By Fahmida Zaman

For the last few decades, the ready-made garment (RMG) industry has not only become the backbone of the Bangladeshi economy, but has also been the means of economic independence for thousands of poor, uneducated women in rural areas of Bangladesh. The RMG sector contributes nearly 80% of the total foreign exchange of Bangladesh. The largest role of this key industry is taken on by the female workforce between the ages of 14 and 30.

An article published in October 2010 on libcom.org states that, “The industry grew rapidly from the 1970s as exports expanded across the global market; the RMG sector now contributes around 80% of the country's $18 billion export earnings and employs about 40% of the country's industrial workforce; around 3.5 million people, 85% of them women. Most are young, officially from 14 years upwards.”

“I get 4500tk (approximately $60 USD) per month, and monthly I have to pay 1500tk (approximately $18 USD) for accommodation in the city since I don’t have any relatives here,” Hasina Begum tells Dispatches International. Begum, who asked to use a pseudonym, is a garment worker in Chittagong, Bangladesh. She and some of her co-workers live in a hostel which has one kitchen and one common toilet for almost 38 girls and is located near the garment factory she works in.

“I share a room with one of my colleagues so that I can decrease my accommodation cost," she says. "Even though it’s hard to live here, I do not have any other choice.” Hasina’s parents and siblings live in a rural village, and they are dependent on the money she sends them every month.

Bilkis Khatun, another garment worker, who is employed in Dhaka, receives 3000tk (approximately $40) per month as she has just started her job. She stays with her brother and sister-in-law who also work in the same factory.

“My brother pays for the house and with mine and my sister-in-law’s money, we buy foods. They always tell me to save money for my dowry in future. But everything is so expensive here that it is very difficult to save money” explains Khatun.

Whether in Dhaka or Chittagong, the cost of living is very high, and the workers who are employed in the garment factories simply do not have enough money to spend on health care after they have paid for food and rent.

“Getting sick is the worst thing that can happen to us," admits Khatun. "Since we cannot save even very small amount of money, it is difficult to go to doctor when we get sick. And the worst thing is, if we miss one day, they don’t give us the full salary.”

Like Khatun, Begum also shares this experience. “I go to work even if when I am sick so that they do not cut down the payment,” she recalls.

This poor access to healthcare has a negative impact on productivity. Mustafa Kamal, a Professor in the Department of Business Administration at Northern University of Bangladesh, demonstrates in an article published in the Daily Star in August, 2010 that, “Because of low wages workers will suffer from malnutrition as they will not be able to afford enough calorie intake, which will affect their health. Poor health is likely to have a negative impact on the workers, who might become apathetic towards their work. As a result we will get distressed workers, which will have a negative effect on production.”

The low wages, mentined by Kamal and the workers interviewed, not only affects accomodation and health issues, but also the family and future generations of workers. Because they have a job, they are immediately expected to contribute to their families.

In a depressed tone, Begum says, "My parents and siblings wait for the money I send every month. Without that money, it becomes so difficult for them to get three meals a day. I don't know how I will help them after I get married."

Khatun is worried about her future family. "I really want to provide an education to my children. With this low wage, I don't know how I will manage everything." 

Morium, another garment worker in Chittagong expresses her frustration about low wages and education costs. Because both Morium and her husband work in garment factories and are paid poor salaries, it is becoming harder for them to continue to afford their children’s education.

“As both of us work, I hoped we could send our children to school and continue their education. But food and accommodation are very costly and we cannot send them to school anymore,” Morium says.

A manager from a leading garment factory in Bangladesh, who prefers to remain anonymous, explains the wage issue from his point of view. “Our cost of production is lower than any other Asian countries, so we get more contracts," he says. "When we increase the wages, it affects the cost of production too.”

He agrees that the employees work hard and states that he appreciates this work. “I do appreciate their effort for the factory. But as we deal with the international market and have to be so careful about the cost of production, it is very hard to increase the wage frequently.”

Fatema Parvez, a social worker and feminist from Chittagong makes the point that female garment workers are getting closer to the empowerment that they deserve. “These large numbers of women are uneducated and most of them are unskilled," she explains. "It would have been difficult for them to get any other jobs. [But because of factory employment] these women are economically independent and contributing to the development of the country and its economy.”

However, she worries about the problems these workers are facing. “Since women workers play an important role in RMG sector, the government and all the stakeholders need to think about [the women's welfare] for the betterment of the RMG sector and the economy and society as a whole.”

Nazmul Islam Khan, the general secretary of the Bangladesh Institute of Labor Studies mentions the current minimum wage and recalls the protests that have recently occured because of it.

“Workers have been involved in so many protests against low wages over the earlier years especially in 2010. As a result, the minimum wage was set 3000tk. But nowadays, the cost of living is getting so high that we need to reconsider the minimum wage.”

Khan explains that the industry may taking the willingness of the workers for granted. “Paying the amount that does not cover the cost of living may have the reverse effect," he says. "It may happen that the incentive of getting a better wage will interest the workers towards other jobs, and the RGM sector may face a shortage of labor which is more dangerous.” Even though increasing the wage may increase the cost of production, he suggests turning attention towards fixing this issue.

Kamal, in his Daily Star article, writes, “We have to find ways and means by which we can get rid of the low wage trap. To get out of this trap is a challenging task for the industry in particular and for the government at large. We cannot continue to pay the workers low wages on the excuse that the cost of business is high due to lack of infrastructure -- electricity, communication, transportation, law and order situation etc.” 

Thousands of women like Begum, Khatun, and Morium are contributing to the development of the economy of Bangladesh. Their standard of living is not improving as a result, however, which could have negative results on the entire economy.

Morium's wish is simple: she hopes that the government and the factory owners will do something for the workers so that she can send her children to school again. 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Faysal Muhammad

See the full gallery on Posterous

Photo credit: Author and Simone (last name changed to protect photographer's identity).

India is the world’s largest functioning democracy, a status that is appreciated and hailed. Yet freedom of expression and the right to dissent, which are endorsed in all other democracies, are not always present in Kashmir.

With more than 600,000 Indian Troops stationed in the Kashmir Valley, this region of northern India feels like an eclipsed prison. Seldom does anyone in Kashmir recognize himself as a part of a “democracy.”

“Democracy is a form of government in which all people have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives directly or indirectly,” Samurah, a Kashmiri blogger, has written. “Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law. It can also encompass social, economic and cultural conditions that enable the free and equal practice of political self-determination.”

The right to dissent has very dangerous repercussions in a pace like Kashmir. Dissenters are often charged under the atrocious Public Safety Act. This legislation allows a person to be detained without trial for two years under the pretext of the maintenance of public order.

The Armed Forces Special Powers Act of 1990 also allows the military to detain and harass civilians; it has been denounced by the United Nations as a “dated and colonial-era law that breaches contemporary international human rights standards.

“Kashmir’s situation has made people paranoid. With [hundreds of thousands of] troopers guarding them, they feel like they are living in an invisible prison with someone always watching and following them,” says Khurram, a man I met in Kashmir.

It is not only the common people who bear the brunt of the conflict, but the media persons as well. Reporters and editors too often fall victim to atrocities committed by Indian security personnel. Indeed, the media in Kashmir has faced countless difficulties since the insurgency started in the 1990s. The oppression of the media in this region is indicated by India's position at 128 out of 178 countries in the annual press freedom index published by Reporters Without Borders.

Since the 1990s, dozens of journalists have lost their lives and several others injured. Their ability to report is curtailed in times of controversy and tension; during protests, for example, journalists are not allowed to work, or else they are beaten.

Media outlets were initially muzzled during civil unrest in 2010, when news of the Macchil Encounter spread like wildfire throughout the Kashmir Valley. This event outraged thousands of Kashmiris because several senior Indian military officials pretended innocent youths – who had been murdered by their troops – were actually foreign militants.

Despite the oppression of the media, news of the Macchil Encounter reached Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, and prompted intense protests. The demonstrations turned gruesome when a tear gas shell, fired by Indian security forces, hit a young man in the head. The young man, who was not part of the protests, died instantly as his brains spilled onto the street.

This occurrence fanned the anger of the populace to an unprecedented level. Virtually the whole population of the Kashmir Valley went onto the street, but then even more security forces were dispatched. In total, 127 youth were killed.

Throughout this tumultuous period, curfews were imposed on the population and journalists were banned from conducting interviews. It was probably the most difficult period for media outlets in the Kashmir Valley.

“People were locked in their homes and barely allowed to move around. People had no source of getting news,” says Junaid Ahamd, a media student in Kashmir. “Local news channels were banned to avoid ‘provocation.' Newspapers were barred from publishing and if they published they were not allowed to circulate.”

People associated with news organizations were beaten. Local journalists and national reporters alike were harassed by the police and security forces. The curfew passes provided to members of the media were not respected by soldiers at any of the check points.

“During the mass uprising, the media was gagged by the state in order to stop the flow of information to the outside world,” says Izhar Ali, a journalist in Kashmir. “The curfew passes issued by the government to a handful of media persons were dishonoured by the Indian paramilitary forces and the police.”

“In such a scenario, the work of the journalists became more difficult.”

Reporting objectively is a difficult task for journalists in Kashmir. Often, journalists face harassment by the state and its armed forces when they report the truth. Many popular journalists are under constant surveillance by the state authorities.

“Phone tapping and e-mail filtering are some of the measures taken by the state to curtail the freedom of press in Kashmir,” says Ali. “On the one hand, the people expect the media to reveal the truth. And on the other hand, the government wants to conceal it.”

Ali believes the media outlets in Kashmir are caught in a catch-22. Even after dozens have lost their lives, the journalists continue to be at abused. Yet they still try to report objectively on current events in the region.

“The situation gets grimmer, especially when it comes to reporting human rights violations, which take place on a large scale in Kashmir,” Ali explains.

Authenticating facts and figures is another serious problem the journalists face while reporting conflict. Often members of the media are forced to rely on the estimates of biased government officials, or equally biased protesters.

“If the Army claims to have killed infiltrators at the Line of Control (LOC) dividing the two parts of Kashmir, it becomes impossible for media men to cross the border to check the facts,” explains a journalist in Kashmir, who spoke to me on condition of anonymity.

“We don’t get to have access to those areas,” he says. “In these cases, the media must report only one side of the coin … but this is against the ethics of journalism.”

When the protests became more violent in 2010, the restrictions became tighter and stricter. This further hindered the ability of the press to work properly.

During the past few months, photo journalists have been under scathing attacks by the Indian authorities in Kashmir. Security forces have beaten journalists while they were conducting their professional duties. On August 20, 2011, Showkat Shafi, who contributes to Al-Jazeera as a freelancer, and Mexican photojournalist Narciso Contreras were beaten and detained by the police. Furthermore, in a similar incident on November 25, 2011, four journalists were thrashed by police while covering protests in the capital city of Srinagar.

Eyewitness say that some of these journalists were truly “beaten to a pulp” by Indian security officials and police, when they were covering protests. Their professional cameras were also broken by the troopers as the reporters tried to save themselves from the sticks and batons. These attacks have prompted the Press Council of India to demand action against the culprits who decry the freedom of press. Predictably, action to be taken on this issue by the government is still being awaited.

The same is true in a more general sense throughout the region. It is clear that for the moment, despite India's status as the largest democracy in the world, there is no room for a free press in Kashmir.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Gabriella Vas

Editor's note: To welcome Gabriella to DI News, we are republishing her recent article which first appeared in EMAJ Magazine on 30 January, 2012.

Most Hungarians would agree that 2009 was a tough year.

People were out of jobs and up to their eyeballs in debt. Unemployment leapt to 10%, affecting more than a quarter of youth under 25, according to official statistics. A report by TÁRKI Social Research Institute reveals that the same year, one in five Hungarians were in arrears, mostly with their mortgage and utility payments.

Troubles started even before the economic crisis set in, with a sharp increase in the number of households unable to make ends meet, mostly due to job loss. Salaries couldn’t keep up with the drastic rise of housing costs, especially energy prices. More and more people turned to credit to cover their expenses – particularly credit in foreign currencies, after the government issued restrictions on forint-based mortgage schemes. These loans, usually in euros or Swiss francs, turned out to be vicious time bombs with the gradual devaluation of the national currency.

No wonder Hungarians, pessimists by nature, got gloomy about money matters. A figure calculated by the economic think tank GKI to gauge people’s views of their own and the country’s financial standing hit a historic low in April 2009. Consumer spending dipped accordingly, proof that the situation was indeed serious.

One in five Hungarians: that’s as if the whole population of the capital, Budapest, hadn’t been able to pay their bills. Almost everyone knew someone who knew someone who was struggling financially. In the summer of 2009, a circle of friends received an email with the subject “Help needed, badly.” It was about the Baloghs (names of the family members have been changed to protect their privacy) – a single mother raising three teenage kids – who had recently ended up on the street.

To help them get back on their feet, Balázs Orlai, Petra Morvay and Nándor Orbán, distant acquaintances of the family, decided to raise money to cover their rent. Securing a home was essential, they reasoned, but the cost of housing, together with the overheads, was too great a burden for such a low-income family. Taking charge of their rent for a year would allow them to save enough to get back on track. To meet this goal, two dozen donors were wanted, each to chip in with 2500 HUF a month (roughly 10 euros at the time) until September 2010.

By mid-August, the project was up and running. “Thank you very much, everyone. Apparently, the human race hasn’t quite sprung from dragon’s teeth after all,” the organizers wrote, referring to the words of a Hungarian poet. They reported that the family had settled into their new home, Anna, the mother could go full-time at her cleaning job, and the kids were ready for school.

In the following months, the donors received regular updates on how the family was doing. Although they never met the Baloghs, they learnt that Dávid, the eldest son, would soon finish his studies in park cultivation and hopefully get a job; that Mónika was a bit of a rebel at high school; and that Edina, a straight-A sixth-grader, finally got that Hannah Montana backpack she wanted so badly. The updates also mentioned how the organizers were lending a hand. Ms Morvay regularly went through the family’s budget with Anna, to make sure they had something to save at the end of the month. Orlai and Orbán volunteered to build a bunk bed for the children. Increasingly, the kids turned to them with their various problems of adolescence – an important sign of trust.

Winter proved to be difficult. Anna had health issues and worked overtime. With all the long evenings spent together in a small apartment, tensions arose, “like in any ordinary family.” Mónika failed her midterm exams and was partly banned from school for having breached regulations. (“Raise your hand, anyone who has never skipped class.”) Edina grew several inches taller and was now constantly preoccupied with boys. “The situation is escalating, but not hopeless,” as Orlai put it.

The May update announced that Dávid got a job at the municipal park maintenance firm, thanks to some lobbying by the organizers. All eyes were on him, and fingers crossed that he would make it through the trial period. Mónika’s progress in school admittedly needed more seeing to, but now that her mentors had befriended her class teacher, the future looked brighter. “Hopefully she’ll be able to shut up in certain moments, as this would spare her a lot of hassle.” they concluded.

On September 1, 2010, the project drew to a close as planned. The Baloghs moved out of the flat rented with the donations, and started a new life on their own. Anna had a partner who was also employed, meaning the family could live off two salaries. Though they hadn’t become much richer, the year of support helped to stabilize their situation.

