SOAS Spirit issue 08

SPIRIT SOA

The Official SOAS Student Union Paper | Free

[email protected] www.facebook.com/soasspirit @SOAS_Spirit

Issue 08 | March 2014

News Opinion Social Beyond SOAS Sports

www.soasspirit.co.uk

J4C gathers momentum

Back Page

Time to put the

Wellies away

HIJACKED!

(Page 28)

Fancy an outing

not-so-far from

home?

(Page 3) (Page 12) (Pages 16-17)

The struggles of immigration vs.

love

Four students charged

Electronic voting is being employed for

the first time ever at SOAS as 27 can-

didates compete for three paid fulltime

and eleven unpaid part-time positions.

This year has seen a remarkable fall in

nominations for the positions with both

Accommodation and Mature students'

officers receiving no nominations and

therefore the seats will be unoccupied

till the October election. The lack of

interest of the 6000 strong

student body in the SOAS

Students‘ Union (SU) elections

further led to seven out of the

eleven part-time positions with

one candidate competing for

the position against the re-

open nominations option.

The 2014 election season has

seen an unprecedented quiet in both

publicity and campaigning with social

media increasingly overlooked with a

noticeable absence of the SU on Face-

book. Despite frequent posts through

the official page, advertising of the

hustings (candidate speeches) and the

opening of the election was almost non-

existent. Though a hustings Facebook

event page was created a day before the

event, attendance fell dramatically

with an estimated 100 people attending

in comparison to last year's 200.

With the election due to take place till

Thursday 5 pm, The SOAS Spirit poll,

conducted online, shows a very tight

competition for the position of Co-

President Activities and Events. The

random sample of 40 students has

shown no candidate receiving more

than 28 per cent of the vote with eight

per cent undecided. The percentage of

undecided voters was much higher in

the race of Co-President Democracy

and Education with over 21 per cent

unsure on who to vote for with both

candidates neck and neck. However,

the contest for Co-President Welfare

and Campaigns shows one

candidate leading with a large

margin over the other.

Though the election is race for

some positions is uncompetitive,

the SU aims to attract record

amount of voters to the ballot

through the electronic voting

system with the expressed

desire to expand the online system to

allow students to vote online from any

computer by next year. However, some

students have complained about the

new system due to the length of time

needed to use the election tablets to

vote for the candidates. One highly

disgruntled student said ―it took me

over ten minutes to vote, the old paper

system was much quicker and more

convenient‖. The failure of the new

system also raised concerns among

candidates that students would not

bother voting for all positions due to

the immense difficulty of voting. ♦

Follow our election live blog at soass-pirit.co.uk for all the latest news.

Mohammad Tahboub, BA Politics and Law

SOAS SU Elections are fully underway with campaigners across

campus. However, the elections are marred by student

dissatisfaction with new online voting system

'Quiet' SOAS elections underway: Polls show tight election

Students are leading a campaign to force

Leah Edwards, Co-president of Welfare

and Campaign, and Johann Barbe Co-

president of Activities and event, to

apologise for breaking the SOAS clean-

ers strike on the 4th and 5th of march.

The co-presidents are accused of having

cleaned the union JCR therefore under-

mining the strike‘s objective of having a

major impact on SOAS, thereby, forcing

SOAS management to negotiate. The

letter to force the apology, which was

leaked to the SOAS Spirit believes that

―The SU executive came to an agree-

ment with the cleaners that they could

remove glass and move furniture around

in the JCR, as those were the so-called

health and safety risks. Unfortunately,

two of the Students Union sabbatical

team decided to go way beyond this

agreement. Giving in under manage-

ment pressure, they cleaned up the JCR,

throwing away much of the trash and

making the shop workers join them. The

shop workers were unhappy with under-

mining the cleaners, by minimizing the

effects of their strike, and came and

alerted the workers on the picket line.‖

The secret letter which was only circu-

lated amongst students on Sunday has

already been signed by over 50 students

showing the severe rift occurring be-

tween the union and the student body

over the importance of the campaigns to

SOAS.

Maham Hashimi, one of the main

organisers of the letter, expressed his

dissatisfaction while encouraging the

―sabs to do the sensible thing and apolo-

gise to the student body.‖ She also men-

tioned that students will take further

action against the sabbatical officers if

they refuse to sign the letter.♦

Civil war brewing between students and the SU authorities


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Students pushing for Co-presidents’ apology after cleaners’ strike broken

the SU aims

to attract

record

amount of

voters

2 The SOAS Spirit | March 2014

SOAS

Letter from the Editor Dear readers,

It is my pleasure to present to you our March special election issue. We have aimed to analyse

and present the Student Union election to you in the most interesting engaging manner

possible giving presidential candidates and opportunity and extra platform to present their

ideas. Elections present all newspapers a hefty challenge in both analysing the contest but in

the same time presenting it in most unbiased way possible.

The SOAS Spirit is in itself going through its own semi-internal election in which all team

members and the members of the exec can vote for editor. The vote will take place next week

with results announced on Friday. As our constitution deems that the maximum terms (years)

an editor can have is 2, the April issue will be my last issue as editor and I will happily pass

on the flame of journalism down to whoever wins the election.This system guarantees that there is always a group of voters

who can usher in a new editor every year no matter what happens to the paper in success or failure; that your paper

always exists and is maintained by your union as an official paper. This will all be discussed at the next UGM on the

20ththat it was robbed off at the beginning of the year by the SU authorities. As the SU is persistent in its rejection and

fear of the SOAS Spirit, I have withheld my right to vote in order to help manage the editor election. A SOAS SU constitu-

tion that recognises the paper as official will make our elections a regular event at SOAS with the guarantee of continuity

and survival of the paper. As the union recognises us as a society, the survival of our elections and the paper as the whole

depends on the good will of its members.

While our paper is full of success we would like to acknowledge and apologise for publishing the Vernon Square story

article which contained phrases that may offend students' with disabilities. The wording of our article broke our journal-

istic ethics that guarantee that no particular group in society is offended. We will aim to avoid such breaches in the future.

The April issue of the SOAS Spirit is our last issue of the year and we invite contributions to be sent to us. We continue to

maintain an open door policy where anyone with the ability to write journalistic articles can contribute to the paper and be

a part of our success. This your SOAS platform and I urge you to continue using it.

Yours sincerely

Mohammad G. Tahboub

Editor-in-Chief

Contact editor and respond to this letter: [email protected]

The SOAS Spirit

Editorial Team

Editor in chief:

Mohammad Tahboub

[email protected]

Deputy and News editor:

Tom King

[email protected]

General secretary:

Imogen Edwards

[email protected]

Features editors:

Cristiana

Moisescu ([email protected])

Dorina Heller ([email protected])

Opinions editor:

Cecile Nicod

[email protected]

Contributions editor:

Sofia Couceiro

[email protected]

Global Spirit editor:

Andrew Thomson

[email protected]

Chief copy-editor:

Evelyn Richardson

[email protected]

Chief sub-editor and Designer:

Jess Williamson

[email protected]

Chief Photography editor:

Iselin Shaw ([email protected])

Chief website editors:

Kush Depala

([email protected])

Head Fact Checker:

Ali Al-Jamri ([email protected])

Copy-editors:

Evelyn Richardson, Ali al-Jamri,

Laura Maclean, Kiana Arnott-Job,

Ecre Karadag, Noorzadeh Salman

Raja

Sub-editors:

Jess Williamson, Kate

Auchterlonie, Marta Strzyga,

Jingzhi Zhang

Photographers:

Iselin Shaw of Tordarroch, Duygu

Pir

News

The students were first arrested on the

4th December following the eviction by

police and private security of the stu-

dent occupation of the management

corridors of Senate

House demanding

amongst other

things the equal

employment condi-

tions for outsourced

workers.

The four students

from UCL, SOAS,

KCL and Queen

Mary's had been at a solidarity demon-

stration outside Senate House from

which a video appears to show a police

officer punch a protester to the ground.

The students are now due before High-

bury and Islington Magistrates Court

on 18th March.

One of the four

students was

offered a cau-

tion which he

decided to not

accept it, he

said "if I fight

this I have a

chance of win-

ning, if I accept a caution I've already

lost". Speaking about the night of his

arrest he said "the police were out of

control that day, they were simply

there to stop peaceful assembly and

prevent students from exposing the

UoLs shameful practices".

These arrests then led to a very large

protest the day after, where 48 people

were arrested amongst which there

were accredited members of the press

and passers by. The SOAS Spirit under-

stands that all of those arrested on 5th

December have been notified the police

are taking no further action.♦

Tom King and Maham Hashimi, BA Politics and BA South Asian Studies

Four students from the university of London have been charged with obstructing a highway and causing

danger to road-users.

Students charged with obstruction

The four students from UCL, SOAS,

KCL and Queen Mary's had been at

a solidarity demonstration outside

Senate House

The SOAS Spirit | March 2014 3

SOAS News

Last week‘s strike was the first in the history of the

Justice for Cleaners campaign. According to UNISON,

the trade union which represents the cleaners at

SOAS, the ballot turnout was 62%, with 100% of votes

in favour of the strike.

The cleaners at

SOAS are currently

employed by interna-

tional company ISS.

Their Justice For

Cleaners campaign

has been going on for

several years and has

gained the support of

other SOAS staff, SOAS Students‘ Union and other

support networks across London.

The campaign‘s key demands are an end to out-

sourcing and for the cleaners to be brought back in-

house to receive the same holiday, sick pay and pen-

sion entitlements as the rest of the staff at SOAS.

Moreover, the cleaners and their supporters have

denounced intimidation on behalf of ISS and SOAS

management, most recently in a meeting earlier this

term in which the cleaners were

allegedly told that if they went on

strike they would be ―easily re-

placed‖.

Earlier accusations of mistreat-

ment by ISS and SOAS manage-

ment include the allegations that

the cleaners were forced to work at

temperatures below the legal

minimum as the School failed to turn on the heating

over the Christmas break, during which the cleaners

were required to work regular hours.

The University of London announced last Novem-

ber that it is considering establishing an intercolle-

giate facilities management co-operative for colleges

to share cleaning and other services. According to the

press release the establishment of a co-

operative would lead to improved sick pay

and holiday entitlement of staff. The press

release gives no further details on the

matter and does not mention whether the

staff of the new co-operative would be

outsourced or not.♦

Marta Pacini , BA Development Studies and Politics

Justice for Cleaners: an overview

Strikers, staff and students protest

outsourcing of cleaning staff

―We have shown that as a

community we support

the cleaners‖ – Georgie

Robertson, Student Union

Campaigns Officer

The first day of the Justice For Cleaners strike saw a

large turnout of students and staff in support of the

strike action. Between 100 and 150 strikers, students

and other supporters were present from mid-morning

to mid-afternoon, with many coming and going

throughout the day.

The protestors kept up a lively and festive atmos-

phere, with bands, DJs, singers, and food and drinks

for sale with funds raised going to the campaign. The

Democratise SOAS campaign encouraged students to

write satirical applications to the School‘s governing

body.

Speakers at the strike included striking workers

and students supporting the campaign. Unison branch

Secretary Sandy Nicoll said: ―We see around us in this

country an attack on migrant workers which is despic-

able, cowardly, but is actually now going unchallenged

by all the main political parties.‖

Campaigns Officer, Georgie Robertson, said: ―We

have shown that as a community we support the

cleaners, and we believe that they should be treated

with dignity and respect and that there is no place for

discrimination, intimidation or victimisation on our

campus.‖

The night before the strike, additional ISS workers

were brought in to clean the university‘s facilities. The

School stated that this was to ―minimise disruption‖ in

line with the school‘s policy on industrial action. Tech-

nically these were not strikebreakers, as they

were present on the School‘s grounds before

the strike began. Nonetheless, they were

confronted by Justice for Cleaners campaign-

ers, with videos appearing on the Justice for

Cleaners Facebook page.

Allegedly, one of the ISS workers made a

homophobic remark towards a student, while an ISS

line manager was said to have assaulted a student.

The School said that is was investigating a related

complaint. As a result of the incident, campaigners

deemed it necessary to line the picket throughout the

night, instead of just from 4am as earlier planned.

Within the main SOAS building, the JCR and bar

were closed and padlocked for ‗health and safety‘

reasons. Commenting on this, Leah Edwards, Co-

President Welfare and Campaigns, said: ―We reject

this attempt to manage student union space by the

school, and see it as an attempt to undermine student

support for the strike.‖ Although the School planned

to keep the JCR closed for both days, it was reopened

on the second day of the strike.

The rest of the main building appeared to be func-

tioning normally albeit much quieter. The directly

employed library staff ensured the library remained

open for students crossing the picket line. The refecto-

ry and cafes (operated by contract caterers Elior) also

continued serving food.

Some catering staff, including those working during

the strike, indicated their support for the cleaners‘

strike. One commented: ―It would be great if everyone

was brought in house.‖ The previous issue of The

SOAS Spirit reported that a number of Elior staff was

employed on precarious zero-hour contracts.

On the first day facilities remained largely clean,

largely due to the reduced number of students and

staff, though a number of the toilets were in excep-

tionally poor condition.

