
working day can be up to
18 hours. In Australia he can
work less hours with more
leisure time.
We both love the sea,
swimming and surfing we
can all do at the start or
the end of a working day in
Melbourne. We also both
want an adventure together,
having both lived in London
for the last eight years.
Although I’ll miss
my friends and family
back home, it’s something
I feel we both need to do.
I feel claustrophobic in the
city, hungry for a change.
But I will miss British pubs
and heritage, London on
a crisp winter morning,
the patchwork of British
countryside.
In Australia, I plan
on taking part in fringe
theatre in whatever
capacity. I can only see
the move as a positive.
I think the more customs
you can understand and by
osmosis inform and better
yourself as an individual
the better. I would perceive
myself to be a migrant, as I
intend to work in Oz and
integrate with society over
there.”
Finch: ‘Increase in Britons going to China’.
The British
diaspora
A
side
ate
He and his girlfriend now are planning to
move to Japan.
“People migrate for quality of life reasons
… and that’s fair,” he says.
Technically, the United Nations
Convention on the Protection of the Rights
of All Migrant Workers and Members of
Their Families defines a migrant worker as “a
person who is engaged or has been engaged
in a remunerated activity in a State of which
he or she is not a national.”
A particularly sore point in the UK
immigration debate is language. A recent
court ruling has upheld the UK immigration
rule that spouses must pass a basic English
language test if they are to indefinitely join
their partners here. Supporters say the move
will improve social integration: critics say it
may obstruct a person’s right to a family life.
What about Britons living abroad?
Susan Woods worked for three years in
South Africa and seven in the US. Now she
owns a property in the Spanish town of
Alcossebre, where she spends a few months
every year with her husband.
“One of the things I find most
Some
Aussies
would joke
about how
Brits were
taking their
jobs when I
worked as a
bartender
extraordinary about the English in Spain is
how many of them haven’t made more than a
rudimentary attempt to learn Spanish. Most
seem to really just want to pretend they’re
still in England - but with better weather,”
she says.
And how easy is it to integrate in a culture
and society far removed from your own?
“I don’t have any particular plans regarding
becoming part of the local culture,” says
Dr Seth Lazar, who lives with his family
in Australia after living in Zimbabwe,
Switzerland, the US and Israel. “I intend to
hold onto my accent at all costs, for example.”
Lazar says he’s been a traveller “but now I
see myself as an immigrant.”
He doesn’t think the idea of global
citizenship makes much sense, except
metaphorically: “Citizenship denotes
membership in a state, or at least a political
community, and in the absence of a global
state, nation-states are all we have. And
there’s no doubt when moving to work in
another nation-state that you know you’re an
immigrant, and in that respect different from
the locals.”
bout 5.6 million Britons now live
abroad permanently, with another
500,000 living abroad for part of the
year, according to the Foreign Office.
The vast majority, are young working
people, in the 25-44 age group, says Tim
Finch, co-author of a recent report, Global
Brit: Making the most of the British diaspora.
The next biggest group are in the 45-59
age bracket.
“Very few are going out to do nothing,”
points out Finch, communications director at
the Institute for Public Policy Research, the
think-tank which published the report.
Do they integrate with the societies in
which they find themselves?
“Pensioners are the least-integrated
migrant community,” he says.
In Anglophone countries, “integration is
very good … it’s hardly worth talking about.
“We’re bad at speaking other languages, we
only speak English ... it is easier to integrate
in English speaking countries.”
The Global Brit study found that emigrants
integrated better in Bulgaria and the US than
in Spain and Dubai, while the result for India
was mixed. Why?
“Bulgaria was a nascent community,
cheap property, nice environment … it was
advertised as a nice home,” Finch explains.
“If you can’t afford France or Spain, then it
made sense. In Bulgaria you have to integrate
as they don’t speak English and you need to
learn a bit of Bulgarian.”
There is now a big increase in Britons going
to China, where opportunities didn’t exist
10 years ago, a shift that Finch says might
increase to economically developing countries
such as India or Brazil.
A recent survey by currency dealer
Moneycorp found that nine out of ten
British expats said that they would continue
to live abroad, with a quarter of respondents
saying that they would rather move to
another country than consider moving back
to the UK.
6
How migrants can help
strengthen Britain’s
economic backbone
Freda Owonsu
H
Brighter Futures member: promoting excellence.
Photo: Trupti Patel
Nominate a
social worker
Alex Sutton
M
embers of the Brighter Futures
youth group are looking for the
social worker who best supports
young refugees and asylum-seekers.
And when they find him or her, that
person will be given The Brighter Futures
Award.
“Some young people we know have been
‘saved’ by individual’s good practise, while
some have been victims of bad practice,” says
the group.
“ A good social worker or key worker can
make all the difference between a young
person feeling safe, listened to and optimistic
about the future or feeling isolated,
threatened and stuck. Members of our group
know that a good social worker or key worker
that goes the extra mile can open the door to
their future.”
They say they want to promote excellence
“as we only ever hear about negative practice:
we want to inspire people to improve and
learn from inspirational role models.”
You can nominate online or download
the nomination pack from www.
brighterfutureslondon.co.uk, Tell your
local authority or anyone you think might
be interested. Deadline for nominations is
February 24.
ere’s how Kofi and other migrants from all
over the world can help strengthen Britain’s
economic backbone – one of the aims of Lord
Green, the Trade and Investment Minister.
Green wants 100,000 small enterprises to start
exporting or spread sales to new markets. He admits that
“tackling the unknown in the overseas markets will often
be daunting”, and calls on business advisors, accountants,
lawyers and other professionals to help.
That’s where Kofi comes in.
Kofi is a 29-year-old engineering graduate from
the University of Science and Technology in Ghana.
He works in Britain as a part-qualified accountant for
a manufacturing firm that sees opportunities in the
Ghanaian market.
With his technical knowledge, Kofi can talk to potential
clients and government officials in Ghana. Through his
old school or alumni network, he will have contacts in
Ghana, some of whom may even be quite strategic for the
British company.
Kofi is looking for chances to visit his country of origin,
or the chance to return either semi-permanently or
permanently. By drawing upon Kofi’s contacts, knowledge
and aspirations, the British company could not only
hit the ground running in Ghana, but could also make
savings by hiring lawyers and other professionals only
when absolutely necessary.
Kofi could also gather information from his contacts
in Ghana, and brief company executives before any visits
they make to Ghana, including cultural do’s and don’ts.
People like Kofi are a human resource in which Britain
is rich, because of its colonial history and subsequent
diversity but which competitor countries, such as China,
generally lack. Why not use this resource to competitive
advantage?
Here are some suggestions:
1. Get to know your migrant workers (however humble
their position in the company), by including them
more in the social life of your business. Find out, in a
non-threatening way, where they originate from, their
qualifications, and what they know about local markets
there - this could well give you some ideas about potential
products in new locations you may not know about.
2. If you find that some of your migrant workers
originate from the countries you wish to export to, tell
them, seek their help, and if appropriate, work with them
3. Find out what they know about doing business
in your sector, who they know, which language they
speak – you’ll almost certainly find they speak several
- and how best they may be able to assist your export
strategy. Their input may be as simple as interpreting
or translating material for you, but it could also provide
you with practical information, and more importantly,
useful contacts that could enable you to leap-frog over the
competition.
If you don’t employ migrant workers from countries
in which you are aiming to do business, try migrant
networks and associations, some of whom maintain ties
with their home countries and can help you with essential
practical information and useful contacts.
Migration cap may be
bad for business
Jason Paul Grant
L
ondon is a global city, unique in its diversity,
proud of its history and an economic driver for
the whole country.
People from around the globe flock to London to
experience the sights, learn the language, work, study
and play. In return, they bring skills, experience and
diversity. All of these benefits could come to an end if the
government’s plans to cap migration are implemented.
The cap will limit the number of people coming to work
here, and is directed at people from outside the European
Union.
Recruitment of skilled workers from non- EU
countries is central to many businesses in the UK,
and evidence indicates they contribute to Britain’s
wealth.
Restricting skilled migrant workers brings significant
risks for UK businesses. Many businesses consider such
migrants as critical to their future development and to
wider economic growth in the UK.
That’s why many have opposed the plans to curb
immigration. A spokesman for the employers’ body
stated that the cap “places an immediate disadvantage
on UK-based businesses as they seek to win international
business, and in doing so need to deploy internationally
sought-after talent.
“This is the worst of all times to constrain business
in its ability to access the skilled global talent it needs to
support this growth.”
Similarly, Matt Cavanagh, associate director of the
IPPR think-tank, was looking ahead when he said,
“Ministers need to start thinking about how to harness
immigration to promote growth.”
But if businesses think restrictions on immigration
are harmful to themselves and the economy, they need
to make that case clearly and with evidence - not just to
government but to the public.
7
Secrets of success
Anne Mullee gets tips for the top from a trio of migrants who have become leaders in their field
W
hat is success? While money
tops many people’s list, for
others it’s just a part of the
story, or doesn’t feature at
all. For these three migrants, the key to their
achievements has been creativity, a love of
food and the chance to help others.
Camila Batmanghelidgjh
Born in Teheran to an Iranian father and
Belgian mother, British Business Woman of
the Year Camila Batmanghelidjh was sent to
boarding school in Britain at the age of 11.
Her wealthy family were supporters of
the Shah and suffered in the wake of the
1979 revolution, when her mother vanished,
her father was imprisoned and her sister
committed suicide.
Though severely dyslexic, Batmanghelidjh
gained an honours degree in drama from
the University of Warwick, then trained as a
psychotherapist, when she began to witness
the damaging effects of child poverty and
decided to do something to help. The result is
her charity, Kids Company, founded in 1996,
which offers a range of services including
drop-in centres and therapy for children
living in poverty in London.
Though feted for her charity work,
Batmanghelidjh is far from complacent, and
is an avid lobbyist for increased funding for
social services relating to children.
Following last year’s riots she commented
on the effects of poverty and how the
authorities are failing such children: “Underresourced social work departments are
Camila
Batmanghelidjh:
Avid lobbyist
Photo:
Garry Knight
Being entrepreneurial is
in my blood,
I approach
life with
strong ambition and the
drive to be
successful
making unethical choices all the time, leaving
children hungry, neglected or sleeping on the
floor. A house littered with dog and human
faeces is now not classified as child abuse,
nor do social services take responsibility for
a 13-year-old boy being run by drug dealers
and witnessing the torture of other young
people: that’s classed as a police matter.”
On her own success, she believes that
part of it is down to creating a peaceful, and
attractive, environment, an approach evident
from her colourful personal style.
“Find a place, then make it beautiful, and
you colour a child’s life,” she suggests.
Anjali Pathak and the Pathak family
Regularly touted as Britain’s new favourite
dish, curry today is as ubiquitous as fish
and chips. But that wasn’t the case when
Laxmishanker and Shanta Pathak migrated
to the UK from Kenya in 1956.
Originally from the Gujarat region of India,
the couple found themselves in the north
London area of Kentish Town with just £5 to
get them started, and no familiar Indian food
to be found.
With entrepreneurial zeal, they began to
track down spice suppliers and to make and
sell their own recipes through their shop,
with Shanta devising pickles and relishes in
her own kitchen.
The business grew, dropped the ‘h’ to
become Pataks, and its products can now be
found in every supermarket in the land.
Laxmishanker and Shanta’s son Kirit
(currently appearing in Patak’s TV adverts)
Hussein Chalayan dresses,
Design Museum, London
Photo: Kaupelei
Anjali Pathak: ‘On the brink of a food revolution’
and granddaughter Anjali are now the
company’s brand ambassadors, with Anjali
spreading curry lore through cookery
demonstrations on You Tube.
She is proud of her family’s success
and passionate about Indian food. “Being
entrepreneurial is in my blood, I approach
life with strong ambition and the drive to be
successful,” she told Indiatimes.
As a second-generation migrant she is
positive about the opportunities her country
can offer, but also believes that heritage can
play an important part in finding success.
“The UK recognises talent and does not
discriminate: this has given young Indian
entrepreneurs a platform to show innovation
and skills. But my Gujarati heritage is also
very important to me. It is where a lot of my
family traditions derive from.
“When I joined the business I wanted to
show the trendier, healthier side of Indian
cuisine. There are so many aspects to share
and I believe the world is on the brink of the
Indian food revolution.”
Hussein Chalayan
British Designer of the Year for two
consecutive years, Chalayan moved to the
UK from Nicosia in Turkish Cyprus in 1978,
when he was eight.
Renowned for his avant garde approach
to fashion, his debut collection featured silk
dresses that had been buried to allow them
to decompose. He went on to make clothes
from paper and wood and other unexpected
materials.
Today, however, he is better known for
dressing Lady Gaga and as creative director
for sportswear label Puma.
A champion of collaboration and trying
everything and anything, Chalayan believes
that “you don’t have to have your own label
to succeed, you could have a part in an
interesting group.”
With a keen interest in all forms of art
and design, he has represented Turkey at
the Venice Biennale and worked with crystal
specialists Swarovski to make glow-in-thedark LED dresses.
His advice for success? “You have to expose
yourself to other worlds to keep your mind
more active.”
8
Integration
under threat
Don Flynn
Director of the Migrants Rights Network
P
oliticians like to emphasise the importance of family life, but their actions
don’t always live up to their words.
Measures under consideration by the
government, for example, threaten the family
lives of many immigrant communities.
One area of concern is the new
requirement that people abroad wishing to
join their families here must speak at least
basic conversational English.
The Border Agency admits that testing
produces discrimination on grounds of race
or nationality but says this is justified by the
benefits of better integration and economic
well-being. But the evidence is that such
testing is unnecessary. In the days when
language testing was given not before entry
to UK but after two years’ residence, it was
found that less than 1% of applicants failed.
That is a good indication that the
opportunity to live here is the best guarantee
that migrants will learn to speak English.
Now the government intends to insist that
those seeking to bring in a family member
have a higher level of earnings – perhaps
£20,000 for a couple with no children. If
that figure is agreed, the government’s
main migration policy advisors estimate
that around half of all family reunification
applications will fail on grounds of low
earnings.
This high refusal rate will impact most
on migrants from Bangladesh, India and
Pakistan. Sponsors living and working outside
London and the south-east will also be hit
hard, as well as those in low-paid jobs such as
nursing, teaching and residential care.
The government’s reasoning for making
it harder for dependents to join families in
Britain is that only relatively well-off people
can take on the task of integration into
mainstream society. Yet compared to other
European countries, the absence of such
obstacles to a secure status based on positive
rights to family life has produced more
integration.
The imposition of the barriers being
considered by the government will increase
the chances that relatively poor immigrant
communities will be permanently locked out
of the advantages of a family life. The result
could be a rise in the poverty of some groups
because immigration rules force them to take
on the extra expense of maintaining two
households, one in the UK and another for
dependents in the place of origin.
Migrant parents work hard to ensure
that their children have a better life than
they do. If family life is denied, the rise
of communities from poverty to relative
prosperity will also cease.
Such progress has been the real drive
towards integration. If the government’s
plans are carried out, we might have to wave
goodbye to all hopes for integration based on
progress towards equality and social justice.