The “shareholders” were duly thanked for their donations: “Be proud of yourselves because you’re good folks... Let’s hope we won’t have to join forces again.”

Are we dealing with an entirely new phenomenon? Charity has been around ever since social inequalities left some in need and others with a surplus. Micro-charity came to the fore with the onset of the financial crisis, when the gap between those in need and those willing to help got smaller. This system collects tiny contributions from lots of donors for a good cause, often using digital micro-payments. The online fundraising platform MicroGiving.com is based on this mechanism.

Peer-to-peer charities are organizations that establish direct links between funders and recipients, usually through an online platform. Crowdsourcing allows online communities to raise funds for various initiatives, though always for some form of returns, which makes this an investment rather than charity. Micro-lending systems like Kiva.org and Zidisha.org are a bit of both, facilitating direct loans as little as $25 from members to their chosen borrowers.

The approach of the Orlai crew remains unique in that there was no organization involved, only a small, informal, real-life community; and that its scope was limited but went well beyond mere fundraising. Projects like this are hard to track down because of their private nature. Therefore, evidence of precedents in Hungary or similar instances elsewhere is scarce. Nevertheless, the story of the Baloghs and their “shareholders” aptly illustrates the problems Hungarians have been facing lately, and the ways they have invented to tackle them.

The solution Orlai and his friends have come up with is smart, simple, and suggests higher-than-average social sensitivity. Its small-scale goals mean even modest contributions can make a difference. Its informal, close-knit structure allows helpers to follow up on the results of their effort. On the other hand, it lacks the institutional background, the regulations and the public scrutiny of traditional charity programs. Based entirely on trust, a precious and limited resource, micro-networks are susceptible to misuse.

A little over a year after the wrap-up, in December 2011, the Baloghs were sheltering with a relative, and Dávid was on the dole. “We are not in touch with Ms Morvay and her friends anymore, due to certain things that have gone bad,” his mother confessed. “I’d rather not go into this.”

Oddly enough, the organizers themselves seemed reluctant to talk about the project. Giving in to some further prodding, they admitted that they had severed contacts with the Baloghs. During the last summer of their cooperation, Orbán had often let the youngsters stay at his place. He didn’t notice when the first, small sums started to disappear. At last, roughly half a million forints (over 1,700 euros) were stolen in a burglary involving the two elder Balogh kids and their friends. Upon consulting an expert, the organizers decided to press charges against Dávid, the only one of the bunch who had turned 18 by then. This also resulted in his dismissal from work.

500 000 HUF is a hefty sum, though, ironically, not as much as Orlai and his friends had raised for the family. “We split up the damages between ourselves with Nándor”, he said. “We were very sad that it all ended in failure. But we haven’t regretted it altogether: we’ve learnt a lot, and there were some really good days, too.”

As for the concept of micro-funding housing costs for families in need, he added: “It would be good to carry on with the ‘franchise’, because it’s viable.”

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Zoe Thomas

It would be hard to find someone who will dispute that ramifications from the economic downturn have been felt far beyond boardrooms and shopping centers. Their effects on households have gone beyond squeezed budgets or even lost jobs. In Ireland, the impact of the crisis has additionally been felt through a rising number of people taking their own lives.

Young people were particularly affected by this rise in suicides. Between 2007 and 2009, when Ireland felt the most significant impact of the financial crisis, the number of suicides rose by 15%. The number of youths brought to the hospital due to deliberate self-harm rose by 23% for men and 13% for women. Prior to the economic downturn, the suicide rate had been falling, so these figures are seen as being related to the nation's recent financial troubles.

Susan Kenny from the National Institute for Suicide Prevention explains that training people to recognize the signs of distress while working with individuals who are experiencing financial difficulties was a top priority in Ireland. “We were the first in Europe to take such a proactive approach after the financial crisis,” she says.

The Irish construction industry and rural areas of the country were hit hard by the crisis. Kenny explains that in areas of deprivation, particularly rural areas, there was a higher rate of self-harm, but that the term 'isolation' does not just apply to rural inhabitants. It can also include many people in cities and towns with high populations.

Ella Arensman from the National Suicide Research Foundation said that she had never seen such a strong connection between a recession and suicide.

For Professor Martin McKee, who along with four colleagues published a study on the connection between the 2008 recession and the suicide rates, Ireland was a prime target for a rise in suicides.

“It’s not at all surprising in a country like Ireland that has a weak welfare state and is still struggling with universal health care coverage,” he says. “It’s got a very fragmented system. Much of the welfare is provided by volunteer organizations like the church, not the state. It’s not surprising when we get the data in that we see an increase in suicides.”

Ireland has long had one of Europe's highest suicides rates. It was not until 1993 that suicide was decriminalized throughout the country. It took another twelve years to develop a national strategy to combat the issue and the factors surrounding it.

“What 2008 showed us was that the [suicide prevention] strategy didn’t foresee the effect the downturn in the economy would have,” said Declan Behan, from the Irish Association of Suicidology.

The strategy Behan refers to was published by the government in 2005 to tackle issues of suicide and self-harm. It has 26 areas of focus, but it did not anticipate the impact of the recession or Ireland's debt crisis.

“Government could always do more,” said Behan. “But they are doing what they can, given the financial situation.”

Lise Alford from 3T’s (Turning The Tide), a suicide research and prevention charity, believes there could be more funding options made available including the ability to use private and corporate sponsors. “In the same way that the road safety authority gets support from drink companies and all of that, if you had a suicide prevention authority you could [facilitate] buy-in from corporate groups,” she explained.

The financial crisis has not been the only factor that suicide prevention workers are currently up against in their attempts to halt the increasing statistics. Alcohol and drug use both play major roles in the suicide rates. Many in the field feel that tackling the issue of drinking and alcohol abuse will help to lower suicide rates.

“The culture in Ireland with regard to drinking isn’t like mainland Europe. We do have a binge drinking culture,” said Behan. He stated that having a minimum price for alcohol would help to reduce the alcohol abuse among younger people who took advantage of being able to purchase large quantities of cheap liquor and beer.

Arnesman said that the number of people taking their own lives who also had problems with alcohol addiction has risen. In 2010, the National Suicide Research Foundation found that in all cases of hospitalization due to deliberate self-harm, 40% included alcohol as a factor. The foundation also reported that nearly three quarters of people attempting suicide did so through a drug overdose.

A study conducted by the organization 3T’s showed that these problems are compounded by individuals being ignored by their friends when they drunkenly disclose suicidal thoughts. The study found that a significant amount of men were revealing suicidal thoughts to friends while under the influence of alcohol, but that these revelations known as ‘regressive disclosure’ were rarely discussed when the parties were sober.

“The usual story: someone has a bit to drink and they might disclose something that in the morning they wake up and think, 'Why did I say that?', and it could be about anything. But often, people who are feeling very depressed or suicidal will reveal this information to their pals. The perception of the pals is, ‘Oh, it’s only the drink talking',” says Alford from 3T's.

She said that confessions of suicidal thoughts are written off as simply reckless behavior caused by alcohol since friends disregard the confessions. Alford urged that this problem could be tackled if friends of the troubled youth listened to each other and encouraged one another to help. She emphasized that young men should keep an eye out for their acquaintances, as it is among this demographic that the problem is especially prevalent.

What denotes a suicide is not clearly defined, however. Every death which looks like a suicide must have a coroner’s inquest. Many suicides are mislabeled as an 'accident' or 'undetermined' because information is not available on the victim’s state of mind when they died. Along with the number of suicides, the number of undetermined deaths rose between the years of 2007 and 2009.

“There’s a feeling that in small communities in Ireland, deaths are classified as undetermined to protect the families,” explains Behan.

The fairly recent criminal past of suicide has caused it to remain with a large stigma. Although there are no longer any consequences by law, Arensman from the National Suicide Research Foundation said that in some rural areas there is still a fear of ramification on the family.

“Even though nowadays there are no formal consequences for work or insurance if somebody dies by suicide in the family, families that still live very remotely still fear that this could have implications for jobs, for insurance, even though it’s not the case anymore,” she states.

Arensman says that awareness campaigns were changing this perception, but that the impact would not happen overnight, particularly with older generations.

“The good news is I think this is changing, but these changes go very, very slowly,” admits Arensman about the stigma surrounding suicide and mental health.

The National Suicide Prevention Foundation has focused a lot of effort on teaching people to talk about issues surrounding mental health, in order to build coping skills and break stigmas. Kenny described it as an ongoing process.

“It’s all about creating awareness.’It’s okay to ask for help'; 'If someone tells you something listen'. It’s about continuing these messages,” she says.

Among the younger generation, however, Alford described a dangerous reversal in suicide perception. She explains that suicide is sometimes used as a “coping mechanism,” particularly for young people who have lost friends or classmates to suicide.

The outpouring of grief and friendship displayed on social network sites, have helped to normalize the perception of suicide, which can be risky, according to Alford. She explains that this can lead some teenagers to think that taking their own life is a suitable way to deal with their problems.

“It has entered their lexicon of coping mechanisms and that’s clearly a very serious issue,” Alford says.

The government is hoping that in teaching younger people about mental health and making it more acceptable across generations, the stigma will be broken. “See change,” a campaign based on a similar version in Scotland, tries to destigmatize metal health across the country. It asks individuals to share their personal experiences with mental health and stigma. More focused campaigns have also been run, including ‘Let someone know,’ specifically targeted for teenagers and encouraging them to talk about their problems with friends and trusted adults.

The economic downturn and issues of drug and alcohol abuse have all been sighted as major factors connected with suicide in Ireland. After speaking with several experts in the field, however, it seems the most important factor is finding safe ways to cope.

“Many people who die from suicide have no mental health issues,” says Susan Kenny from the National Institute for Suicide Prevention. She added, “Everyone needs to take responsibility. It’s a social problem, that's why communities need to be involved.”

Studies like McKee’s stress the role that finance plays, not just in suicide but in a nation's overall well-being. He said gathering information for the study was difficult, given the low priority that the EU placed on its completion.

“This is a key issue. If you look, the Eurozone has just published unemployment data and retail sales data for November,” McKee said at the beginning of 2012. “Yet, we’re still trying to get 2010 mortality data for most countries. There’s just a low priority placed on mortality data.”

McKee also said he doubted whether governments would really take into consideration the study's findings.

Arensman said that she expected there would be a decrease in suicides as the financial situation improved, but dealing with the losses experienced during the crisis could have an unforeseen impact.

“Suicide rates in Ireland are the highest among men and to some extent we are dealing with young fathers. There are a growing number of young families where the father has taken his life. That means that a certain number of young children grow up without a father and knowing that their father has taken his own life.”

She explains that international research has shown suicidal behavior can have long-term effects on family members.

“I’m foremost an optimist,” she says, “but I have to look at all the details, and when I look at this I’m not sure how it is going to impact the children in these families with missing fathers; how they're going to grow up and how this is going to affect them.”

Need Help? Suicide Helplines in Ireland:

Samaritans: 1-850-60-90-90

Childline (for youths under 18): 1-800-66-66-66 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

See the full gallery on Posterous

By Philip Simpson

The United Kingdom's coalition government claims that their overall aim is to meet people’s housing aspirations through a heavy-handed approach for reforming the current system. Significant changes to planning, welfare, investment and social tenure recently implemented by the government outline dramatic transformations that the UK housing market is undergoing.

Home building in the UK is at its lowest level in almost a century. Meanwhile, over 2 million British families await social housing and cuts to housing benefits as well as the in-home care industry leave less options available. Homelessness is dramatically increasing alongside population growth.

Property ownership has never been so hard to secure; access into the property market for young people is virtually impossible and the average age of a first-time buyer is expected to rise to 43 years old. Increased demand in the private rental sector means rental rates are high and on the rise.

Despite these statistics, almost 500,000 houses lay derelict and dormant in the UK. For the first time, data from a collaboration of 284 municipal councils highlights the scale of the widespread problem of derelict housing, yet the figures for abandoned buildings in general would be much higher were comprable data collected. 

Many derelict industrial properties, especially in Northern England, such as mills, warehouses and factories are commonly converted into apartment blocks and corporate or commercial space, yet the abundance of undeveloped property is obvious. Refurbishment of abandoned housing alone would give a home to almost a quarter of those in need. A remodel of buildings beyond those deemed as ‘housing’ could statistically solve the crisis almost in its entirety. 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

See the full gallery on Posterous

By Alessandra Lacaita

Photo credit: Antonio Leo

“Why some people has been killed? Just because of a different color of their skin? Or because they were working to get some money to live? We asked ourselves, but we don’t have answers. Nobody knows. [The killer] was racist.” Mustafa Diarca from the Senegalese association, Teranga, reflects on the recent killing of two Senegalese men in Firenze on December 13^th, 2011.

Teranga, in cooperation with other Italian associations, organized a demonstration in the center of Lecce to support all the immigrants living and working in Italy. All colors, religions, cultures and beliefs stood together in the streets of the city to protest the violence and racism they feel in Italy, and to remind the onlookers of the need for basic human rights.

Lecce, population 100,000, is in the southern Italian province of Puglia. The city has always been a destination for immigrants who arrive at the coasts of the region from countries on the other side of the Mediterranean Sea, such as Albania and Tunisia. There are also immigrants from northern Italy and the rest of Europe.The Lecce Police Department gave Dispatches International access to data on the immigration flows of 2011 into Puglia. It is estimated that around 10,000 people have a permit to stay in the province. Between the end of December and January 1^st 2012, the update report of registered immigrants with a valid permit was 8,834, but the number does not refer to those whose permits are up for renewal. The actual number of immigrants during the last year could be larger.

In the city of Lecce alone, those with a valid permit of stay is 3,658. Of these, 769 are from Albania, 453 are from the Philippines, 418 are from Senegal, 300 are from China, 200 are from Morocco, 200 are from India, 182 are from Brazil and other ethnic minorities from Tunisia. Various other countries make up the remainder. The Albanian community in Lecce has always been the largest, followed by the Senegalese.

There are many reasons that individuals choose to live in this area. For the Senegalese community in Lecce, the oft repeated sentiment is that Lecce reminds them of Africa.

“I like my country. No one forced me, but I felt in my soul I had to leave Tunisia. I came here because in Italy there all the possibilities I couldn’t have in my country because of political reasons.” Anis Kefi decided to come to Lecce after having lived in other Italian cities, such as Padova, Modena and Bologna.

“I didn’t really manage to be part of the Italian community there. Here in Lecce I felt welcome because there’s a Mediterranean culture. We understand each other, we have more possibilities to communicate with the local people. The welcome behavior present in Lecce is almost the same as the Tunisian one.”

Kefi is thinking of creating an organization for Tunisian immigrants that would guarantee all of the rights they hope to have in Italy. He hopes that a project like this would reach other foreigners outside of Lecce.

The Senegalese association Teranga, which means “welcome,” began in March 2010 and is already working on the goals that Kefi dreams of accomplishing. “We get information that could help other immigrants,” says Diarca from the organization. “The government generally tells them what their duties are, but doesn't inform them about all their rights. Some Italians think they can deceive the strangers.”