For the second day of the strike, students and staff

were encouraged to cross the picket line, but asked not

to clean up after themselves. The strikers maintained

a festival atmosphere outside, while inside the School

activity levels were back to normal. Rubbish bins went

unemptied and toilets uncleaned, generating potential

hygiene hazards.

The strike closed with no further announcements

from ISS or SOAS addressing the demands of the

cleaners.♦

Cleaners and supporters gather on the picket line

Simon Popay, MSc Development Studies

Huge turnout at cleaners’

strike

―It would be great if

everyone was brought in

house‖ – Elior employee

supporting the strike


News London

SU Elections: All the Activities & Events

Anthony Asfour has been

an active member of the

student union since

2011, participating in the

organisation of key

events. He was a mem-

ber of the rugby team

from 2010-2012, and took his under-

standing of team organisation into this

year when he became one of the found-

ing members of the Beat Council. The

Beat Council have performed at different

events at SOAS as an attempt to ―create

a unified and solidified atmosphere

around the JCR and bar‖ area.

Asfour wants to prioritise the well

being of SOAS students. He believes

that everyone‘s voices should be heard,

instead of having his own voice ―be the

SOAS voice.‖ He wants to achieve this

by making the Union more accessible,

instead of closing at 5pm daily.

Asfour said: ―This is not a 9-5 job, and

as long as there is a student in the uni-

versity who could potentially have a

problem, there needs to be at least one of

the SABBs in the office.‖

His concern for students drives his

yearning to, in his words, ―reinvigorate

the SOAS atmosphere by bringing socie-

ties together to create events, or even to

just hang out.‖ He wants to facilitate

the unification of activities, in order to

give the student body the events that

‗they‘ want to see happening. This

concern extends from students to em-

ployees, as his favourite campaign at

SOAS is Justice for Cleaners. This year

he has worked closely with the cam-

paign, raising thousand of pounds for

the fund with ―the help of [his] fellow

Beat Council Brothers.‖

Asfour claims that he was naïve and

lacked confidence before he came to

SOAS. He thanks the SOAS student

body and faculty for making him into

who he is today. ―I want every single

student who walks through the front

doors leave with the same life enriching

experience that I had. If elected, I will

try my utmost to make this a reality.‖

Leonardo Cini

has spent his

three years at

SOAS accumulat-

ing a multitude of

skills, knowledge

and passions, specific to societies and

leadership, which he strongly wants to

put into practise as a Union officer.

Having initially entered the university

music scene as a performer by joining

various bands and groups, he has ex-

tended his participation to that of an

organiser.

Leo is president of the Rebetiko socie-

ty, which holds a Monday music evening

in the JCR, and is an avid attendee to

SOAS Jam. Being a student who ‗makes

things happen‘, Leo‘s top priority in the

Union is to make structural adjustments

which enable the union to become more

efficient and pragmatic, avoiding admin-

istrative and communication delays.

The principal aim here is to increase

the potential of societies. He also gives

great weight to initiating support and

integration within the smaller societies,

equalising opportunity. Finally he

stresses the need to sustain and upsurge

the vibrancy of SOAS‘ atmosphere; one

of his key ambitions is to hold the SOAS

World Music Summer Festival next year

to enjoy and promote the diversity of all

our talented musicians.

As well as brimming with enthusiasm

for these initiatives, Leo has had plenty

of experience participating and running

societies. At the moment he has a close

affinity with the Democratise SOAS

campaign. If he fails to impress the

student body through his manifesto, his

aim is to dazzle you all with his

‗seriously flexible nostrils‘.

Sarah Heng, ‗Sports Woman of the Year

2012-2013‘ for SOAS, seeks to promote

the importance of team Spirit both with-

in sports & societies and within the

Students‘ Union structure. From her

first term at SOAS, Sarah has been a

heavily active member in the Badminton

Society, initially enrolling as a keen and

able player. In her second year, she

embraced the role of society chair,

where she took on full responsibility

for planning matches, internal and ex-

ternal communications and event co-

ordination, as well as overseeing the day

-to-day tasks. Sarah places great empha-

sis on intra-society integration as well as

expanding the student body‘s opportuni-

ty to participate in our sports groups.

Firstly, Sarah wants to enable closer

interaction between society members

and allow a platform where roles and

responsibilities are transparently dis-

cussed at the onset of the academic year.

Secondly, she seeks to break down the

psychological barriers many students

have when contemplating to enrol in a

sports society by actively welcoming and

offering taster sessions to beginners.

Having a realistic perspective is a trait

Sarah believes to be crucial for the Co-

President for Activities and Events, as

well as the determination to fight for

what you believe in.

As a student in her final year of LLB

Law, she strongly advocates equality,

fuelling her support for the Justice for

Cleaners campaign. Having been in-

spired by the Hawaiian ukulele player

Jake Shimabukuro, Sarah‘s greatest

past-time enjoyment comes from strum-

ming her uke.

Kabir Joshi has been the Students‘ Un-

ion Black Students Officer for the last

two years and has been fully involved in

SOAS activities organising a range of

events from informative talks on FGM

and the history of Black LGBTQ commu-

nities to the ‗Carnival of Love‘ party at

SCALA last year and musical events for

Black History Month. Through his in-

volvement with the Union, Kabir says

his experience is not limited to organis-

ing events, having worked on the Un-

ion‘s campaigns, welfare and education

activities. He says ― tasks as a sabbatical

are often a lot more diverse than the

initial titles given to each role‖.

Fighting for more space for the Stu-

dents‘ Union with the North Block ex-

pansion would be Kabir‘s top priority.

He says the School needs to be pressur-

ised to implement plans to integrate the

Staff Common Room into the Union‘s

space. He also says exploring ways to

separate the JCR from the rest of the

building in the evenings with an en-

trance in the smoking area could allow

for more late licences.

Kabir says the Democratise SOAS

campaign is important because it in-

cludes Justice for Cleaners, fractional

staff and student calls for better repre-

sentation. He says the campaign works

not only to bridge the gap between man-

agement and the Students‘ Union, but

also to bring the student body and the

Students‘ Union together. It wasn‘t until

after the 2012 Olympics that Kabir

started supporting English national

teams.

Anthony Asfour

Leonardo Cini

Sarah

Heng

Kabir Joshi


News World

info you need to know

You may know Iulia from the music she

plays in the Student Union shops or the

music she organises as the Secretary of

4D Presents and co-President of the

Street Dance Society. With a passion for

music and dancing, and having also

organised events for the Journalism

Society, Iulia thinks that people should

elect her as Co-President Activities and

Events because of her event organising

experience.

Iulia‘s top priority is societies. She

wants them to work together and with

the Union more and to boost their visi-

bility. She argues that getting involved

with societies can sometimes be intimi-

dating for new students, despite their

enthusiasm to join. By making the Un-

ion dynamic and inclusive, Iulia hopes to

encourage societies to hold joint events,

and to ensure there is a big society-

hosted event every Friday in the JCR.

Iulia believes that people should feel

safe and be able to pursue their educa-

tion without being watched and har-

assed by police. That‘s why her favourite

campaign at SOAS is Cops off Campus.

She also supports Justice for Cleaners,

though has concerns that students them-

selves don‘t always pick up after them-

selves.

Iulia is also keen to see that SOAS

students are engaged in events and

activities outside of SOAS too. As well as

helping sports societies gain access to

sports facilities and organising monthly

clubbing events, she plans to issue a

monthly guidebook of cultural, music

and art events in London. Perhaps some-

thing this newspaper could help with?

Iulia Lumina

Abi is a final-year student rep in Histo-

ry, so she has helped organise work-

shops and manage an online feedback

forum while voicing the concerns of

students in the department in depart-

mental meetings and staff-student fo-

rums. Abi states that she aims to pro-

mote an inclusive, accountable and ena-

bling Union that supports international,

undergraduate and mature students.

She says that she is keen to integrate

students into behind the scenes decision

making to ensure that their needs are

being fought for. Abi believes that in

order to achieve this all part time offic-

ers should have office hours to create an

access point for students. Justice for

Cleaners is Abi‘s favourite campaign at

SOAS. She has been involved with the

movement through weekly campaign

meetings and disseminating information

to the student body, while helping to

organise events such as Latino parties,

Justice for Cleaners day, the SOAS

community ballot and the upcoming

strike. Abi has also taken part in the

Democratise SOAS movement working

groups, forums and communications.

Interestingly, Abi has four cats: Jessie,

Woody, T-Rex and Bo Peep who are all

named after characters in the best Dis-

ney movie- Toy Story.

Abi Bowler

Democracy & Education

David Suber has been an active mem-

ber of the student body over the last

few years, throwing himself into SOAS

life in everything from capoeira to

SOAS Anti-Cuts. Since his second year,

David has been involved with the stu-

dent rep system and was elected to the

Arts and Humanities Faculty board.

Over the last year, he‘s been the Stu-

dents‘ Union‘s Academic Affairs Officer

and says he wants to use his experience

of grappling with the School‘s bureau-

cracy if he is elected as Co-President to

improve the student rep system, intro-

duce exam feedback and new teaching

technologies.

David says there are too many ―black

holes‖ in the relationship between

SOAS and the Students‘ Union and

that a ―deep restructuring‖ would be his

top priority to resolve issues like stu-

dent freedom over the Union space. He

says he also wants to turn attention to

the way SOAS is structured and the

lack of student representation. David

has been actively involved with organis-

ing the Democratise SOAS campaign,

taking on responsibility for researching

alternative and more democratic uni-

versity structures.

Suber also praises Justice for Clean-

ers as an ―important campaign‖ with

clear, achievable goals. If elected it

won‘t just be David moving into G8 but

Napoleon too. Not the French emperor,

but David‘s dreadlock!

David Suber

Aida Roumer has been a development

course rep and is currently co-captain of

the basketball team. As well as this she‘s

been involved with organising the SOAS

Bazaar, has been a high school tutor

with Team Up and presented at the

SOAS Festival. Aida also organised a

basketball team trip to Paris this year.

She says she was inspired to run by ―the

challenge of shaping the community I

live in‖.

If elected, Aida‘s top priority would be

improving the day to day communication

of the Union to re-engage those students

who have lost interested. She says she‘ll

run a weekly blog and set up an online

calendar to inform students about all

events at SOAS. She believes a more

approachable and efficient Students‘

Union would help societies to organise

their own events. She wants to support

students‘ ideas for events and to make

societies more visible.

Aida has been involved with the Interna-

tional Students Committee which is part

of the Democratise SOAS campaign, she

says it has provided ―an additional plat-

form to engage with students‖. She has

applied for a Masters at SOAS and plans

to defer if she‘s elected.

Aida

Roumer


News London

Students‘ with Disabilities

Officer

Mohamed Taha

Karmel Carey & Roisin

Crowley

Womens‘ Officer

Br i nda G angopa dhy a

Lundmark & Tove Lys-

sarides

Mollie Hanley & Hannah

Slydel

Entertainments Officer

Luna Cottis

Mohammad Tahboub

Jordan Brown & Wil

Paintin

Environmental Officer

Phoebe Fisher and Hattie

White

Clare Birkett

International Officer

Ana Luiza Olanescu

R a g h a v K h e m k a &

Chaitanya Raj Singh

LGBTQ Officer

Tom King & Nate Reidy

Academic Affairs Officer

Havard Skogerbo

Simon Campbell & Maximil-

ian Lohnert

Black Officer

Manuela Schwarz

Campaigns Officer

Marta Pacini & Imrane

Lawrence Trocme

Grace Wilcock

Georgie Robertson has been

the SU Campaigns Officer

for the past two years, which

has involved facilitating all

student activities and cam-

paigns, including Democra-

tise SOAS, liberation cam-

paigns and campaigns

around international stu-

dents, just to name a few. As

Campaigns Officer, Georgie

sees all campaigns at SOAS

as vital and equally im-

portant, but if she had to

pick one to talk about it

would be Democratise SOAS,

because it relates to the

interests of all students and

of the entire community.

Georgie's top priority is to

make the Students' Union

more open and inclusive, to

encourage all students to

engage with the Union, seek

support from it and make it

their own.

Georgie believes that she

has the experience, dedica-

tion and passion necessary to

revitalise the union and

make it "a dynamic and

inclusive hub of activity that

nurtures, empowers and

stimulates all students."

An interesting fact about

Georgie? She's originally

Australian!

Georgie Robertson

SU Elections

The campaign to end SOAS‘

investment in fossil fuel com-

panies took a big step forward

last week as campaigners met

with the School‘s finance

team. The finance team agreed

to discuss the possibility of

divestment with the School‘s

Investment Advisory Panel at

its quarterly meet-

ing next week. The

campaigners hope

that a decision on

divestment could be

made as early as

June this year.

It is not known

exactly how much

the School holds in fossil fuel

companies. At present, the

School‘s only invested assets

are those related to its endow-

ments, with its non-

endowment investments sold

off in 2013 to fund the redevel-

opment of Senate House.

The bulk of the £21m in

endowment assets are invest-

ed directly in equities. The

most recent disclosure reveals

that this includes holdings in

BHP Billiton, Suncor Energy

(a Canadian firm extracting

fuel from oil sands), BP, and

Royal Dutch Shell among

other firms. A full list of com-

panies that SOAS holds equity

in can be found on the School's

online FOI disclosure log.