Exile: Hands on or hand out?
Photo: Natalie Bennett
The homelandless:
limbo between two
Victor Fraga, who has made a home in Britain but fondly remembers his
original homeland, talks to two exiles who are not so fortunate
W
hen I think of my homeland,
Brazil - an ocean and a hemisphere away from my chosen
home in London – I experience a gentle sense of longing. I remember
my family, my schoolfriends, my childhood
places, my favourite TV shows, the vibrant
colours, tastes and smells. I can almost sense
the beach and the joys of carnival right in
front of me.
Brazil is now the country of the future.
The unrelenting prophecy that “the sleeping
giant is going to wake up” is now becoming
reality. The economy is booming, poverty and
social inequalities are diminishing. Virtually
all indicators are positive.
Unfortunately, not all immigrants have
the same privilege. Most did not opt to leave
their homeland like me and instead were
brutally forced out by a series of unfortunate,
often catastrophic, circumstances. Their
feelings towards their homeland are in
violent conflict with mine.
Jean Baptiste and Fred (not their real
names) are both from the Democratic
Republic of Congo, a country devastated by
decades of civil war, with little prospect for
improvement. A bloody past and gloomy
future.
His wife
and kids
are dead,
murdered
by progovernment
forces, like
most of his
friends and
relatives
Jean Baptiste is 40, from the eastern town
of Bukavo, near the Rwanda border. His voice
is placid, his manners kind and agreeable.
He was a headmaster and a preacher before
fleeing to Britain because of his vocal
opposition to the President, Joseph Kabila.
He had been arrested five times without a
charge and feared for his life.
His memories are ridden with blood and
fear. He has no-one left at home to visit;
he has no desire to return to his childhood
place and does not see even a faint hope of
improvement.
Jean Baptiste has been fighting for years
for the right to bring in his wife and three
children, but the Home Office has told him
that to do so he needs to earn a minimum
of £2,300 a month. This is so absurd that it
would have been more honest for the Home
Office to have simply said “no”. As we went to
press, however, we learned that he has finally
been allowed to be reunited with his family.
Fred’s story is similar, involving political
opposition in Congo, arrest, and escape with
the help of a black market agency, leaving
wife and kids behind.
Fred, however, is not concerned about
family rights. Instead, he wants to start a
new family in the UK. This is not because
9
Family of nations
Rules and regulations make it increasingly hard for migrant workers and
refugees – and sometimes British citizens – to bring in spouses and other
family members. Could you live without your family? Should family life be
a basic human right? If you had to move abroad for a long time would you
expect the right to bring your family with you? We asked a random group
of passers-by.
Victor Fraga: A
sense of longing
in
worlds
Fred is heartless. His wife and kids are dead,
murdered by pro-government forces, like
most of his friends and relatives.
Talking to Jean Baptiste and Fred
makes me feel like a champagne immigrant
who decided to move to a richer and more
promising nation on a caprice.
My life in here has enabled me to learn a
lot and appreciate my Brazilian and Spanish
heritage. I have helped publicise Brazilian
culture in the UK and I like to think that I
make a contribution to London’s diverse
cultural landscape.
But what’s the point in discussing your
favourite British dish or artist when your
priority is simply staying alive? Unlike me,
Jean Baptiste and Fred did not choose to live
in the UK out of admiration for the vibrant
cultural scene. They came here because it
offered a chance for survival.
I have three passports: Brazilian, Spanish
and British. Jean Baptiste and Fred possess
no passport. They have a Home Office travel
document, which grants extremely limited
mobility.
My parents and sisters don’t need a visa to
visit me. I speak to my cousins on Facebook.
When I have kids, I have no doubt that they
will be able to travel the world.
Read more of Victor Fraga’s
writing on his blog:
vicfraga.blogspot.com
Katja, 30, office
worker
The most important family
to me is my partner and I
couldn’t live without him.
But if I think about my
mom, I’m actually living in
another country already,
so yes, I can live without
her. I guess because that
has been my own choice,
to leave.
You’re very alone
without your closest ones,
although I think they can
be both your family by
blood and dear friends.
Carmen, 42,
unemployed, two
children
I can’t imagine living
without my family. I am
Spanish, and in Spain
family is very important.
Of course it should be a
human right to be with
your family. I came from
Spain and I could never
leave my children, so I
took them with me. It
might be possible to live
away from family, but it
would be really hard.
Mohamed, 72,
retired council
employee
I have been living on my
own for over 40 years, but
my sister and her daughter
live nearby. But I think
of course it should be the
right for people to live with
their families. If I had my
own family and had to go
abroad, I couldn’t leave
them behind. I would want
to take them with me.
Ali, 27, shopkeeper
I never lived without my
family and I can’t imagine
what life without family
is like. I see some people
who have no family and
it’s like being in prison for
them. Especially for old
people, it’s really sad when
they have no one to look
after them and they die
alone. I have looked after
my family all my life and
I expect my family to do
the same when I’m old,
so it is a human right to
be with family. If I had to
go abroad I would like to
take my family with me,
although it’s up to them.
Liz, 72, retired nurse,
seven children
I can’t imagine myself
living without my family.
Especially when you are
older, you want to be
around your family. That’s
why I moved to London
from Wales, just be to
close to my children and
grandchildren. I do believe
the right to family life is
a basic human right. If I
had to go abroad for a long
time, I would like to be able
to take my family with me,
although it’s up to them.
Mary, 25, museum
intern
I couldn’t live without a
family anywhere in the
world because it’s very
important for me to be
with the people I love. I
think everyone should
have the right to live with
the one he or she loves.
Justine, 22, student
As I am studying abroad,
I don’t see my family very
often but I am always
happy to see them and as
I know I will go back home
someday, I don’t really
mind. But it would have
been very different if I had
a husband and kids since I
can’t imagine myself living
without a family later.
Living with one’s family
should obviously be a
right, especially when one
needs to move to another
country.
Alma, 25,
customer service
representative
I have lived far away from
my immediate family for
a long time but that is just
a matter of choice in my
case and, I suppose, part
of the process of growing
up. However, I am happily
married and could not
imagine living far away
from my partner ever. We
had to spend time apart
because of visa regulations
and I do not wish that
situation upon anyone.
10
Sheida Firoozi
When I was a child, war started
between Iran and Iraq. My home city
was bombarded by the enemy. My
family had to leave and go to another
city. So I emigrated twice: once when
I was a child, then, when I was older, I
came to London.
My life changed when I came to
London. I experienced different
cultures, arts, people, nature. Here
there are green roads, blue skies. It is
full of colour.
N. R. | Obscure new world: When
you leave, you leave a city and a place
with its troubles. You are well aware
of what you are leaving behind, but
you know very little of where you are
leaving for. You have a blurry picture
of a distant, mysterious place; images
of tall, grey, empty buildings, with life,
colour and people to be discovered
once you are there. Migration opened
my horizon to the world and made me
a more tolerant, open-minded person.
Although it took away my sense of
belonging to a place, it turned me into
a citizen of the world; a migrant.
Every picture
Mohamed | It reminds me of working on buildings and
enjoying the sunshine in my home town.
The Talking Pictures Project,
run by Migrant Voice, was an
opportunity for migrants to
share their experiences through
images and words. Participants
came from Canada, Chile,
Colombia, Eritrea, Georgia,
Iran, Italy, Honduras, Lebanon,
Palestine, Spain, Sudan and the
UK, and have long and varied
histories of migration to the
UK and abroad. Their photos
tell stories of decisions made
before departure, during
the journey and after arrival,
of expectations and of the
unexpected, and how people whatever their pasts – focus on
the future and build homes in
a new country. DVDs from the
project can be seen at
www.migrantvoice.org. The
project was funded by The Big
Lottery Fund.
11
David
Lortkipanidze | The
situation then in my home
country was very difficult:
civil war and political
changes. It was a period
where we had to think
about whether we would
have to leave our countries
and stay somewhere
temporarily. But I never
imagined that it would be
for such a long time.
Marwa Basha | I am
from the biggest African
country. But over the years
because of too much
conflict it became too
small for me to live there.
That’s why I had to leave.
Wish we all could live
in peace and make the
country a better place
for all. But after I left the
peace became impossible
and resulted in dividing the
country.
Marjorie Baca Oliva | We have many dreams ... One
of them was the chance to succeed, to progress and find new
doors open for our future.
tells a story
Elisa Iob | Once you have migrated, everything looks different!
Claudia Santoro | A rich society
like a diamond has different sides; different
tastes, and different colours. The differences
that compose that society are its own
strengths, to generate new ideas, new
relations, and new solutions.
Claudia Ponce
Gimpel | There are
places in the new
country that for some
reason make you feel
comfortable. These
places in time become
your own places and
make you feel you are
not a foreigner in your
new home.
Louise Sweet | ‘Arrival – confusion’
12
Britain’s ghost people
Six Oranges is a film-making
unit which has made a film
about British Overseas
Citizens or BOCs, who have
become ensnared in the
immigration system. The unit
explains the plight of BOCs
from Malaysia ahead of the
release of the film, “The
Queen’s Chinese”.
P
oet Rupert Brooke wrote that
“there’s some corner of a foreign
field hat is forever England”. But
not if you are a British Overseas
citizen – a category which does not have an
automatic right to live in the UK.
BOC passports look like a British passport.
You have to look carefully at the small print
to see that it is an invitation to limbo.
In withdrawing from its imperial
possessions, Britain was confronted with
a problem. Many of the new countries
did not want to grant citizenship to other
races who had settled there under British
control. To avoid statelessness, Britain let
many keep their Empire or “Citizen of the
UK and Colonies” (CUKC) passports for one
generation. In the cases of Malaysia, Britain
allowed colonial residents to keep CUKC
passports as insurance against the new state
failing.
But having made this gesture, Britain
gutted it of meaning.
It’s hard to believe now, but before 1962,
residents of Malacca in Malaysia could, if they
wanted, get up one morning and relocate to
Mayfair. In that year, immigration control
was introduced.
Britain subsequently enacted a succession
of laws making it progressively harder for
CUKCs to come here. By 1968 anyone who
could not demonstrate a “close connection”
to Britain – that is, a white skin – was
stopped. A voucher scheme was established
for CUKCs with nowhere to go.
Malaysian BOCs started arriving here in
numbers after the 1997 Asian financial crisis.
A series of discriminatory laws in Malaysia
after 1971 made it tougher for non-Malays to
attend university and get jobs. Chinese and
Indians whose families had lived there more
than 200 years were told they were “guests”
and must accept second class status.
Many Malaysian BOCs who arrived in
the UK applied for BOC passports, thinking
they were the same as British passports. The
Home Office decided they had automatically
lost Malaysian nationality by getting a BOC
passport - as Malaysia does not accept dual
nationals - and made many BOCs British
citizens. But they could not deport those they
rejected.
A migration route opened up. Britain then
changed the law so BOCs could not become
British, but the BOCs kept coming. Having
closed the citizenship route, the Home Office
just gave most of them discretionary leave
instead. (“Discretionary leave” is granted by
the government outside the immigration
rules in exceptional circumstances).
After a Malaysian court case in which a
BOC regained his Malaysian passport, the
UK authorities were unsure whether a BOC
passport holder automatically lost Malaysian
nationality. As BOCs piled up, the Home
Office drafted a “limbo policy” that consigned
the BOCs to oblivion, but hiding it so they
would not know their fate.
In a test-case in 2009 the Immigration
Tribunal said that BOCs, who had by now lost
Malaysian passports, were still Malaysian and
should return there.
A political campaign started; many
deportations were stopped.
Before the 2010 election, Liberal Democrat
leader Nick Clegg told the London Assembly
that the BOC situation was “simply unfair”,
and the immigration system “inconsistent,
bureaucratically incompetent and
Hendy is originally from Malaysia.
After arriving in Britain he applied
for a British Overseas Passport.
He was told that this would
permit him to live in the UK. But
the passport, which looks almost
identical to a normal British
Nick Clegg
told the
London
Assembly
that the BOC
situation
was ‘simply
unfair’, and
the immigration system
‘inconsistent, bureaucratically
incompetent
and administratively
chaotic’
administratively chaotic”. He has avoided
meeting any BOC ever since, lest he be asked
to make good on his word.
Conservative Party Immigration Minister
Damian Green told a BOC that if he could
prove he was not Malaysian and had tried
to return, his case would be reconsidered.
The BOC did so, going to the Malaysia High
Commission to try to retrieve his passport
and presenting proof of his inability to do so
to the Home Office, which simply rejected
him for unrelated reasons.
As 2011 drew to a close, a comical farce
ensued. The Home Office tried, for the
second time, to deport a BOC to Malaysia,
accompanied by escorts, at a cost of tens
of thousands of pounds. All were promptly
returned to Heathrow on the next flight.
Malaysia had always been clear that
someone who handed back their passport
could not live there. Unlucky BOCs bullied by
the UK authorities into so-called “voluntary
return” became Flying Dutchmen, going in
and out of Malaysia continually to renew visit
visas.
passport, gives Hendy no rights at
all to live or work in the UK. He
is an accountant but has to work
illegally in a restaurant to make
ends meet. He lives in a small
flat with eight other workers. He
has never seen his baby girl. He
More information on “The Queen’s
Chinese”at sixoranges.net
communicates with his family in
Malaysia via Facebook. As he had
to renounce Malaysian citizenship,
he is unable to go back. His life is
suspended.
Photo: Shafiur Rahman, director of
“The Queen’s Chinese”
13
Be a STAR, help a refugee
About 5,000 students are working
to improve the
lives of refugees
in the UK through
the national
charity, Student
R
Photo: STA
Action for Refugees
(STAR) One of them is
Steph Hollands
Tell us about yourself.
I’m Steph, and I come from south-east
Wales. I love photography, cycling,
chocolate spread sandwiches and Bob
Marley. I’m studying physical geography
at King’s [King’s College London – KCL]
and it’s the best subject ever!
I’ve just come back from a fieldtrip to
Morocco where my fellow geographers
and I surveyed dry rivers, measured the
regeneration of the highly valued argan
tree and saw many goats in trees.
After I graduate, I hope to specialise in
meteorology and become a weather
woman (or a monster truck driver).
When I am not studying I volunteer
for STAR and the Royal Geographical
Society, and work at a pub. Why did you get involved with STAR?
I really wanted to put some of my
spare time to good use and meet cool,
new people. KCL STAR offered the
chance to mentor kids and have a bit of
fun. A year-and-a-half down the line I’m
still really enjoying it.
Tell us about your volunteering
project.
KCL STAR supports Refugee Home
School Support Project in Wandsworth,
who run an after-school homework
session for kids from refugee
backgrounds. The Club started around
five years ago with help from KCL STAR.
Our volunteers help children aged
between 5 and 15 with their school
homework and run other activities.
After 45 minutes of work, we move
on to fun stuff like cooking, arts and
crafts and games. The Katherine Low
Settlement, where the Club is held, has
a snooker and table tennis room that
the children really look forward to using
after their work. In November we had
a fireworks display and sparklers in a
nearby field. Many of the kids had not
used sparklers before, so it was special.