“Teranga helps the people to be integrated in the Italian society,” Diarca explains. He recalls what it was like for him to arrive as an immigrant in Italy. “You feel alone and everything is difficult. You find new people, you have to learn another language and you need time. Integration means learning to communicate with and approach the native people.”

“And don’t forget [our] own culture, which is not easy,” he adds.

Now Diarca is married to an Italian woman and has two children, but he’s thinking of going back to Senegal and starting an import-export business between Senegal and Italy so he can have the possibility of living in both countries at various times.

Another Senegalese immigrant, Papa Ngay Fad or Amadou, as he is known in Lecce, has a direct view on cultural integration. “I don’t have to be integrated. Integrated in what?” he asks.

“I’m part of the human race and my education made me a good person, which means I know how to stay with other people. I could become more tolerant because I understand that every culture has its own differences. In Italy everyone permits children to look into the eyes of an adult, while in Senegal it's not allowed, but taking part in another community doesn’t mean being completely absorbed by that one.”

Amadou arrived in Milano from Senegal because he received an Italian visa. After arriving in Milano, he moved to Lecce.

Emigrating is an important factor of Senegalese culture. With a job in another country it is possible to make more money to send back to one's family or friends.

“I couldn’t regret to come to Italy because it could mean that I was weak and lose the opportunity that God was offering to me,” admits Amadou. “He who never changes his place won’t know which place will be the better place for his life. Everyone should change and look for their own fortune.”

In Senegal, Amadou was not a book seller, but it was the first job he found in Italy, so he continued. Every day he wanders through the Lecce city center, trying to sell books. He married an Italian woman, had a son and published his own book.

“In Italy I’ve always been a book seller so I thought about writing and selling a book written by myself. I had a lot of pictures made for me by some photographers so I thought I had to add some words to the pictures. Then, talking to my wife, we decided to write, Se Dio Vuole (If God Wants).”

Bledar Torozi, who came from Albania, claims that emigration is also a key cultural component in his home country. He is president of the Albanian association, Vëllazërimi, and of the multi-cultural center, Etnos. “We were convinced that the Earth belongs to everyone,” Torozi says.

“Our first emigration was caused by a freedom need. We were only 80 km away from the rest of Europe, where everything was permitted,” he recalls. “We couldn’t accept anymore to live [in Albania] because we knew that the world our system was prohibiting was really close to us. We always had the stronger conviction that if the [communist] system hadn’t wanted to change, we would have lived our lives in another place.”

Torozi tells Dispatches International that in the early 1990s, 25,000 people left Albania, most of them academics, bank clerks and university graduates. This migratory flow provoked a crisis in the country's economic stability and consequentially had a negative impact on the communist government.

Torozi says that when they arrived, the people from Puglia gave them a wonderful welcome. Then, their attitude changed.

“Italy is becoming racist in the last years,” he claims. “The reason could be found in the general economic crisis infesting the world; people don't get a job, and for years the government connected the image of the immigrant with the person that steals jobs from the Italian people. The racism is growing and what has happened in Firenze is a confirmation of this phenomenon.”

Torozi also explains that the Italian racism against Albanians is less evident than racism towards other minorities, but is stronger. “A Senegalese person is totally different from Italian, while we are almost the same. We are white, we are not easily recognizable,” he says.

“If someone doesn’t like Senegalese or Chinese people, he will say something against the different color of the skin, but he won’t do the same with me. The hatred against me could be worst and it’s about a competition that could [come] between us.”

To confirm his theory, Torozi says that an Italian guy who wants to offend a person generally says, “You’re dressed like an Albanian,” which was most likely caused by the arrival of Albanian people who came to Italy in the 1990s but were dressed like they had come straight out of the '70s.

“When you lived in Italy in the '70s—we watched [the way they dressed] on the television but we couldn’t do the same in Albania. Then, when we decide to leave our country we still thought we could dress in that way, but in the '90s, the Italian people dressed completely different.”

Torozi complains about the new Albanian generation that is refusing their own origins in order to not be discriminated against, and thinks that Italian society should consider how immigrants are important for the Italian economy.

He suggests that if all the immigrant workers were to strike, the Italian economy would freeze. “But the racist people don't think it,” Torozi states.

“More than 60% of foreign laborers work in the northern Italy fabric industry. The field work is made by immigrants. Who could replace all foreign workers in all the kinds of work that Italian people are refusing?” he asks.

Now an Italian citizen after 20 years of living in Lecce, Torozi calls for the respect of minorities, because the earth “belongs to everyone and it has no limits.”

All immigrants interviewed in this article think that effective integration into Italian life can be promoted by communication between two cultures, a cooperation that could enrich the lives of immigrants and natives simultaneously.

Kefi, from Tunisia, says that two cultures are like two different worlds whose union could create something new—another way to live. “If the local people gave to the newly-arrived the possibility to live in a normal condition, lots of problems wouldn’t exist,” he claims. “The hatred could be eliminated and a different culture could be discovered.”

Kefi is trying to create opportunities for all the people that arrive in Lecce and remain there. He believes that, like himself, none of the immigrants belong to only one culture. “I’m not Tunisian anymore, but I’m not a perfect Italian citizen,” he admits.

“I tried to keep all the good things of my culture and all that I like of Italian culture to become a better person.”

Diarca, from the organization Teranga, says that no one should forget their own culture. He invokes a Senegalese proverb to illustrate his point, which says that an old man who dies is like a library that burns.

He concludes by saying, “We are born to let the native people understand that we are humans as them, that there’s not reason to be afraid of the diversity. The brotherhood between people is really important to create an exchange of culture and wisdom.” 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Geraint Rowland

See the full gallery on Posterous

1. An elderly street merchant packs up his wares after another hard day in downtown Lima.

2. Mother and baby use one of Lima's many public phone booths.

3. A flower merchant patiently waits for customers on a street corner.

4. Clearly happy, a smiling boy cycles by.

5. Female cleaners work night and day to keep Lima's streets clean.

6. Regular festivals during the weekends allow children to get involved with street art.

7. Hundreds of colorful buses fight for space on the busy roads while the conductors shout from the open doors to drum up business.

8. Father and child watch a street entertainer perform.

9. An elderly lady makes her way home.

10. A young girl runs among the pigeons.

11. A taxi driver takes a siesta in Miraflores.

12. A candy floss merchant at one of the beach districts

13. Children chase each other up the stairs at Barranco.

14. An elderly man takes a late afternoon siesta in Parque Kennedy.

15. A worker from a local store displays the vibrant colors of Lima.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

See the full gallery on Posterous

See below article for photo captions.

By Ana Maria Bermudez

Medellin, Colombia

Medellin is a city in the middle of a contradictory country, the history of which can be told by the stories of people who lived in the center of violence that has erased many a name in the last century.

Between the 1980s and 90s, the poverty and drug battles, combined with the poor educational system and the marginalization of individuals, resulted in Medellin being the most violent city in the world. Massacres were not uncommon and bombs in shopping centers threatened everyday activities. Kidnappings, extortion and war-like statistics led to a rise in fear city wide.

In 1991, the annual number of murders rose to a macabre 6,500. The crisis was felt all over the country, but it was at its worst in Medellín. At the time, notorious Colombian drug lord, Pablo Escobar, attained the sixth largest fortune in the world through a  drug business that perpetuated violent activities, which continued in the country until his death in 1993.

In the year 1999, a group of academics who were working on several projects within the universities of Colombia, decided to start a political career. Their leader was Sergio Fajardo Valderrama, a mathematics professor at the University of the Andes. They became involved with social issues in the city.

Their project was simple, but daring: to transform Medellín into a model city for the rest of the world—“from fear, to hope.” This would involve reconciling Medellin's past as “the world’s cocaine capital,” a title it held since the 1980s. As their principal strategy, the group proposed honesty and transparency for the use of public resources during the development of their government program.

Sergio Fajardo was elected as mayor in 2004, with 208,541 votes – the maximum number in the history of Medellín – demonstrating the hopes of the voters and the high expectations that they had.

Between 2003 and 2007, Fajardo focused on representing some of the forgotten and marginalized communities in the city. Calling his strategy “social urbanism,” Fajardo emphasized projects that reflected his slogan: “Medellín the most educated.”

Thus emerged the network of library-parks and quality schools. In this regard, Fajardo stated that the library was built as a “symbol of the new Medellín,” trying to show that violence, which limits opportunities, can be confronted through ‘knowledge and social inclusion.”

Fara Montero is doing her last semester on judicial investigation, and she wants to start her professional career in criminology as soon as she finishes her degree. “When I ended  high school, I didn’t have a clue about what to do with my education,” Montero recalls. “I knew I wanted to keep in school but I didn’t know how to pay for it. A friend from my school told me about the EPM Fund, and I decided to try it. Since I had really good grades in my state exam, I got selected.”

She is one of the 18,000 students who has benefited from the EPM Fund, a loan which allows people with low resources access to university education. Instead of having to pay the loan back with cash when one's education is done, however, it can be paid with high grades and social service.

“I’ve been deeply benefited by the EPM fund, because it gave me the opportunity of studying without any concerns about the money,” Montero continues.

“The sustenance is one of the things that worry the families with low income the most, but I don’t have to think of it during the development of my career, which leaves me more time to focus on my grades.”

Montero lives in one of the neighborhoods of Medellin that is known for its criminal organizations, but  her location does not stop her from she insisting that with education, one's quality of life can be improved, and with the help of the programs that came from the government of Sergio Fajardo, her goals are easier to achieve.

During his term as mayor of Medellin, with the support of another independent activist and now current mayor of the city, Alonso Salazar Jaramillo, his office made changes by putting positive structures in the place of impoverished communities.

This change is not yet complete, but it can be seen in the public culture of hope that permeates the city. The current mayor, Salazar, thinks that the current state of the city is about “activating the power of aesthetics as a driving force for social and cultural change.”

The most remarkable tasks in the course of this transformation were five enormous Library-Parks in the most deprived comunas (subdivided areas of the city), an innovative public transport system, which has dramatically reduced the distance between the old urban ghettos, and a large cultural center which stands on the site of the old rubbish dump in Moravia. Two thousand families used to live there in extreme poverty before being re-housed in better areas.

Additionally, cultural and educational building projects included the Science and Technology “Explora Park” with interactive activities, the biggest fresh and sea water aquarium in South America and the exuberant Orquideorama an enlarged botanical garden with plant species that are representative of the tropical rainforest, flowering in what was once the most dangerous part of the city.

Finally, the recuperation of public spaces led to newly pedestrianized areas like the Carabobo and ten new state schools, sport stadiums, linear parks and coliseums.Each individual project collectively transformed the city into a new society.

The library parks were a revolutionary idea that was proposed to create spaces for the citizen encounter, a space beyond the library, where people with scant resources could find the opportunity to develop their bodies, ideas and spirit.

“The library park gave the place a new breeze, more spaces for the education and less for the violence,” says Joan Suarez, a young man that lives in the area influenced by the first library park built in the city. “Its architecture is very  beautiful, and with it started a lot of cultural and artistic groups, giving the young people an opportunity to express themselves in other ways, and keeping them away from the criminal bands.”

With these constructions, the city government was looking to recover the strength of these neighborhoods in order to provide dignity to the inhabitants, starting with the actions of urban renovation and the environmental reestablishment of the city.

The journalist Oscar Henao Mejía says that, “The evidence is that they are now clear referents of the social transformation, the spaces where the air is another, where the spirit of community is different, where the motivations not only for the use of the free time but also to feel the sense of the collective, are amazing. It’s a privilege having them close at hand”

The library parks are one of the first places shown proudly to visitors, and they became a model to other cities in Colombia and the rest of the world.

“We used to live in fear,” says Suarez. “Now we are surrounded by art, young people full of expectations and goals, kids with the perspective of a better future and most important of all, with the possibilities of leaving in the past those scenes of death, re-building our city thanks to those new scenarios.”

The Cultural Development Center of Moravia, known as Cedezo, was built in a space that was previously occupied by a garbage dump.
In Cedezo, culture, the recreation and the arts all have their place, replacing the misery and abandon that preceded the center.

There was a huge mountain of garbage here, in the north of the city, which was used for dumping between 1977-1984. During this period, the mountain grew 197 meters high, and 492 meters wide, in the middle of the city, and was formed by organic and inorganic garbage. With time, it went from being a heap of trash to the home for more than 2,000 families. Several fires, caused by the gases expelled by the toxic waste, killed five people in just five years—four of them were children.

Sandra Morales, a 40-year-old woman who used to live in the garbage site, but now has received a home for herself, her brother and her daughter, considers her previous living arrangement at the dump to be a health issue. “We lived among trash,” she remembers.

“This, as you can probably imagine, was terrible. The smell was horrible and there were animals and insects all over the place. I was so worried to see my children growing up in that environment, with so many possibilities of getting sick, and I couldn’t do anything to avoid it.”

The local government finally accepted that the state of this garbage site was an issue affecting health and livelihood, and so began the efforts to renovate the space and transform it into a cultural center of the city. The families were relocated to a better home.

They created a program called the Partial Plan of Moravia, that was not only focused on the old dump, but also on the legalization of the grounds. The government invested large financial resources into the project. The biggest part of this contribution has been used for the construction of Medellín hall. The rest of the government money provided for the project is scheduled to be used in December, 2011 and January, 2012.

In August 2011, 2,082 families left the space now occupied by Cedezo, and got a decent home in a project called Citadel New Occident. There were still another 290 in the process of receiving their relocation.

Approximately 80% of Colombians in the old site did not have to pay for their new homes. The people who didn’t originally own their houses had to pay between 7-8 million pesos [approximately $3,000 USD], for their new houses. 

“I feel happy because I’m going to my own place, but I’m sad because I wanted to share this happiness with my mother, who already died,” says Morales. “She also wanted to have a house as the one they gave us, with a room for each [person].” 

In the garbage site, Morales lived in a house made of wood, built 28 years ago with recycled material. This is where she stayed with her brother, her mother and her grandfather. Her daughter was born 16 years ago.

The building materials were acquired over time. “I was working at a sawmill,” Morales remembers. “We bought little by little the boards. A partner gave me the zinc tiles.”

The lives of many individuals were changed drastically by this project. They were able to move from living among the smell of garbage and sewage, to a house in an open space, with park lots and green areas with playgrounds for children.

These children, who used to live with no hope for their future, now have the opportunity of studying in one of the 11 schools built in zones of the city that needed the most improvement. With a new education infrastructure, teachers are qualified for what they teach, and enjoy a safe environment for the learning process.

In that old space occupied by the garbage and the houses, two cultural areas were built, where kids have their own place to learn and have fun. Henry Pradilla is a young employee of Cedezo, who found in these cultural centers a place to help the community, improve his life and get paid for doing something that he loves.

“I used to live in that old dumpster, but I found my way out from the conflicts and the violence through music,” he says. “Now I have the opportunity to interact with the children, teach them the things I know, learn other things with them and join them in the happiness of reading a good book , doing manual work, and sharing with their peers in a place where we all  know they’re safe.”

