Today, Iraqis will protest outside the Home Office against the government’s plan to begin deportations to Baghdad. IRR News spoke to one Iraqi asylum seeker about the hard choice between destitution and deportation. When Sady Hussein walked through the security barrier at the immigration court, he set alarm bells ringing. Worried officials searched him for
Rally round the flag
In calling for ‘integration’, Trevor Phillips has taken Britain a step closer to the assimilation policies sweeping Europe. Across Europe, hysteria has gripped the political classes. The questions of what to do about desperate immigrants and angry Muslims have coalesced into ‘the integration debate’. In France, the official answer is forced assimilation, symbolised by the
Detention without trial at Belmarsh
On Sunday 4 April, over 250 people gathered outside Belmarsh maximum-security prison to mark the detention without trial of fourteen men, all foreign nationals, held under the Anti Terrorism Crime and Security Act. The men, who have not been charged or convicted of any offences, are being detained indefinitely because they are suspected of being
What diversity means in public broadcasting
BBC Radio London presenter Henry Bonsu has been axed because his bosses said he was ‘too intellectual’. Whereas in the past, distinct Black media voices were shut down in the name of ‘multiculturalism’, today it is done under the fashionable banner of ‘diversity’. Something about the taunt ‘too intellectual’ rang a bell. This was one
Justice for Andrew Jordan
On 7 October 2003, Andrew Jordan, a 27-year-old Black man, died after up to nine police officers entered his flat in Erith, south London. The Police Complaints Authority has told Andrew’s family that he was punched three times by one of the officers. Andrew was a physically fit, tall, well-built young man, who was suffering
Disquiet at far-right activity
As the June elections approach, the BNP and the NF are marking the deaths of white murder victims. But, the families of the victims do not see the murders in terms of race. Last week the far-right BNP descended on Glasgow to launch ‘Project Handshake’ – its avowed bid ‘to sink once and for all
Deportations ‘a second war against the Iraqi people’
The International Federation of Iraqi Refugees (IFIR) has launched a campaign against the planned deportation of Iraqi asylum seekers from the UK, saying that the general climate of instability in Iraq, along with the lack of basic services, makes it dangerous to force Iraqis to return. The Home Office has announced that it plans to
How independent is independent?
For Black and Minority Ethnic communities, the lack of independent scrutiny of the handling of complaints against the police, has been one of the most contentious issues. Will the new Independent Police Complaints Commission be able to win back confidence? On 1 April, the new Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) will begin work handling complaints
Xenoracism reaches Russia
Foreigners and ethnic minorities in Russia are facing a barrage of racially motivated violence encouraged by extreme-Right political groups, Russia’s ‘war against terrorism’ and official indifference to racist crime. She was knifed eleven times while her father was beaten senseless with baseball bats, chains and knuckle-dusters. Nine-year-old Khurshida Sultanova, from Tajikstan, was the latest victim
Home from Home
Save the Children and Salusbury WORLD, a refugee children’s project based in Brent, London, have produced this guidance and resource pack for the welcome and inclusion of asylum-seeker and refugee children and families in schools. Around 4.5 per cent of school children in Greater London come from a refugee or asylum-seeker background. The policy of