What are the children like?
The kids are very, very, very energetic,
hard-working and a pleasure to be
around. Last 1 March one year-3 girl
remembered I was from Wales and
said, “You’re from Wales aren’t you?
We did that St David’s Day thing today.
Y’know, the thing with the cauliflower?”.
Our national vegetable is a leek, but
I was very impressed with her for
remembering!
What have you learnt from being a
STAR?
I’ve become more confident, selfassured and tolerant. STAR has opened
new pathways for me, including
becoming a geography ambassador for
Royal Geographical Society where I
give presentations to groups of school
kids about geography.
I’ve been able to attend extra training
and courses like the King’s Leadership
Award offered by our students’ union
to active student society members.
Volunteering for STAR has also made
me more aware of other cultures and
made me a more responsible person.
The friends I’ve made are brilliant and
I definitely feel volunteering with STAR
has added to my “student experience”.
Visit www.star-network.org.uk.
Success story at risk
Nishit Morsawala examines concern over a tightening up of student visas
A
s part of the government’s
efforts to curb migration to
Britain, about 230,000 fewer
overseas student visas will be
issued over the next five years.
The rules have been changed to cut out
bogus students, to make English-language
requirements tougher, and to make it harder
for students to bring in dependants, work
part-time or stay on to work after completing
their studies.
“Any restriction on student visas is a bad
thing as we support an open exchange of
students across the world,” says Christopher
Nicholas of the University and College
Union, an organisation for students and staff
in higher education. “Effectively, the UK’s
universities will be closed for business.”
Students from outside the European
Union already face stringent regulations to
get a visa, including a £255 fee and showing
that they have over £7,000 in their bank
accounts. Tightening the rules will inevitably
deter some from applying at all.
There’s a lot at stake.
One estimate is that the overseas students’
economy contributes £12.5bn a year to
Britain. That’s not just fees, but off-campus
expenditure - money that sustains tens of
thousands of jobs.
“Students are not migrants,” says Labour
MP Keith Vaz. “They come from all over
the world to study here, contributing to the
economy both through payment of fees and
wider spending.
“Whilst we are right to seek to eliminate
bogus colleges and bogus students, we need
University: ‘Ease restrictions’ government urged.
to ensure that we continue to attract the
brightest and the best.”
Reducing numbers has drawn criticism
from many quarters, including Oxford
University vice-chancellor Andrew Hamilton,
who has called on the government to ease
restrictions.
“Difficulties over visa applications as a
result of current regulations and restrictions
threaten to affect adversely the academic
health of the university,” he said.
Limiting foreign academics was also
problematic, he said, because they were
key to maintaining the UK’s reputation as a
leading education provider.
“New lower limits on the numbers of
international academics we can recruit or
retain poses serious risks — both scholarly
and economic,” he warned.
He likened the government’s move to the
Students
already here
are also
being hit by
the changes
in rules
US government’s post-9/11 crackdown on
student visas, which had led to a long-term
slump in its education market.
“Restricting the free flow of the brightest
and best academics and students is an area
where heeding the experience of the US may
serve us well,” he commented.
During a debate on student visas, Liberal
Democrat MP Stephen Williams said that
“foreign students are of fundamental
importance for universities in Bristol and we
should be careful of curbing the numbers at
a time when the government’s fiscal policy
of ‘rebalancing the economy’ would mean
higher dependence on foreign student
income.”
Nicola Dandridge, chief executive of
Universities UK, has pointed out that “the
vast majority of international students return
home once their studies are completed. This
is a success story for the UK, but there is no
shortage of global competition.”
Students already here are also being hit by
the changes in rules.
“While I understand the basic idea behind
bringing about a change in the new student
visa rules, it is disappointing. I was told about
the new rules mid-way through my master’s,”
says 26-year-old Anna Isaac from Chennai,
India, who says she now has to re-think her
educational and career plans.
“Given that international students spend
sometimes four times the amount on tuition
fees alone compared to EU and British
students, the reduction in student visas is
bound to hit universities and the British
government eventually,” she adds.
14
Balti –
Ruchita Daswani samples
Birmingham’s latest food
revolution - the birth
of the Balti
B
irmingham has long had a
reputation for culinary innovation. Apart from being home to
famous English food brands such
as HP sauce, Typhoo Tea, Bourneville cocoa,
Bird’s custard and Cadbury chocolate, it is
now known as the nation’s curry capital.
Authentic curries in Britain’s second
most populous city go back to the 1940s
when Abdul Aziz opened The Darjeeling in
Steelhouse Lane, selling curry and rice.
Another landmark came in 1977:
Mohammed Ajaib produced a dish that he
hoped would give him an edge over his rivals
in Birmingham’s highly competitive Indian
restaurant market. The balti was born.
It was cooked and served in a steel wok or
A matter of taste
Balti: ‘Adapted to
Western tastes’
Few things have changed as
much in Britain in the last
40 years as food. Then, our
food was famously stodgy
and dull; now, it’s one of the
most diverse cuisines in the
world. That’s what we at
Migrant Voice think – and we
decided to put it to the test
of public opinion.
Joe, 16, STUDENT
I like Chinese food, and
especially sweet and sour
chicken because it is different
in terms of taste. I like
cooking with spices. If I am
going abroad, I’m not sure I
will miss anything because
you can find everything
everywhere.
Kuido Angeles, 31, cook
I prefer Chinese food like
the type I can get in “Spicy
Noodle” – it’s really practical,
fast and the portions are big.
For me there is much more
than just fish and chips here
now. A lot of people from all
over the world are living here
so we have a bunch of options
to choose from.
Parid, 78, ex-merchant
navy
I never buy food in take-aways
because it is not healthy.British
food has changed a lot, it has
become more continental.
Before, there was only sausages
and mash, fish and chips …
Now there are more vegetables,
more spices. But it is true, if I
had to leave Britain, I would
miss haddock and chips.
15
Shops in the Triangle: ‘It caters for everyone’. Photos: Ruchita Daswani
Brum born and bred
balti, Hindi for a bucket or pail.
It caught on rapidly. “Balti houses”
mushroomed and today the south-eastern
area of Birmingham that houses over 50 balti
houses is known as the Balti Triangle.
The balti has since been adapted to
Western tastes and needs. The meat is
cooked off the bone; use is made of vegetable
oil, herbs and a selection of spices that
includes fenugreek, turmeric and cumin
along with a garam masala mix and fresh
coriander as garnish.
For quick service, the maximum
preparation time is 10-15 minutes.
“The balti was born in Bham [Birmingham,
or Brum],” says Mo Ahmed, manager of the
award-winning Al Frash Balti restaurant in
Ladypoole Road.
”It is the only place where baltis are served
authentically. Food is prepared, cooked and
served in the balti dish which retains the
goodness and makes the dish a light, healthy
alternative to the heavier curry,” he adds.
“Trying an authentic balti in an authentic
Trying an
authentic
balti in an
authentic
restaurant
is a must
on every
visitor’s list
Causher, 57, playboy
I often buy sandwiches with
chicken, ham, cheese, bacon
and vegetables because fast
food is really rubbish, and
so is British food with its
McDonald’s and Subway. I
particularly enjoy Chinese
food.
Eastern food, says Kamran Ishtiaq, the third
generation to handle the business.
“It’s mostly the ethnic community, but
also the English, who came to eat in the Balti
Triangle and now want to get the ingredients
to make the same food,” he explains.
The triangle now also boasts boutiques
and jewellery stores with vividly colourful
displays.
“It caters for everyone,” says Rifath
Hussain of Generations, one of the
jewellery stores on Ladypool Road.
“Birmingham is a multicultural city, so many
people, English people as well, come to buy
things for weddings. There is something for
everyone.”
“The one thing you must do here is come
to eat. Not just your main meal, but also
desserts: there are restaurants that just
specialise in desserts. People may have
their dinner in one place, then go to another
place for dessert and a third for shisha
[hookah],” she explains. “This is a one-stop
shopping area.”
over the years with different
cultures from around the world
living here. You can actually
enjoy food from all over the
world being here, especially in
London. If I was to leave the
UK, I would miss fish & chips
from seaside towns.
into my food. If I had to leave
my country I would miss the
Sunday roast or my Christmas
dinner.
My favourite food is chicken
breasts and I like it spicy.
I prefer to cook because in
restaurants you don’t have
enough to eat and it is not
good quality. For instance, the
meat is raised with too many
hormones.
Diana, retired
restaurant is a must on every visitor’s list.”
Recognised by the council as a unique area
and promoted as a tourist destination, the
Triangle draws over 20,000 visitors a week.
“People come to eat here from London,
from Scotland, from all over - Iranians,
Saudis, Japanese, Chinese, everyone comes
to visit,” says Hassan, co-owner of the Lahore
Restaurant, Kebab & Sweet House.
“The Prime Minister of Pakistan had a
meal of balti here recently. We also cater to all
communities. We create special dishes for the
festivals, not just for Eid, but also for Diwali
and for Christmas,” he says.
In the wake of balti restaurants came
groceries and supermarkets selling balti
ingredients.
Raja Brothers, a family-led business that
started 30 years ago, is one of the biggest and
best-known. Three years ago David Cameron
worked at the store to “spend some proper
time out of Westminster” – though it was
only a three-hour stint.
The store specialises in Asian and Middle
Khadra
James, 28, hospitality
business
I like noodles and sushi
because it is fast but healthy
and tasty. I definitely think
British food has changed from
40 years ago. Nowadays we
have this influence with all
these cultures like Indian,
Polish, Spanish. I’ve been
influenced in my cooking
by adding some new spices
I love grilled chicken, not
the oily one you can find in
fast foods but proper grilled
chicken. However, I prefer
healthy food such as salads,
soups and vegetables. I
appreciate that now British
food is inspired by many
influences and is not only fish
and chips any more. But if I
had to go abroad I would not
miss anything.
Moe, 24, student
Peter, 21, IT developer
It’s typical but I like
hamburgers because no
matter where you are in the
world it’s something you
find familiar. When I cook, I
often use soy sauce to give my
cooking a Japanese flavour.
It’s something that I always
have to have in my kitchen
cupboard. I think food in
Britain has changed a lot
My favourite take-away is
Indian because you can rarely
be disappointed with Indian
food: it is always good and
tasty. As my mum is Indian, I
enjoy tasty and spicy food and
I love to use spices when I am
cooking. But if I had to leave
England, I would definitely
miss English breakfast.
16
Photo: Migrant Voice
Homes and migrants:
the facts
Housing and immigrants are both controversial – but are the two
connected? Sue Lukes, a member of the Mayor of London’s Housing
Equality Standing Group, explains the issues to Migrant Voice
What are the factors behind the
shortage of “social housing” in the
UK?
The reasons are simple: far less social
housing is being created, while demand
continues to grow.
The number of homes being built
has declined overall — from about
350,000 a year in the 1960s to less
than half that number now. Most of
the decline is the result of failure to
build new social housing.
In addition, government policies
have decreased the amount of social
housing available – for example,
by selling off social housing to the
occupants from 1980 onwards.
There is less rented housing
available as well, because for decades
government policies have favoured
home ownership.
People who cannot afford to buy may
also find it difficult to rent privately,
especially if they have large families,
as there is now a limit on the housing
benefits paid that particularly affects
families who need four bedrooms
and more. That will be even tougher
when the benefit cap is introduced in
2013. (Legislation is going through
Parliament that would see a limit of
about £500 a week on the combined
amount of benefits a single family can
receive, excluding disability benefit and
war widow pensions.)
So the options available to people
with low wages, no savings, or an
immediate need for accommodation
are decreasing.
Is there a link between the shortage
and immigration?
Obviously, immigration contributes to
population growth in a country with
a successful economy, and population
growth contributes to the need for
housing. However, immigration,
through more tax income, more
builders and so on, also contributes to
the ability to provide housing.
It has also been said that population
growth contributes to the rise in
housing costs.
In the case of free markets, prices are
bound to rise as more people try to buy
or rent houses. But Britain is not a free
market: there are policies to promote
the buying of houses and massive
subsidies to private sector rents –
principally through housing benefits,
but also in the past through UK Border
Agency procurement of housing for
asylum-seekers, which seemed to raise
rents for the worst properties in some
areas as landlords realised they could
charge more.
If social housing was a real choice
for people, that would act as a brake on
both rents and prices because landlords
and sellers would realise they had
competition. However, that is not the
case as it has become very difficult to
obtain social housing.
Further, until recently social housing
was always seen as a poor-quality
worst option. So the issue is about
the amount of housing we need and
its price. Most researchers agree
with Stephen Nickell, the respected
economist, who reckons there would be
a need for 270,000 new homes a year
even if the number of people leaving
the country and the number entering
the country was in balance. So the
housing shortage will continue even if
no new migrants arrive. And if no new
migrants arrive, we may not be able to
pay for the new homes we need or to
build them.
Who gets priority?
The Housing Act says that in
the allocation of social housing,
precedence should be given to:
the homeless
riority needs groups - families with
p
children and the elderly
eople living in improper subp
standard accommodation
eople with medical and welfare
p
needs
those who need to move in order
to avoid hardships
those at risk of violence or threats
in their current homes
What are the main housing issues for
migrants in the UK?
It’s a mistake to talk about housing
issues for migrants as a single group.
Some migrants really have no housing
problems at all. At the top end of the
property market, some migrant buyers
are forcing up prices of homes in the £2
million plus bracket.
Which housing issues affect different
migrants is determined by a variety of
factors, such as immigration status.
Refugees are inevitably homeless when
they arrive and so are more likely to
end up in social housing. Migrants
from European Union countries are
more likely to be in private rented
housing. Some work migrants from
outside the EU may be more likely to
buy, because they are highly qualified
and richer. Work migrants often are able
to make preparations before arriving.
A factor often not mentioned is
discrimination. Even if factors such
as class, education and jobs are taken
into account, there is still a mismatch
between what we might expect and
what actually happens to migrants, and
discrimination may account for a lot
of this.
Migrants often do not know their
rights, may have difficulty exercising
them, may struggle to find advice or
advocacy if they face discrimination,
and so end up in poor conditions
or homeless.
17
Taking jobs – or helping
build the economy?
‘Migrant workers are taking
British jobs’ is an often-heard
complaint. Migrant Voice
hears another side of the
story
W
hen Gail’s Bakery in London’s
Portobello Road advertises
for staff, “we hardly get any
British applicants,” says manager Martin Barnett.
“Almost everybody who applies is a
migrant,” he says – and he wonders how the
city would function without them.
“Where I work,” he comments in answer
to his own question, “it would be extremely
difficult for me to fill vacant positions
without them.”
Statistics back him up: migrants make up
69 per cent of all London workers in catering
and cleaning. Half the care assistants in the
capital, half of all nurses, one in four doctors
were born abroad.
And they didn’t get their jobs because they
accept low pay.
It’s because they work harder than their
British counterparts, according to David
Frost, the previous director general of the
British Chambers of Commerce.
“Overwhelmingly, business has adopted
migrant workers for the simple reason that
they are often better educated and have a
stronger work ethic than local people,” he
said on his last day in the job.
