Unchosen...

A few weeks ago I went to a film night put on by Unchosen, an anti-trafficking charity. We watched an episode of Dispatches on 'Britain's secret slaves'.

This programme's shocking exposure of the cruel conditions and victimisation of domestic care workers made me feel aghast. The awful conditions and treatment that many domestic workers endure is outraging. There were numerous examples of individuals being paid less than 10p an hour for their labour and in even more extreme cases, the emotional and physical abuse they suffered at the hands of their 'employer'. I caption the word 'employer' because in these cases it really acquaints to slave master. Many of these individuals were emotionally bullied, threatened and actually physically harmed on an individual basis but also extended to their family and persons they care for.

An awful fact about these situations is that many of these 'employers' are actually 'good citizens' of society, such as doctors, and most terrifyingly of all are the instances in which diplomats are at the hands of such abhorrent acts. Diplomatic immunity within the law prevents any protection on behalf of the domestic workers and allows this injustice to continue.

The other major obstacle to the prevention and awareness of abusive domestic work scenarios is that they are so hidden and therefore makes identification almost unobtainable, on behalf of those seeking to stop this form of slavery and also in the case of the individual themselves, they are unlikely to realise that the form of treatment they are receiving is illegal. It is also very difficult to reach out to these individuals because of the high chance that there will be a language barrier because of international recruitment and also because of fear. Fear that they won't have anywhere to go, that they will be treated badly by the police and that they will be sent back to their original country. And the sad thing is this fear is justified. Many of those who are brave enough to face the UKs judicial system are likely to be treated as an illegal immigrant and then have 45 days to prove themselves, otherwise they are deported.

I'm not sure how this will be overcome with so many barriers to reaching those involved. There is some hope though. Charities such as Unchosen, Anti-slavery, Kalayaan and Afruca are all fighting against this injustice.
We all need to do our bit too though and increased awareness of this situation on the part of those outside of the situation can help those trapped inside, behind closed doors.

To see exactly what I am talking about, the episode of dispatches is online:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od#3129534

Equality... Is it all a waste of time?

Last night, I got myself into a heated debate with a guy who doesn't believe in equality.
We were talking about my plans for when I graduate university and after telling him what field I plan to go into (ethnic equality work, particularly focusing on conflict resolution), I was brought face to face with one of the most difficult challenges I will face in the field.

He described my plan as pointless because in London there is no racism and that people shouldn't have to speak to someone of a different ethnicity if they don't want to.

I was dumbstruck. But tried to keep my cool and talk through the problems with him; that we should all be able to live together peacefully and get along.

There was no changing his mind though, he was 100% adamant that racism does not exist in London and there is no point to equality work because where the problem lies is with the government's welfare system. Which regarding the government, I had to give to him.
The government's system isn't flawless and does need work to ensure that all people are receiving what is necessary to meet basic living standards in the UK. He also highlighted that there are many people out there trying to con the system, which indisputably is a problem. Equal allocation of resources to those who are in need is difficult to ensure when there are individuals out there laying claim to more than what they are entitled.

However, as much as there are flaws in the government's system, it is a fair point. This however, is not a reason or an excuse to give up the fight for equality or to deny racism. Negative thought and the unwillingness to try to change things is what I could not understand. And which is part of the overall problem.

My main aim is to help lessen discrimination on the basis of one's ethnic identity. This I hope will be done by increasing the awareness of what every culture is about, so that everyone can understand and appreciate the array of cultures in British society, which do not lie at the heart of where they originate. Seeing the good within different cultures creates opportunities for others of different cultures to see what they have in common and can relate to. This common understanding of certain ways of life and acceptance of difference is what is needed for progression.

Being unable to see that, even after having a discussion about it, is the sort of negative thinking that results in backwards steps, away from integration.

My question is and to which he could not answer, why would you not want to get along with others?

Far Away

After watching Marsha Ambrosius' song Far Away, it really hit home the amount of fear there is out there for what is unknown and the disastrous consequences it can have on some.