In the words of Mayor Fajardo, the idea of these cultural centers was “the most beautiful things for the most humble people, so that the pride felt in that which is public illuminates us all... Where before there was death, fear and dislocation, today there are the most impressive buildings, all of the highest quality - cultural and educational focal points around which we can all come together in peaceful coexistence.”

With Medellín still in this process of change, the hope is increasing and the expectations are growing. Most importantly, the quality of life of the people who were always pushed apart is improving day by day, and the city is losing its past stigmas, giving more importance to education as the best way to bring change to Medellin's society.

Photo captions:

1. Parque de los Deseos (Wishes Park) where people can interact with educational installments that teach about concepts on astronomy and physics.

2. Parque Explora (Explora Park) is the biggest science project in Medellin.

3. The modernized botanical garden, dates from the Twentieth century, and was transformed in 2007.

4. The orquideorama, inside of the Botanical Garden, built originally in 1972, and redesigned in 2007.

5. The Center of Cultural Development in Moravia.

6. A Mural painted in the Linear park of La Bermejala, a project of recover the water in Moravia, in the old dump of the city, which used to house more than 2,000 families

7. Children in the Center of Cultural Development, Moravia.

8. A quality school built in Miranda, a neighborhood in the north of Medellin

9. The new appearance of Moravia's old dump

10. A kid playing in the toy library in the Library Park in Santo Domingo

11. Teenagers from the Visual Arts Network paint a mural near the library park in Santo Domingo.

12. Library Park Spain in Santo Domingo

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Philip Simpson

See the full gallery on Posterous

The Coalition Government, formed by the Liberal Democrat and Conservative Parties, has implemented cuts across the broad spectrum of the public sector. Workers from community and youth projects, the doctors, nurses and staff of the National Health Service, teachers, public transport workers, emergency services and even the police, have experienced widespread cuts in funding over the past year. The British public has also seen their pension funds slashed  by almost half and students have found their education compromised due to a rise in tuition fees from £3,290 per year to a maximum of £9,000 per year.

These dramatic changes have inspired a vibrant and unified but restless protest culture that has taken Britain by storm, with frequent, large scale demonstrations taking place in many of the nation’s cities. 

Students were the first to make themselves heard, organizing several peaceful protests in late 2010 in Manchester and London. Tens of thousands of students attended these early marches, which sparked controversy and debate due to the heavy handed tactics used by the Greater Manchester and Metropolitan police forces.

Wednesday, November 30th, 2011 was the nation’s largest day of strikes in 30 years, where an expected two million public sector workers walked out of their jobs in protest over government plans to reform pensions. In Manchester, 30,000 people of all ages marched through the streets, to express their discontent with the government. This demonstration ended up in Whitworth Park, where many union leaders and public speakers addressed thousands in a rally to encourage continual activism and solidarity through these hard times, despite a statement from Prime Minister David Cameron stating that the strike will have no effect on the reforms the government insists on implementing. 

Union leaders are organizing the next nationwide strikes and protests, of which many more are expected to take place over the next year. It is clear from the atmosphere of these protests that the public will continue to stand by their pleas for fair treatment, just as the government will stand by its move to implement cuts, reforms and fee increases, despite the uproar.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

See the full gallery on Posterous

By Alessandra Lacaita

“I'm Shandy South and I'm performing to you. I just want to make you happy and make you laugh!” Dancing to the rhythm of Michael Jackson songs, South makes his moves, smiling the whole time.

Then he calls some people from the crowd and turns them into dancers. The audience laughs, clearly enjoying themselves. The theatre is imaginary, but the atmosphere is spectacular. This is Covent Garden, in the city of London. Surrounding the performers is an explosion of colours, exhibitions and shops.

Generally, in Covent Garden the visitors are shopping for gifts, snacking on waffles full of chocolate, or supping on plates of paella. In the piazza there is a market defined by hustle and bustle.

Sometimes tourists’ attention is held by the voice of a lyric singer performing in the covered space of Covent Garden, and sometimes by musicians playing instruments while dancing. They are the street performers of Covent Garden, and this is their territory. These musicians add rhythm to the shopping and eating of tourists.

 When music begins on one side of the piazza, a crowd gathers. There is a man who is putting a red rope around the area in which he will perform. People cheer and laugh as he begins his dancing and singing routine.

Londoners and tourists know that in Covent Garden they can witness extraordinary performances. Street performers are professionals and their craftsmanship is guaranteed by an association, of which all the performers are members.

Performing in the street without a permit is illegal in London. Covent Garden is a place authorized for performance exhibitions. Being part of the Covent Garden Street Performers Association (CGSPA) grants the performer the license they require to display their talents on the street.  

Dispatches International interviewed four artists of the CGSPA. They all have three qualities in common: the sophisticated talent of their performance, a love for and dedication to what they do, and a career marked by travels around the world.

Mark Rotham is an experienced juggler and comical entertainer. He began performing in Covent Garden when he was 30 years old, 14 years ago, after travelling to many countries. When he was 20 years old he started busking; Rotham learned his skills by practicing every day.

Shandy South, mentioned at the beginning of this article, performs a show combining hip hop dance, Michael Jackson impressions, stand-up comedy, slow motion movements and acrobatics. “I started in 1986,” he recalls. “I was 19, now I'm 44. That’s 20 years [of performance] around the world. I performed for the first time in Covent Garden in 1996.”

Edd is the violinist of Oopsie Mamushka, a string group with a violin, viola and violoncello. The group’s trademark is being able to play and dance simultaneously. The group is eight years old, and changes its members from time to time. Edd started to play in Covent Garden after studying at a music college. He explains that he came here by following some friends: “I just loved it, I really enjoyed it and I continued coming here.”

Chloe is a lyric singer. She is Australian and studied opera for four years. After studying, she worked in the island of Macao, and at last she moved to London. It wasn’t long before she made her way to Covent Garden.

South is very clear about his opinion of the Covent Garden performers. “We are a group and we are licensed and insured street performers,” he explains. “As a group, we don't have any trouble with authorities, we have lawers. We are fully legitimate so being in a group just helps us.”

“We are a kind of union,” he continues, but then corrects himself. “I can't say union, but we are a very strong group.”

The CGSPA not only provides security to all the artists, but it also represents a democratic tool for managing the spaces, the seasonal performance schedule, and performers’ daily shifts.

“We call ourselves a collective. We all make [decisions] together,” says Rotham. “We discuss a particular show, the options, then we take a vote on what we should do to resolve an issue. When we decide, we make a new rule.”

The ssociation democratically chooses their performance shifts, but there are different rules about who must perform in the open space of the west piazza and who will perform inside. For example, musicians and singers must necessarily perform inside, as it greatly benefits the sound of their performance.

Rotham is one of the performers who works in the open west piazza. Every morning, all those who will perform that day meet at 9:30 am in the west piazza. They then decide who starts first by participating in a draw. The first show starts at 10 o’clock, and every performance lasts a maximum of 40 minutes. Until the end of the day, they strictly follow the list they have made in the morning.

 

For those who perform in the covered space, the CGSPA has a weekly calendar. “Here in Covent Garden we have a community of different groups,” Edd says, explaning the purpose of the calendar. “We try keeping different shifts in different times so nobody takes up all the time, preventing others from working. We try to make sure there's a room for everybody who has got a license.”

When everything is decided, the artists are ready to give their best performance. All of their planning and cooperation is like a ritual passed down over time. “The street performers and the piazza have got a tradition of 200 years, from when the old market was here,” states Edd.

There are some practical reasons for performing in Covent Garden’s covered market area. Classical music aficionados regard the space as an ideal performance location. “When this market was reopened in the 1960s, everybody came back to listen to music,” Edd explains. “It is the only place suited for the pitch of classical music in the country and that is great.”

Now, Covent Garden is famous. Performing here is an alternative to theatre venues and is synonymous with fame and expertise. Many in the industry consider it a brilliant debut for those who are performing for the first time.

“If you can work in Covent Garden, you can work anywhere in the world, because Covent Garden is the start. The public will judge you,” says South.

Rotham thinks that the public’s perception of the performers has more to do with appearances than with reality. “It's just about presentation. Working in the street is all about creating a perception of what you're doing.” Elsewhere, he says, street performers are not perceived with much respect.

“In Covent Garden we are lucky because there's a quite grand stage and it creates the perception of high status which gives you the opportunity to create a good show. It's more about perception than what you actually do”.

Covent Garden has in fact given the opportunity to many street performers to become famous. Among these is Eddie Izzard, the famous British comedian, who does stand-up in addition to performing in film and television. He is now known worldwide.

Three of the performers, South, Chloe and Edd’s group, Oopsia Mamushka, perform in theatres as well. Rotham remains strictly faithful to his street performance, however. He says that it is because he is not very organized, and he finds it much easier to work in the street.

Though they also perform in theatres, the street is a place for them to test their skills and see an immediate audience reaction. “I'm a street performer by choice, but if I get theatre work I do it,” claims South. “My first lab is the street.”

The world of the street artists is hard but pleasant at the same time. They all love what they do. When asked about their plans for the future, they all seem to want to continue performing.

“I’ll move to Portugal and there I want go into theatres and continuing performing, or teaching,” says South. “Whatever comes into my life, I will do it.”

Edd’s plans are not as clear: “Just have fun!” he says, smiling. Chloe says she wants to do shows and stay in London for a couple of years, then she is thinking of moving to Canada.

Rotham is learning stand-up comedy with The Top Secret Comedy Club. “I’m really concentrated on my club show at moment,” he says. “So I make it as successful as I can, which I love.”

The lifelong commitment of these performers is not without hardship, and London’s weather is not helpful. “It is a challenge to go out in a wet, cold, dark dank environment and try to get them laughing and clapping,” South says.

Chloe prefers the theatre because is less cold during the winter, but in Covent Garden she feels more free. “In a theatre you just do one show, but when you are here you can do anything that you like and pieces that you wouldn’t normally perform in a show, or example, Queen of the Night or The Phantom of the Opera,” she says.

“Moreover, anyone can just walk up to you, start talking and you have to be able to adapt. I think it's a really good practice especially for auditions, because I can hear and sing and see how the public responds to my shows.”

If someone wants to start performing in Covent Garden there is just one rule. You must audition. “It's quite easy to start. If you got a street show we let people start,” says Rotham. “We are an association but we are very open to new [performers].”

“Have you got a show? Come and do it! Simple!” says Rotham.

For the musicians and singers there are a few more steps. “I was working close by one day and I heard a woman singing opera, so I waited until the end of the set and then I went out to meet her to ask her how I could sing in Covent Garden,” Chloe recalls, explaining how she became interested in street performing.

“She told me to go to the office and fill in the form asking them for an audition. You have two auditions. After the first time, if you get a call back, you have another audition. You do a full set, half an hour of singing, and then they have to say if they like it or not. They decide who sings. In this way I got the position.”

Rotham has some suggestions for those who hope to become street performers: “Go through and don't be discouraged, you can't give up because it's not an easy job.”

“When you start, you cry a lot, you can’t let that stop you, just carry on doing your show,” he says. “But when the show has started, it is quite liberating, and crying itself is liberating.”

Tears or no tears, rain or shine, the shows go on, because the crowds of tourists in Covent Garden love their performers. 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Abdu Kiyaga

In Africa, where technological development has rapidly spread throughout the last decade,  a plethora of information is exchanged through emails, social networking and dating sites. As a result, Africans   trust people they have never met or seen, having fallen under the impression that “global village” camaraderie is at play during Internet and telephone communication.

Unfortunately, many of trusting individuals fall into the traps of cyber criminals; they send money as “gifts from friends,” or they email documentation to confirm a proposed trip. Few escape the scams of con-artists who prey on individuals still getting acquainted with new technology.

In Uganda, mobile phones are used to convince innocent people to reveal their personal details to disguised cyber criminals, while the internet and other technologies are used to monitor private financial information.

Joseph Kanyamunyu, Senior Public Relations Officer at Airtel, one of the leading telecommunications companies in Uganda, is frustrated by the hectic nature of dealing with cyber crime in the country. “We get over 100 cases a week,” he says. “It is so surprising that our customers do not learn even when we send them guidelines on how they are to claim prizes from [the phone call offers].”

The perpetrators in the cyber crime industry use competing telecommunications companies to perform illicit financial transactions. When asked to wire funds by a con-artist posing as a financial institution, a victim will generally send money not to the company who they are supposedly speaking to, but a rival company. Many individuals do not pick up on the contradiction in these instructions, and continue  sending their savings to cyber criminals abroad.

Viola Kwikiriza, a citizen of Uganda, narrates to Dispatches International her experience being conned by one of these scams.

“I received a call from a person who identified herself as the promotions manager at Warid Telecom,” Kwikiriza says. “She told me I had won Shs 5 million [approximately $1,960 USD], but she told me that to retrieve it I must send her Shs 200,000 [approximately $78 USD] through Mobile Money.”

Mobile Money, a financial transaction service, is operated by a company called MTN, Warid Telecom's rival.  Kwikiriza did not notice the contradiction.

“The next day, I got money from my friend and promised to pay her after I retrieved my reward later in the day,” adds Kwikiriza. “To my surprise, two hours after I had sent the money, I called the phone but it had been switched off and there was no way I could contact her.

Frustrated that she could not retrieve the money, Kwikiriza diligently pursued her prize. “I instead went to Warid offices.”

Upon reaching the offices of Warid Telecom, employees told Kwikiriza that she was a victim of a con-artist. Out of frustration and worry at her inability to recover her investment, she insisted that this could not be true. She began to think about how she would repay the money borrowed from her friend.

“There was no single way I could convince my friend that I had been conned and the whole thing was a set up. But we reached a consensus and I repaid her a month later,” Kwikiriza recalls.

Cases like this are consistently occurring in Uganda. Kanyamunyu from Airtel claims that these fraudulent acts will continue, due to the desperate state of the population.

“Many of our people think that they cannot accumulate money by working for it and so they resort to thinking that the only way they can get money is by gambling or winning it in a promotion,” explains Kanyamunyu. This is why they jump at the opportunity to capture winnings from online competitions. “But they should use common sense. Why would one use a competitors’ service to reward you?”

The Annual Uganda Police Crime Report of 2010 states, “Given the increasing global character of social interaction, and the borderless communities made possible by the rapid development in technology, it is not surprising that criminals have also jumped on board, and ingratiated themselves in these cyber communities, to cause mischief.”

The report also notes that cyber crime holds a place among some more easily recognizable forms of crime throughout the world. “Cyber crimes, money laundering, narcotics and terrorism are some of the categories of crime that are fast evolving. They are changing from the traditional models of commission to sophisticated methods, using the easily accessible platform of technology,” reads the document.

Since early this year, bank clients are now falling prey to cyber criminals who have begun to track online accounts. With suspected help of bank employees, money continues to be mysteriously withdrawn.

“What they do is stick a small, locally made machine to an automatic teller machine (ATM) and it records the data of the client, including how much they have on their account, their personal identification number, plus their password,” reports Ibn Ssenkumbi, Spokesperson for the Kampala Metropolitan Police. “After that, they go and forge an ATM card and they will feed it with the information they recorded of a particular client.