The Greater London Authority has
described international migrants as the
“engine of London’s economic growth”,
with firms emphasising the ability to
attract international talent as essential to
maintaining the city’s reputation as a trade
and investment hub.
And as part of an on-going evaluation of
the national minimum wage, the Low Pay
Commission found that immigration to
the UK made a positive contribution to the
average wage increase experienced by nonimmigrant workers.
Of course, economic arguments about the
pros and cons of migration are complex, and
represent only one set of approaches to the
issue. The government and large sections
of the public, for example, cite a number of
reasons for wanting to regulate the number
of migrants entering the country to work.
Nevertheless, it is important that all the
facts and views are on the table in
any such discussion – including the
case for immigration, which is that by
increasing the labour supply it contributes
Restaurant staff: ‘You know you can rely on migrant workers.’ Photo: Louise Sweet, Talking Pictures
to the expansion of parts of the economy,
increases productivity and this contributes to
economic growth, employment and wages.
Indeed, the government’s Migration
Advisory Committee has stated that each
reduction of 10,000 in the number of skilled,
non-European Union migrants coming to
Britain means that more than £500 million is
lost from gross domestic product. That’s big
money for a country struggling to record any
growth at all.
The Committee also pointed out that
skilled and qualified migrants make a positive
contribution to public finances – that is, are
a benefit not a cost – and play an important
part in the provision of education, health and
social services.
What’s more, current proposals stipulate
that most skilled migrant workers and
their dependents should leave the UK
after a maximum of five years, with no right
to apply for settlement here. The British
Chambers of Commerce says the policy
The policy
would be
incredibly
disruptive to
companies of
all sizes, and
to the UK’s
economic
recovery
would be “incredibly disruptive to companies
of all sizes, and to the UK’s economic
recovery....”
Far away from the government
committees and the economic theorists,
Roland Sylvester, who works at the Prince
Albert pub in Battersea, has a more down-toearth view.
“I work with many migrants and natives. I
have a very high regard for migrant workers,
as they really seem to understand the value of
work,” he says.
“You know you can depend on a migrant
worker to have a good work ethic - they get
the job done, sometimes better than native
workers.
“Culturally, they bring their own distinct
ways of life to work. I work with men from
Poland, Hungary, Egypt, Australia, Italy,
Argentina. I think this enriches the work
experience, as you can learn so much more
from peoples that have travelled from farflung places.”
19
Royal migrants:
JAN WILLEM
Prince of Orange
OSCAR II
King of Sweden
GRANDChild
Olympics athletes are preparing for the meeting of a lifetime – and so are many royals.
Maeve Hosea and Ruchita Daswani investigate the Games’ link with royal romance.
GRAND CHILD
HARALD V
King of Norway
Queen
elizabeth ii
MARIA TERESA
from Cuba
This is a partial family tree of connections
between Europe’s royals.
Photographs: Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip
www.defenceimages.mod.uk
KONSTATIN
(ex King of
Greece)
PRINCE PHILIP
Duke of Edinburgh
(Denmark and Greece)
JUAN CARLOS
King of Spain
ANNE-MARIE
brother
JEAN
Grand Duke
of Luxembourg
Child
HENRI
Grand Duke
of Luxembourg
FREDERIK IX
King of Denmark
OLAV V
King of Norway
MÄRTHA
of Sweden
PRINCESS SOPHIA
of Greece and
Denmark (above)
CLAUS from Germany
MAXIMA from Argentina
GRACE KELLY from USA
ALBERT II Prince of Monaco
CHARLENE from South Africa
the Scottish king, James IV. Like a good royal female,
the Tudor scion did her duty for king and country and
took Scotland as her home.
Marrying cousins was another common practice
among royals, usually with the intention of keeping
families together, socially and economically.
Queen Victoria, who married her first cousin,
Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, is a prime
example. The influential monarch is regarded as the
“grandmother of Europe” because eight of her nine
offspring had cross-border marriages.
Her children ruled Britain, Prussia, Greece,
Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain and Sweden.
Tradition isn’t the sexiest marketing device and
cousin-marriage might be losing its allure, but royal
cross-border romance remains common.
Juan Carlos of Spain found romance on a cruise
ship with Sofia of Greece and Denmark. Rainer III
of Monaco fell in love with American actress Grace
Kelly and made the queen of the silver screen his
Princess Grace. With the world as his romantic oyster,
their playboy son, Albert of Monaco, recently took
former Olympic swimmer Charlene Wittstock from
South Africa as his bride. The couple strike a knowing
balance between antiquity and modernity.
The sixth Olympic ring
GUSTAF VI
ADOLF
King of Sweden
GRAND CHILD
JOSEPHINE
of Belgium
MARGARET
of Connaught
Child
Child 2
PAOLA
Princess
of Calabria
ALFONSO XIII
King of Spain
Child 1
VICTORIA EUGENIE
of Battenberg
GRAND CHILD
Child 1
LEOPOLD III
King of Belgium
Child 1
ASTRID
of Sweden
LOUISE
MARGARET
of Prussia
ARTHUR
Duke of
Connaught
Shared
ancestor by
blood or
marriage
kings and queens. A labour market in flux and
the development of a hyper-connected Internet
generation are the primary causes of cross-border
marriages.
Arranged marriages are out of fashion and it’s
attraction that usually sparks the journey up the aisle
or into the register office. Among the glittering office
buildings of London’s Square Mile a young Spanish
lawyer catches the eye of his British colleague. Across
town, a Polish carpenter, having recently brokenup with his girlfriend back home, is chatting to an
Australian girl on an Internet dating website.
Jump back 500 years and a powerful father
is brokering the marriage between his eldest son
and an alluring Spaniard. The marriage of Catherine
of Aragon and Henry VII’s son, Arthur, was a
tactical move that concluded an alliance between the
two kingdoms.
Two months later when Arthur died, his brother,
Henry VIII, took the widowed Catherine as his wife
to avoid diplomatic complications and maintain the
peace with Spain.
Henry VII was also the first European monarch
to negotiate a peace treaty between England and
Scotland, by marrying off his daughter Margaret to
FREDERIK
INGRID of
Sweden
Margrethe
Queen of
Denmark
Child
MARY
DONALDSON
from Australia (right)
T
GUSTAF
ADOLF
Duke of
Västerbotten
Child 2
MARY
of Teck
CARL
Prince of Sweden
INGEBORG
of Denmark
HENRY
of Battenberg
Child 1
HAAKON VII GEORGE V
King of Norway King of UK
sister
MAUD
Princess of Wales
BEATRICE
Child 1
GEORGE I
King of Greece
Child 1
brother
Child 2
Child 1
ALEXANDRA
of Denmark
Child 2
EDWARD VII
King of UK
albert ii
King of
Belgium
Child 3
Child 2
Child 1
VICTORIA
R
oyalists will be hanging out the bunting
again this summer when Queen
Elizabeth celebrates her Diamond
Jubilee. She has ruled, albeit in the
loosest sense, for 60 years, and with her equestrian
pursuits, iconic sense of period style and stiff upper
lip, she symbolises something the world regards as
quintessentially British.
She bears the name of an earlier English female
monarch who beat off the Spanish Armada, but she’s
really a very royal mixture of nationalities
and genetics.
With relatives in the courts of many of Europe’s
royal families, and a genetic heritage from Germany,
she’s very much a product of her class.
Down the ages, royal families have guarded
and enhanced their power, influence and wealth
through marriage with influential figures from
other countries. For centuries royals have found
spouses through arrangements made by parents
and politicians, often seeing each other only once or
twice before the wedding day. In Elizabeth II’s case,
however, her choice was a dashing young exile from
overseas, Philip of Greece and Denmark.
A foreign spouse is no longer the preserve of
GReat great great
granDchild
Princess
Sibylla
of Saxe-Coburg
and Gotha
Child 1
freshening up the bloodline
brother
LOUISE
of
Netherlands
CARL XV
King of
Sweden
Child 2
18
HENRI
Count de
Laborde de
Monpezat
CARL XVI
SILVIA
GUSTAV
SOMMERLATH
King of Sweden from Brazil
he Olympics have won
the hearts of princes
and princesses in more ways
than one.
With participants and spectators
from all over the world, the quadrennial event counts as an exciting venue
for people to meet and later marry.
The reigning King of Sweden, Carl
XVI Gustaf, and his German Brazilian
wife, Silvia Sommerlath, met at the
1972 summer Olympics in Munich,
where Sommerlath was working as an
interpreter.
The Crown Prince of Denmark, Frederik, met Australian marketing consultant, Mary Elizabeth Donaldson,
during the Sydney Olympics in 2000.
They were married in May 2004.
The Olympics are not just a royal
spectator sport. Royal participants
have included Britain’s Princess Anne
and her daughter, Zara Phillips, Juan
Carlos of Spain and Felipe, Prince of
Asturias.
Whose turn will it be in 2012?
Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice of York
and Charlotte Casiraghi of Monaco are
among the eligible singles expected to
attend the London games in July.
The race is on.
20
‘This is a very rewarding c
but it requires a bit of pati
Since arriving from Indian
in 1969 Mihir Bose has
become a journalist and
writer, and an observer of
British society. He talks to
Pilar Balet Robinson about
the changes he has seen.
Mihir Bose: ‘It wasn’t easy’
Photo: Beth Crosland
You first arrived in the UK in 1969.
Why did you come?
I came here to study engineering, but I had
no aptitude for it. I finally qualified as a
chartered accountant and became a cricket
journalist.
In what conditions did you land in London?
It was my father who made extraordinary
arrangements to pay for my studies here.
I got a little bit of money studying as
an accountant, but every month I was
overdrawn. Once, in order to get some
money, I cleaned toilets at [accountancy firm]
Arthur Anderson. Not that I was very good at
it. They employed me once and told me not
to go back again.
Have things changed a lot in the UK since
the ‘70s?
Tremendously. When I came here in 1969 the
Black and White Minstrel Show was the most
popular show where white men would dress
up as blacks. I came six months after Enoch
Powell’s “Rivers of Blood” speech. That was a
difficult time for non-white migrants.
Later on, when I was a Sunday Times
sports reporter, I was assaulted going to
football matches. It wasn’t easy.
This country was always a tolerant country,
but it has become a much more embracing
country, particularly in London, where you do
not feel you are in a foreign and unwelcoming
land. It has changed for the better.
What was it like starting your career in the
media?
There were very few foreign journalists, and
even fewer non-white journalists. Even now
there are not that many. I would telephone
a football match in Manchester and would
say “It’s Mihir”, and they would say “Yes, we
know you’re there, but who are you?”
I remember going to my first football
match, Chelsea and Tottenham, in 1978. I sat
in the press box and someone tapped me on
the back and asked “Who are you reporting
for, the Southall Gazette?” The idea that I
could be reporting for the Sunday Times was
difficult for some.
In 1999 you wrote that Asian and black
minorities should be more present in the
media. It seems things haven’t changed
much.
Not enough. In that sense we should look
at America. Here you see some black and
Asian names, but the great majority are
people from the white community. One of
the reasons is not racism, but networking.
You get jobs and contacts because of people
you know. I tell my English journalist friends
that the only Asian they know is the waiter at
their local Indian restaurant.
It’s a question of networking and
friendship. And that hasn’t happened yet. It’s
improving, but not enough.
What needs to be done?
I think this has to come from the top, the
editors and those with power to do it. They
have to extend themselves a bit.
I am not talking about positive
discrimination. I like to think I never got
a job because of the colour of my skin but
I tell my
English
journalist
friends that
the only
Asian they
know is
the waiter
at their
local Indian
restaurant
because people felt I could bring something
additional. I think when they are looking at
vacancies to fill, if there are five candidates
and one of them, say, is an Asian or black
person, perhaps they should think, Well,
isn’t it time we gave them a chance? I am not
saying Give somebody an unfair advantage,
but perhaps a chance.
Not enough of that is done. It’s happening,
but very slowly.
What are your views on Cameron’s
immigration speech last October?
This country has migration wrong in the
sense of what it means. When I came here
migration meant non-white migration: now
people are talking of migration as Polish or
Eastern European.
Migration policy must seem fair, equitable.
I believe the Americans and Canadians have
a fair system of points where if you qualify it
doesn’t matter where you are from, whereas
historically in the UK, if your country had
links to this country you could migrate. You
21
ountry
ence’
could see Australian barmen working here
for six months when you couldn’t see Indian
barmen because they didn’t have links. I see
that is where the policy is wrong.
What kind of policy do you think we
should have?
A sensible policy which says ‘we need
certain people and you have to pass these
qualifications’. I have no problems if they
say people that come to this country must
speak English. That’s fine, those must be the
norms. But this country seems to have fallen
between the historic links and the points
system.
It has had a policy that has made sections
of the white majority feel threatened and
swamped, which has given rise to first the
BNF and then the BNP.
Besides, this country has got a hang up
that multiculturalism doesn’t work, but
the fact is that there is always going to be
a dominant culture that must be able to
accommodate the other cultures. And the
non-dominant cultures must accept that if
you come from another country to live here
that is the culture that will dominate.
I can still find a way of coexisting with that,
but I am not sure we get the balance right at
times.
How do you think London is preparing for
the Olympics? We don’t see much going on
at the moment.
I think when the Olympics come it will be
wonderful. What we may not have is a legacy,
the idea that because we have the Olympic
Games people will start playing sports
instead of sitting on the couch: I don’t think
so. There are not enough sporting facilities
around and I am not sure that the young
people feel the hunger that is driving, for
example, Eastern Europe, which has a hunger
to succeed.
If you met someone who had just landed in
the UK, what advice would you give?
I would say that this country has a lot
to offer, although it doesn’t open up
immediately.
It’s very different to the society I come
from, where if you go to someone’s house
they will offer you tea, biscuits, sweets,
everything. Here, you might be offered some
tea - even that might be a struggle. But after
a time you will realise that if you persist
and persevere there is an ingrained sense of
balance, justice and tolerance and a certain
awareness of the world - more than in many
other countries. Not with everyone but quite
a number. And if you can tap into that this is
a very rewarding country. But it requires a bit
of patience.
Celebrating Sanctuary: ‘Art and music brings people together’. Photo: Isata Kanneh, Celebrating Sanctuary
The medium is the message
Anne Stoltenberg
M
usic is great but it’s time
to get back to the “hard
messages”, says Isata
Kanneh of Celebrating Sanctuary.
The charity’s aim is to use the arts
to highlight the contribution made
by refugees to the UK.
It promotes refugee and migrant
artists, organises awareness-raising
activities in schools and community
projects and musical events including
a world music festival in June.
Kanneh, who is the Events
Coordinator, says the arts are a good
platform for creating understanding.
“Art and music brings people
together - although sometimes it
is not enough that people come
together and side-by-side in separate
groups and don’t interact.
“We try and encourage mixing,
and you see how the music develops
as a result.”
She emphasises that the
programme is not about mentoring
refugee or migrant musicians: “It is
an equal platform for skills sharing.”
Kanneh got involved in the work
after a long spell in an advice agency
giving advice and doing research for
immigration tribunals: “I saw the way
the asylum process was constantly
getting harder, making it impossible
for people. Knowing what people
have gone through before coming
here, and then they have to struggle
with this...