The campaign originated

with Bill McKibben‘s 350.org,

a well-known environmental

organisation, and is part of a

global movement to pressure

universities, cities and other

public institutions to divest

from fossil fuels. Despite relat-

ed divestment campaigns at

over 35 other UK universities,

no university in the UK has

yet agreed to divest. However,

nine universities in the USA

have done so.

Dr Matthew Haigh, SOAS

Senior Lecturer in accounting

with expertise in ethical in-

vestments, commented that to

have any impact, the cam-

paigners would need to under-

stand the School‘s investment

style and the specific mandate

given to its asset managers.

He warned that campaign-

ers would need to speak the

language of financiers:

―Guerrilla warfare in suits

is the only way to do it.‖

SOAS' investments are

currently managed by New-

ton Asset Management, a

UK based subsidiary of the

US multinational BNY

Mellon. Current investment

policy includes avoiding com-

panies substantively associat-

ed with human rights and

labour standard breaches,

military products, tobacco and

gambling. The fossil fuel cam-

paigners argue that by invest-

ing in Royal Dutch Shell and

BP, the School is already in

breach of these policies. None-

theless, they are hoping to see

fossil fuels added to the list of

industries to avoid. Such di-

vestment could entail an in-

crease in the level of risk that

the school faces, and it is like-

ly that Newton Asset Manage-

ment will need to assess the

impact this could have on the

School‘s endowments.

Dr Haigh further suggested

that the campaigners should

consider the origins of the

School‘s endowment assets as

well as where they are cur-

rently invested. For example,

the School‘s second largest

endowment fund, the King

Fahd Chair, originates from

the Saudi government, whose

revenues are almost entirely

(92.5%) derived from the pe-

troleum sector. ♦

Simon Popay, MSc Development Studies

―Guerrilla

warfare in

suits is the

only way to

do it.‖

Campaigners meet with university finance team

Fossil fuels campaign gets foot in the door

Elena Sabatini has been a

volunteer for London

Nightline, a hotline for

students who face mental

health issues for the past

two years. Her main focus

if elected would be making

the Students‘ Union more

accessible to all students

by establishing a drop-in

service for students to go

speak to her about any

issues they might face and

referring students who

face mental health issues

to the relevant profession-

als inside and outside

SOAS.

On campaigns, Elena

believes that more should

be done at SOAS regard-

ing local government,

using strategies such as

petitions and letters to

MPs. She also wants to

run regular ‗campaign

clinics‘ to help students

plan and run their own

campaigns which have

clear, achievable goals.

Why vote for Elena?

Because she believes her

volunteering experience

has made her a good lis-

tener and given her a good

knowledge of issues con-

cerning welfare.

Elena Sabatini

Candidates running for

part-time Positions:

Welfare & Campaigns


News World

Fractional staff and the lecturers in The Universities

and Colleges Union (UCU) are continuing to take

separate action, both in hopes of receiving increased

pay.

The group ‗Fractionals for Fair Play‘ are calling

upon Fractional staff members to adhere strictly to

their contracted working hours from February 28th

onwards. Previously, teachers allegedly worked more

than twice the hours estimated in their contract and

consequently are often paid below the London Living

Wage at between £6-£7 an hour. This campaign has

begun separately from the on-going industrial strike

action and aims to ―secure fairer contracts‖.

One Graduate Teaching Assistant in the Politics

Department said: ―I will not be responding to student

emails, seeing students outside of class, holding fur-

ther office hours, or

attending lectures. I will

also not be preparing

more than I am paid to

prepare for classes.‖

This action leaves a

second-year Overseas

student conflicted about

the action‘s impact on

her education. She told

the SOAS Spirit: ―It‘s

frustrating because I

understand why the

teachers are doing this

but I am angry that I

have paid £14,590 for

cancelled classes and

unavailable teachers.‖

Some fractional staff

members are frustrated

to take this action, yet

see it as necessary to

stop their exploitation. They acknowledge the impact

that this may have on students and therefore students

are urged to bring their complaints to the Director of

SOAS, Paul Webley.

However, one final-year student said, ―Emails will

not speed up negotiation, it is not a one day pro-

cess. Instead, the students are bearing the brunt of

the staffs‘ action and the administration‘s lack of

action.‖

The Universities and Colleges Union (UCU) is hop-

ing to change this lack of action in a separate effort by

making ―the ultimate sanction‖ in the form of a mark-

ing boycott. This marks an escalation of the intermit-

tently scheduled two-hour strike efforts where picket

lines circled the SOAS Main Building entrance. The

boycott is threatening to stop lecturers from marking

anything after April 28th, potentially having the pow-

er to delay graduation and the release of exam re-

sults.

A spokesperson for SOAS said: "The School will do

everything within its power to minimise the impact of

a marking boycott on

our students. We are

monitoring the situation

closely and will inform

students about any

changes as they arise."

While SOAS is look-

ing to minimise the

boycott‘s consequences,

Sally Hunt, the general

secretary of UCU ex-

plained that the union

had no choice but to use

this boycott to attract

pay negotiation. It is a

reaction of members of

the union having their pay cut by 13% since 2009.

―Throughout the dispute we have been calling on

the employers to minimise disruption to students and

sit down and talk to us seriously about pay. They have

refused. It is their obstinacy that has forced our hand

with the marking boycott,‖ she said.

Students, including final-year Disha Mukherji, are

afraid of the impact that the boycott could have on

their graduation and transition

into future career. However,

Mukherji supports the action and

is instead disappointed with the

reaction of the administration.

Mukherji said: ―As a final year

student, an impeding market

boycott is a scary thought. I sup-

port the demands of the lecturers

and fractional staff wholehearted-

ly, and urge the SOAS adminis-

trative body to get their sh*t

together by starting a dialog with

their staff, who at the end of the

day make up the institution‘s

backbone.‖♦

Staff strikes threaten to intensify

As students‘ course load grows heavier, the strike action corresponds. Haani Mazari, BA Politics & History

One Graduate Teaching Assistant in the

Politics Department said ―I will not be

responding to student emails, seeing

students outside of class, holding further

office hours, or attending lectures. I will

also not be preparing more than I am

paid to prepare for classes.‖

However, one final-

year student said,

‗Emails will not speed

up negotiation, it is not

a one day

process. Instead, the

students are bearing

the brunt of the staffs‘

action and the

administration‘s lack of

action.‘

Research: Teaching assistants ‘paid

below the Living Wage’ Fractional staff research

Research published by the Frac-

tionals for Fair Play campaign has

revealed ―shocking‖ findings about

the working conditions of Graduate

Teaching Assistants (GTAs) and

Senior Teaching Fel-

lows (STFs).

The campaign con-

ducted a survey of

SOAS 94 staff working

on fractional contracts

and compared the

number of hours they

are paid to work in

their contract with how many it is

necessary to work in order to com-

plete their jobs.

The results showed that, while

GTAs are paid for an extra 1.5

hours work for every hour they

teach, they are actually working an

additional 6 hours for every hour

taught as well as 1.5 hours a week

answering emails and other course

admin. They also spend 26 hours a

term marking essays.

As a result of

working consider-

ably more than

their contracted

hours, for which

they are paid just

over £18, the

average wage for

GTAs based on

the hours they actually work is

below the London Living Wage of

£8.85 at barely £8 an hour. Despite

STFs being responsible for setting

exams and sometimes convening

courses, the research suggests they

are paid only 30p an hour more

than GTAs.

The research also found that a

quarter of GTAs are actually paid

below £6 an hour and one respond-

ent to the survey said they were

paid just £2 an hour when all their

hours worked were taken into

account.

Almost 60% of the hours worked

by STFs currently go unpaid, ac-

cording to the campaign.

A meeting between fractional

staff and the School‘s Human Re-

sources Department took place

yesterday to discuss their concerns

about their contracts. The cam-

paign is calling for fractional con-

tracts to reflect the hours they

need to work.♦

Tom King , BA Politics

research suggests they

are paid only 30p an

hour more than GTAs


News World

Controversial speaker prompts debate on free speech Haitham Al-Haddad‘s lecture provokes reflection on SOAS‘ Safe

Space measures

Harriet Freeman, BSc Development Economics The invitation from the

Islamic Finance and

Ethics Society (IFES) for

the London-based Islamic

scholar Haitham Al-

Haddad to lecture on why

Riba (interest) is forbid-

den in Islam

has prompt-

ed a debate

on what

limits to free

s p e e c h

should be

imposed at

the School.

Hai tham

Al-Haddad,

who spoke at

SOAS on

17th February, is a spe-

cialist in Islamic finance,

specifically Islamic mort-

gages in the UK, but is

also well known for his

controversial views on

women, gay people and

Jews.

Al-Haddad has in the

past expressed his sup-

port for female genital

mutilation and said ho-

m o s e x u a l i t y w a s

―criminal‖.

While the event was

stewarded to ensure it

remained on topic some

have expressed the view

that hosting Al-Haddad

implicitly legitimises his

opinions on other mat-

ters. SOAS student,

Ruthie Bubis, commented

that it was ―glaringly

irresponsible‖ for IFES‘

event co-ordinator Elis

Gjevori to have initiated

such an encroachment to

our ―safe space‖; adding

that Al-Haddad‘s fre-

quent public appearance

allows his ―damaging

bel ie fs and

issues‖ to be

known.

A SOAS student

who attended

the event de-

scribed to The

SOAS Spirit

their first-hand

experience of Al-

Haddad‘s lec-

ture and praised

his academic

insights. Additionally,

they felt saddened how

his appearance attracted

such negative publicity

and that this coverage

portrays an Islamaphobia

typical in universities.

David East, Co-

p r e s i d e n t

D e m o c r a c y

and Educa-

tion, assured

The SOAS

Spirit that

the School‘s

C o n f e r e n c e

Office does

not allow for

any external speakers to

pose a ―violation of school

policy‖, with another

Students‘ Union spokes-

person stating that the

Union‘s Equality & Diver-

sity policy was met.

Some students have

raised the issue that a

trade-off occurred, be-

tween the rights of free

speech of academics and

society leaders and the

free speech of the general

student body, arguing the

former was being priori-

tised.

The student body was

notified about Al -

Haddad‘s presence five

days prior to the 17th and

Gjevori gave a formal

explanatory statement

about the lecture on the

13th, welcoming conver-

sation on the matter, on

the SOAS Rants Face-

book group.

Gjevori said ―Freedom

of speech is an important

part of SOAS and the

freedom of academics to

express their views in line

with the policies of SOAS

is one I am committed to.

Furthermore

the safety of

students and

s p e a k e r s

alike is of

p a r a m ou n t

importance,

two condi-

tions that I

have taken

into account and firmly

believe have been met in

this case.‖

The Students‘ Union

has received no formal

complaints about the

event.♦

Is our statutory

threshold of

tolerance for

extremism too low,

but more

importantly, who

decides this

threshold?

86% Say Yes to a Student-Run ULU Boost to Save ULU campaign

Philippa Wilkinson , MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies

The results of the refer-

endum on the future of

ULU, released this week,

show overwhelming sup-

port among students for a

democratic union. Out of

4545 voters, 86% voted

yes to the question,

―Should ULU‘s building,

activities and campaigns

continue to be run demo-

cratically by students?‖

with 12% voting no and

2% ab-

staining.

SOAS

students

were even

more

positive;

out of 394

voters, 97%

voted yes.

ULU Presi-

dent Michael

Chessum hailed

the result as

―widespread

support‖ from

the student

body, showing

that the decision

to take the

Malet Street

building under

university man-

agement had ―no

legitimacy‖.

However, low turnout

and organisation-

al issues have

plagued the refer-

endum, and two

colleges, Hey-

throp and Gold-

smiths have yet to carry

out a vote. In other col-

leges, only about 4% of

students voted, while

SOAS had an above aver-

age turnout at

around 8%. But

Royal Holloway

had less than

1% turnout

while under 3%

of University

College London students

participated, with a sig-

nificant propor-

tion voting no.

This apparent

apathy under-

mines the

student union‘s

claims that the Save

ULU campaign is

―growing‖ and has stu-

dents ―mobilised in their

thousands.‖

The referendum was

non-binding and Univer-

sity of London manage-

ment has no obligation to

take the result into con-

sideration.♦

4545 students

participated, a

turnout of 4%.

97% of participating

SOAS students voted

for a democratic,

student-run union.

Do we need to allow

for greater

discussion amidst

the student body on

the debate of Safe

Space on campus?


GLOBAL SPIRIT

PAGE PLEASE

ATTACH PDF


In the past three months our

university has witnessed over

four strikes, threats of marking

boycotts and a university man-

agement that ignores that any

of this is happening. Students

whose main aim in coming to

SOAS is to obtain a healthy

education are being caught up

as collateral damage in this

endless battle. It is in the inter-

est of both sides to lay down

their arms, sit on the negotiat-

ing table and end this civil war

that has been ripping our uni-

versity apart.