“Then, they will begin withdrawing money,” says Ssenkumbi.
 
In recent months, several suspects and bank employees have been arrested and investigations are going on to establish the validity of claims that they have been involved in these fraudulent acts.

This all occurs in a country consisting of security personnel who frequently fall behind in acquainting themselves with new technological skills. To combat this knowledge gap, security officials are now offering short courses in Information Communication and Technology (ICT).

“You find that many of our policemen do not know how to operate computers but we have to teach them now. Times have changed,” explains the Deputy Spokesperson of Police, Vincent Ssekate.

“You find that sometimes criminals are not within the country, so with this training they will be able to even track internet based criminals.”

The previously mentioned police report claims that the level of evidence present during the prosecution of cyber criminals is insufficient. Recently, guilty suspects have walked away free from punishment.

“We are investing in ICT, both training and equipment, and also re-orienting our investigative techniques, to better meet the new risks, and protect society from these crimes,” reads the police report. “Investigative techniques have been one of the major reasons we have been losing cases to many criminals due to limited evidence to implicate them.”

So far, the first security-based ICT class, comprised of over eighty officers, has graduated with newly-acquired technological knowledge from the Learnit Institute.

“We want to make the law and order-keeping force capable of doing work on their own,” Learnit Institute Kampala Central Manager, Gita Blachandra, tells Dispatches International. “This will save money spent on secretaries’ salaries.”

Meanwhile, other institutions are getting involved. The largest university in the country, Makerere University, through the College of Computing and Information Sciences, is trying to encourage its students to devise ways to ensure that cyber crime is reduced in the near future.

One of the graduates, Joseph Kaizzi, has designed a software program called CRIMEX, a crime monitoring tool that will map cyber crime occurrences and hopefully help police hunt down suspected criminals more easily.

He is uncertain as to whether or not the tool will work, as CRIMEX does not give detailed information about suspected cyber criminals – a weakness that hinders the police force from tracking specific individuals after the crimes are committed.

“I don’t think [CRIMEX] can work at the moment because we will need to test it for a longer time to get such information,” Kaizzi admits. “But what I would say is that we need to let our people know that they are not to simply receive a call or an email and give their details. That’s the major reason many of them are losing their money.”

In requiring stronger laws to combat its escalating negative impact on society, cyber crime joins money-laundering, narcotics offenses and the poor management of public order as one of the most pressing issues in Uganda.

After the July 2010 bombings in Kampala, the Ugandan government proposed an amendment to the communications act that would require all mobile phone users to register with a national authority, claiming that it would be the only way to track all criminals who use cell phone technology.

The legislators blocked the move, however, asserting that this would be a breach of the right to privacy. Some of the Members of Parliament saw the amendment as a government move to track various politicians in the opposition party.

Until next year, when the discussion will be held anew in Parliament, Uganda still suffers from a high cyber crime rate, a phenomenon which has its roots in technological illiteracy and poverty.

Few members of Ugandan society are acquainted with the techniques through which criminals take their money. Furthermore, victims of cyber crime are vulnerable because many of them have failed to get jobs, and have begun to rely on gambling as a major source of income to sustain their livelihood.

Eradicating cyber crime will require significant advancements in employment and economic development as well as technological savvy among the national security forces.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

We're rolling out a new website.  Take a look and let us know what you think (editor@dinews.org).  You can subscribe to receive automatic updates when new content is posted by clicking below the Subscribe header in the right hand toolbar.  All our prior content has been moved over, with the exception of photo essays that will be added shortly using a new photo gallery feature.  The new site allows you to mention articles on facebook and twitter, as well as leave comments more efficiently, so please take advantage of the new social media options.  Enjoy!

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Michael Dawson

“I mean, sometimes I can see why they've always been persecuted. They refuse to acknowledge you in the street, they cut into supermarket queues and they simply have a general disdain for anyone who's not like them. It's a real problem.”

Fabian, whose name has been changed for legal reasons, sits unperturbed amidst the hustle and bustle in one of Vienna's most famous Kaffeehäusers. He is dressed smartly and speaks with a level of eloquence, which is juxtaposed against this kind of anti-Semitic diatribe.

“Do you not feel, though, that Viennese society could be somewhat inherently xenophobic?” I ask, immediately noticing a quiet sense of indignation sweeping across Fabian's face.

“No. They choose to be insular.,” he says. “There is never any effort on their behalf to integrate, nor would there ever be any intention of doing so.”

A disconcerting silence permeates our conversation, as lucid memories of a very distinct childhood within a Jewish community resonate throughout my mind.

Sensing the uneasiness, Fabian attempts to reiterate his opinions in a more tactful manner. “I mean, Hasidic Jews, they're recognisably different from average Austrians. I never see them talk to gentiles, or even say hello. They don't even speak proper German, it's always some kind of Hebrew or maybe an Eastern European dialect.”

I hesitate, preparing to pose my most intrusive question: “Would you argue that Jewish people are the cause of their own historical misfortune?”

“If Jews have always behaved like this, then yes,” Fabian says. He gares at me sharply. “They're easy victims because they contribute to their own discrimination by being so disrespectful.”

Fabian pauses briefly. “As I said before, I can sometimes see why they've always been persecuted.”

Such views would certainly sound disturbing to an outsider, as they are a stark contrast to the libera and highly intellectual feel of Vienna's culture. Yet amidst the everyday pomp and circumstance of this antiquated capital, there is a dark undertone.

Scribbled messages of “Juden raus!” - meaning “Jews out!” - and hurriedly drawn swastikas taint the walls of many districts, heavily tarnishing the city's artistic graffiti culture. According to the Viennese anti-discrimination charity, Civil Courage and Anti-Racism Work (ZARA), roughly 60% of all racist incidents in 2010 were anti-Semitic in nature.

Anti-Semitism, however, has always pervaded the so-called “City of Dreams.” From public burnings in the 15th century to the prominence of notable xenophobes such as Karl Leuger in the early 1900s, Vienna has a long history of prejudice towards Jews.

Even the main University of Vienna building was built from the stones of ransacked synagogues.

Thus, it is ironic when I am told that “Viennese culture was Jewish culture.” According to a German academic, who wishes to remain unnamed due to the controversy surrounding the issues he told me about, the Holocaust that caused Vienna's major brain drain.

Before World War Two, Viennese Jewry accounted for 11% of Europe's Jewish population, making it the largest community in Europe after Warsaw, Poland. With great minds such as Freud, Schnitzler, and Mahler, Jewish intellectuals contributed heavily to the city's former glory.

“Without the Jews, there were no more academics. From theatre to science and even dialect, they were the cultural lifeblood of the city,” says the professor. He pauses for a moment, pensively formulating his next response.

“Although, those people were integrated, they weren't Jews first, they were Austrians. The Jewish community today, however, doesn't really seem to be part of contemporary Viennese society”

I ask the professor whether Jews are hesitant to integrate, as the events of the Holocaust were less than a century ago. He thinks this over for a few seconds, “You see, I'm not completely sure whether parts of this community heavily identify with the recent persecution of European Jewry, if at all.”

Such generalisations may seem unfounded, yet given the prominence of figures such as Rabbi Moshe Aryeh Friedmann, there is an element of truth.

In 2007, Friedmann, an ultra-orthodox anti-Zionist, attended the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust in Tehran, known more infamously as the Holocaust Denial Conference. Friedmann attended alongside notable guests such as former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard David Duke and the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The backlash was tremendous, with Friedmann being promptly excommunicated and stripped of his Rabbinical authority. His participation was vehemently criticised by Jewish organisations worldwide. They condemned Friedmann as a catalyst for the growing Austrian support for Iran.

Such support ranges from weapons deals to increased diplomatic cooperation, actions which have been deemed by Israeli-Viennese journalist Samuel Laster as mirroring the “fundamental anti- Semitic consensus in Austrian society.”

Is Vienna's problem part of a larger flaw across Austrian society?

In a corner of the local Kosher deli, a Jewish shopkeeper tells me that all of Europe is plagued with anti-Semitic attitudes.

“Racism is everywhere. Not only in Austria, but racism exists all over the world.,” he says. “From the persecution of Kurds in Turkey to the troubles in Northern Ireland, bigotry is part of the human condition.”

The shopkeeper's answers seem worryingly ambiguous for someone from a community so seemingly ostracised from the rest of Viennese society. “What about here, though? Have you personally experienced any forms of anti-Semitism?” I ask.

“Everyone hears of incidents happening, but nothing has ever happened to me because I'm not recognisably Jewish,” the shopkeeper states with confidence. “I have heard of attacks, but only on those who you could actually pick out of a crowd. It's the same with Muslims. People see another way of life and try to discriminate.”

When I ask if he experiences trouble around his shop due to being Jewish, he replies, “No, not particularly, because this area is generally quite peaceful. There are some areas, however, that wouldn't be the safest of places if you were identifiably Jewish.”

He stops talking and looks out of the window. “Although, a Swastika was drawn on that wall over there,” he says, as he points across the street. “So, you never really know. But, honestly, what can you do? It was forever this way, racism will always exist.”

These words expose disappointment in his voice, masquerading as indifference. Yet the reluctance to divulge information to an outsider is hardly surprising. Like many Jewish citizens, the shopkeeper asks what he is supposed to do in a city fraught with discrimination.

According to the Centre for Judeo-Christian Cooperation, one cannot do much to improve the situation. “There is a general atmosphere of xenophobia in Vienna,” says one worker in Vienna.

“It's not so much physical violence, but more the feeling that Jews aren't really welcome.” She tells me of a nearby apartment block owned by a local Jewish businessman. In recent months, tenants have had problems with his haphazard style of management, prompting a tirade of often racially-based complaints. “He's a bad landlord, but his flaws are always attributed to his religion, not the fact that he's simply a bad landlord,.”

“It's like saying that all black people are drug dealers. His ethnicity is being used as a scapegoat”.

Finding a scapegoat is too common in Austrian society. With a myriad of targeted slogans such as “Too many foreigners does no one good” and “Vienna will not become Istanbul,” the Freedom Party of Austria commands an approval rating of between 24-29% of the general electorate. Politically, therefore, large swathes of Austrian society appear to be hotbeds of conservative fervour, with a tendency to border on far right extremism.

The likelihood that public opinion will rapidly change looks somewhat foreboding. A recent study, for example, highlighted a nearly 50% approval rating for the Freedom Party of Austria among voters under thirty.

In the age of supranational bodies and watchdog agencies, however, it is unlikely that Vienna will ever again see any widespread violent anti-Semitism. Nowadays, discrimination defaces the side of buildings; it hides in hushed conversations and adds to an overall feeling of racial tension within Vienna. That's cold comfort for the Jewish citizens of this rich and intellectual city.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Zoe Thomas

“When I was kid this market was full,” says Suhil Miah, the proprietor of a candy stall in the East London Watney Market. “The market was so full you could hardly see anything; now there are empty stalls,” he explains. “Five years down the line it might not be here any more.”

The hustle of people moving through the market, even in early December, can make it difficult to picture the market disappearing. In years past, the market had over a hundred businesses between shop fronts and market stalls. Now there only around half that number still survives, and while many people pass through the market, few seem to stop at the stalls or dart into the shops behind them.

“Business has been worse at all the stalls,” says Warren Godfrey, who along with his father, Sean, owns While U Wait, a business that sells luggage, keys and handles shoe repairs. The Godfreys have had their business in Watney Market for 11 years. They says that recently there have been more stalls than previous months, as people who have lost their jobs or been tossed from other markets turn up looking for an opportunity to make money in the bleak British economy.

The Godfreys themselves came to the market after loosing their jobs as wholesalers. They now travel several hours a day to and from their Watney market shop.

“You go where there’s work,” says Warren. “We have to make a living.”

A few stores down, at a card and party supply store called Ruby, shop owner Milad Uddin says that the market stalls actually bring business in. Uddin claimed that the foot traffic has helped his business. He also explained that because his is the only business of its kind in the immediate vicinity, he was able to get customers who did not want to travel an extra 15 or 20 minutes for birthday cards or balloons.

Mlad Udin owns a party store called Ruby, which is the only one of its kind in the market. Photo credit - author

It is neither the size of Watney Market nor the number of stalls that really have people concerned about business. The persistently poor economic environment that has plagued Britain and most European and western countries has created an overall sense of despondency.

Most of the shop and stall proprietors say that business is not as good as previous years, but there are still people shopping. Rather being concerned about a lack of customers, the shop owners are worried about the rising costs of running a business. They are also concerned that the British government is doing little to improve the situation.

“There are still customers coming in, but everyone is tightening their belts,” says Sean Godfrey. “The price of everything has gone up, rent, materials, even the coffee next door.”

Survival, says Uddin, is the top priority for Watney businesses. “Everyone is just about surviving. People are more concerned with surviving than making a profit.”

For seasonal businesses, like the sweets that Miah sells, there is an expected downturn in the winter with many people preferring to buy fancy chocolates over lollipops and chewing gum.

“Winters are usually slow for candy but last summer was slow, too. I don’t know if it’s the recession or what,” says Miah. “People I speak to in the market say that generally things are quiet. Even in the supermarkets you can tell its quiet; all these discounts aren’t normal for this time of year.”

While the small shop owners of Watney Market are left to worry about the little business they are struggling to hold on to, the British government has set about implementing policy after policy to encourage growth in the economy.

At a press conference at the end of November 2011, the Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, Edward Davey, says, “The biggest problem in the UK economy is consumer confidence.”

According to the market and consumer research organization GfK NOP Ltd., UK consumer confidence in November was near its lowest levels in two and half years. Retail spending for the same month only grew by 0.7%, according to the British Retail Consortium. This is worrying because during the holiday season, growth is typically much higher. The holidays are also when many stores would usually take in a large part of their yearly income.

“I don’t understand the government. First they tell people they need to spend more, then they turn around and say they shouldn’t spend any more,” says Uddin, the party store owner.

The British government is fighting more than just consumer confidence. Crises in other European countries and worries about the future of the eurozone, as well as slowdowns in foreign economies, have had a strong effect on the British economy. The negative feelings have been trickling down to the level of Watney Market.

For business owners like Uddin, the solution to the lack of commerce for small businesses is to improve the economy as a whole. “The government needs to get people into jobs, because if you want to help small business then you need people to come in and buy things,” he explains.

The Edward Davey, the Under-Secretary of the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, however, told journalists at a meeting at City University London that the unemployment rate could be worse.

Suhil Miah's candy stall peaks in popularity during the summer months, but his stall is emptier during the winter when holiday candies are being sold in other stores.    Photo credit - author.

“All the models says if we had an economic slowdown like we did, and a recession like we had, losing seven percent of our national income, that unemployment should have been about three and half million, and its not,” says Davey.

“Don’t just look at the unemployment rate. Look at the employment rate. Although our unemployment rate has gone up, it's much lower than many EU countries.”

Davey’s assurance came as little consolation for the business owners of Watney Market. “The government doesn’t help. Maybe they help big businesses, but for one man and a stall, there is no help,” says Miah.

Miah himself came to Watney Market after he lost his job two years ago in the retail industry.