“People make such a huge
contribution to the UK, and they
have a right to be safe, to make a
living.”
She highlights the schools
programme which raises awareness
about refugee issues in the host
community and links up settled
refugee kids with newly arrived
refugee children, using music, drama
and visual arts.
One project entailed “putting
refugee musicians into four
secondary schools delivering several
workshops, which culminated in
a performance together with the
schools: First the students performed
on their own, then together with
the refugee musicians and then the
refugee musicians gave a concert.”
But now, she says, “we need to
focus more on the awareness-raising
and the open-air concerts that were
popular and drew in the general
public, through which we reached
people who are not already aware of
these issues.”
Read also interviews with musicians
from Celebrating Sanctuary on pg 25
More about Celebrating
Sanctuary’s events:
celebrating-sanctuary.org.uk
A growing online presence
Nick Micinski
M
igrants who don’t have
digital skills can easily
be left out of essential
services.
In response, the Migrant and
Refugee Communities Forum
(MRCF) has developed a training
programme and in the last two
years has trained over 80 migrant
and refugee leaders in online health
activities, online campaigning and
the digital economy.
We have learned three lessons.
First, many migrants and refugees
have a fear of the Internet, partly
because of lack of exposure.
Secondly, the Internet is as hostile
an environment towards migrants as
the real world - just look at the abuse
in many comment streams.
Thirdly, many migrants didn’t lack
computers or Internet access: they
lacked quality computers and highspeed connections. This is a barrier
to using more complex websites or
multimedia.
Our experiences debunk the
myth that migrants do not engage
online. When MRCF launched an
online video campaign to encourage
migrants to participate in the UK
census, the most watched video was
in Somali language.
Migrants are adept at overcoming
barriers and are among the
most innovative at adopting new
technology. Many use email,
Facebook, and Skype to stay
connected with family and friends
at home. Others are resourceful at
saving money by shopping online or
re-selling used items online.
Some of the most inspiring digital
migrants are online campaigners.
These individuals and groups have
used online petitions to get the
attention of councils, human rights
groups, and as a response to the
2011 riots. Some blog about human
rights violations back home; others
focus on injustices on UK city streets.
Most importantly, digitally adept
migrants are working to amplify their
voice so we are no longer invisible,
both online and offline.
Nick Micinski is communication
and training officer at Migrant and
Refugee Communities Forum
Arts
Strictly come dancing
– unless the
Border Agency
stops you
Sarah Davidson goes dancing, and finds
that for centuries Britain has been at the
cultural crossroad, both as exporter and
importer of fancy footwork
Lisia Moala performing
“Home is where the
heart is”; choreography
Susie Crow. Moala
danced in UK, but is now
back in her homeland,
Australia
Photo: Mark Brome for
Ballet in Small Spaces
S
wan Lake in rehearsal; the agony
of dancers with injuries and
aching limbs, struggling with a
demanding ballet and an aggressive director. Off-stage, unseen immigration
officials execute a perfect faux pas when they
fail to grant the star of the show, Russian
ballerina Polina Semionova, a visa to enter
Britain in time for the opening night.
Czech-born Daria Klimentová stepped in
to save the day and English National Ballet’s
performance at the Royal Albert Hall received
ecstatic reviews.
But the treatment of artists such as
Semionova by the UK Borders Agency is not
unique.
In 2009, Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami
cancelled plans to direct Così Fan Tutte for
English National Opera after a visa was first
granted then withdrawn. Last year Russianborn US poet Alex Galper was put in a cell
and deported after coming to Britain to read
his poems at a charity event.
It wasn’t always like this. For centuries
Britain has been at the crossroads of dance,
and both cultural “importer” and “exporter”.
What if, in centuries past, national borders
had been closed to dance and dancers? What
would dance look like today?
The only dancing in England, a friend
suggested, would be Morris dancing: men
in bells, waving sticks at each other. But is
Morris dancing actually English? Some think
it is based on the court dances of medieval
Europe, others that the quaint English dance
comes from Spain where it marked the
What if, in
centuries
past,
national
borders had
been closed
to dance and
dancers?
What would
dance look
like today?
battles in which Catholics defeated Moors.
Or the other way around.
Clog dancing was a byproduct of Britain’s
Industrial Revolution. Wooden-shod workers
were gathered in the mines and factories of
Scotland, Wales and urban north England.
British and Irish migrant workers took clog
dancing to North America, where it met
the juba dancing of West Africa and the
plantation dances of slaves.
Popular dance metamorphosed. In 1842
Charles Dickens’s American Notes described
a performance by the legendary Master Juba,
stage name of African-American William
Henry Lane, and, according to Dickens, “the
greatest dancer known.”
Lane’s performances in London and his
tour of England and Scotland in the late
1840s caused a sensation. It could, as one
critic put it, “only be believed by those who
have been present”. But descriptions of
the speed, precision and sound of his steps
underscore the reasons for Master Juba’s
reputation as the founding father of tap.
London’s music halls and theatres were
also home to ballet in the 19th and early 20th
centuries. Born in Renaissance Italy but using
the language of France, ballet had rapidly
spread through Europe, Russia and beyond.
With notable exceptions, much 19th
century ballet in England relied on European
exiles and émigrés to bring new music and
choreography and to take principal roles.
War in Europe brought refugee Georges
Jacobi to London where he composed and
conducted for numerous West End ballets
before becoming a professor at the Royal
Academy of Music. Adeline Genée, cofounder and first president of what is today
Britain’s Royal Academy of Dance, was born
Anina Jensen in Denmark and made her
professional debut in Oslo.
After the Russian revolution, the legendary
Ballets Russes (Russian Ballets), was based in
Monaco and performed at length in Britain.
Now legendary international names were
associated with the Ballets Russes and its
productions – Nijinsky, Stravinsky, Picasso.
The strength of this Russian-international
brand help explain why British dancers of
the 20th century, including Alicia Markova
and Ninette de Valois, who danced with the
Ballets Russes, assumed foreign stage names.
British dance has proved a highly
successful export, whether through
international tours of ballet or musicals,
through the Royal Academy of Dance
syllabus taught all over the world by Genée’s
successors, or through lucrative sale of
licences for the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing.
The British TV show format has been sold
to 35 broadcasters in 75 countries, making it
an important source of export earnings.
But for the sake of dance and dancers
– and their audiences – let’s hope Britain
retains its reputation as a cultural crossroad.
And that other countries take their attitude
to dance “import” and “export” from the
Ballets Russes and the BBC, not the British
Borders Agency.
With help from Susie Crow of Ballet In Small
Spaces, Oxford
we want to know what you think about the paper,
tell us at [email protected]
1mile² Cardiff – India Dance Wales performance
Photo: Toby Cameron
‘Wow, this
is all here’
DONNA VOSE
T
hink global, act local might well be
the motto of 1mile², which inspires
communities to explore the cultural
and ecological diversity of their neighbourhoods through art.
In Smethwick, people created a canal-side
arts and nature trail.
“There are lots of places I haven’t explored
yet,” commented Smethwick resident Elvira
Ciku. “It’s only now with this project that I’ve
had a chance to see the canal. I didn’t know it
existed and I was ‘Wow, all this is here!’” .
It’s not just the canal on view: there are
new art objects based on local wildlife.
In Bradford, artist Chen Hangfeng from
Shanghai and local ecologist Charlie Gray
helped local people create images of different
varieties of Yorkshire apples using recycled
materials and techniques inspired by Chinese
botanical ink paintings.
“The project opened my perceptions of
Bradford and its diversity. We got a different
view of the cultures, biodiversity, languages,
colours and shapes of Bradford – the things
that make this city unique,” said Ana
Jimenez.
Cardiff celebrated its first year of 1mile²
with dance performances by India Dance
Wales, Ballet Nimba and Jukebox.
Other UK projects have taken place in
Birmingham, Edinburgh and London.
More about the organisation:
www.square-mile.net
1mile² Bradford - workshop
Photo: Chen Hangfen
Sharmanka: Eerie figures
Photo: Anna Strzalkowska
Glasgow’s kinetic
wonderland
Marzanna Antoniak
S
tep through the door of the Sharmanka Kinetic
Theatre and you enter the dimly-lit, surreal and
haunted world of the most magical of Glasgow’s
hidden treasures.
Scores of free-standing mechanical figures and
contraptions fashioned from scrap metal and wood come
jerkily to life, beautiful and grotesque, humorous and
frightening, animated by pulleys, chains and flywheels,
and accompanied by bells, whirrings, whistles and clangs.
Self-taught Russian-Jewish kinetic sculptor Eduard
Bersudsky has created an ingenious, bizarre union of
mechanics and art through which he gives us complex
tragicomic stories of the human spirit – or, if you
are more prosaic, fascinatingly weird and wonderful
animated cabinets of curiosities.
Over time, the gallery has become a multimedia
creation, drawing in other artists. A collaboration with
the Derevo Dance Theatre and other performers as well
as monthly music performances at the gallery are an
attempt to unify the visual and auditory art of the old
sewing and writing machines, bicycle wheels and other
pieces of industrial machinery with human ingenuity.
On the first Thursday of the month bands play music
inspired by Bersudsky’s sculptures. The sculptor’s wife
and artistic partner, Tatyana Jakovskaya, sets them in
motion and they clatter and creak, whirling round and
round, up and down, to the rhythm of the musicians
while colourful synchronised lights make dancing
shadows on the walls.
The impetus that brought Sharmanka (Russian for
“hurdy-gurdy” or street organ) to Scotland can be found
in Bersudsky’s works. “The Last Eagle of the Highlands”,
for example, recalls the plight of majestic birds whose
huge wing-spans prevented them hunting when
commercial spruce trees were planted too densely. Many
left their homeland: “So too did many people of different
nationalities when they could not find enough space to
spread their wings.”
In Soviet Russia, where there was no support for
anything but state-approved art, Bersudsky felt he, too,
couldn’t spread his wings. High rents, racism and a culture
of bribery influenced the couple’s decision to leave.
They were invited to exhibit in Glasgow by the director
of the McLellan Galleries and decided to stay.
It was tough in the beginning. Visa problems split the
family. Jakovskaya was given only a limited work permit
so couldn’t bring her son, Sergey, who now designs the
lighting and sound for the sculptures.
A breakthrough came in 1993 when a friend, furnituremaker Jim Stead, helped them settle in Blainslie in the
Scottish Borders, where they quickly made friends.
“As soon as people realised that Eduard was a hands-on
and hardworking man, they started treating him as one of
their own,” Jakovskaya recalls.
“It’s easier to understand each other when you work
together. In rural Scotland, people know history, they
know about all those Scots who left the country and it is
maybe easier for them to sympathise with migrants.”
Bersudsky’s increasingly draws from Scottish myths
and history. Jakovskaya backs this up pointing to certain
similarities between Celts and Slavs, between eastern
and western European cultures: “The Baltic sea was
connecting, not dividing.”
Recalling the family’s first visit to the Glasgow School
of Art, where they were surprised at the similarity
between Charles Rennie Mackintosh’s architecture and
Art Nouveau buildings in their native St. Petersburg, she
comments, “It was so close to establishing a European
cultural union.”
These ideas are very much alive at Sharmanka. So, too,
mysteriously, are Bersudsky’s carvings and contraptions.
Sharmanka is at Trongate 103, Glasgow G1 5HD.
24
Bukia (left): ‘A lot of
opportunities’
Photo: ©Lako Bukia
From Bukia’s SS 2012
collection © Lako Bukia.
Photo: Simon Armstrong
Below
From Emesha Nagy’s
SS 2012.
Photo: Latiff
Napoleon-Johari
Outsiders’ gift
to the capital
of fashion
Ruchita Daswani, puts her glad rags on
and drops in on a couple of fashionistas
L
ondon has become a
magnet for fashion designers, says Emesha Nagy, a
designer from Hungary.
“London has a great vibe and is so
inspiring,” she says.
“There are lots of events throughout
the year and many opportunities within
the industry, with various support
systems for emerging designers.
“London designers are acknowledged
worldwide and this is why many
fashion designers move to London to
fulfil their dream.”
Nagy worked with top British
designers such as Vivienne Westwood
and Jasper Conran before starting her
own label, Emesha, in 2009.
Emesha, “a contemporary luxury
label for women who appreciate classics
with a twist”, says it uses “sustainable
fabrics” to show that eco-friendliness
can be fashionable.
The label has won several awards,
including last year’s Fashion Press
Week prize.
Nagy believes that designers
can create something unique,
or add zing to their collections
by allowing their personality
and culture to appear in their
designs.
“Hungary has a very rich
culture and as a child we
were encouraged to learn
a lot about our history and
customs,” she says. “I wasn’t
really all that interested in
it back then but have now
learned to appreciate where
I come from and I’m sure this
influences my designs.”
Another young designer, Lako Bukia,
from Georgia, agrees that London
– now one of the “big four” fashion
capitals, alongside Milan, New York
and Paris – is attracting talent from
abroad.
“With all the best schools, London
is the best place to study fashion,” she
says. “Being so multicultural it presents
a lot of opportunities for young, fresh
designers,
always
promoting and
motivating new
talents.”
Bukia
first came to
London to visit
her sister, who
was studying here. She
fell in love with the city’s
fashion culture and stayed
on to do a foundation
course at Central Saint
Martins University of Art
and Design, followed by a
London College of Fashion
degree.
“I wanted to continue my studies
in the best fashion university in the
world, and then, after being in London
for so long, it felt like home. So I
wanted to see if it would work and it
just happened — and I am still here.”
Naturally, she says, she incorporates
her Georgian origins into her
collections.
“Georgia is a very old, historic and
traditional country, and that tradition
never leaves me. Most of my designs
are very romantic and they come from
my country, and my roots,” she says.
“This is our gift. People who come
from outside the country and different
cultures can do something different
and unique.”
25
How to stay in tune
with world music
Three musicians tell
Anne Stoltenberg why
they are happy to call
Birmingham home
Steve Yimga on drums
and, below, Ben Pathy.
Photos: Ruchita Daswani
B
lack Sabbath, members of Led
Zeppellin, UB40, Duran Duran,
Ozzy Ozbourne: Birmingham
has been the birthplace of many
famous UK singer songwriters and bands.
Just as migration from the Caribbean
in the ‘50s brought reggae influence to the
city’s music scene, more recent migrants are
creating new sounds.
Steve Yimga says Birmingham’s
multicultural music scene is one of the things
he likes about the city.
“When I first moved here, it wasn’t as
diverse, but it has developed. African and
Asian international artists have been coming
to perform in the city, and it has brought new
life to the music.
Yimga grew up listening to all kinds of
music, and taught himself percussion, but it
was not until he came here from Cameroon
10 years ago that he became serious about it.
“When I went to school in the UK the
music teacher encouraged me to play music,”
he recalls. “But I never had lessons, I taught
myself, I improvised and I learned.”
He now has his own band, Crossroad
Collision.
The beauty of Birmingham’s new sounds
is that you can’t put them into a category.
Yimga says he doesn’t feel his sound is
“typically African.