The aims of both the Justice

for Cleaners and lecturers cam-

paigns are legitimate and it is

their right to fight for equality

and a higher standard of life

and in no doubt the majority of

students support this. However,

it's time that student welfare is

taken in perspective especially

as exams are soon approaching

and therefore the campaigns

should aim to look to create

some kind of channel of commu-

nication with the management

and come to a common under-

standing where a compromise

could be reached. The greatest

danger in the continuation of

constant strikes is a student

backlash against the cam-

paigns; this should be avoided if

the campaigns are to succeed.

While students can rally in

support of the campaigns and

can email and pressure the

director of the university, Paul

Webley, asking for the cam-

paigns aims to be met, it is the

staff's responsibility to find a

way to end this conflict.

The SOAS management bears

the highest amount of responsi-

bility for prolonging the conflict

with its teaching staff and

cleaners. SOAS cannot ignore

the demands of the campaigns,

it will not weather the storm

nor will it emerge afterwards

any stronger. A university that

maintains such a terrible rela-

tionship with its staff is bound

to fail in teaching standards and

at the same time fail to attract

the best lecturers to SOAS as

potential staff will assume that

they will never get a pay rise

and that their living standards

will fall in a matter of years. Is

this the message SOAS wants to

send to the academics of the

world?

The world sees SOAS as a

mess where the management

fail to satisfy their teachers.

The strikes will lead to low

student satisfaction with the

way SOAS is running and there-

fore with no doubt will bring

down SOAS's standing in world

university rankings which may

lead to less students considering

to apply to SOAS as our univer-

sity will be seen as unstable and

chaotic. It is not in the interest

of the management to ignore

compromise and let students

suffer especially at times when

the fees are at record rates that

could allow SOAS to provide

more benefits to its staff.

The only solution is compro-

mise. If the marking Boycott

goes ahead, not one student will

be happy with either the SOAS

management. The breaking

point must be avoided and a

deal must be reached. Both the

management and the campaigns

can come out winners from

friendly negotiations. If man-

agement concedes and compro-

mises it would secure its teach-

ers‘ commitment--the same

commitment that SOAS's dear

anthropology teacher Dr Audrey

Cantilie, who passed away three

months ago at age 92, still a

teacher at SOAS. Let's honour

her memory by bringing back

the peace to our SOAS family.

Let's negotiate and compromise.

♦


No More Strikes It's time for SOAS management and staff to

compromise and reach a deal.

Opinions

SOAS cannot ignore the

demands of the campaigns,

it will not weather the

storm nor will it emerge

after stronger.

UK Government maintain DFID's foreign aid budget focused abroad.

By Alex Perkin

SOAS Election

By Beth Jellicoe

Cops Off Campus By Beth Jellicoe

This

Mo

nth

…. I

n C

om

ics


Opinions

Al-Haddad‘s presence at SOAS has triggered numer-

ous complaints and several reports in the media;

among the SOAS voices, I have heard people take

issue with his extremist views, and the fact that his

speaking here turns SOAS into an ‗unsafe space‘. My

question is – ‗unsafe‘ for what?

In my opinion, universities are meant to be safe

spaces for learning - about the world and, if we‘re

lucky, a little about ourselves. While physical and

verbal abuse should not be tolerated in universities

any more than in other places, the academic environ-

ment is one of the few which claims to be an open

space for dialogue (this holds especially true at

SOAS). This open policy does not come with the caveat

―as long as we only talk about what I agree with.‖

At the same time, universities shouldn‘t be thought

bubbles, removed from the world and its diversity of

opinions; they are made up of people, each with their

own unique vision, and a marker of a safe space is a

place where everyone gets to have their say, without

fear of being antagonized.

Freedom of speech is a funny thing. Probably one of

the most commonly accepted traits of democracy, it‘s

also one of the most controversial. Who do we ‗allow‘ a

voice to, and who do we expose as a villain for their

opinions is a common question. The truth is, we are

not in a position to ‗allow‘ anything to anyone, and we

shouldn‘t be. The state guarantees everyone a voice as

long as it doesn‘t turn into a verbally abusive slur – as

long as the voice doesn‘t shut down other voices.

In the case of al-Haddad, that‘s exactly what some

were calling for (never mind that his talk had nothing

to do with his other, more contentious ideas). He came

into an academic institution, a safe space (sic!) to give

a lecture on one particular subject. And while a shade

of political correctness has been sidestepped in calling

him here, whether he is the most appropriate expert

to speak on that topic is irrelevant, as he is qualified

to speak on it.

Still, let‘s imagine for a second that he was here to

talk about his view of homosexuality. Banning his

voice wouldn‘t have made it disappear – they never

do, and a ban would set a very dangerous precedent.

The way I see it, he should be free to discuss it, and

we should be free to leave the classroom empty. But if

we‘d be a bit more daring, we‘d fill the classroom and

talk about it.♦

Freedom of speech does not come with the

caveat ―as long as we only talk about what I

agree with.‖

SOAS has recently become a newsworthy subject due to a talk which preacher Haitham al-Haddad, PhD, gave here on the 17th of February.

Al-Haddad spoke at SOAS on why ‗riba‘ (interest) is prohibited in Islam, but he is also known to hold questionable views regarding FGM,

domestic violence and homosexuality. Cristiana Moisescu, BA Politics

Is ‘Freedom of Speech’ selective?

Preacher Haitham al-Haddad, PhD, stirred up a controversy by giving a lecture

at SOAS on the 17th of Feb. Source - Unknown

Brief impressions on the recent political crisis and violence in Thailand, homeland of the

writer.

20 deaths and more than 700 people injured, this

incredibly high rate of casualties reflect the ruthless

violence happening in Bangkok, due to anti-

government political protests demonstrating since

November 2013. A series of aggressive showdowns

and riots are taking place in the country which was

once called ‗The Land of Smiles‘.

The starting point is the protest against the govern-

ment‘s proposal of the amnesty bill, which could ab-

solve cases of many politicians of both sides including

Thaksin Shinawatra, former Thai PM. The situation

was widespread and led to brutal confrontation be-

tween protesters and authorities, or between support-

ers of two opposite groups, that led to a

number of deaths and wounded. Regard-

less of the government‘s decision to dis-

solve the parliament and arrange the

general election on the 2nd of February,

this did not relieve the

violence. Moreover,

this event showed the

truly major concern--

the intense clash of

contradictory ideolo-

gies of Thai people

that seem to show no

compromise in getting

along together at this point.

This article is a space to reflect

my own opinion about the current

situation in Thailand. I do not

judge which side of the partici-

pants is more legitimate or equi-

table. I just wish to convey my

message of condolence and ex-

press my standpoint against any

forms of violence. Not just as a

Thai, but as a human being.

Even though we‘ve seen some positive aspects from

the current situation after the end of the ‗Bangkok

Shutdown‘ campaign from protesters, a shadowy haze

still covers Thai society. And it seems far from a

peaceful solution.

If people in the same political

community strongly persist on

their own beliefs and moral

perspectives more than the truth

or basic principle of humanity, it

could lead to a deathly situation.

Lastly, I won‘t try to make any

conclusion or find any culprit

who is responsible for the series

of incidents, because all seg-

ments of the society have to

commonly take responsibilities.

But the one that I find suitable

for condemnation is anyone who is satisfied with

death or losses of compatriots. These kinds of discrim-

inating and merciless attitudes are primary compo-

nents for civil war, or even genocide.

No matter what the reason for those killings is;

goodness, greater good for the nation or any necessity,

killing is killing, it‘s the most terrible villainy and

that‘s my bottom line. ‗Killing in the name of good-

ness‘ is just the terrible excuse of the evil mind that

lust for blood.♦ Thai soldiers investigate the crime scene following a bomb blast in Bangkok on Feb. 23, 2014 in which

three victims, including two children, were killed. There is still no one claiming responsibility. Image: VOA News

Peerapat Boonsrirot, MA South East Asian Studies

Thailand’s destructive crisis: the blurred line between death and goodness

―If people in the same

political community

strongly persist on their

own beliefs and moral

perspective more than the

truth or basic principle of

humanity, it could lead to a

deathly situation.‖


Opinions

For international readers, this title needs a lot of

explaining. No, it is not a new and terrifying fetish,

fuelling British obsession of sex and class warfare,

where performers compete for minimum wage in a

sordid dungeon stocked with Tesco Basic Baked Beans

and a relief of bedroom tax. It is an even weirder

pastime consisting of the voyeur-

ism of poverty. The most recent

upload is a Channel 4 program

called ―Benefits Street‖--which

has become the most watched for

all the wrong reasons.

Quickly about Benefits Street--

it was an easy production. Anyone

can go into a deprived urban area

and put cameras in front of peo-

ple‘s faces--but you know what‘s hard? Finding rich

people. The tax evaders, the millionaire retirees, the

off-shore account holders. Why didn‘t the producers

find them? Because that would actually require work.

Demonising the poor as fraudsters and skivers is

something that has been programmed into us since

the years of Thatcher, de-

spite the fact that currently

only 0.4% of disability allow-

ances are claimed fraudu-

lently. It‘s very easy to sell

something like Benefits

Street when we are all horny

and ready to gawp

into the poverty pit.

Britain is a country

that is becoming

increasingly polar-

ized. The London tube strikes are a great

example of this; trade union leader Bob Crow

(portrayed as a conniving cockney hell bent

on bringing about the people‘s revolution) is

juxtaposed with Mayor Boris Johnson (a man

seen as so monumentally posh one expects him to

carry a riding crop at all times.) It‘s an almost unrec-

ognisable state of affairs when figures become carica-

tures of themselves--I‘m just waiting for Spitting

Image to be re-commissioned so we can see puppets

simulate this on-going omni-shambles.

I am all for a discussion on class and identity, but I

feel like ―sexing up‖ poverty has gone a bit too far. No

one really wanted pin-ups of party leaders wearing

wellies and posing in flooded areas, but now we‘re

stuck with it. It is true that the recession has created

a steeper economic gulf between rich and poor, but

this does not account for the most Dickensian reduc-

tion to date. It doesn‘t need to be like this, we can

start seeing the nuances in society and not try to keep

apart the have and the have not‘s. As Cameron keeps

telling us: ―we‘re all in this together.‖ ♦

No one really wanted

pin-ups of party leaders

wearing wellies and

posing in flooded areas,

but now we‘re stuck

with it.

Imogen Sian Edwards, BA History

Poverty Porn Britain‘s obsession with sexing-up the poor and why it is completely

ridiculous.

The Great Healmans steering through us through murky waters. Image: The Guardian

As a Northerner, I arrived in London with three

things – a deep-seated hatred of Margaret Thatcher,

an inaudible accent, and a strong tolerance of the

rain. Aye, that‘s right - you weak Londoners know

nothing of the floods to which us ‗up Norf‘ have been

subjected to for years. Schools closed every winter,

cars passing out on the roads… Oh, sorry, what‘s that

you say? There are floods in the South now!?

It was admittedly with a touch of scepticism that I

heard such news. After all, I‘ve experienced the so-

called ‗rain‘ here and continue to be confused by cer-

tain students‘ desire to wear wellies to uni – is it a

fashion statement or an over-obsessive desire to ‗be

prepared‘? I also suspected one Berkshire resident had

been cheated by his local Blockbusters when he

claimed the effects of the weather to be like ―a horror

movie‖ – Paranormal Weather Activity, perhaps. But,

alas, there on Facebook were cartoons of the Queen

floating away, while the BBC were reporting David

Cameron‘s tour of the South West – ―Oh David, what

a pleasure to meet you from my rooftop. It makes

losing my home so much easier!‖

But perhaps a

raindrop of hope can

be found in such

events. The South‘s

ostracism of the

North has long been evident, from

the effects of Thatcher‘s policies to

Lord Howell of Surrey‘s recent

description of the North East‘s

―large and uninhabited and desolate

areas‖. Therefore, though the Cum-

brian floods of 2009 were

equally devastating, they

will undoubtedly be forgot-

ten as distant and uncon-

nected to the pivotal

South. But now the floods

are spreading to the capi-

tal‘s backyard, with citizens

from around the country

crying out, the government

may have to do more –

whether global warming,

poor farming regulations, or

something else is to blame.

Admittedly, the govern-

ment‘s response so far has

been limited. On top of visit-

ing the afflicted, actions

include blaming the previ-

ous government, fiddling

flooding figures (say that

one ten times) and giving

money for emergency re-

pairs.

So my request is that the South

takes advantage of its position of

power and doesn‘t allow this to be

the only outcome. Though I have

nothing against the royal family

drifting out to sea, I fear it may be too late to address

the problem once Parliament is being held on lilos –

Cameron and Miliband battling it out in tight speedos.

Now that would be a horror movie. ♦

Joely Thomas, BA Arabic and Politics

‘Oh Charles, the butler’s floating away!’ Now that areas closer to the capital are being hit by flooding,

perhaps the government can be made to take extreme

weather more seriously.

―I continue to be confused by

certain students‘ desire to

wear wellies to uni‖


Opinions

Recently Ukraine has received

large amounts of media coverage

due to clashes between demonstra-

tors and the police following

Ukraine‘s former president Viktor

Yanukovych‘s decision to dismiss a

deal with the EU in favour of closer

ties with Russia.