“If I had a choice I’d be there now,” he sighs, gesturing towards his stall. “This is hard work. You have to worry about everything. When you work for someone else you just have to worry about your job.”

Like Miah, the Godfreys say the government had been little help. “They’re not doing enough. They should help people who have worked all their lives,” says Warren Godfrey.

It is not just national government that business owners in Watney Market are disappointed with. The shopkeepers reported that the local council has offered little assistance and in some ways made things more difficult.

“I didn’t get help from the council,” Miah says. “When you first start out, you need help.”

“The council put up the rent last month. No, they’re not doing anything to help,” Warren Godfrey states.

The Tower Hamlets Council, which own the buildings and stalls in Watney Market and rents them out to the owners of individual businesses, would not offer a comment to Dispatches International on the state of the businesses.

“Its just the two of us,” Sean Godfrey says when asked how many people worked the family store. “Couldn’t afford any more.”

Uddin says that the small size of his store is what allows it to survive. “I have a small overhead and only have to focus on one store. I employ only one or two people. Big stores hire a lot of people and have a lot of overhead expenses,” he says.

The prospect of growing has been made no less appealing by the reluctance of banks to lend to small businesses. The difficultly of acquiring a loan and the expense of paying it back pushed many away from the idea.

In his statement last autumn, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, who is in charge of finance, presented a plan to get loans to more small businesses. The National Loan Guarantee Scheme will allow the British government to guarantee the loans that banks take, which should mean that banks can borrow at a lower rate and pass the savings on to businesses who will take out loans in turn. Skeptics have suggested that the practical benefits to small businesses will be insignificant.

Back in Watney Market, the prospect of taking a loan seems out of the question for many business owners, regardless of any government plans.

“I know the bank wouldn’t give me a loan,” says Miah who explained that banks would not want to back a candy stand run by one man.

For Uddin it was simply a matter of avoidance. “I stay away from banks. I get money from friends and relatives,” he says.

The Godfreys did not have a bank loan when starting their business either and say they have no intention of applying for one. “For what we use them for, banks are fine,” explains Sean Godfrey. “We don’t have a loan. With a loan you have to pay it back.”

This sort of pragmatism is what has kept many businesses in Watney Market going. The idea of growth in individual businesses or in the market itself seems farfetched to the owners, whose faith in banking and government is wearing thin.

Out on a cold December day, Watney Market business owners say their focus is on the customers that still come and the money they bring in. So far, many have managed to weather the storm and they say they are braced for the blow.

Watney Markey, in East London's Tower Hamlets, faces difficulties as the UK and the rest of Europe braces for an increasingly difficult economy. Photo credit - author.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Fahmida Zaman

“What students in Bangladesh have been involved in, known as student politics, was never the 'real' student politics,” says Sajjadur Rahman, an assistant professor of international relations at the University of Chittagong. Contradictory to the traditional Bangladeshi understanding of student politics, Rahman's words surprise me.

He goes on to explain what 'real' university politics entail: “The political student body should be involved in that institution’s activities, and they should bargain with the [university] authority to protect the students’ interest. But unfortunately, our student politics is nothing but the extension of national politics. They are not student politics at all.”

The qualities of “real” student politics can be seen at other universities, such as Cambridge University in the United Kingdom, which requires its organization to work together for students' benefits. Unlike in Bangladesh, most student political groups at universities in the United Kingdom are not encouraged to become involved in national politics.

Along with Rahman, many scholars in Bangladesh feel that there are better ways for student politics to function in Bangladesh. For example, Dripto, a student of economics at the University of Dhaka says, “I see student politics as a platform for student civic engagement, where students can participate in candid discussions and learn the process of collective decision making in societies. I do not see the reason why all student political groups have to have alliances with ruling or opposition parties.”

Likewise, Niaz, an assistant professor of political science at the University of Chittagong, says, “Student politics should be based on student interest to ensure student welfare.”

Students of Bangladesh have played an important role in the severest moments of national interest and democratization, such as the Language Movement in 1952, the Liberation War in 1971, and the Democracy Movement in 1990. Thus, while students have successfully voiced their concerns in national issues over the last five decades, many people nowadays feel that the student-run politics within universities are dominated by outside forces that do not speak for the students' benefit.

The general concern is that student political groups are just wings of national political parties. The top three student political groups of Bangladesh are Bangladesh Chattro League (BCL), National Chattro Dol (NCD), and Islami Chattro Shibir (ICS). These are the student wings of the Bangladesh Awoami League (BAL), Bangladesh National Party (BNP), and Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami, respectively, which are the three biggest political parties at the federal level in Bangladesh. As a result, students who are successfully involved in politics in academic institutions primarily serve the interests of Bangladesh's national political parties.

Niaz from the University of Chittagong explains the background of this prevalent scenario: “After 1990, the negative national political culture started messing with the student politics, mostly because of the two-party nature of Bangladeshi politics, absence of democracy in student politics, and godfather-based national politics.” The resulting nexus between national political parties and the student political groups resulted in campus violence over the last two decades.

An editorial by a history professor at the University of Dhaka in The Daily Star, one of the most popular English newspapers in Bangladesh, stated in February 2010, “Since independence, only the University of Dhaka has seen an average of two students murdered every year, prompting suggestions to de-link 'student politics' from 'national politics'.”

The impact on higher education and national development caused by student involvement in politics is causing national anxiety. The most urgent concern is the “armed fighting” of rival groups. For example, at least seven students involved with a political group were killed by the bullets of an opposing group in June 2003.

The violence between the political student groups stems from student organizations fighting each other to establish their party's authority within the campus and surrounding area. It is now common for institutes of higher education to be closed during strikes caused by student politics. In any academic year, a minimum of 20 days is usually lost due to student political unrest.

Opponents of the current system of student politics would argue that it hinders not only social freedom but economic development as well. Because education in Bangladesh plays a significant role in national economic development, any threat to education can be seen to affect the well-being of all Bangladeshis.

Ahmed Sabbir, a student of business administration at the University of Chittagong witnessed multiple incidents of campus violence between 2009 and 2010. In 2009, he saw a student die because of a clash between the political groups BCL and NCD; the clash was caused when each group claimed the same student as their own member.

Sabbir says, “The family of the victim has not got any justice yet. There hasn't even been any trial.”

Zia Ahmed, another student at the University of Chittagong, shares similar experiences. He has witnessed several incidents of campus violence. Even though he is directly involved in student politics, he claims he is not involved in the violence.

“We can’t support violence by any means,” says Ahmed.

Students like Ahmed and Sabbir often wonder if someone is backing or encouraging the violent activities of the student politicians.

In response to these thoughts, Rahman from the University of Chittagong explains, “Student politics is for the most part controlled by teacher politics and national politics. Teacher politics and student politics are a nexus. And both national politics and teacher politics affect student politics, which aim to preserve their own interests.”

Dripto, the economics student, agrees with Rahman. “National political parties now have affiliated [with] student political organizations mostly to use the students as a political tool,” he says.

Sabbir blames the authority of the educational institutions themselves. “Violent activities on the university campuses are being encouraged because of the failure of the authorities,” he says. “They do not take any action against these kinds of acts. They neither think differently about why these violent activities are happening nor do they make any free decisions about how to resolve them.”

Would banning student politics rid universities in Bangladesh of this situation?

Rahman strongly disagrees with banning student politics: “What do we ban? These student political groups are not the formal body of the institutions. Before taking this kind of decision we need to see who will benefit and who will lose ground. Moreover, there is no legal ground to ban student politics because its one’s political right given by the constitution to be able to engage in politics according to their desire.”

Like Rahman, Dripto also disagrees with banning these student groups. “Student politics cannot be banned nor should they be,” he claims. “In a country like ours where 65% of the population is under 25 years of age, banning student politics in a democratic setting will be like suffocating someone while asking him to breathe at the same time.”

“If you start to find out where the violence starts, you will see that newspapers, pamphlets, books, are brought into play by both sides to hurl sarcasm, abuse and logic against the opposing forces, personalities are indulged, and sooner or later the excitement thus produced threatens to become uncontrollable,” Dripto says.

“I think this is where we need to have fundamental changes regarding our own mechanisms for nurturing young politicians. And this has to start from the bottom up.”

“If students are not allowed to take part in politics, they will miss a very important thing,” says Sabbir. “To prepare them to take part in the national decision-making process, students should be allowed to take part in politics. However, the form of student politics must be different.”

The aforementioned report in The Daily Star suggests, “'Banning' or 'de-linking' student politics may not solve the problem [of violence] and instead, may create confusion and chaos, frustrating all good intentions.” The report goes on to describe that 'real' student politics will disassociate from national politics.

To practice 'real' student politics, which would emphasize serving the interests of the students, every person interviewed by Dispatches International for this article cites cutting ties with national parties and emphasizing democracy and the interests of the students as a priority. Additionally, educational institutions should be held responsible for strictly enforcing normal rules and regulations regarding class attendance, taking examinations, and participating in other academic or extra-curricular activities.

All the interviewees also agree that the bright students who are concerned with student life and activities should be encouraged to take part in politics at their institution.

Disappointed with past hopes for change in this area, Sabbir points out, “We talk so much, but we don’t do as much. We criticize student politics, but no one shows or leads us to the right way. Those who are concerned about the negative aspects of student politics, they should come forward first to bring the changes.”

“Concerned or bright students are not interested in politics, which means we let the people with bad intentions take part in politics,” says Zia from the University of Chittagong. “So how can we expect an effective student body?”

In order to bring the positive changes to student politics hoped for by students and faculty alike, it is important to make sure that serious and considerate students get involved and take charge of large student-run political organizations. These changes may not happen, however, unless positive and supportive action from students, government, national political parties and other stakeholders can be ensured in the near future.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Madushani Pandipperuma

Sri Lanka is developing faster and faster, thanks to foreign investment from large companies across Asia. Highways, ports and railway tracks are being built by corporations from China, Korea, India and Bangladesh. Hyundai, Sino-Hydro and Icorn are now household names in Sri Lanka, despite being foreign companies. The biggest developments are in the port of Colombo, Hambantota's port, and the Matara-Colombo railway track.

On some of these projects, foreign workers are brought in to provide the labor. For many years, development centers like Colombo, Hambantota, Galle and Maththala have housed foreign workers; some of the workers live well, but many lack basic services like education and health care. In a country like Sri Lanka, where the state-sponsored clinics and hospitals treat thousands of poor citizens each year, foreigners are warily accommodated. Nobody wants to see them become a drain on the national health care system.

“We get medical services from private hospitals like the Lanka Hospital and Apollo Hospital in Colombo,” says Minjuan Wu, a 35-year-old worker from China. “But the cost is high, around Rs 20,000 ($175 USD).” This fee is for each time a foreign worker visits a private hospital.

Wu explains that he is unaware of the openness of the Sri Lankan health care system to foreign laborers: “We can go and get treatment from private hospitals whenever we want, but I do not really know whether we can access health services at public hospitals here or not.”

Concerns over the health care for foreigners in Sri Lanka is increasing as a foreign workforce enters the country to work on various projects. Indian workers are currently in charge of working at the construction site above at the Colombo-Matara railway tracks. Photo credit – author.

In speaking to workers like Wu, it is clear that the Sri Lankan health care system is somewhat flawed. Foreign workers can enter Sri Lanka without having a health assessment or important vaccinations. Many workers arrive in Sri Lanka and fall sick, but are not directly supported by the national health care system. In this article, I consider whether Sri Lanka would benefit from providing free medical treatment to workers from abroad.

K.C. Kim, a South Korean working at the port of Colombo, is responsible for preventing workplace accidents and treating injured laborers. “I work as a safety manager at this construction site,” he says. “I take local people to public hospitals like the Colombo General Hospital but I take the foreigners to private hospitals like the Lanka Hospital.”

“We, as foreigners, cannot access health care services in public hospitals,” Kim explains. “Though the costs are high at the private hospitals, we still go there because we do not have any other choice. We also appreciate the services at the private hospitals.”

In most cases, foreigners are compelled to spend a large portion of their earnings on health care when they fall sick or are injured on the job. In the event of a serious emergency, foreigners can be treated at public hospitals. “Usually we prefer to take patients to a private hospital in Colombo, but in an emergency it is difficult to take patients there from Hambantota, so then we take them to a government hospital,” says the health officer at the construction sites surrounding Hambantota’s port, who asks to be referred to as Kyang.

Some progressive companies pay for the health care needs of their workers, since some workers would otherwise go without treatment. “There are problems that we have to face when we go to the [government] hospital,” explains Kyang. “However, we do not care about the cost, just the service.”

“The company covers all the expenses, so that the health services will not burden the workers,” he concludes. “We, the company, have given life insurance to every worker, which also covers their health expenses.”

Another Chinese company, which works on the Colombo-Katunayaka highway project, does not accommodate the health care needs of its workers. Many of the people working for this company go without any health care or prospect of treatment if they fall sick or are injured.

“We, as a company, do not have any agreement with the workers regarding health care facilities or services,” says an official from the company. “If they get sick at any time, they have to go and get medicine by themselves and the expense should be covered by themselves.”

“Most of the time, the workers go to the Lanka hospital, which is private and expensive. Sometimes the workers are not willing to spend that much money on health services, so they go only if they really need health care,” he says. Some resourceful workers at the company have taken to importing their own drugs from China. “Our workers have some medicine that they have brought from China, so most of the time they get those medicines and get cured instead of going to the hospital and spending so much money.”

Wu Yanfei is a health officer at the Hambantota port construction site. He explains that in a serious emergency, workers must go to the government hospital in Hambantota and then pay for their own treatment but “the amount they have to spend is fair and the company covers the expenses.” Needless to say, most laborers hope to find a job with a company that provides health care to employees.

But in some places, such as Lunugamwehera, government hospitals accommodate foreign workers free of charge. Most of the foreign workers who operate the Mattala Airport are treated at Lunugamwehera’s hospital.

Some hospitals that once accommodated foreign workers gratis are now charging them for medical services. Dr. M. Mediwaka at the Hambantota Hospital says, “We did not know that we should charge foreigners who come here to get treatment until a few months ago. After we got a memorandum we started charging the foreign workers depending on the services we give.”

“I heard that the Lunugamwehera Hospital still does not charge the foreign workers,” says Mediwaka. “They don’t know about the proper system yet.”

“There is no systematic way for charging foreigners in hospitals here, some charge them but some do not,” Mediwaka explains. “Some foreigners go and access free health care while some pay for treatment. Private hospitals always charge around Rs 20,000 ($175 USD).”

Above all else, says Dr. M. Mediwaka, Sri Lanka must develop a policy on the treatment of foreign workers in the health care system that can be consistently implemented across the country: “It is important that we have a systematic way to give health care to foreigners who come to our country and to charge them for it.”

Sarath Kumara, an official from the Department of Immigration and Emigration, says that concerns about the treatment of foreign workers could be addressed through appropriate immigration policies. “Today, we do not ask for medical checkups for visa applicants, so people who are sick might get a visa and then access our health care services,” he says. “There is also a possibility that people immigrate [to Sri Lanka] to get expensive surgeries and treatment, then go back to their countries afterwards.”