“Even when I play the djembe, it sounds
different from how other African players play
it. Then again, this idea of ‘African music’
is limited, because there is no one sound:
South African, Senegalese, Congolese, not
to mention North African music - it all has
completely different sounds.”
His sources of inspiration can be
surprising.
“I have an undergraduate degree in
international relations and politics and a
postgrad in international development. I am
interested in those ideas and maybe they
inspire me in what I want to say with a song.”
When he gives music workshops he
doesn’t teach only rhythm and drumming
and new instruments: he brings in African
culture and history: “I take that opportunity
to talk about any important issue, be it about
the economy, refugees, LGBT issues.
“I have worked in prisons doing
workshops, with kids or with corporations.
It is about using music and rhythm to teach
social skills and encouraging team building.”
For another Birmingham
musician, Dilan Karim, music
runs in the family. His father
was a music teacher whose
pupils included his son, since
few teachers were able to
teach traditional Kurdish
instruments in Germany
where Karim spent his
childhood after the family
left Iraq.
He plays many instruments, but mainly
the oud, and performs traditional Kurdish
music at concerts all over the UK. He also
challenges himself by playing Western
classical music on the oud.
“I play music solo and with a band called
Awazi Win, which means ‘lost melody’. We
live all over the UK, so if we have a concert
we meet up two days before and practise
intensively.
Karim feels that the UK has opportunities
for musicians but can also benefit from the
musicians from around the world who live
here: “We introduce them to the sounds of
new instruments like the oud, Kaman and
santoor, and to new sounds played in new
ways.
“Music is a way to create dialogue across
communities,” he adds. “It is an ice-breaker.”
But he would like more British audiences
to hear his band’s unfamiliar sounds. “I am
always disappointed if it is only the Kurdish
community.”
For Ben Pathy, “Music is in my blood - it
It is about
using
music and
rhythm to
teach social
skills and
encouraging
team
building
is a part of my life.” The Angolan author,
singer, drummer and composer began
attending a music academy in Luanda
and later started directing choirs. But his
career, too, took a new shape as a result of
his journeys.
He had to leave, so moved to Lisbon
then UK.
Pathy is clear about the potential
of music to express feelings, and to
inform and educate, and he is involved
in community work as well as conducting
music workshops in schools.
“I believe music can be very informative
and educative. Parents don’t have the time to
educate their kids, and kids listen to music
and music is educative - so problem solved.”
He has messages he wants to convey
through music, whether with his own band,
Afro Mio, or through other initiatives.
“All my songs are about society. I
sing about whatever is going on in the
community, in the world, particularly Africa.
He also wants to promote the message of
peace and love through his music.
Ben Pathy feels he has arrived home now,
after 14 years in the UK.
“UK has adopted me, my life is here now. I
miss Angola, but I love Birmingham. I want
to continue to do more community work
here. It’s all about the community.”
For more interviews with Birmingham
musicians, please go to:
26
From
Nishit Morsawala profiles a
group fighting for domestic
workers’ rights, and talks to its
indefatigable founder
P
eople come to our doors with
nothing but the clothes on their
backs, says Marissa Begonia, the
founder of Justice for Domestic
workers (J4DW): “How can we not help
them?”
J4DW is a self- help group for migrant
domestic workers who have escaped abusive
and sometimes brutal employers.
“We have members from all over the world:
Asia, Africa, South America - no matter if we
speak different languages and come from
different backgrounds, we’re family, and
family help each other out,” she says.
Help might come in the form of a whipround (“every month, we collect £1 from our
members and donate it to a new member”),
legal advice or new skills. The organisation,
set up in 2009 and now with about 300
members, also campaigns for migrant
Domestic workers’ visa rally, 2011. Photo: J4DW
Youngsters break into a museum
Marion Vargaftig takes pleasure in an unusual video project
A
group of youngsters has broken
into the Museum of London – and
won a pat on the back for doing so.
Their adventure was so successful that
copycat break-ins are being considered in
Brussels, Dublin, Rome and Toronto.
And it’s all in a good cause.
Under the Breaking into the Museum
project, 14 young Londoners each produced
a short film, of 1 to 3 minutes, inspired by
one of the 2 million objects in the Museum of
London’s collection.
The films range from mini-documentaries
to evocative pieces, including performances
by the film-makers themselves.
“Before this project I just didn’t give a
damn about history,” says Anais Mika.
“I thought: why would I be interested in
something that does not relate to me as a
person or my generation. But when I chose
my piece, which was a painting about the
Brixton Riots, I was so surprised to learn that
these riots happened just a few metres from
where I live. It was like, wow, I did not know
that!’
Some of the films have won awards,
like that by 20-year-old student Chris
Lamontagne, a 20 year old student from
Westminster.
“When I heard that I had won two
awards, it was a massive shock. At first I
didn’t understand how my video could have
so much impact. It was after hearing the
comments from friends and family that I
realised how powerful this video was.
“It gave me a voice to express myself to a
wider world to show undercover sociological
aspects in Western countries. It inspires me
and gives me more confidence in reaching for
success in life.”
That’s the sort of response Colin
Prescod and I hoped for when we launched
Manifesta, the not-for-profit organisation
that sponsored the museum project. Its
key themes are cultural diversity, social
exclusion/inclusion and antiracism.
You can see the 14 films by scanning a
code next to the exhibits into you smart
phone (and while you are there you can take
a look at the museum’s excellent displays on
London migration).
Marion Vargaftig is director of Manifesta
For more information and to watch the
films www.manifesta.org.uk
Young filmmakers view their work (above); Anais Mika (below): ‘Surprised’
Photos: © Museum of London
27
slavery to self-help
workers’ rights.
Its current priority is to stop a government
proposal to abolish domestic workers’ right
to change their job. That would put workers
completely at the mercy of their employer,
leaving them open to abuse and exploitation.
Listening to members of the group tell of
their experiences can be harrowing.
Miralina, for example, was physically and
mentally abused by her employer, wrongly
accused of being an illegal immigrant and
detained by the UK Border Agency.
It was her case that led to the founding of
J4DW.
“It is the only organisation that represents
who I am and what my problems are, and it
has helped me in every way possible,” says
Miralina.
Sarla, 39, from India, was given no pay
and was allowed to leave the house only if
We have to
keep going,
spread the
message,
educate
others
accompanied by her employer’s children.
Her employers hid her passport. She
finally escaped and managed to regain her
documents with the help of Kalayaan, a
group that often works with J4DW in helping
domestic workers.
“If it wasn’t for J4DW and the current laws
in the UK, so many of us would have just
been stuck in slavery,” says Sarla, who is now
an active member of the group.
Other members have moved on from
tragic pasts to play an active role in
campaigning for equal rights.
One of them is Khadija, a 44-year-old
Moroccan.
“You see how we stay together?” she says,
gesturing around the room where everybody
is chatting animatedly. “If you’re a part of
this, you’ll understand our friendship, how
we all teach each other about our rights.
We have to keep going, spread the message,
educate others.
“I am so happy with what I do here,” adds
Khadija, who is now deputy chairman of
J4DW.
The shift of many of the group’s members
from destitution and disorientation to
self-help and activism is a feature of the
organisation.
“I remember there was a rally in
Manchester and some of our members had
assembled there expecting me to be there,”
recalls Begonia.
“They told me, ‘You are our leader, where
are you, what will we do without you?’ And I
said ‘No, you’re all leaders, you don’t need me
for anything.’ And now if I ever accompany
them to hand out leaflets or to protests, they
end up drawing a bigger audience of listeners
than I do.”
‘A date? Book the whole restaurant for me’
When Marissa Begonia is asked out on a date, she
replies, “Can you please book the whole restaurant
for me?” If asked why, she explains, “Because I have
three children and my organisation has hundreds
of people!”
The reality is that 41-year-old Begonia works
pretty much non-stop – “There’s no time for my
own life really,” she admits.
She’s not complaining: she’s fought tenaciously
to keep her children together, she looks after them,
provides for them, works as a full-time nannyhousekeeper for a family in London, and heads
Justice For Domestic Workers (J4DW), through
which she has changed hundreds of lives across the
UK.
She has also written a book about her
experiences, “Cry of a Migrant”, and won a
protracted legal case and a campaigning award.
In the day she takes care of her employer’s child,
in the evenings she spends time with her own
children and studies for a community development
research course, and at weekends she works for
J4DW, attending seminars, conducting meetings,
holding workshops and teaching.
She’s happy with the family for whom she has
worked for seven years (“They are so loving and
understanding of my work as a J4DW campaigner
… I couldn’t be happier that they trust me with
their family”), but she has known hard times.
In her homeland, The Philippines, her husband
left her and made no attempt to keep in touch with
the children. She was forced to work abroad as
the only way of earning enough to pay for medical
treatment for one of her children.
“I can still feel the pain of the day I was forced
to leave them,” she recalls, “but if I hadn’t, my son
wouldn’t have been alive today.
“I don’t feel any guilt because I wanted to keep
them alive, I wanted a better living that they
Workers’ rights: Marissa Begonia at an International
Labour Organisation meeting
Begonia recently won an award from the
organisation Anti-Slavery International, which
was presented by Immigration Minister Damian
Green. In her acceptance speech she quoted a
story from a domestic worker named Lakshmi:
“My employer would lock me in my room after
I finished my work at midnight and unlock my
room at 4.30a.m. so I could start my work again.
I was caged. My body would tremble with hunger
as I drank water so I could survive every day, I
thought of dying and that I would never see my
family again. As I searched for my way out to
survive I found my fellow domestic workers in
Justice for Domestic Workers”
deserve, I wanted the best future for my children,
and for me that is love and responsibility.”
One of her toughest battles occurred when she
came to the UK as a domestic worker and applied
for her children to join her. The UK Border Agency
refused her application for her two younger
children.
“It killed me that the day I was awaiting for so
long was not going to happen for no good reason at
all … I couldn’t bear thinking about it,” she recalls.
The officials’ doubted her claim to have “sole
responsibility” for the children because their father
was still alive. It still rankles: “Their father is alive
but worse than dead: my children never saw him
after he left. For 17 long years he never made an
effort to look for his children. My whole life is
about my children ... the deception accusation was
absurd.”
Fortunately, she received help from activists she
had befriended who put her in touch with lawyers
who agreed to fight her case for free.
“We worked day and night, sometimes until 2am
and then back at 6am,” she says. “But it’s all worth
it to be a family again.”
Begonia, however, never falls into self-pity.
“I had been through different forms of abuse but
I wasn’t really aware of the worst of it,” she says.
After the formation of J4DW in 2009, “my fellow
members educated me so much.
“Being with J4DW has made me realise how
lucky I am to write, speak, listen, express my views
and be armed with knowledge and skills.
“In the beginning, whenever one of us needed
to speak up at our meetings I ended up speaking
or answering the questions because nobody else
would. I soon realised it was because they didn’t
know how to, and I ended up helping them,
teaching them to read and write.
“It made me realise that they needed someone
who truly understands their vulnerability and
needs, and suddenly I was healed. All that anger
and frustration was gone. When we share our
problems, our stories and the happy moments, we
actually make each other stronger.”
NM
28
Keeping
the faith
Puck de Raadt
I
am often asked what the churches’
involvement in asylum is, as though the
speaker assumes it is small.
This is because the churches’ practical,
under-the-radar work is mostly unreported.
In reality, more often than not, support
for asylum-seekers and migrants, as well as
responding to poorly thought-out policies,
is done by faith members or by faith
organisations, acting on the principles of
justice and love of neighbour.
There are church- and faith-based welfare
drop-in centres in cities throughout the
country where migrants are welcomed,
fed and watered, can use internet and
phone facilities, and find signposting for legal
and medical help, as well as talk to people to
help them decide what to do next with
their life.
The centres negotiate with stressed local
authority officials, with GPs and hospital
departments and immigration authorities;
they run English classes, crèches, clothes
stores. Often they provide bus fares for those
who live long journeys away.
There are centres in Birmingham
(one of the first local authorities to stop
providing housing to asylum-seekers),
Blackburn, Cardiff, Coventry, Dover,
Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool,
London, Nottingham, Oxford, Portsmouth,
Southampton, Swansea, Wrexham – and that
list is incomplete.
As one church report noted last year,
“Many volunteers working in drop-in centres
are shocked by the stories of abuse and illtreatment suffered by asylum-seekers. Yet
they are inspired by the courage of those who
have still remained hopeful.”
Churches frequently find and help
distressed asylum-seekers or migrants
in their midst during prayers. At a recent
joyous and colourful London assembly of
‘Diaspora Citizens’ some 900 testified as to
what is needed in dealing with migrants including listening to the voices of migrants’
themselves.
Church members are being trained as
“Sign-Posters”, in which they are provided
with a basic knowledge of immigration
procedures to help migrants solve their
immigration problems. The scheme has the
support of the Office of the Immigration
Commissioner.
These are just a fraction of the church’s
activities in this field, work that has been
made even more important by the rapid
shrinking of public sector resources,
regionally and nationally. In the face of a
hurricane of cuts, the faith sector is working
hard to find creative responses that might
renew the Good Society and protect against
community disintegration.
Detention centre, Campsfield: ‘Unnecessary detentions are hugely wasteful’. Photo: Celeste Hibbert
Banged up for no
with no time-lim
Jerome Phelps Jerome Phelps looks at the plight of people who come to
Britain in search of sanctuary - and find themselves imprisoned
O
nly migrants can be locked
up without time-limit, for no
crime, and without automatic
review by the courts.
Most migrants who are detained have
committed no crime; none are serving a
criminal sentence: they lose their liberty
simply because of their immigration status.
In recent years the number of migrants in
detention at any one time has increased tenfold to around 3,800. New detention centres
have been built as high-security prisons. And
the lengths of time that migrants spend in
detention have increased dramatically.
Sami has been in the UK for eight years. In
October 2009 he was detained and spent 14
months in four different detention centres.
With the help of a charity, he was released
on bail.
Sami did not commit a crime nor could he
be sent back to the land from which he fled
persecution. As far as he is concerned, his
only “crime” is seeking sanctuary.
“If you have committed a crime, you know
when you will be out,” he says. “But asylumseekers do not know how long they will be
kept inside. Your life stands still.
“I still remember very clearly, in April
2010, the day another detainee was
unwell and asked to see a doctor at around
I am a
builder and a
gardener by
profession.
All I want is
to go back to
working
in my
profession
and to live
a normal
life without
fear, just like
everybody
else
midnight,” says Sami. “He was told it was too
late to get a doctor, and was asked to wait till
the morning. He kept returning to the staff
complaining of his health with no success
in convincing the officers to call a nurse or a
doctor, until he died at around 2am. I felt life
was worthless.”
Desperation rapidly sets in.
“You have no freedom. You do not feel
human. You struggle to understand why you
are locked up. You are helpless. You are not
released, or deported.
“I am a builder and a gardener by
profession. All I want is to go back to working
in my profession and to live a normal life
without fear, just like everybody else.”
Or take the case of Abdullah, who was
detained 21 months ago. He has ways
of coping, but nevertheless has found it
difficult.