Here I try to understand whether

the EU‘s Eastern Partnership

should be viewed as yet another

strategic geopolitical move of the

EU to enlarge its sphere of influ-

ence and as a way to bolster the

new Market Economy agenda gain-

ing momentum in Europe. I wonder

furthermore if talks about

the IMF taking a lead in

the future of Ukraine

should be seen as a geopo-

litical move symbolic of a

new EU-US partnership.

The EU‘s Eastern Part-

nership, on paper aimed

at offering free trade be-

tween Ukraine and the

EU has taken on a new

dimension following recent

clashes in Kiev‘s Inde-

pendence Square. The

Partnership asks Ukraine

to agree to a number of conditions

including respect for the rule of law

and human rights as well as the

adoption of Market Economy princi-

ples.

The unfolding of events however

has also lead to talks over the IM-

F‘s role in building a ‗New Ukraine‘.

It seems to me however that in

spite of trying to promote fairer

elections and the fight against

corruption (as well as €2.5 billion to

Ukraine), the EU‘s agenda also

includes the promotion of free mar-

ket principles which could poten-

tially damage the economy of the

Eastern part of Ukraine and the

Crimean Peninsula.

The Eastern Partnership seems

in fact to be more of a tool used by

the EU to impose its political and

economic agenda rather than an

opportunity for Eastern European

countries to be part of the EU. This

leaves Ukraine in a problematic

position as Russia‘s $15billion

bailout (now frozen) offer may also

d a m a g e t h e

Ukrainian people

and industries as

well as bringing it

closer to Russia‘s

a u t h o r i t a r i a n

sphere of influence.

With Yanucovych‘s

recent ousting, the

creation of a new

interim govern-

ment taking charge

of the future of

Ukraine, and even

more recent pro-

Russian demonstration in Crimea,

the focus has shifted towards the

issue of a ‗mega-powers‘ tug of war.

Left between the EU‘s plan to in-

volve the IMF and Putin‘s plan for

a Eurasian Union, and with neither

seeking to offer full ownership of

the economic agenda to Ukraine, I

wonder, who is it that will benefit

more from signing the deal--the

people, or the institutions?♦

Tensions continue to rise with Russian troops entering Crimea after protests and

new coalition parliament to unite opposition parties.

By Alex Perkin

The Eastern

Partnership asks

Ukraine to agree to a

number of conditions

including respect for

the rule of law and

human rights as well

as the adoption of

Market Economy

principles.

Alessandra Sciarra, MSc Development Studies

Ukraine: Playing tug-of-war with the Eastern Partnership EU-Russia tensions and the Eastern Partnership: for personal

gain or for the people‘s interests?

Few popular votes have shaken Switzerland

like the recent decision to reintroduce quotas

on immigration from European countries.

With 50.3% of the votes approving, the right-

wing Swiss People‘s Party (SVP) scored a

key victory. Since 1992, when Swiss voters

refused to join the European Economic Area,

the SVP have successfully cultivated the

Swiss affinity with tradition and neutrality.

Both votes showed a distinct cleavage

between the urban and

rural as well as the dif-

ferent linguistic regions:

those interacting less

with the 20% foreigners

living in Switzerland

tended to approve isola-

tionism. The vote reflects

a sent iment that

‗uncontrolled immigra-

tion‘ has eroded living

standards and ‗Swiss-

ness‘, which stands in stark contrast to a

recent OECD study showing that economi-

cally, Switzerland benefits hugely from the

‗free movement of persons‘.

Switzerland‘s rejection of free movement,

a fundamental EU principle, has led the

latter to halt negotiations for Swiss partici-

pation in European (amongst others) re-

search and education and accession to the

European energy market. More than 100

‗bilateral agreements‘ – Switzerland‘s piece-

meal solution to European integration by

policy field – have been signed, but a

‗guillotine clause‘ links the free movement of

persons to other fundamental agreements.

Ultimately, Switzerland risks losing 20

years of tightrope walking between economic

liberalism and isolationist populism.

As economic elites are traditionally the

staunchest pro-European voice in Switzer-

land, an unfittingly binary debate is keeping

the Swiss Left back. As ‗Europe‘ often means

little more than ‗European markets‘, the

Left‘s agency is constricted by the xenopho-

bic rhetoric of the Right, which reduces pro-

European discourse to the neoliberal necessi-

ty of European trade. This is a false dichoto-

my. Invoking the idea of Europe is now nec-

essary: it is the answer to antiquated nation-

alisms that exclude and alienate those

already at the bottom.

The Swiss Left, carried by distressed

young urban voters, would do well to

challenge pro- and anti-European

narratives alike. Compensatory social

policies like adjusted housing benefits

are not enough to appeal to those

alienated by unmitigated globalisa-

tion. Openness and geopolitical neu-

trality are entirely compatible.

Switzerland has seen a remarkable

politicisation in the last weeks, which will

impact the upcoming popular votes on immi-

gration. Institutionalised, permanent direct

democracy is why UKIP are entirely wrong

to attempt to capitalise on this vote: Swiss

direct democratic institutions are merely

abstractions used and reproduced by an

opinionated and active populace. With all

major parties permanently in Swiss govern-

ment, deliberation with citizens is no liberal

buzzword but issue-specific reality: Cherry-

picking political procedures from fundamen-

tally differently constituted political systems

is as unhelpful as cherry-picking from Euro-

pean policy. It is however true that following

the Swiss example, the EU needs to gradual-

ly become a shared, deliberative project –

very possibly at a slower but more inclusive

pace of integration.♦

Invoking the idea of

Europe is now

necessary: it is the

answer to antiquated

nationalisms that

exclude and alienate

those already at the

bottom.

Ueli Staeger, MSc International Politics

Ode to seclusion: The awakening of Europe in Swiss politics Switzerland's recent popular vote to reintroduce quotas on European

immigration spoke for citizens' unease with globalisation. It leaves a

dilemma for the Swiss Left yet is it part and parcel of a more inclusive and

balanced approach to politics – and European integration?


Features SOAS

Hongxing Zhang

Before we start with the SOAS part: You recently held

a very well-received and successful exhibition on

―Masterpieces of Chinese Painting 700-1900‖ at the

V&A. What was the motivation for doing that exhibi-

tion?

It was a simple motivation: The institution realised

that the last exhibition on this subject of this scale has

been about 80 years ago, in 1935 before the war,

which really is surprising. Since then many genera-

tions of the people in Britain haven‘t had the chance

to see that kind of overview of the Chinese painting

traditions which really makes an impact on people‘s

understanding of contemporary Chinese culture. And

people‘s background knowledge of China‘s history is

really lacking and with our exhibition we wanted to

fill this gap. It is a very important subject since Chi-

nese painting is a 4000-year-old core part of artistic

values in China. It is one of the most expressive forms

for the feelings and ideas of Chinese people. It is not

just painting, it is poetry and philosophy and very

emotional. In this way we wanted to give an in-depth

introduction to Chinese culture.

And what is your history with SOAS and what was

the reason for coming here?

I came to SOAS in 1994 and

stayed for four years to do my

PhD. At that time SOAS was

really different from nowadays,

of course. I did my thesis on

military painting in the 19th

century commissioned by the

Imperial Court and taking into

account the Taiping Rebellion,

a very specific topic but of such

an importance for modern Chi-

na‘s history. The Taiping Rebel-

lion was the largest civil war in

the world at that time. And

there never has been any study

exploring how the Quing gov-

ernment viewed this rebellion.

I come from Nanjing and I

studied History of Art there and in China we do have

a long history of the subject, but I was always inter-

ested in different views on Chinese art. Especially in

the American and British approach to it. And I was

also interested in Western art and I believe that the

best scholars for this subject still are in this country.

It is a very lively and special community here.

How has SOAS influenced your work and later life?

A lot. It taught me the basic foundations and con-

ventions of scholarship. In China the writing and

research methods in any of the humanities are quite

different. You know, the footnoting, bibliography and

so on. And it is so important that I got a solid training

in that at SOAS through writing, through talking to

my supervisors.

How would you describe SOAS in a few words?

Eccentric, I would say, and the people there are

interested in topics which are not necessarily trendy

or popular, but important. That‘s what I like about

SOAS. It‘s a very special place. Quite unique.

Are you still in any way affiliated with SOAS?

Not so much, I lead a life at the museum now, we have

a quite a good library here. But I do sometimes attend

research seminars in SOAS and use the library, par-

ticularly the Chinese collections. But I do think that

SOAS really needs to update some of its library re-

sources. Particularly the Chinese e-resources.

Could you tell me about a significant

memory or encounter that happened at

S O A S ?

I think what is memorable are the

relationships I had with the super-

visors and staff members. Alt-

hough I usually ‒ like so many

other people – spent most of my

time in the library, at the end of

the day I would often go to one of

the teachers who also was a friend

and would have a cup of Chinese

tea with him in his office where he

always kept some Chinese tea

leaves. And that was a very nice

tradition. I think in other univer-

sities there is no such environ-

ment. Also when I come there

nowadays, especially at lunchtime,

the square between the two buildings is

always very lively. It is such a nice atmos-

phere.

How did your professional life develop after

your time at SOAS?

I was lucky to be able to get a two-year job teaching

in East Anglia University as an academic and then I

moved quickly to a job in a museum, the Royal Muse-

um in Scotland, in Edinburgh. And I liked it, so I

wanted to stick to this kind of job also when I moved

to London. I found that working in the museum area

was the best career for me. Because as a foreigner

here I think a museum is a better place to express

myself, my interests and ideas through the exhibi-

tions, museum publications and other activities. Bet-

ter than at a university because when I taught there I

felt that it is good, but too academic and the audience

is too small. I felt like I was not part of society. But

when you work in a museum you are influenced by the

public as well as able to influence the public yourself.

And we have here ―Comment: at the V&A‖, for exam-

ple, every month, a public opinions-service event. This

means that people bring, for example, family heritage

pieces with them and can ask the museum staff for

professional opinions on them. And every day we

receive emails from the public, people asking all kinds

of questions or giving feedback on current exhibi-

tions. It makes me feel that I am contributing to

society with my work. That it is meaningful. Whereas

as an academic you can often lead a very isolated life.

And that is what I enjoy most about my work. That I

make an impact.♦

Interview with an Alum:

Dorina Marlen Heller , BA Social Anthropology and Chinese

The SOAS alumni column seeks to track down what the alumni are

doing after they graduated from SOAS and tries to elicit crucial advice

on how to survive in the ―real world‖. This issue we interview Dr

Hongxing Zhang who works as a Senior Curator at the V&A (Victoria

and Albert Museum) where he just conducted the highly-praised

―Masterpieces of Chinese Painting 700-1900‖ exhibition.

Hongxing Zhang Image: Alexa Franco

It makes me feel that I am

contributing to society with

my work. That it is

meaningful. Whereas as an

academic you can often

lead a very isolated life.

And that is what I enjoy

most about my work. That

I make an impact.


Features SOAS

Leave to Remain

Film director Bruce Goodison spent three years of research

and interaction with young refugees and asylum seekers in

the UK. During this process he became intimately attached to

and connected with the lives of approximately 20 teenagers

and witnessed the hidden reality of seeking asylum in the UK.

He joined the youth as they attended home office interviews

and got placed in foster homes, sharing moments of fear,

anger and joy. From these interactions, came the film ―Leave

to remain‖ in 2013, based on the stories and lives of these

refugees as well as the often murky processes of asylum seek-

ing in Britain. ―I wanted each individual I had worked with to

see a part of him or herself in this film, and still be able to

keep their individual stories secret,‖ said the director during

the question round after the screening.

What makes this film extraordinary is the mix of profes-

sional actors working alongside amateur actors. Goodison set

up a workshop for minors who were

seeking asylum in the UK where

they could try out and practice their

acting skills. Some of the youth at

the workshop ended up in the film,

acting alongside well-known faces

such as Toby Jones and Noof Ou-

sellam. It was at one of these work-

shops that the director picked up

Masieh Zarrien, who arrived in the

UK at the age of eight from Afghani-

stan and who then got one of the lead

roles as Abdul, a young refugee boy

from Afghanistan, in the film.

―Leave to remain‖ cleverly and

intimately portrays the harsh reality

of seeking asylum in the UK. Throughout the film we become

associated with Omar, a young man from Afghanistan who

realizes how a good story can be the deciding fact between

remaining in Britain or being sent back to where he came

from. We also meet Zizidi, a Guinean girl who becomes a

symbol of domestic violence and rape as she reveals the scars

of her past. And finally Abdul, another Afghan boy, who at his

arrival in the UK turns the lives of those he meets upside

down. Every year, thousands of unaccompanied children enter

the UK and apply for asylum. Most of them enter the country

under precarious and dangerous circumstances, many having

serious physical as well as mental damages by the time they

reach the shores of Britain. Some are lucky enough to be

granted leave to remain, a form of humanitarian protection,

until they turn eighteen, if they have been refused refugee

status. ―Leave to remain‖ brilliantly transfers a sense of un-

certainty and fear that is felt in the lives not only of the roles

featured in the film, but also by thousands of young UK asy-

lum seekers every year. The film also builds on the game of

luck that so many minor asylum seekers must play in order to

not be sent back to their country of origin. Authorities do

often choose to not believe the stories children tell them of the

traumas they have experienced in their home countries, an

issue very strongly depicted in the film through the character

of Omar.