Like many other medical professionals in Sri Lanka, Dr. Nihal Samarappuli, an official from the Board of Investment, believes that laborers should demonstrate good health before entering the country.

“I think there needs to be a requirement for a health checkup before issuing a visa to enter Sri Lanka. Most other countries require such documents to get a visa,” he says. “If we do not require such a medical checkup before workers come to Sri Lanka, then the [negative] impact on the health system in the country will be high.”

In addition to the ability of some foreign laborers to acquire residency visas even if they are sick, it is possible for workers to marry Sri Lankans in order to access the national health care system. This has not been a widespread issue yet, but nonetheless many government and health care workers are concerned.

“I think there should be a change so that health status is a requirement for a visa,” Kumara concludes.

The majority of foreign laborers in Sri Lanka are from China and India. While India has a relatively high prevalence of tuberculosis, China has high rates of HIV/AIDS. Treatment for these afflictions can be expensive in these countries. Some foreigners, therefore, enter Sri Lanka as laborers to access the national health care system.

Not everybody believes that foreign workers, sick or healthy, should be treated differently than native Sri Lankans in the national health care system. Government agencies, for example, generally believe that foreign workers should be afforded the same rights as locals.

“We cannot ask the foreign workers who enter Sri Lanka to cover their own medical charges because our labor laws state that whoever works in the country is entitled to all the national benefits of a local,” says Padmini Ratnayake, an official from the Department of Labor. “There are no legal differences between locals and foreigners: all are considered workers in Sri Lanka.”

“If anyone works in the country, he or she is entitled to get all the benefits in the country, without any discrimination. That includes access to health care services and the Employee’s Provident Fund. That is what we, as the Department of Labor in Sri Lanka, have to say.”

Ransirini Panditharatne, a legal adviser at the Department of Labor, agrees with Ratnayake. “Workers are not defined as foreigners or locals under labor law,” he says. “Whoever works or serves in the country is entitled as a worker in Sri Lanka and both foreign workers and local workers should get all the same benefits.”

“There is no difference between them,” states Panditharatne.

As advocates and nationalists argue about whether or not foreign workers and native Sri Lankans should receive equal access to the national health care system, there are outstanding questions: Could Sri Lanka maintain its current level of development and growth without the contributions of healthy foreign workers?

If the answer to this question is yes, then perhaps foreign workers and their employers ought to be denied treatment unless they pay for it. But if the answer is no, then foreign workers should receive free health care services while they are working in Sri Lanka. They are as essential to the country’s well-being as its own born-and-bred citizens.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Madushani Pandipperuma

Editor's note: This article is the sequel to an article about garment production in Sri Lanka that was published in September, 2011. This article focuses on the provision of benefits to workers in garment factories.

In a previous article about garment industry in Sri Lanka, Dispatches International interviewed employees and managers at a major garment producer outside of Colombo. This article expands the original focus to the welfare and benefits of employees at the producer's various local factories

The garment producer started more than 30 years ago with 10 machines and 15 employees, but it now has 18 branches and is a leading player in the garment industry. It sells a wide variety of products to well-known retailers in the United Kingdom and United states. To protect its reputation abroad, the owners have insisted that the company's name and specific location of its factories be omitted from this article.

“I have been working with the factory since the very beginning,” says Manel Dhammika, a personnel manager at one of the factories. “We think the workers are the heart of our factory. Without them and their support, we are nothing as an institution.”

Garment production is a booming business in Sri Lanka, where it provides almost 75% of jobs and is one of the country's largest earners of export revenues. There are several reasons for its success. Since the mid-1980s, the federal and state governments have developed policies favorable to garment factories. Clothing manufactured in Sri Lanka is recognized by retailers around the world as cheap yet durable.

Some humanitarian organizations have expressed concerns about the working conditions of garment factories, but it is generally recognized within Sri Lanka for improving the welfare of employees. The industry has created its own standard, Garments Without Guilt, to improve its reputation abroad. Many factories have also adopted 30 International Labor Organization conventions.

“The workers work for us, and we work for the workers,” explains Dhammika, who is adamant that the factory workers enjoy humane conditions. “We think that it is our responsibility to take care of our workers.”

Some managers at the factory say it is difficult to implement the various policies and guidelines that ensure the well-being of garment factory workers. Another manager from the garment production company, named Kulasekara, says, “We have facilitated the welfare of workers in many ways. We care about the workers from the time they leave their homes to come to work until they get back home.”

Dhammika says that in addition to ensuring that a professional and humane relationship exists between managers and workers, the garment producer regards its employees as family: “When a family member, say a mother or father, of a worker dies, we facilitate the activities of the funeral. We give all of our efforts and do not let any of the members of our family [at the factory] feel the pain of not having enough money to cope.”

After hearing about the garment producer's efforts to support the well-being of its employees, Dispatches International approached some of the workers at the family. The views of the workers differ somewhat from the overwhelmingly positive message expressed by managers.

“Today we work only five days per week, but we work from 8:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening. So we have two days, Saturday and Sunday, as holidays each week,” says Leela Samarasinghe, who was interviewed in a previous article. However, she does have a few complaints about the work schedule granted to factory workers.

“Before if we worked on Saturday, it was considered overtime and would be paid for that. But now we have been informed that we must work every day for an extra hour in order to cover for the Saturdays.”

“Since we work more, we asked if we can get paid for the last hour of work each day,” says Samarasinghe. “But what really happens is, we do not get paid for working an extra hour each day.”

Samarasinghe's sentiments are echoed by her peers at the factory. Indeed, most of the workers at the garment producer's factories say that the company's managers should think more about the importance of worker health and rest. Security and safety are also cited by the workers as an ongoing concern.

When I ask Dhammika, the factory manager, about Samarasinghe's comments, she does not directly address the issues raised by her subordinate. Instead, Dhammika reiterates the workers' weekly schedules.

“Since the workers work five days per week from 8:00 in the morning until 6:00 in the evening, they will have one more day as a holiday, which is Saturday. So they can do their other work on Saturdays as well as on Sundays,” Dhammika says. “For the five days of the working week, we give them transport to come to the factory from their home in every morning and to go back after finishing their work.”

“This is a benefit given by the factory for the workers,” she emphasizes.

While the merits of working at this particular garment factory can be debated, there is no doubt that the workers are relatively better treated than garment workers elsewhere in the region. For example, if a worker quits after working for the company for five or more years, they will continue to receive half their salary for another year. This is a degree of social security enjoyed by very few Asian garment workers outside of Sri Lanka.

Dhammika also comments on the facilities provided to workers at her factory. “If anyone becomes sick while at work, we have a nurse to serve them. If the nurse cannot manage the situation, we take them to a nearby hospital,” she says. “All of these expenses are covered by the factory, even if the worker stays at the hospital.”

“If anyone needs to get medical work, we cover all those expenses so it will not be a burden on the worker.”

Padmini Ratnayake, an official from the Department of Labor, explains that most workers in Sri Lanka are entitled to social benefits through the government and through their employers. When the status of the workers at the factory interviewed by Dispatches International for this article was conveyed to Ratnayake, she stated that many are not receiving benefits legally mandated for all workers in the country.

A major benefit provided to Sri Lankan workers through their employers is the Employees' Provident Fund (EPF). A Sri Lankan government website poetically explains that the program “is not only a shoulder to lean upon in the winter of life, but a partner throughout.” Ratnayake says the fund provides housing loans, employment insurance and other forms of social support to workers in Sri Lanka. It is an employer's responsibility to pay the EPF benefits to employees if the employees request it.

P.S. Pathiratne, another official from the Deparmtent of Labor, explains that Sri Lanka has progressive labor policies that reward those who hold stable jobs. “For every worker who serves the country and benefits the country, he or she is considered a worker within the country,” he says. Being recognized as a worker means being provided with various forms of social support. “This is what the law says.”

Despite holding steady jobs, none of the workers in the factory know if they are getting basic benefits, but most also admit that they don't bother to check if they receive the benefits that they are entitled to. This isn't a great issue for young workers, who are just beginning their careers.

But it is of crucial importance to several workers interviewed for this article who are on track to retire; they have visited their banks and found that EPF benefits have not been paid by the factory for years. These soon-to-retire workers do not know who to approach about this issue.

With these issues in mind, some of the less satisfied workers at the garment factory have complained about the very small pay raises provided over the last 20 years, despite a steady rate of inflation in Sri Lanka. As the workers hear more about the profitability of their employer, they muse more about about the inequality of the garment business.

The Chairman of the Board of the garment production company, who also prefers to remain anonymous, does not address questions about the situation of workers in the factory. He is very willing, however, to explain that he speaks for his colleagues when he attributes their business's success to the collective talent, dedication, and contribution of all workers and managers within the company

“The workers are there to work, and they are committed,” says the Chairman of the Board. “The workers have been there to build the company and they have been with the company through profits as well as losses.”

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Michael Sabelli

Festivals are something that people all around the world enjoy. Whether it’s attending a small, artisan, grassroots festival in your hometown or travelling to a large music festival with big name acts, the general concept behind festivals is the same: it is a time to celebrate, entertain, and inspire. Festivals are part of being human.

The more successful festivals start out as parties, but are eventually attached to a cultural community and become annual events. These festivals are happily anticipated and are marked early in the calendar year.

In Munich, they have one such festival that is known throughout the world. Its success is apparent by the millions that attend to spend more than €1 billion each year. Indeed, it is the largest folk festival in the world and almost everybody everywhere knows its name: Oktoberfest.

“I try to go every year, even though it isn’t always possible,” says Kyra Stritt, a twenty-something German woman from Rhineland. “I always have fun at Oktoberfest when I go because people are all having a great time together...”

The company may be fun, but like many others Stritt does not attend just for the camaraderie: “...and of course I love beer.” In 2010, Oktoberfest sold 7.1 million litres of beer. That is enough to fill three Olympic-size swimming pools.

Oktoberfest is definitely the kind of party where the beer flows from taps uninhibited. However, there is also a possibility for this to be perceived negatively. Some residents of Munich are upset that Oktoberfest promotes alcohol consumption and turns the lovely city into a giant pub.

“I can’t possibly stay in Munich anymore when they start Oktoberfest,” shares Frau Berg, a retired woman from Munich. “The streets are disgusting, there is vomit everywhere because people don’t know their limits, and there is the smell of urine in the air.”

I spoke with Berg outside of Germany, in the Austrian Alps of Tyrol. It is an idyllic and peaceful place. “My Oktoberfest tradition is to come here [to the mountains], escape the crowds, and be at peace,” she says.

Berg’s opinion may be shared by many, but it is not in tune with the overwhelming majority of Bavarians, who flock to Oktoberfest for good beer and great fun.

With more than five million people gathering in Munich for the three week festival – it usually runs from the last two weeks of September to the first week of October – the majority of the attendees are Bavarian. Munich is the capital city in Bavaria, a state in southwestern Germany.

Isabella Schopp works for the Tourist Office in Munich’s City Hall. When I spoke to her, she explained who tends to visit Munich during Oktoberfest: “The overwhelming majority of visitors to Oktoberfest are from the state of Bavaria at 72%, with 60% [of them] from Munich itself and the surrounding areas. Only 19% are from abroad.”

Out of the foreigners, Schopp says, “The most are from Italy, then the United States, and then the United Kingdom. Because [Italy is] quite close to Germany, and the Italians like singing songs, drinking beer, and having fun.”

A widely published theorist on festivals, John MacAloon, writes in his book, Rite, Drama, Festival, Spectacle: Rehearsals Toward a Theory of Cultural Performance, that festivals are one genre of cultural performance which reveals “the story a people tell about themselves.”

With this in mind, Bavarians seem to enjoy the tradition of Oktoberfest. But there must be more to it than just beer drinking and partying. Back at the Tourist Office in Munich, Schopp gives me a bit of background.

“The history of Oktoberfest began with the marriage Prince Ludwig and Princess Therese of Saxony-Hildburghausen in October 1810. It was a big festival. It was celebrated with a horse race and there were lots of people.”

“Now, it has changed a lot and grown a lot,” Schopp says. “There is no horse race now, but there are different beer tents and roller coasters. There are still some traditional parts: the entry of the festival hosts and brewers [is traditional]. Oktoberfest has become the largest folk festival in the world.”

At first, I was surprised to hear that Oktoberfest is the largest folk festival in the world. Without big name musical groups or large scale theatrical workshops, I assumed some other folk festivals would be bigger, like San Francisco’s Bluegrass Festival or something in the United Kingdom.

Beer, perhaps, is a bigger draw than music.

For three weeks a year, the city of Munich is completely transformed with tents and crowds of people from all over Bavaria and the world. They come together to drink local beer, sing traditional songs and wear cultural clothing, like Dirndl (corset-like peasant dresses) and Lederhosen (breeches made from leather).

A woman named Martina, sporting the Dirndl, took the three hour trip from Innsbruck in Austria to Munich just for the occasion. “Any occasion that means I can take out my Dirndl means a good time,” she laughs. “Even though I’m not Bavarian we have similar traditions in Austria, so I go to Oktoberfest to enjoy that.”

I ask Schopp at Munich’s Tourist Office about the negative perception of the festival as a party, and she replies, “Oktoberfest was always a traditional festival, not like a big party. [It has a] very old tradition, because it is more than 200 years old. People come and wear their own Bavarian costumes, and it has a very old beer tradition. Each year we have a special Oktoberfest beer which is a bit stronger than usual.”

If there is some confusion it is because beer is part of the culture of Bavaria. But it is also a substance that can be over-consumed by many to create that infamous party atmosphere, for better or for worse. Some people find mass public drunkenness grotesque, but others believe it brings communities together.

For Schopp, the public drinking is just part of the deal: “Yes, Oktoberfest reinforces Bavarian traditions and culture.”

Frau Berg, a Munich local attending the party, believes that Oktoberfest gets more credit than it deserves. “There are other ways we can honour our tradition and culture,” she says.

I notice she is not drinking beer, as she takes a sip of her Austrian pear schnapps. “Maybe it’s because I just don’t like beer,” she suggests when I question her further about the festival.

Berg and other non-beer drinkers are not in the majority: Germans are the third highest per capita beer consumers in the world. Schopp agrees that the locals are in favour of Oktoberfest.

“The locals like Oktoberfest very much. Some even take holidays so they can enjoy and take part in the Oktoberfest,” she says. “A negative effect could be the subways full of people; if you need to go to work as a local, sometime it’s not so pleasant.”

People vacationing in their home city – it sounds almost absurd. But when the city is transformed into a massive festival, it might feel like a real vacation. Schopp shares with me some numbers that are also staggering.

“The economic value for the Oktoberfest accounts for almost €1 billion: €319 million is spent directly at the venues, €250 million is spent in the City of Munich, and €350 million is spent on accommodation. It has a very big economic value.”

To put the numbers in context, the amount of money spent at Oktoberfest by revellers exceeds the Gross Domestic Products of Liberia, Djibouti, or Burundi. Especially impressive is that the venues bring in more than €100 million each week by selling beer and sausages and a few other local delicacies. There aren’t any tickets for admission, but the beer is somewhat expensive, at €10 per litre.