“I am an artist,” he says. “I am always in
my room alone, painting when I can get
the materials. It is also a good distraction
from being locked up in immigration
detention and the threat of being deported
to Mogadishu in Somalia – one of the most
dangerous places to live in the world. It’s the
place where my brothers were killed.”
He has been in the UK nine years since
claiming asylum. At one point, forbidden to
29
Lost in translation
Guy Taylor
Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants
T
crime,
it
work or study, he stole from a shop and was
jailed.
When released, he was detained for
overstaying the time he was allowed in
Britain. He could not be deported because
Somalia is so dangerous. Yet his release on
bail was repeatedly refused.
“I love this country. But now they want
to deport me so they are holding me in
detention,” he says. “But every time I go
for bail to get out of here, the Home Office
barrister says that they will be able to send
me back soon. It’s a lie, but the judges believe
them. So they keep me here.”
For Abdullah, the bottom line is that “I am
a human being, it is not right to detain us for
an indefinite amount of time when they can’t
deport us.” He was finally released on bail
just before Christmas, and is back with his
family. But those two wasted years of his life
are lost forever.
As I write, 180 people have been in
detention for over a year, and 74 for more
than two years. Yet long-term detention
is a failed policy. The longer someone
is detained, the less likely they are to be
deported.
Detaining migrants unnecessarily for
years, at a time of swingeing cuts to public
services, is hugely wasteful.
It costs the taxpayer £47,000 a year to
detain one migrant.
Jerome Phelps is Director of Detention
Action.
he Court of Appeal is preparing to hear a case
challenging the government’s new rule that
spouses wishing to join their partners in Britain
must first pass a language test. Guy Taylor of the Joint
Council for the Welfare of Immigrants explains why his
organisation is vehemently opposed to the test.
Damian Green, the immigration minister, would argue
that the requirement that husbands and wives take a
language test before they are allowed to join their spouses
already living here is designed to help integration.
The rule, he would say, will ensure that migrants can
communicate with the people they will meet every day in
Britain.
The idea is simply to help people coming here to have
an easier time.
At first sight, the insistence that people need to speak
English to be able to integrate in British society seems
perfectly reasonable.
But let’s look at a specific example.
Fahad is from Yemen, married to a UK citizen and
trying to get through his language test so he can join his
wife in Britain.
Fahad was headmaster of a school in Yemen and is
now studying English in Jordan, where the standard of
English teaching is higher than in Yemen (and where it’s
considerably safer).
His wife is working in the UK and cannot join him in
Jordan because they wouldn’t have an income.
If Fahad could study here, his wife could help him,
English-language teachers in the UK would benefit from
more work, he would instantly be mixing with other
people at English lessons and the standard of his English
would be better than if he learnt elsewhere.
When I visited an English-language course at Tower
Hamlets College in London last year, I found teachers
and students all making immense efforts to ensure that
learning English was a rounded experience that embraced
learning about the borough, the city and English culture.
The newspaper they produced about the college and their
lives was testament to the way their course was helping
them integrate into the wider society. The Government
has chosen to deny these opportunities to future
migrants.
The effects of pre-entry testing are far-reaching.
The waiting involved as someone tries to qualify for a
visa can take years. Farhad and his wife married a year
ago and he doesn’t seem very close to passing his English
test.
I know of a woman trying to study for an English
test in Darfur in Sudan, so she can join her husband,
Mohammed, in London. For years, Darfur has been riven
by warfare and disease. People are struggling to stay alive,
not raise the standard of the teaching of English.
Mohammed’s eight-year-old daughter doesn’t know
where she’ll be from one day to the next, whether her life
will be primarily conducted in English or Arabic.
Ironically, some of the people hardest hit by the preentry language requirement are British citizens.
This government, supporters of a big society and a
small state, are telling their own citizens who they can
and cannot marry and live with in the UK.
The double standards are startling: many Brits live in
places such as Spain, Cyprus and Portugal, in enclaves
where only English is spoken.
Throughout the history of Britain, different languages
have come into the country, introduced by large-scale
immigration, and English itself has many influences
from languages that have travelled the world. So why
the uproar when a couple of streets in East London or
Bradford ring to the sound of a different language? It’s all
a part of the UK’s rich developing history.
Is there a refugee doctor in the house?
Fahira Mulamehic
T
wo problems: hospitals need more doctors, and
refugee doctors need work but are not allowed to
practice.
Solution: help refugee doctors qualify.
That’s what The Building Bridges programme offers.
Doctors with a refugee background have qualifications,
skills, experience and often specialisations, but they have
to overcome many barriers – the first of which, for many,
is achieving an adequate level of English.
The formal requirements prescribed by the General
Medical Council state that refugee doctors have to pass
two tests: one measuring the ability to communicate in
English in reading, writing, listening and speaking; the
other testing ability to practise medicine safely in a UK
hospital.
They also have to understand the NHS system, its
culture, ethos and practice. That may have to be learned
from scratch.
In addition, an absence of professional references from
UK employers significantly reduces their employment
prospects.
Clinical attachments can provide doctors with
invaluable UK experience and the opportunity to obtain
a UK reference. This involves a period of 1-3 months
attached to a clinical unit, with a named supervisor,
learning about the legal, ethical and cultural context of
medical practice through observing hospital teams in
their day-to day activities. But attachments are difficult to
get and there is usually a charge involved.
Furthermore, recruitment in the UK may be different
from the process in their home country, and doctors may
need support to hone the necessary skills such as creating
a professional CV, filling in job applications and being
interviewed. It is vital to provide refugee doctors with
high quality and timely advice to help them avoid long
delays and more career gaps.
The package of services offered by the Building Bridges
programme to refugee doctors in London has so far
helped 26 doctors obtain NHS jobs that match their
experience and qualifications. Many more clients have
secured intermediary jobs while working towards their
full General Medical Council membership.
A lot of work is involved, but it’s a bargain. The
estimated cost of training a UK doctor is between
£200,000 and £250,000, compared with about £25,000
to get a refugee doctor back to practising medicine.
Fahira Mulamehic works for the Refugee Healthcare
Professionals Programme at the Refugee Council.
30
Rafael Garcia with son Toni: ‘It’s always been this way’. Photo: Beth Crosland
A free ride to Spain in
Portobello Road
Pilar Balet Robinson visits the García family shop
in London, and finds that it’s a home-from home if
you’re Spanish, and a source of treats even if you
are not
R
afael García is pleasant
and soft-spoken, with an
easy smile. The lines on
his face suggest another
side to his story: hard work. Rafael is
the owner of Garcia and Sons, the first
Spanish shop in London, located since
1957 in Portobello Road.
Garcia is a pillar of every Spaniard’s
well-being in the city, with a welcome
for everyone. Some of British Prime
Minister David Cameron’s delicatessen
treats come from his shop. Ana Aznar,
daughter of former Spanish Prime
Minister Jose Maria Aznar, has been a
customer and Arsenal football star Cesc
Fabregas treated it as his local shop
until he returned to Barcelona.
Fifty years ago, all this was
unimaginable.
Born in Malaga, Rafael García was
one of thousands in the exodus sparked
by the civil war. He was two years
old in 1939 when his family sought
refuge in the nearby British territory of
Gibraltar.
With the Second World War
threatening the colony, the British
authorities started the deportation of
the Spanish refugees. They were sent
to various places and the García family
was split up. His father was sent to
London to work in an ammunition
factory and young Rafael was
transferred to the Caribbean colony of
Jamaica with his pregnant mother.
When the war was over Rafael, his
mother and little brother were again
transferred to Italy. From there, they
travelled to France and finally London,
where he was reunited with his father
in the Portobello area of west London.
Rafael was 14: this year he turned 76.
García senior and junior started the
shop and 54 years later Rafael runs it
with his son, Toni.
“Garcia’s and the convent of
Spanish nuns located a bit further
up attracted many Spaniards to this
neighbourhood”, remembers Rafael.
“Portobello was the place with the
highest number of Spaniards in
London at the time.”
Entering the shop you are instantly
transported to any grocery store in
Spain. It smells of manchego cheese,
vinegar and smoked meat. It has neon
lights and its shelves are full of tuna
fish from the Cantabric sea (Bay of
Biscay to Brits), canned vegetables
and the typical sobaos pasiegos. For
Spaniards, it’s like a free ride home.
It’s a family business whose clients
are Spanish and British nationals in
equal proportion: “It’s always been this
way” says García.
Rafael García was not able to return
to Spain until political amnesty was
declared in 1976. He was 37.
“I was so eager to be back that
when my passport took so long at the
consulate I asked if there was anything
wrong. The official at the desk blurted
out ‘Are you in a hurry after all this
time?”, he recalls fondly.
Rafael is now married to Carmen.
They have two sons and three
grandchildren. He often goes back to
Spain to rest, to the country he left
when he was only two. But he’s built
another home here, for us all to enjoy,
in Portobello Road.
31
Why Jamil likes to
watch seeds grow
Migrant Voice talks
to a community
activist who never
stops activating
M
igrants such as Fathi
Elsadig Jamil are often
living illustrations of
the saying that ‘You
never know what life will bring’.
He arrived in Britain from
Sudan in 1989 to pursue a career in
international development. A quarter
of a century later he’s still here.
He decided to stay in the UK, where
his wife and children eventually
joined him, when the situation in
Sudan deteriorated and he saw how
dangerous it would be for his family.
He’s certainly left his mark, and
continues to do so at the Community
Resource & Information Service (CRIS)
office in Birmingham.
“When I was at university here, I
was approached by so many people —
refugees, asylum-seekers, migrants —
from my own country and from others
who asked for help and support,” he
recalls.
“I eventually decided to organise
and manage community development
organisations to help and support local
communities that had no means to
Fathi Jamil: ‘It’s good to support people’.
communicate their problems before.”
He reckons he has helped set up
about 60 organisations, and still gives
occasional guidance to many of them.
But he has a reputation for founding
organisations, helping them grow
and then letting them function by
themselves when he thinks they are
self-sufficient.
“I don’t believe in exercising total
control over something just because
I helped build it. That’s not why I do
this,” he says.
“It’s good to support people and
their communities. When you plant
seeds, you see that they grow intro big
trees, and watching them flourish is
what makes me want to continue.”
He was pleased to discover recently
that two organisations he helped
establish in Sudan, before he came to
Britain, are still functioning: “One is for
women and another for young people
to learn and practise music, and some
of them have even become stars at
national level!”
Only two of the organisations
he has helped establish here are
exclusive to his native community: the
Sudanese Expatriates Foundation and
the Birmingham Sudanese Cultural
Foundation. Others include the Arab
Women’s Association, Smethwick Active
Women’s Network and Youth Voice.
His work with the Birmingham
Leadership Foundation, for example,
was with all young people in the city
– young white British as well as those
from black and ethnic communities.
“The changes that occurred in this
country in the last 20 years have an
impact on all young people, who feel
neglected and have more challenges in
their lives.”
What about racism? Does that affect
his work in building communities? It
exists, he says, but is less than in other
parts of Europe, and is concentrated in
areas of poverty and competition for
jobs and other resources.
People are trying to integrate, he
says, “but they also like to keep some of
their own culture and identity.”
He believes strongly that British
society can accommodate people of
different cultures, religions and ways of
life “but who can still contribute to the
wider society”.
He misses Sudan, which he visits
every one or two years, and is unsure
whether he’ll go back to live there
someday. It’s hard to tell what life will
bring.
Her ID card says: ‘No recourse to public funds’
Jason Bergen
B
etsy Reed moved to Edinburgh from the
US to complete
a master’s degree. She
knew she wanted to
stay and establish her
career in the UK and has
worked hard over the
last eight years to do so.
As head of campaigns
at Zero Waste Scotland,
a delivery body for the
Scottish government,
a typical Monday and
Tuesday is spent in
the office, supporting
and managing a team of 14. Almost
any day could include overseeing the
growth of a new community volunteer
programme, managing environmental
campaigns like “Love Food Hate Waste”
or “Recycle for Scotland”, meeting
civil servants, contributing to a
ministerial briefing
or to a meeting on
planning.
“My life is just like
most people’s here
in Scotland. I work, I
see my goddaughter
and friends, I spend
time with my partner,
I pay National
Insurance.”
There’s one big
difference, though:
“I have to apply to
the UK Borders Agency roughly every
two years for permission to stay and
contribute in the place that has become
my home.
“It’s stressful, and it’s certainly not
cheap: I have a savings account to pay
for visa applications, each of which cost
me well over £1,000.”
Previously, Reed worked as a senior
policy researcher for a former Scottish
government minister, and as director
of the Scottish Fair Trade Forum
(SFTF), where she developed and led
Scotland’s work to become one of the
world’s first Fair Trade Nations.
“I don’t feel there’s any question
that I have contributed positively as
a migrant to UK society and to its
economy,” she says. “I work hard, I
pay taxes, but I am not entitled to any
benefits. I actually have to carry an ID
card that, along with containing all my
biometric data in a chip on the back,
says ‘No recourse to public funds.’
“I find it alarming that immigrants
are far too regularly misrepresented
by certain groups and by the media
as people who come to the UK to use
public services and benefits, when I
know from experience that many of us
actually come here to work hard and to
pay tax that supports services we’re not
actually entitled to access.
“I can’t wait until the day I am
officially British – and Scottish,”
she adds with a smile. “After having
studied, worked and paid taxes in the
UK for nearly nine-and-a-half years, I
should finally be eligible to apply for a
UK passport.
“Then, I’ll be able to relax a bit and
live my life like anyone else, without
feeling slightly nervous that rules could
change and my next visa application
could be denied.”
32
English Defen
Though the English Defence League is relatively small
in numbers it has become the most vociferous far-right force
in the UK since the National Front in the 1970s.
Ruth Smeeth assesses its impact.
T
EDL demo... Photo: Hope Not Hate
wo convictions for violence
last year for the leader of the
far-right, anti-Muslim English
Defence League (EDL) and a bitter internal feud in the north-east are finally
crippling the organisation.
Already shaken by being linked with the
Norwegian mass murderer, Anders Breivik,
the EDL’s leadership is beginning to witness
investigations into the political, personal
and business lives and interests of its senior
personnel.
The anti-racist organisation Hope
Not Hate has long argued that as well as
racism, the EDL is driven by a desire for
confrontation and violence that should
warrant the same level of attention as some
of the more extreme Islamist groups that
operate in the UK.
As part of a growing European and North
American anti-Muslim network, the EDL also
deserves a response from civil society because
it brings a whole series of demands, social
and cultural misunderstandings and growing
opportunities for damage to community
cohesion in this country.
From some within the EDL’s shrinking
orbit there has been a growing call for a
change of direction.
Two-and-a-half years since its creation, not
even the EDL’s leadership is clear on where
the future lies for the organisation.
As the large-scale demonstrations begin
to tail off with fewer and fewer people taking
A dream that will put ndollé and alloco
ERNEST YEYAP
P
Karibu activities: ‘A lot of potential’. Photos: Natalia Partyka
izza, kebab, Singapore noodles, poisson braisé, alloco, ndollé, jollof… er,
sorry, say again I didn’t quite catch
the last few dishes.