Authorities also often seem to try their best to confirm that

the children, who are seeking asylum, are over the age of

eighteen when they arrive in the country, because this gives

the state less responsibility for them. Many of the refugees

arriving in Britain come without valid documents, making the

situation exceedingly tense and difficult. This too is an issue

on which the film shone light, through the character of Abdul.

Not speaking English and without any valid documents, Ab-

dul embodies the difficulties which so many unaccompanied

youths without valid documents face as they struggle to con-

vince authorities in

Britain of their need

for protection.

―Leave to remain‖

ultimately tells a

story of insecurity,

fear, friendship and

trust. Despite the

arduous situations

that so many asylum

seeking youth land in

at their arrival in

what they might have

dreamt of as a safe

and carefree haven,

this film depicts asy-

lum seekers not as

court cases, mere

pawns in a game they

themselves have no

control over, but ra-

ther as human beings

full of passion, fear,

love and hatred.♦

Maia Birtles , BA Social Anthropology

A story of fear, anger and joy seen through the eyes of young refugees and asylum seekers in the UK.; a film review

―This film depicts

asylum seekers not

as court cases, mere

pawns in a game

they themselves

have no control

over, but rather as

human beings full

of passion, fear, love

and hatred.‖

Image: Google

The SOAS Spirit went to a screening of ―Leave to remain‖, where the director and some of the film‘s cast were also present.

The film gives a sharp and intimate insight into what life as a young asylum seeker in the UK can be like.

Some of them are angry, some of them

are content, others are uncertain and

others again are revolutionary and

fierce. Regardless of how they feel, one

thing about them is certain. They are

coming. And there is

nothing you can do to

stop them. The Vaginas

are back!

The Vagina Mono-

logues have yet again

been launched, this time

by SOAS Feminist Socie-

ty. The play was written

by Eve Ensler, an Ameri-

can playwright and femi-

nist, and is based on

interviews conducted

with over 200 women

from different paths of life, social class

and origin. The play was set up in

SOAS and ULU, as part of the 2014 V-

Day campaign, on Thursday 27th and

Friday 28th of February.

Our so often claimed open, equal

and democratized society has man-

aged to popularize the idea of the

vagina into being nothing more than a

―pretty, sexual canal‖ as it is referred

to in one of the play‘s monologues.

The Vagina Monologues therefore

creates a powerful and important

counter demonstration of this im-

portant organ that is so much more

than a commoditized, sexualized ob-

ject. The vagina is presented in a

range of different perspectives and

touches on various issues in a very

direct way. Some of the topics brought

up in the monologues were about

pubic hair and how women deal

with it, female genital mutilation,

rape, masturbation, tampons and

gynaecologists. The monologues

brought forth both the splendour

of the vagina as a beautiful, intri-

cate instrument that can give

great lust and self-fulfilment to

women as well as it being a bur-

den, an object many women either

don‘t know how to approach or

deal with.

These powerful, startling and

overwhelming monologues are a des-

perately needed contribution to wom-

en‘s empowerment and to a society

that is constantly masking and beauti-

fying women‘s sexuality. The mono-

logues bring the vagina out of its pol-

ished glass case as a sexualized object

and instead turn it into everything it

is, embracing it as a powerful, yet

tender organ.

If you missed out on the vagina mono-

logues this year, keep an eye open for

next year‘s play!♦

The Vaginas are coming!

University of London Theatre Project Presents SPARE ROOM, a comedy drama that explores the culture and identity of London students.

SPARE ROOM is a unique piece of theatre devised by students from universities across London. It combines real stories and hilarious anecdotes to shed some light on three very unusual academic years.

Performances are on Thursday March 13 and Saturday March 15.Doors open at 6.30pm. Performance starts at 7:30pm. Entry: £5 Ticket on the door, £4 online. Location: The Venue, ULU Malet Street, London WC1E 7HY

They are coming and they are angry! But they are also so much

more than that. The Vagina Monologues gives us an honest and

unpolished presentation of the vagina and women‘s relations to it.

Maia Birtles , BA Social Anthropology

―Our society

has managed

to popularize

the idea of the

vagina into

being nothing

more than a

―pretty, sexual

canal‖…‖


Features SOAS

University of London Theatre Project Present SPARE ROOM,

a comedy drama that explores the culture and identity of London students

The price of a family? Cristiana Moisescu, BA Politics

The government‘s tough stance on immigration has led to changes in its family settlement laws regarding

non-EEA nationals. Students are increasingly affected by these changes.

As of July 2012, the new Family Immigration Law

states that if a British citizen wants to bring a non-

EEA relative into the country, he must earn £18,600

per annum and continue to do so after the settler‘s

application has been approved. This financial require-

ment rises to £22,400 if a child is involved, with an-

other £2,400 for any additional child. The new rule

removes the right to third-party sponsorship and does

not take into account the relative‘s earnings (whether

potential or guaranteed). As the law now stands, 47%

of UK nationals would not be able

to comply with it should they want

to bring a non-EEA relative into

the country (Migration Observato-

ry, University of Oxford). Of these,

the most affected groups are wom-

en (62%) and young people (58%),

and while the rules affect any

relatives abroad, the greatest

impact is being felt by married

couples, with families effectively forced to live apart.

On March 4, the Royal Courts of Justice saw the

beginning of an appeal trial regarding these laws,

brought forward by three separate parties challenging

the Home Office. The appeal comes as a response to a

trial held in July 2013, where Mr. Justice Blake ruled

that the current laws were ―so onerous in effect as to

be an unjustified and disproportionate interference

with a genuine spousal relationship‖. He also advised

that the financial requirement be lowered to the mini-

mum wage, a move that would be more inclusive.

While the trial is ongoing, the government has put all

applications on hold – with the number currently

standing at 3,014.

The government estimates that 18,000 Britons are

affected annually by these changes in immigration

law, and among them are students at SOAS. Rachel

Preston, 23, studying Arabic and Art History, has

been married for close to a year, to Ahmed, 28, who is

a communications engineer, currently living in Cairo.

―I met my husband four years ago, before I came to

SOAS, and the plan was always to get married during

my year abroad. [...] So we got married last year on

the 25th of March – it‘s our one year anniversary

soon. And since then we‘ve just been going back and

forth from Cairo on holidays and getting visit

visas [...] which give you six months multiple

entry.‖

They see each other during holidays, but it feels

less like married life and more like a long-

distance relationship. ―I‘m married and I‘m in a

certain place in my life, but my life here with-

out my husband doesn‘t really reflect that. It

doesn‘t feel at all like a married life and it‘s

very frustrating having to go to Cairo and then

leave each other again. And you just can‘t plan any-

thing. Everyone has plans for after graduation, but

my only goal is to try and earn £18,600.‖

She isn‘t alone in this situation. Jan

Brulc, the communications manager for the

Migrants‘ Rights Network (MRN) says: ―The

income threshold affects a great number of

students who are at the beginning of their

career and although their earning potential

is high, [they] can't provide that sort of

income in the early years of their employ-

ment. We are in touch with a great deal of

students and young people who wish to

settle in the UK and start a family. This policy has

had a devastating effect on them and many live in

uncertainty about their

future or have had to

move abroad perma-

nently and leave their

life in the UK behind

them.‖

Although the implied

message of the govern-

ment seems to be that

UK citizens who cannot

comply with the regula-

tions are expendable,

Rachel doesn‘t want to

relocate. ―When people

ask why don‘t you just

move to Cairo ... I

wouldn‘t mind that, but

I don‘t want to be stuck

in a position later down

the line, when children

are involved, where

there might be a reason

why I have to come

back here and Ahmed

still can‘t. Also, I‘m an only child and I really wouldn‘t

want to leave, it would be very upsetting for my fami-

ly if I moved. I also know it‘s very stressful for them,

because they‘re constantly worried that I‘ll just get fed

up with it and say right, I‘m going to Cairo.‖

Steven Green, who leads Britcits, a campaign group

for families divided by immigration laws, also sees

students as a vulnerable group. ―Young people are

particularly affected – this is the age at which many

people are likely to meet their partners, and also the

age when people are embarking on a career and less

likely to be earning huge salaries. Given that univer-

sity students are likely to meet their partners while

studying – and also that universities are international

places – this is a huge issue for students.‖

The court comments from last year have given hope

to many that there might be an official ruling on the

illegality of the laws, as the plaintiffs are arguing that

the rules clash with Article 8 of the Human Rights

Act, the right to a private and family life. ―Our posi-

tion is that we campaign for the human right of fami-

lies to be united. We see this as a human rights issue,

not an economic issue. Families come

in many shapes and sizes,‖ says

Green.

Dr. Ala Sirriyeh, Lecturer in Sociolo-

gy at Keele University, specializing

in migration issues, agrees that

―family life is a human right that

needs to be protected. In a globalised

world families are not al-

ways contained within a national

border. Unfortunately, these new

rules link rights to income levels, meaning some fami-

lies are less valued.‖

The new laws have not been created in a political

vacuum, but as a continuation of the government‘s

tough stance on immigration, which has become the

scapegoat for all of Britain‘s financial problems. While

immigration laws have toughened and anti-

immigration narratives increased, it is the poor who

are bearing the consequences. According to the Home

Office, however, the laws have been put in place to

safeguard the British taxpayer, by preventing unlaw-

ful immigrants from becoming a burden on the state

and by ensuring that their integration is an easier

process (the implication being that the less money you

have, the less likely you are to integrate well). If you

will, a sort of ―for the people, against the people‖

move. What many are now decrying is the dependency

link created between earning a certain income and the

right to have a family; essentially, the monetization of

love.

―We believe that being able to start a family in your

own country should not be subject to the amount of

money you make,‖ thinks Jan Brulc. Nevertheless,

―many genuine families have been kept apart, includ-

ing children indefinitely separated from a parent with

implications for their well-being and development.‖ Under the new laws, family life has become monetized Image: Iselin Shaw of Tordarroch

―Students are likely

to meet their partners

while studying –

thus this is a huge

issue for students‖ –

Steven Green

―The law is forcing me

to choose between a

master‘s and my

husband‖ – Rachel

Preston


Features SOAS



...Too high for some students The case for children‘s well-being was argued

during the 2013 trial, and will likely be repeated at

the appeal. In 2013, an all-party parliamentary

group (APPG) heard evidence from 175 people re-

garding the impact of the new family immigrations

laws on their livelihood. That meeting produced a

report which clearly states that while children‘s

livelihood should fall under the same article 8 of the

European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR),

there is no sign that this was taken into account in

any visa application in which children were involved.

Another interesting aspect is the implication

brought by the term ‗immigrant‘. It immediately

evokes poor, ‗third world‘ origins, low qualifications,

and that is the way the term is used in the govern-

ment‘s rhetoric. In practice, however, the laws affect

everyone who is a non-EEA citizen, including mem-

bers of the Commonwealth and US citizens, who are

arguably affluent enough not to ‗be a burden on the

state‘. Sirriyeh explains: ―There has always been

discrimination on the basis of financial status in

migration policy. However, I think the new family

migration rules heighten this even further. The

hierarchical organisation of acceptable and less

acceptable international relationships and family

reflects class-based inequalities in the government's

wider austerity policies. In contrast to transnational

elites or 'expats', the new family migration rules

imply that those on low incomes who are in interna-

tional relationships and wish to be reunited with

their family are somehow living beyond their

means.‖

The same APPG report mentioned above highlights

some of the ludicrous consequences of the new Family

Immigration Law. An Australian national who earns

more than £250,000 is not eligible to settle in the UK

because his wife, a UK national, has never worked

(and does not intend to). Although this is an example

of financial extremes, there are countless people who

are affected under the same laws because the rules do

not take into consideration the income of the non-EEA

spouse. While there is discrepancy in the rhetoric of

the government (expat versus immigrant, business-

man versus jobseeker), the law acts the same for all,

giving way to ridiculous situations which better serve

to highlight the absurdity of the rules.

Many of those the APPG heard also

complained of the regional income dis-

crepancy which the financial threshold

set in the new rules completely ignores:

―[I]f I was doing exactly the same job for

the NHS in London I would meet the

financial requirement and would be able

to bring my wife here so I could carry on

with my work and live a happy

life.‖ (Individual submission, West Midlands, as quot-

ed from the APPG Family Migration Inquiry Report

June 2013)

Rachel, who is originally from Cornwall, agrees that

regional discrimination makes a difference, as well-

paying jobs are hard to find away from London.

Should the financial threshold be lowered to the mini-

mal wage, ―it would put less pressure on me to find a

well-paying job, as a lot of graduates enter into gradu-

ate programmes or internships. It could mean that I

could effectively just get a waiting job and work at it

for six months, and then hopefully it would be fine.‖

According to her, the government has

―made these rules because they want to

try and cut immigration in any way

possible, because they‘ve made immi-

gration targets completely unrealistic.