Although difference can be scary because it is not what we have been brought up to know, it is essential that we are all aware that although we are may have different aspects to our identity, these do not need to conflict.

No one consciously decides they want to put themselves at risk of losing their friends and family or to be hated by other members of society, and this is what we all need to bear in mind.

Certain things in life are not a choice and in the case of Marsha's video, sexuality certainly isn't. Having done my dissertation on gay men, I can confidently say that admitting in a heterosexual society that you are gay is a very difficult and turbulent time and not one which is taken upon lightly.

There is even debate amongst the gay community about what they would do if there was a pill they could take to make themselves straight. The fact that this discussion has even been brought about, which I can safely say, has not happened vice versa in heterosexual society, speaks for itself how much being of a certain sexual orientation is not a choice.

We should not judge others for what we are not because it could quite as easily have been us in the discriminated position and then I am sure we would all want to know we had the support of those around us.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRwLMC2wP0g

Is the slewing of multiculturalism really doing us any justice?

In light of David Cameron's recent assertion that multiculturalism has failed, I stumbled across an article by Mark Steyn, for the telegraph, arguing: "multiculturalism" is really a suicide cult conceived by the Western elites not to celebrate all cultures, but to deny their own. And that's particularly unworthy of the British, whose language, culture and law have been the single greatest force for good in this world.

Although his comment was made during the Labour government's reign, his comment is arguably more relevant today with the changes the Tory party are calling for.

Steyn's argument that multiculturalism has been suicidal to British identity has completely missed the point of what multiculturalism aims for - the celebration of ALL cultures. It also demonstrates an utterly ethnocentric view of what he defines as 'good in this world'. A purely one sided approach to this has been taken and Steyn needs to open up his eyes to the good in all parts of the world and society.

I am not saying multicultural strategies have been flawless but their shortcomings are not so severe that going back in time to a renewal of assimilation to British culture only, as both he and Cameron suggest, is necessary. We have gone too far in today's society, especially with the influences of individualism to try and merge us all into one being. There is too much beauty in our difference to assimilate and that is what Britishness now represents. Instead we should focus on our differences as a unifying identity and come together with a conjoined interest in what we can learn from one another.

To read Steyn's article click the below link:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/3614135/Britain-has-been-in-denial-for-too-long.html

Have the rising number of rights granted to women, lead to a rise in male oppression?

Since my last blog about parenting and male/female rights, I've been thinking about their rights surrounding the choice to have a baby or an abortion. This highly controversial topic highlights many issues regarding women's bodies and moral issues.

And so purely in the case of women who do not feel morally obliged to have a baby, is it fair that she should make the decision over whether or not to have the child? Or should the potential father be allowed some say too? Any decision to do with the mind or body of a person, I argue would lead the ultimate decision to be made by that person. However, the choice of having a baby affects both the prospective mother and father and so in this case because a woman's body comes into play too, a male's opinion is secondary and so in the case that he wants the opposite outcome to the prospective mother, he will probably lose out.

Has female liberation, which grew out of their oppression by men flipped the coin on its head and now oppresses men in some situations?

I would argue yes.

Men have lost out on certain rights at the hands of women and this does not adhere to what feminism sought to achieve - equality with men - but perhaps in some situations, all that can be attained is the lesser of two evils?

Cleaning out the soul

Yesterday I witnessed something I find myself keep going back to.
As I was leaving the gym locker room, a girl was abusing the cleaner to help her find a receipt she lost which she steadfastly made her search through the bin for.
This really got to me.
Not only for her disrespect at the woman's job as a cleaner and not a slave; but also at her inherent racism. The cleaner was from East Africa and so the girl undignified herself even more by speaking to her as though she was thick and could not understand English - an attitude she would not have taken had the cleaner been Bristolian and with a bit of bite. But with someone she felt she could dominate, she did so and demonstrated outrightly her ignorance.
But above all this I blame myself. For seeing this and standing by. Saying nothing.
Why did I choose to walk away when I could see this injustice and know it needed to be confronted?
I don't know. I don't have the answer. But it's been eating me up ever since.