But you will, if Karibu Scotland’s plans are
realised.
The organisation that is supporting
African women to settle into life in Glasgow
intends to open a café in Govan this year. It
has a business plan, Karibu members have
obtained food hygiene certificates and been
on customer and accounting courses.
“We want the Scottish population to know
about where we’re coming from, and what we
eat,” says staff member Charlotte Atta.
“You see the Chinese and Asian
populations here cooking their food, so why
not us? In five years time we want to see
African restaurants and cafes around, not
only Asian and Chinese.”
Don’t doubt her, because she says “like
Martin Luther King said, Karibu has a dream!
“I see Karibu in a big building with lots of
offices, we have a lot of potential - maybe
run a sewing school, and the café will be a big
thing for us. So I think in five years, Karibu
will be a big organisation and the pride of
Africa.”
They even have their own tartan: “It will
come out soon. It’s a mix of traditions,
33
ce League on the ropes
part, some within the EDL have argued for
a more political strategy, with tie-ins with
groups like UKIP [Independence Party], the
BNP and the English Democrats.
But with the seeming certain death of the
British National Party, no coherent political
policies or ideas are coming out of the EDL’s
Luton-based leadership.
Aside from their ongoing
misunderstanding, misinterpretation and
often extreme hatred of Islam, banning
Islam – as the group now purports to want –
does not address wider problems in society
no matter how the EDL heap a nation’s
supposed woes on just one party of society.
In 2011 the group’s year ended with a
sparsely attended national demonstration
in Birmingham. And the growth of new
social movements, particularly the “Occupy”
movement, further highlights a shift in the
public’s concerns.
The EDL are finding it difficult to gain
access to town centres and town squares
that are already under “occupation” by a
non-violent movement and there has been a
noticeable change in people’s attitudes about
the politics of the EDL.
Splits in the EDL are apparent. Local
autonomy has seen some of its members
move towards hardline neo-Nazi groups like
the National Front.
As a political party, neither the EDL nor its
leadership has a future.
EDL leader Stephen Yaxley-Lennon
appears less and less frequently in public
and when he does he is well guarded against
attacks from both opponents and rivals. He
appears to have little desire left to continue
putting himself in the firing line, despite his
charmed life.
But week in week out, large numbers
of their 1,000 or so members around the
country continue to step up violent attacks
and end up in court for their actions. What
exasperated direction they decide to take for
themselves is a cause for concern.
Ruth Smeeth works for Searchlight
Educational Trust
... and anti-EDL protest Photo: Hope Not Hate
on the menu
traditional dress using African tartan.” It
came from the sewing class, which is another
of Karibu’s activities.
These activities range from IT classes to
drop-in sessions, “where we invite different
agencies to talk about services, like how to
behave with your children: back home you
might give your child a smack but here, we
tell the ladies, if you do this you could find
yourself in jail.”
In addition, “We want to give them
political skills. Back home, ladies are often
behind men but here you can be a candidate
somewhere, you can fulfil your political
dreams.”
These are big but realistic ambitions
given the progress made since Karibu was
formed by a handful of women in 2004 to
help asylum-seekers struggling to make a
life in Scotland, despite language and other
barriers, and little knowledge of Glasgow.
Now it’s a registered charity and social
enterprise.
“Some people have the idea that we are
taking jobs from them, or that we are here to
take benefits, that we don’t want to work,”
explains Atta. “We want to show that we are
not here to take money, so we are promoting
our social enterprise.
“We want to contribute to the society in
which we are living.”
And those dishes? Poisson braisé is ovengrilled fish, alloco is fried plantain, ndollé
is a dish from Cameroon with green leaves,
and Jollof from Senegal is fried rice with
vegetables.
Hope Projects: Angela,
Rudo, Lydia, Rose, Linda,
Simon & Mike
Photo: The Hope Projects
U-Knitty in diversity
HOPE VOLUNTEERs
H
ow can you resist buying
a hat or scarf “made with
love by dedicated women”?
The women from all over the world
in the Knitting Project (“Kuwadzana
U-Knitty”) hope that you can’t,
because knitting has united them in
a common endeavour.
One of their first commissions
was to make knitted breasts that
midwives used when working with
new mothers.
“One woman asked if we could
sew too,” says Sarah Malka, of Hope
Projects, which helped set up the
group. “Now we make curtains for
warmer houses, dresses and pillows.”
Hope supports destitute people
seeking sanctuary across the West
Midlands, and is one of a few
organisations in the country offering
short-term accommodation for
destitute and homeless asylumseekers.
As well as uniting knitters, it has
brought together gardeners who
have dug plots with donated seeds,
plants and materials.
“To enable us to be sustainable
and useful, we make or grow enough
for ourselves and destitute friends
attending the groups, and have
produce to sell,” says Malka.
Kuwadzana U-Knitty knitwear has
been sold at Amnesty International
events and at church halls and other
local events – and can now be bought
on eBay.
As one member explained, “It is
good because it helps us meet people.
You can make new friends, and not
stay at home alone and think too
much about bad things.”
Or in the words of another
knitting group member: “It helps us
not to go mad.”
34
Jonny Wilkinson
training with England at
Twickenham Stadium.
Photo: Paddy-K
Hitz helps kick out
the old rugby clichés
Rugby union has not been blighted by racism,
says Gavin Mortimer: “Supporters don’t care
where a player is from as long as he does his bit
for the team”
I
t was one of Britain’s most
illustrious writers, George
Orwell, who once said that a
bomb planted at Twickenham
rugby stadium “on an international
day would end fascism in England for a
generation”.
Orwell made his remark in the
1930s, a decade when Peter Howard
captained the England rugby team. As
well as leading his country on the rugby
field Howard was also in charge of the
“Biff Boys”, the defence squad recruited
by Oswald Mosley to counter violent
demonstrations against his politics.
And what were Mosley’s politics? He
was a fascist.
Rugby union in England has always
had a reputation for being a little right
of centre, ever since it replaced football
in public schools as the sport of choice
in the years after the First World War.
Yet while it’s true that the average
rugby supporter is unlikely to be a
left-leaning liberal who believes in free
love, the sport has never been blighted
by racism the way that football has in
this country.
Some of England’s finest (and bestloved) players in the last 30 years have
been of immigrant stock. From the
Nigerian-born Victor Ubogu and Steve
Ojomoh to Rory and Tony Underwood,
whose mother was Malaysian, to
Lorenzo Bruno Nero Dallaglio, better
known as Lawrence Dallaglio, the son
of an Italian restaurateur, and one of
the key figures in the England side that
won the 2003 World Cup.
In the 17 years that I’ve been writing
about rugby union I’ve never witnessed
any racist incidents either on or off
the field. No barracking, no bullying
and certainly no bananas. Rugby
supporters don’t care where a player
is from, or what the colour of his skin
is, just as long as he does his bit for his
team.
And that’s the message inherent in
the “Hitz” rugby initiative launched
two years ago in inner city London by
the Metropolitan Police and the Rugby
Football Union.
The aim of Hitz is to introduce rugby
to young people who might otherwise
never have the chance to try out the
sport. It’s also about building self-belief
and perhaps unearthing one or two
future stars of the game.
One of those involved in the scheme
is Richard Hill, a World Cup winner
with England in 2003. “Rugby is an
inclusive game,” commented Hill.
“What this project shows is that the
core values of rugby, such as respect,
teamwork and sportsmanship can
make a difference, not only to develop
the rugby skills of participants, but
also be part of helping them fulfil their
potential as individuals.”
England were awful at last year’s
World Cup but there’s since been
a clear-out of coaches and players,
and the new generation reflects the
country’s diversity.
Among the players who could feature
in the 2015 World Cup are the Samoanborn Manu Tuilagi, Delon Armitage
from Trinidad, the towering Tongan
Billy Vunipola, Marland Yarde from St
Lucia and Matt Kvesic, whose heritage
is Croatian.
The old cliché about rugby being a
game for all shapes and sizes needs
updating. Now it’s also a game for all
shades and surnames.
35
A plastic hurdle for
the British-AmericanNigerian Olympic
hopeful
Anna Kessel tries to
keep up with a talented
athlete who ran into
unwelcome criticisms
despite winning a silver
European championship
medal for Britain.
– Porter was pilloried. Thorp contacted
a national newspaper to express
her “devastation” at the news that a
“foreigner” had taken her record.
The subject sparked a wave of
headlines about “plastic Brits” as
Britain’s head coach, Dutchman
Charles van Commenee, continued
to recruit athletes from overseas,
including long jumper Shara Proctor
from the British overseas territory of
Anguilla to Cuban-born triple jumper
Yamile Aldama, who has been a UK
resident for 10 years.
With other Olympic sports, such as
wrestling, following suit ahead of the
2012 Olympics, politicians stepped
in to have their say. Home Secretary
Theresa May promised to scrutinise
all citizen applications from sports
governing bodies, while sports minister
Hugh Robertson voiced his concern
over “fast-tracking” athletes to gain a
British passport in time for the London
Games.
Amid the furore, Porter was forced to
defend herself.
“When I was younger I felt cool
for having a British and an American
passport,” she said. “I didn’t think it
was going to be such a big fuss, my
transition over here. I just hope the
British media as well as the British
public can accept me as a loyal teammate, athlete and citizen.”
“People think I switched allegiance
because it would be easier to make
the team, or I’m doing it for money.
Anybody who knows me knows that
[those reasons] are as far from the
truth as possible.
“I’ve always had dual citizenship
since birth. I’ve always been proud
of my heritage. My mom has always
told me about my British-AmericanNigerian background. It’s who I am.”
Porter will probably be a genuine
medal contender in the London
Olympics. Let’s hope there will be no
more questions over her suitability as a
British athlete.
W
hen Tiffany Porter
stepped off the track
after winning her
first medal for Great
Britain last year — 100m silver at the
European Indoor Championships in
Paris — the hurdler was greeted with
cynicism by the media. Porter who
hails from the United States, born to a
British mother and a Nigerian father,
was immediately asked: “Do you feel
British now?”
The University of Michigan
pharmacology student could not have
been made to feel less welcome in her
newly adopted home. Nevertheless,
she politely smiled and said: “I’ve
always felt I was British, American and
Nigerian. I’m all three.”
Identifying with more than one
cultural influence is a notion that many
migrant families will relate to, but in
parts of the national press Porter’s
assertion was accompanied by a strong
dose of scepticism. Many commented
on her “foreign” accent, and questioned
her motives for switching allegiance to
Team GB.
All through 2011 Porter, nee Ofili,
continued to excel, breaking Angie
Thorp’s 15-year-old British record of
12.80 seconds with a run of 12.77
seconds to lift her to fourth in the
world rankings, and just missing out on
a medal at the World Championships
where she lowered the national record
to 12.56 seconds.
Instead of celebrating Porter’s
success – Britain’s first female worldclass sprint hurdler in over a decade
Tiffany Porter: ‘Pilloried’. Photo: Mark Dadswell/Getty Images
Sport
Farah hopes to raise that
Fly Mo Union Jack again
Farah wins gold, 5000m
final, IAAF World
Championships, South
Korea, 2011. Photo:
Bill Frakes /Sports
Illustrated/Getty Images
James Smith looks at one of Britain’s main hopes for gold in the London
Olympics, Somalia-born runner Mo Farah
F
or Mo Farah, the
countdown to the London
Olympics began the
moment he won the
5,000 metres at last year’s World
Championships in South Korea.
Holding aloft a Union Jack with the
words “Fly Mo” on it as he beamed his
pearly white smile, the Londoner was
already looking ahead to summer 2012.
Last May, Farah moved himself
and his family to Oregon in the US to
work with coach Alberto Salazar, who
focuses on the minute details that can
give athletes those medal-winning split
seconds of extra pace.
He and Farah will pick apart his
gold and silver runs in the 5,000m and
10,000m to see where improvements
can be made.
Farah is careful to avoid overconfidence. “You never know what
can happen at London 2012 in terms
of trying to do the double,” he said.
“You saw what happened in the 10km.
It’s not about who’s the favourite or
anything else, anyone can come from
anywhere,” he told a London paper.
“You just have to keep training and
covering every angle, stay injury-free
and keep doing what I’m doing. I am
looking forward to it as an athlete.
To have an Olympics right on your
doorstep is going to be amazing.”
Last October Farah was named
athlete of the year for the second
successive year, and the third time
overall, by the British Athletics
Writers’ Association. It came after an
unforgettable year for the Somaliaborn athlete in which he won six golds.
(see box)
Farah is one of the highest profile
Somalis in the UK, which is home
to the largest Somali community in
Europe, with an estimated 108,000
Somali-born immigrants.
The earliest arrivals were 19th
century seamen and merchants. A
second small group came with the Navy
in the Second World War, and stayed
in search of employment. Civil war in
Somalia 1980s and 1990s triggered a
large number of Somali immigrants,
who make up the majority of the UK’s
current Somali population.
Perhaps surprisingly, Farah believes
the attitude towards migration in the
UK has improved in the past five years,
“which is great, although it would
be even better if people realised that
lots of immigrants have something
to offer the UK and not all should be
stereotyped.”
Between 1985 and 2006, Somalia
figured among the top ten largest
Farah’s Golden 2011
1 9 Feb: European indoor 5,000m in
new British record 13:10.60
5 March: European indoor 3,000m
20 March: New York half-marathon
3 June: Diamond League 10,000m
in new British record 26:46.57
22 July: Diamond League 5,000m in
new British record 12:53.11
28 August: World 10,000m silver
4 September: World 5,000m gold
countries of origin of people seeking
asylum in the UK. Initially, most were
granted refugee status: those arriving
later, in the 1990s, usually obtained
only temporary status.
His father was born in England and
grew up in London. His parents met
when his father was on holiday in
Somalia. Mo Farah arrived here aged
eight, speaking hardly any English.
His earliest UK memories were of a
playground with swings and slides. “I’d
never seen that in Somalia,” he says,
“so was amazed by it and had such a
fun time - I never wanted to leave the
playground!”
He feels a strong connection to
his country of origin. “I have some
relatives living there even now and
I feel that it’s my responsibility to
help those less fortunate than me in
Somalia. The situation in East Africa
at the moment, particularly Somalia,
is the worst it’s been for decades and I
want to do something about it.”
So he has established the Mo Farah
Foundation the aim of which is to raise
awareness about the continuing food
shortages and famine and to raise
money to help.
Farah was talent-spotted by a PE
teacher, Alan Watkinson, who later
said: “He was struggling academically
and suffering from the language
barrier. He needed focus and I sort of
took him under my wing. His passion
was football but it was his turn of
speed on the pitch that showed his
real talent. His ambitions consisted of
playing on the right wing for Arsenal.”
In 1996, aged 13, Farah entered
the English schools cross-country
championship and finished ninth. The
following year he won the first of five
English school titles.
“What I like the most about the UK
is the vast opportunities available for
kids to do so many different sports,” he
told Migrant Voice. “I had the option
to take up whatever sport I wanted in
school and at local clubs. Not every
country has those opportunities.”
We hope you have enjoyed the paper. Please send us your comments: [email protected]

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