They can‘t pick on the EU with regards

to immigration so they‘re going for any

other route – non EU students and non

-EEA spouses.‖

Ironically enough, EU citizens,

who fall under EU immigration laws rather than

UK/home country law, can bring their non-EEA

spouse into the UK. This is known as the Surin-

der Singh law and it is a route that many UK

nationals have considered: move to another EU

country for six months, then come back into the

UK under EU citizen rights rather than UK ones

and bring their spouse/relative with them.

Rachel‘s aware of this possibility, but thinks ―it‘s

a waste of money‖ and does not want to uproot her life

from the UK or Egypt in order to move to another EU

country.

There is no doubt that the new law is financially

prohibitive – an application fee alone costs £1051 –

and that it‘s meant to be that way. The problem is

that it‘s also disrupting people‘s lives, their future and

their children‘s future. Rachel‘s frustration with this

situation only grows when she sees that ―one of my

friends is buying a flat with her boyfriend right now,

another has just bought a house with her boyfriend,

and just seeing their combined power, what they can

do together ... that makes me think

[that] I want to be able to plan my

future, whether it‘s in England or in

Cairo, I‘d like to be able to have the

choice.‖ Similarly, the new laws have

taken away her choice regarding her

immediate future: ―I would love to do a

master‘s but can‘t do one. [The law is]

forcing me to choose between a mas-

ter‘s and my husband‖.

The appeal currently being trialled has a lot of

potential regarding the government‘s response to the

way this policy is affecting people, although in all

likelihood the case will be taken forwards to the Su-

preme Court. A ruling is expected in almost five

weeks‘ time, although the 2013 trial took five months

to offer a decision.♦

For more information, check out:

britcits.blogspot.com and the Love Letters to the Home Office

project

www.migrantsrights.org.uk and the We Are Family campaign

freemovement.org.uk

www.jcwi.org.uk

Rachel Preston and her husband have seen each other four times since their wedding day Image: Rachel Preston

47% of UK

nationals

would not be

able to comply

with the new

law

―The new family

migration rules imply

that those on low

incomes [...] are somehow

living beyond their

means‖ – Ala Sirriyeh


Features SOAS



The auspicious sound of the daily SOAS fire alarms

could not have shaken the inauguration of this simply

inspiring play. As part of ―Ain‘t I a Woman‖ week at

SOAS, black feminism is taking centre stage with this

hammer force of the raw experienced of African-

American Women. Detailing the lives of seven women,

this is a play to be seen and felt and lived.

At the beginning, the sharp contrast between sex

jokes and furious twerking jarred sharply with mono-

logues of rage, but after a while the cacophony of

music and speech slowly simmered down. The per-

formers begin to respond to each other‘s stories, im-

parting comparisons and empathy, narratives of rape,

abortion and abuse sending the audience deeper, and

we were completely engrossed in each tale. What some

audience members might find shocking is the lan-

guage (the ―N‖ word, graphic descriptions and swear-

ing can all be found here) and although this isn‘t done

sparingly, it avoids the gratuitous. G2 is a small

space, yet the cast maximised the Brechtian technique

of limited props, a blank screen and coloured carna-

tions. The ―movement director‖ was worth every pen-

ny.

The acting itself was flawless, which I was not

prepared for. All ready was I to hear some horrible

American accents and over-gesturing; instead, I was

greeted with the subtle. The Lady in Blue (Liagh

Yecalo Tecle, our own SOASian) on being trapped in

Harlem: ―I could get a train anywhere but I would still

be an outsider.‖ A line so throwaway and yet so reso-

nating. Lady in Green‘s (Damiola K Fashola) portray-

al of complete hopelessness in the face of romantic

failure (in other words every one of my Valentine‘s

Days) could only be matched by her Royal Ballet

standard pirouettes. The Q&A ultimately revealed

each performer‘s own dialogue, drawing on person-

al experience to achieve their character‘s revival.

So why this play and why now? The play itself is

somewhat timeless: written in the 50s, performed

on Broadway in the 70s, immortalised by a Tyler

Perry all-star remake in 2010, and now making the

rounds in London, this cultist play has an eternal

place in the collective memory of the African Dias-

pora. Though if you ask organiser Ella Achola,

she‘ll reply that she simply missed putting on ―For

Coloured Girls‖ in the British Black History month

in October and so the American month had to do.

After the laugher died she stated that ―For Col-

oured Girls‖ actually ―really unpacks black femi-

nism.‖ How relevant in today‘s heterodoxy of the

white masculine. Women and POC have a quietened

voice in the mainstream agenda, and here is a play

whose speech bellows from the rooftops. However, this

play is not immune from its critics: accusations of

characterising the black female experience as predom-

inantly man-hating and suffering borders on the

stereotypical; yet the narrative is universal and learn-

ing to love oneself is not restricted to skin colour. In a

world where catapults of misogyny and bombardment

of beauty surround the female body, what could be

better a better peacemaker? ♦

Mental Health at SOAS: Is demand being met?

Ain’t I a Woman? For Coloured Girls who have considered Suicide when

the rainbow isn’t enuf. Imogen Sian Edwards , BA History

Some of the cast members Credit: Official photo from “Ain’t I a Woman”

Paloma Rao , LLB Law

As awareness of mental health increases, so are the number of students seeking support from the Student Advice and Wellbeing

Department.

The Student Advice and Wellbeing department at

SOAS offers several services to support us students,

including advice for international students, financial

advice and aid for students with disabilities. Mental

health is just one other area this department needs to

fund.

Most of us know, especially with the success of

Mental Health and Wellbeing Week last month, that

the awareness of mental health continues to increase.

This could be due to various factors such as more

education and understanding of this area or increas-

ing financial and academic pressure on students, as

well as students recommending SOAS‘ services to

others. Nonetheless, demand continues to rise. Ac-

cording to the Heads of University Counselling Ser-

vices survey (2013), demand for psychological support

services has risen by 16%. Last year approximately

400 students were seen for counselling, almost double

that of 2002-3, and 300 students have already been

seen so far this year, with four months of the academ-

ic year to go.

So this raises the question of whether demand is

being met. Alison Barty, Head of Student Services and

Senior Student Counsellor, explains that even if the

staff was doubled, there would still be a waiting list.

The availability of drop-in times is short and often

busy, which may deter students from seeking help.

However, appointments are available to be made

throughout the week (between the hours of 8.30 a.m.

to 6.30 p.m.) and as availability increases, demand

increases. The department is struggling to meet this

demand, with around 30 people on a waiting list, and

is having to prioritize waiting lists based on urgency

and whether or not students are in their final year, on

a year abroad or at risk of dropping out, leaving other

students waiting up to several weeks to be seen. The

total budget for the Student Advice and Wellbeing

Department for 2013-2014 is £411,341, with staffing

costs amounting to £364,857 of that. Whilst the staff-

ing budget slightly increases annually, the

non-staffing budget more or less only

increases with inflation. The staff are all

qualified psychologists or psychothera-

pists, and one advisor, Sachiko Kishi,

comes in twice a week for mental health

and first aid training. A visiting psychia-

trist comes in once a month who can refer

students to a GP for treatment where

necessary. This service has been fully booked for the

past three years, suggesting that there is a high level

of demand and no increasing availability.

Talking to Alison Barty, it became clear that the

biggest problem area for the mental health depart-

ment is actually lack of space. One student complains:

―I don‘t like that many of the support services are in

the Vernon Square campus as it is really annoying to

have to go there for just one small thing.‖ Surprisingly

this department has not been designated any of its

own rooms despite the need for several small rooms

for counselling and workshops. With the importance

and awareness of mental health issues becoming clear

‒ one in four people in the UK will experience some

kind of mental health problem every year (Mental

Health Foundation) ‒ the fact that this department

assists hundreds of students needs to be increasingly

addressed by the university in future years. Although

the £33 million expansion into the North Block

of Senate House will hopefully provide the

mental health and wellbeing department with

more much-needed space, this will not be until

2015-2016. This will allow more space for facili-

ties and services the department are introduc-

ing, which at the moment include light box

therapy for seasonal affective disorder, massag-

es and acupuncture at a discounted rate at

Vernon Square every Tuesday from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.

If you or a friend are having mood-swings, feel as

though you are suffering from anxiety or depression or

simply need someone to talk to, contact the Student

Advice and Wellbeing Department, attend workshops

or access their self-help advice online.♦

Lady in Green‘s (Damiola K Fashola)

portrayal of complete hopelessness in the

face of romantic failure (in other words every

one of my Valentine‘s Days)

Last year

approximately

400 students

were seen for

counselling


Features SOAS



―‗What is wrong with the people on the

ground?‘ That is what they want to

hear, not some old news that everybody

knows already,‖ says Nii from Ghana

who is working on establishing a small

community radio in Jamestown, Accra. Here is a quick story of one project

connecting SOAS with a quarter of

the Ghanaian capital Accra. On a

dark winter afternoon in London, I sit

on the fifth floor of the main SOAS

campus, talking to two people enthu-

siastic about radio and the work it

can accomplish in community. Mary

Thackray is a former SOAS student

who now works as SOAS Radio Sta-

tion Manager. On her visit to Ghana

last summer as part of a radio pro-

ject, she met Nii Kwartey Owoo who

grew up in Jamestown and was pas-

sionate about his own ideas of setting

up a community radio station. To-

gether they have created a project

that should help Nii establish his

station and set up a permanent link

of cooperation between the two radios

and the two communities.

Sitting in a colourful studio of

SOAS Radio, Nii tells me about his

own motivations for launching a

community radio in Jamestown. He

started off as a sound engineer with

an idea to do something productive

for the community. He already

worked on a radio initiative, but his

project came to an end when the

community centre in which he was

working lost its internet connection.

This is when the SOAS Radio decided

to help support Nii and his plan of

setting up the community station JT

LIVE Radio in Ghana, for example

sharing ideas about how to create

content and podcasts even without a

permanent internet connection.

Nii and Mary explain to me some of

the differences between community

radio and mainstream media in Gha-

na. ―What surprised me the most was

the dominance of the mass media,‖

says Mary describing her own visit to

Jamestown. ―There is no real commu-

nity representation in there.‖ Nii

adds to this, explaining that the news

in Ghanaian mainstream media is

often old or inaccurate and that the

local people find it hard to express

themselves freely within the estab-

lished media and engage with its

content. ―They present themselves as

educated, formal and wearing

suits. So [the local] people don‘t

give them correct information or

they don‘t want to talk to them at

all.‖

The criticism that often sur-

rounds projects like this communi-

ty radio is the feeling of another

‗white people saving Africa for a

month‘ kind of idea. Addressing

this notion, both Nii and Mary

emphasise almost in every sen-

tence how much they have learned

mutually from their cooperation.

Secondly, this project has been

designed specifically to break

the chain of short-term projects

and attempts to establish a

stable link and cooperation

between the two radios and the

two communities.

Nii himself grew up in Jame-

stown. While trying to prepare

for the interview I made honest

effort to expand my poor

knowledge concerning the

quarter of Jamestown and

Ghana in general. To my sur-

prise, the picture I got from reading

articles and looking at photos on the

internet was even more distorted

than I had anticipated. ―The problem

is that what you read on the internet

and in the media in general is often

far away from the truth,‖ says Nii.

―Actually, that is one of our goals

with this station: to promote Jame-

stown and get a more accurate pic-

ture of the community living there.‖

Most of the radio programmes

produced by JT LIVE Radio will be in

Ga, a local language spoken mainly

around the Ghanaian capital Accra.

―We want the world to listen to us,

but also we want our people to have a

voice. There is only one commercial

station that broadcasts in Ga, and we

want to change that.‖ The content of

the station will cover everything from

entertainment to educational pro-

grammes, all focused on the local

community. ―Sometimes in Ghana,

what we hear in the news is some-

thing that happened three weeks ago

and everybody knows

already,‖ says Nii. ―We

want to look into the

community, give the

coverage to local issues

and give a change for

the locals to carry out

their own ideas.‖

Coming to the end, Nii

tells me what he has

learnt from the way

that SOAS Radio works.

―What I love about it is

the accessibility for the

students. Everyone can

come in and make a

show.‖

SOAS Radio, alt-

hough a bit out of

sight on the fifth

floor of the main

building, is wide

open for anyone who

wishes to get in-

volved. ―People that

come do not neces-

sarily have to be

making a show,‖

says Mary. ―Anybody can come in and

get trained in basic studio use and

editing and after that people can get

involved in fundraising, for example,

or help with coordination of our pro-

jects.‖ Mary also tells me that for

anyone who wishes to support this

project in Ghana, SOAS Radio is

organising a party on the March 20 at

the Bedroom Bar in Shoreditch with

live West African music and DJs.

Asking about Nii‘s view on SOAS,

he tells me that he was expecting a

bit more than he found here. ―Coming

to a school that calls itself the ‗School

of Oriental and African Studies‘ I

anticipated more courses and more

engagement concerning Western

Africa. On the other hand, I very

much like the sense of vibrant com-

munity and the fact that there‘s al-

ways something happening here.‖ Nii

smiles and looks around: ―Sometimes

I don‘t feel that I‘m just visiting. I

feel part of SOAS.‖♦

SOAS Radio helping to launch a station in Ghana Katerina Veliskova, BA Middle Eastern Studies

―When other media

talk to people, they

present themselves

as educated, formal,

wearing suits. So

people don‘t give

them correct

information ‖

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top

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ritish

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Features SOAS

The pleasures and perils of growing food in London

There once was a dump in Weston Rise, on

the ground owned by Dinwiddy House: a

concrete esplanade of urban neglect, aban-

doned at the mercy of the unrelenting accu-

mulation of garbage. Today this yard hosts a

prosperous garden, where not only vegetable

but indeed human life at its best healthily

flourishes. The transformation of this waste-

land into a burgeoning patch of land has

been carried out by the SOAS Common

Ground society since 2009.