Given the popularity of this German festival, it shouldn’t be surprising that there are numerous unofficial spinoffs of Oktoberfest all over the world – not including the perennial beer-quaffing events held at virtually every college campus in North America.

“There are folk festivals all over Bavaria, but the traditional and original one is in Munich. They aren’t called Oktoberfest,” explains Schopp. “There are copies of Oktoberfest all over the world, more than 2,000!“

“Munich’s Oktoberfest doesn’t get compensated for the other festivals, only positive promotion,” she explains, as if someone might think it's part of a franchise.

Thanks to Oktoberfest, Munich seems to enjoy the many positives that festivals bring. The economic gains are impressive. It is amazing that so many people are happy to spend their disposable income on leisurely activities like drinking beer and singing songs for three weeks each year in Munich.

Less amazing, but certainly more intriguing, is the fact that the trappings of an old and refined culture in Bavaria have evolved to define not only a major regional event, but a world-class folk festival that is imitated and emulated throughout the world.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Alessandra Lacaita

“I don't want to abort, I want to carry on,” says Sharon, a Nigerian girl living in the UK. After she got pregnant, her boyfriend threatened to leave her unless she aborted the fetus. “But it was mine,” she says. Sharon refused to have an abortion and joined thousands of other single mothers in the UK. Sharon prefers to remain anonymous to keep her privacy intact, so her name in this article is a pseudonym.

“I don't know if I was scared or ashamed, I was thinking about what I could tell my sisters,” Sharon explains about being pregnant without a boyfriend. “Where is the man? I didn't tell them for a while. Then in August, I spoke with them.”

Sharon lives in London and speaks openly about her experience of being helped by the UK welfare system to Dispatches International. In her opinion, England is a good place for single mothers and she is grateful for the care she has received in her new home.

“In Nigeria, you don't get anything free,” Sharon explains. “Nothing is free because nobody cares about you!”

When she found out she was pregnant, she was practical: her first action was to go to a doctor to learn the expected delivery date and register for medical assistance. The medical assistance program provided a midwife, someone in charge of looking after Sharon during the maternity period. The midwife called Sharon after six weeks, let her formally register and then gave her suggestions about how to obtain economic benefits during her pregnancy.

To learn more about the benefits available for single mothers, I contacted the office of the Waltham Forest Council (WFC), the municipal government that Sharon worked with. Their spokesperson explained that mothers of babies born in the UK can claim economic benefits like a room or a flat with subsidized rent. The amount of aid that they receive depends on their current economic status. Employment is a determining factor; working mothers, for example, are more likely to receive the residence as they can prove that rent will be paid monthly. Unemployed mothers receive funding, too, but it is more difficult for them to obtain a private home.

Sharon and her one-year-old child live in comfort thanks to the social services Sharon received as a pregnant woman in the UK.

Photo credit – author.

“If the woman is working, she gets some benefits. If she's going to move when she has the baby she will get a one-bedroom flat, so she will receive ₤166 maximum ($260 USD) per week,” explains the WFC spokesperson. “The amount of money changes depending on the maternity pay the woman receives from her employer.”

“If she is not working, the benefits she can get depend on the income support or job seeker allowance she's going to claim. If a mother comes here and does not work, if the job center gives her the job seeker allowance or the income support, we will help her. But if she is not receiving any benefits from the job center then we will not be able to help her. For a mother who is not working, the maximum amount of money we give her is ₤67 ($105 USD) per week.”

It is important to note that there are a number of charities and services for expecting parents in the UK. Gingerbread is the largest charity for single parents; interestingly, it cares not only for single mothers but also single fathers.

Philippa Newis, a Policy Officer at Gingerbread, explains their philosophy on helping single parents: “It doesn't matter when and how you become a single parent. You could be a single parent because you got divorced, because you separated, or you could be a single parent because you had casual sexual relationships. It doesn't matter, your rights are exactly the same.”

“If you are a single mum or a single dad, you are entitled to the same benefits. The benefits you claim depend on the level of your income,” explains Newis. Gingerbread offers training, advice and counseling, and a helpline to all single parents in the UK. It also helps single parents find work and conducts awareness campaigns on their behalf.

Sharon did not work through Gingerbread because WFC effectively helped her navigate the English welfare system. “I needed a house, the room when I was staying would have not been big enough for me and the baby, so the midwife told me everything I needed to claim a home,” Sharon recalls. “[I needed] the fetus scan, the address where I was living, the proof of address, the wages of my working day, my bank details, the hospital book and a letter from the landlord that I should leave the house.”

Once Sharon applied to get the subsidized home, WFC assigned a case worker to analyze her situation. This person evaluated the condition in which Sharon was living and decided to put her in a hostel, which is where homeless people live while they are waiting for a home.

“There are two types of people in the hostel: those are working like me and those who are not working. Those who are not working are paying ₤7.50 ($12 USD) every week. But I'm paying ₤120 ($190 USD) per week,” says Sharon.

Living conditions in the hostel, like many other subsidized housing facilities, are less than ideal. “In the hostel there's no fridge, no television, there's nothing!” she says. “The only think we have is the cooker.”

All the people who are living in the hostel are on a list: an applicant's position on the list depends on seniority and need. Sharon explains that these are both subjective conditions, and no one will take care of an applicant if she doesn't push for permanent accommodations.

“You have to do the job yourself, if you don't fight for it, they will not answer you, they will not give what you want,” says Sharon. “Every day you have to call them. Sometime they will not pick your phone up, I had to call and ask what was going on every day.”

A case worker is only responsible for an applicant until they are housed in the hostel. At that point, another person is assigned to the applicant until they can assign either temporary or permanent accommodations. The WFC will occasionally place hostel-dwellers in temporary housing before finding them permanent accommodations.

Sharon was offered temporary housing while she was staying at the hostel. “I didn't like it, I was crying,” she says about her visit to the temporary housing. “There was rubbish everywhere. I decided to stay in the hostel until I could have permanent housing.”

It was clear that persistence would be necessary, as Sharon was applying for a two bedroom flat. She was called in again to view a one bedroom apartment, but she refused again. Someone notified her that the only way she would get a two bedroom flat was to wait until her baby's birth. Determined to have two bedrooms, she spent four months in the hostel until she gave birth; shortly after, she presented the birth certificate and discharge note from the hospital to the WFC.

Sharon and her sister started looking at the homes she might be able to move into. They were able to give themselves self-guided tours because the houses were usually unlocked. Eventually she found a two bedroom flat she liked; a short while later, she moved in. Her monthly rent is ₤450 ($700 USD), but without social support it would be more than ₤700 ($1,000 USD).

During the maternity period, the WFC pays half of Sharon's rent; when she returns to work, she will pay the full sum. Perhaps more valuable for Sharon, now a single mother, is the guarantee that she will have the flat forever and the monthly rent can only increase ₤20 ($30 USD) each year. She is allowed to live there with a partner or husband if she notifies the WFC of the change in tenancy.

There are a number of other economic benefits a single mother can get. “I asked for more benefits but they said I was not qualified because I am still working,” Sharon explains. “But there are some benefits, which I received, called 'pregnancy grants,' although they don't give those anymore.” The “pregnancy grant” was a one-time ₤200 ($310 USD) grant for single mothers to help them purchase supplies and clothes for their baby while they are pregnant.

“After the birth of the baby, a mother can receive a 'maternity grant,' which is ₤500 ($780 USD),” explains Sharon. “Another benefit is the 'maternity allowance,' which is just for mothers that don't work full-time. Another benefit I received was the 'charge tax credit,' which you get if you are working more than 16 hours each week.”

Sharon explain that single mothers can also receive “charge benefits for the baby” and the “healthy eating voucher,” which provide in-store credit for baby supplies, as well as milk, fruit and vegetables. Single mothers are also eligible for the “maternity exemption card,” which covers the cost of prescriptions, dental care and other health services. “For women that are not working,” adds Sharon, “there are a lot of charities that can help them with vouchers that they can spend in charity shops.”

The diversity of support groups for single mothers is evidence of the strong social safety net that exists in the UK. Some of the more specific charities that help single mothers in the UK are Women In Prison (WIP) and Birth Companions. Both groups work to help inmates and ex-convicts who become pregnant, and especially try to help their children after being born.

Laurel Townhead, a campaign manager with WIP, tells Dispatches International that pregnant inmates are allowed to keep their babies with them for a short while after giving birth. “For the mother in prison we have a mother-and-baby unit. It's a special unit where the women can be with their baby when the baby is born,” says Townhead. “Pregnant inmates can only keep their babies for nine months in most prisons or 18 months in two special prisons.”

WIP's main roles are lobbying on behalf of pregnant inmates, helping the mothers navigate the complicated paperwork to apply for special circumstances and counseling the women after they give birth in prison. In London, Birth Companions plays a role similar to WIP. It offers a support team during labor and in the days after birth, so that the inmate doesn't feel alienated and alone. The organization also provides a resettlement service for recently discharged but vulnerable pregnant mothers.

Fortunately, Sharon did not need to rely on the service of WIP or Birth Companions – but she depend heavily on the WFC for housing, subsidized rent, cash grants and various other forms of support during her pregnancy and after giving birth. Today, she has a healthy one-year-old daughter. Both are healthy and happy, thanks in large part to the services provided to single mothers in the UK.

When Sharon thinks about other single women who become pregnant and feel alone in the world, she has a simple suggestion.

“Do like me. I didn't close my mouth. I asked. Because if you don't ask, you will not know your rights and benefits.”

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

By Zoe Thomas

Boxes of books line a low wall outside a building on the corner of Bathurst Gardens and College Road in northwest London. Children run up to sift through the books’ pages as their parents watch with pride and solidarity. The library was once inside the brick building, but now sits outside. The boxes are covered in posters and banners declaring, “Save our library” and “Let us run our library.”

photo credit - author

On a warm November afternoon, Raymond Glendinning, a 61-year-old community member stands watching over the books. “I’m here because the library is a local resource and the councillors have unilaterally decided to close it,” he says. “I only found out it was going to shut when I walked past one day. It’s outrageous.”

The “pop-up library,” as the outdoor book collection is now known, quickly became a focal point in the community. It was organized shortly after the local council announced it would be shutting this institution, the Kensal Rise Library, and five other libraries in the area.

A campaign titled Save Our Six (SOS), referring to the six libraries closed, was organized to fight the closures. The campaign also rallied community members to arrange street side pop-up libraries, such as the one in front of Kensal Rise. Some campaigners have even filed a lawsuit against the council, alleging the councillors failed to fulfill their responsibilities by closing the libraries.

As I speak with Glendinning, another man approaches. He asks whether he can donate some books. Glendinning says yes and the newcomer dumps his contribution into one of the boxes. It is a quick and communal exchange.

“All the books have been donated by locals,” Glendinning explains.

The other man explains that when the library shut down, he had nowhere to go with his daughter after she finishes school each day.

Only minutes later, two mothers come to the pop-up library with their young children.

“It’s amazing,” says Martha, one of the mothers. “They [the campaigners] are doing a phenomenal job.”

“This area is filled with parents and kids who used the library all the time,” says Julia, her friend.

“We are hoping the council will listen to what the community needs. It’s not just about the books,” adds Martha.

The fight to save Brent’s libraries is somewhat unique: the case has been taken to court and in an initial ruling in the council’s favour, Brent SOS was granted an appeal. This particular case has earned the support of some high profile people, such as Philip Pullman (author of The Golden Compass) and the band Pet Shop Boys. But the case is also indicative of a greater trend across Britain. Many councils have been shutting libraries or cutting their hours due to shrinking budgets.

Speaking in a committee hearing, Jeremy Hunt, the federal Secretary for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport, said it was important to maintain library services. However, he also stressed the need for modernization and looking beyond physical buildings.

The role of libraries has evolved steadily over the years, especially as the web has changed how and where information can be collected. The Chartered Institute for Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), a not-for-profit group that works with librarians and information scientists to improve access to information, has seen a shift in the libraries and librarians they work with.

Mark Taylor, Director of External Relations for CILIP states simply, “The way people get information has changed.”

photo credit - author

He described the increasing number of ebooks and online journals now offered by libraries and the growing number of people whose job it is to gather, sort, and make information available, but who are not considered traditional librarians.

“What often strikes me,” Taylor says, “is a lot of people are using information skills without really knowing that they’re doing it. If you write a briefing or a report for someone it’s really important that you reference your sources so if that report is used by policy makers and questioned later on you can actually track it back.”

Taylor also stresses that a paper book was once a very modern form of information technology. “It’s an incredibly successful and long standing technology, but a technology for carrying information, the story, the creativity, the imagination. It is not inevitable but it is incredibly likely that over time new technologies come along and people might want to be able to read in different ways.”

For the author and broadcaster Nicholas Rankin, who has been part of the Brent SOS campaign, old-fashioned books are just as important as Internet access and digital information. “It’s not just about whether you care about your book,” he says, “but also caring about what’s in your books.”

“Books aren’t just objects, they make people empathetic,” Rankin explains. “Libraries aren’t just places for accessing information. They are places of peace and quiet where children can do their homework. It’s an idea factory and there’s no reason why it can’t be a centre of information and resources for people who can’t pay.”

photo credit - author

In our society, the idea of libraries as a place that only holds books is perhaps too old fashioned. Modern libraries should be designed to fit the needs of the people who use them, Taylor explains as he reflects on Rankin’s opinions.

“Ideally it should be whatever is most suitable for the people who want to use it. Is it located somewhere convenient? Is it open at times that people want to use it? Has it got people in it to help you locate what you want?”

This idea of a library, which fits the community’s needs, is what the residents of Brent fear losing. Rankin, who lives in Brent, says the council has expressed its fear that closing the library may cut off local children from vital sources of information.

“Libraries are a public service, they’re for the children. Reading changes people’s lives. What do you read novels for? To learn about other people,” Rankin says.

Rankin is pleased with the way the pop-up library at Kensal Rise has worked out but he refers to it as “a symbolic gesture,” as it cannot be maintained through the winter.

Kensal Rise is not the only pop-up library in Brent. Alison Hopkins is currently campaigning with Brent SOS; her local library, Neasden, was housed in a shopping centre until it was closed. Its old venue will likely be converted into a new private shop.

“The council told us that the libraries they were closing were not in popular locations, but you don’t get much more popular then a local shopping centre!” she says.

Hopkins explains that she is disappointed with the council’s lack of creativity in coming up with new ways to fund the libraries.

“It seems they haven’t considered commercial sponsorship,” Hopkins says. “At Neasden, they have just given permission for Tesco’s to open a small Tesco Express. Now why didn’t someone get clever and say as part of your planning permission put some money into Neasden library?”

Unlike Neasden, All Souls College at the University of Oxford owns the building that holds Kensal Rise Library. In 1900, the American author Mark Twain officially opened the library. Over one hundred years have passed and nobody is quite sure what will happen to the building when the library is permanently closed.

Rankin says he fully expects Brent Library SOS to lose the court battle. “But,” he adds, “it’s not over ‘till the fat lady sings and she’s not even out of her chair yet.”

photo credit - author

Permalink | Leave a comment  »