The Common Ground strikes many as an

oasis of natural quiet, unexpectedly emerg-

ing from amidst the fumes of Islington. Lon-

don boasts 17 city farms and more than a

hundred community gardens. Our Common

Ground certainly isn‘t of a size compa-

rable to, say, the Kentish Town City

Farm. Yet it is among the most cen-

tral community gardens in London,

only a mile and a half away from Cov-

ent Garden.

The Common Ground Garden was

conceived by a group of active SOAS students

in 2009. Armed with enthusiasm and backed

by a supportive Student Union, these stu-

dents ordered tons of soil from the North

London Waste and loads of wooden planks to

build up six beds and a beautiful shed. Their

work was done with admirable skill, and to

this day the structures have endured Lon-

don‘s harsh and rainy winters.

Nowadays, the garden offers the opportuni-

ty to all of those that have some kind of at-

tachment to nature to cultivate it right in the

heart of London. Although our main commit-

ment is to learn how to grow organic vegeta-

bles, the Common Ground is much more than

that. The garden is a place to socialize and

chill, meet new people and share your gar-

dening experiences. Few of those that get

involved in the garden have grounded experi-

ence in agriculture, which makes it a great

opportunity to experiment and learn from

communal work and dialogue.

However, it is not always a bed of roses.

Today the garden suffers indeed from whim-

sical participation

and troublesome

succession. As a mat-

ter of fact, students

are generally busy

and find it hard to

commit. Further-

more, students graduate and leave. Much

knowhow and enthusiasm gets lost in these

transitions.

There is only one way to prevent these

issues from disrupting our gardening activi-

ties: communal work! The garden doesn‘t

merely need warm feelings and sympathetic

words: it needs commitment and labour. And

this shouldn‘t come from a handful of com-

mitted individuals: embedded with the name

and aim of the Common Ground is the idea

that the garden can only be sustained as a

community project, where a multitude of

people all bring in their small contribution to

shape the whole.

This is why we are calling for all students

that like to get their hands dirty, or that

have a passion for gardening, to get involved

in this fantastic opportunity to sustain and

preserve such a beautiful corner of London.♦

Leonardo Cini , BA Social Anthropology and Economics However, it is not always a bed

of roses. Today the garden

suffers indeed from whimsical

participation and troublesome

succession.

SPREAD THE HYSTERIA SOAS Feminist Society was founded by a group of five

students in the summer of 2013. All of us were frus-

trated about how feminism was treated at SOAS:

almost invisible in our reading lists and neglected by

the macho-leftist group of male students running

various political activities in and around SOAS. We all

felt the need for change.

Today, SOAS Feminist Society has over 250 mem-

bers and is one of the most active societies at SOAS.

Throughout the year, we have started a number of

projects. In January, FemSoc launched the first issue

of the feminist magazine ‗HYSTERIA‘ – a collection of

radical feminisms, arts, articles and texts, which have

become a huge success. The second issue will be

launched in April. Moreover, FemSoc helped put to-

gether the success from last year‘s ―Vagina Mono-

logues‖, a theatre play looking to reclaim vaginas,

both in the spoken word and in the physical space.

Further, we promoted a non-shaving-month at SOAS,

which we called ―Normember‖. The aim of the

Normember project is to question norms and taboo

surrounding (women‘s) body hair. The project resulted

in an exhibition at the Gender Matters Too conference

held on March 8 at SOAS together with Agender,

Women's Society and Women for Women Internation-

al.

Overall, the year has been a pure success, with

more and more feminists joining the society everyday.

Even though feminism is a broad, and in many senses

fragmented, ideology we manage to gather feminists ‒

from queers to radicals – around a common cause:

questioning gender roles and fighting patriarchy.

Nevertheless, there is still a lot of work that needs to

be done. Feminism is still a very marginalized ideolo-

gy that we need to keep fighting for and make people

aware of.♦

Join the movement! Visit our facebook-page (SOAS

Feminist Society) or e-mail us on

[email protected].

Love, FemSoc

Feminism matters. But can be easily overlooked or shrugged off. That is why a

group of frustrated SOAS students decided to make it visible through funding

the very first Feminist Society at SOAS and spread the word – on the campus

and beyond. SOAS Feminist Society

For anyone interested in taking active part in this

project, please email Leo at [email protected]. Prepared to get your hands dirty? Image: Leonardo Cini

Any contributions or inquiries [email protected] Image: Tove Lyssarides


That’s so SOAS Our guide to being the coolest kid on the block

—by Anon

The most fulfilling part of your university experience is

often to be found in dialogue with your peers, and no-

where are you fulfilled more thoroughly than here at

SOAS. This dialogue is given a formal, structured and

(above all) compulsory framework in the form of your

tutorials, in which you share your thoughts, hopes, fears

and dreams with your fellow students. You‘re also given

the opportunity to start sentences with things like ―I

just couldn‘t help but think of Foucault during this

week‘s readings …‖, and Lord knows the rest of life

offers precious few opportunities for that.

But tutorial groups have their own

very particular set of awkward pit-

falls, and one‘s journey to fulfilment

can very easily be stymied by annoy-

ing fellow travellers. I think you

know what I‘m getting at here ‒ that

particular style of student who

knows an awful lot about the SWP

and not much about anything else

(combat boots, beards, air of misogy-

ny ‒ by their fruits ye shall know

them). Or the guy who‘ll throw into

the mix ―yeah, but … what even is a

thought?‖ to hide the fact that he

hasn‘t done the readings, attended

the lecture and is actually in the

wrong building.

Well here are a few pearls of wis-

dom, from my soul to yours, which

will help you in your quest to domi-

nate a tutorial without seeming like

a dick…

1. How to cut in when someone is making a stupid

point? My patented method is the classic ―oh but!‖

that bursts forth as if you just can‘t help it. You

clap a hand over your mouth, look sheepish, apolo-

gise, pause for a moment and then launch into

your criticism. Because you didn‘t mean to inter-

rupt, it just happened.

2. How to do as little reading as possible? The advice

I got from an older and wiser student, many years

ago, is to pick one thing at random really far down

the reading list, then get in really early with an

insightful point on it. Everyone will think you‘ve

chewed through most of the reading list and didn‘t

want to bother yourself with a comment on one of

the lamestream texts at the top.

3. And above all, the phrase that will get you

through any sticky discussion topic in any depart-

ment at SOAS: ―you know what, I think we could

totally apply a Marxist model to this.‖ ♦

One‘s journey to

fulfilment can

very easily be

stymied by

annoying fellow

travellers …

combat boots,

beards, air of

misogyny ‒ by

their fruits ye

shall know them.

Darian De La Cruz, BA Japanese

SOAS.Faces:

‘Vernon Tea Party’ It is the people that make SOAS the unique place it is. People we might interact with daily

without really knowing their stories. In this issue we talk to some members of the ―Vernon

Tea Party‖ who are part of an interesting and well-liked project.

As most SOASians attending

lectures at Vernon Square may

attest to, Thursday and Friday

mornings just would not be the

same without the generous offer-

ing of hot drinks and biscuits by a

group of volunteers stationed

outside the campus. But who are

the faces behind the much needed

caffeine boost given to us, poor

students?

The tea and coffee giveaway,

which has been running for about

five years now, is a project started

by a SOAS alumnus, Peter James,

who is also the main coordinator

of the group. His humanitarian

calling and a ―desire to engage

positively with the injustices and

broken situations that we observe,

both here in the UK and beyond‖,

he says, were the main impetus

behind his decision to study at

SOAS. Having graduated in 2006

with a BA in Development, Peter

decided to remain in London and

help those in need of different

help and support rather than

pursue a career abroad. Now, he

is employed by the King's Cross

Baptist Church (KCBC), working

with a community which strives

to ―serve students and show God's

love not just in words but in prac-

tical action‖, too. Together with

other volunteers from the church,

he does just that by bringing a

little happiness into each stu-

dent's life by offering ―a cup of

coffee, a smiling face and maybe a

listening ear after a long lecture

or a difficult exam.‖

Via Peter, the KCBC established

a working partnership with a

charitable organisation called

Student Life whose members

also play a key role in what has

come to be known as the ―Vernon

Tea Party‖ among its student

friends. On top of that, Student

Life members help to organise

regular social events of which, as

Peter explains, the ―primary

purpose is to create a space for

students to meet new people,

build a sense of community and

discover new friendships.‖

Indeed, when

I attended

one such

event, the

unmistakable

feeling of

c l o s e n e s s

a m o n g

friends was

easily per-

c e i v a b l e .

During a

break from

delicious food

and a loud

game of triv-

ia, I had an

opportunity

to talk to some volunteers from

Student Life in a corner of the

bustling room. Eea, the SOAS

team leader for the charity, ex-

plained to me that Student Life is

an international organisation

working among university stu-

dents which gave them the chance

to intern in one of a number of

countries. That was the case for

Hannah, one of the interns from

America, who decided to come to

London and spend the year get-

ting involved in charitable tasks

and events, after being involved

in the organisation for all four

years of her student life. Interest-

ingly, considering that Student

Life is a Christian charity, there

was surprisingly little discussion

of religion during the social –

much like at the table of the

―Vernon Tea Party‖. When I

asked about this, Eea explained:

―As Christians, we want to serve

people and if there is anybody

who‘d like to know about the

Christian faith and what we be-

lieve in, we are happy to explain

or offer information. But we don't

offer it at the table.‖ The sense of

belonging is emphasised by the

fact that all the socials are open to

people of all faiths and Eea‘s

amused remark of ―I think most

people here today are not Chris-

tians‖ stands as a tribute to that

fact.

The Christian values behind the

generous actions of both the

KCBC and Student Life are clear

and, as Peter emphasises, both

organisations ―want to share some

of [God's] selfless love with stu-

dents at SOAS‖. However, it must

be stressed that their generosity

should not be seen as an exercise

in ‗recruiting‘ new Christians and

so all students, no matter what

their religious tendency, are invit-

ed to simply get to know this

bunch of lovely people and make

what could be lasting friendships.

♦

Features SOAS

Peter James, the man behind the coffee giveaway, and the team


Features Special

On Feb. 15 Mr Kasit Piromya, Thai

Diplomat and former Minister of For-

eign Affairs between 2008 and 2011,

gave a talk at SOAS discussing the

current political climate in Thailand.

Mr. Kasit Piromya, a member of the

Diplomat Party – in opposition to the

Phue Thai Party led by Yingluck

Shinawatra, the current

Prime Minister ‒ has

publicly denounced the

existing government in

Thailand.

The crisis in Thailand

started in November

2013, when Yingluck

Shinawatra‘s govern-

ment passed an amnesty

bill that would allow

former prime minister,

and Yingluck‘s brother,

Thaskin Shinawatra to

return to Thailand without serving jail

time.

Protesters flocked to the streets to

voice their discontent and Yingluck was

forced to call an election which went

ahead on Feb. 2 2013 and ended in a

victory for the Pheu Thai Party. Howev-

er, opposition leaders, including Mr

Kasit Piromya, have called for the elec-

tions to be annulled; they claim the

elections broke constitutional rule by

taking place in one day.

These protests emerged due to dis-

content with the current democratic

system of Thailand. Can you explain

why they are necessary?

I think democracy is a process, and

this democratisation process started in

1932, at the end of the absolute monar-

chy and the elite of that time. At the

end of the Second World War and the

spread of communism, and with west-

ern support, the preference at that time

was more security, anti-

communist. So a mili-

tary government was a

preferred form of gov-

ernment and the de-

mocratisation process

was sidelined until the

1970s.

Then, with the opening of the world

at large, student movements and anti-

Vietnam war [protests] in the US, stu-

dent protests in Paris and Frankfurt

and so on, [reverberations] could be

seen in Thai domestic politics; then the

students of the urban middle class

started to question the mili-

tary government, so [we had]

a series of protests right up

until the 1990s, and in 1997

for the first time we had a

very participatory constitu-

tion.

What do you mean by a partic-

ipatory constitution?

In the sense that the

people could put their

[heads] together and

propose a draft law;

they could join hands

with their signatures

to remove a politician

or senior officials that

were deemed to [...] be

abusing their authori-

ties. But getting rid of

the military involved a

political process, where

we had more ‗money politics‘

coming to replace a military govern-

ment and I think it is that form of poli-

tics that allowed corruption to become

very sophisticated by the time Thaskin

came to power.

H o w h a s c o r r u p t i o n b e c o m e

‗sophisticated‘ within Thailand?

I would say that in the 1970s right up

to the 1990s, it was a project type of

corruption – so if a government wants

to build a road, some type of crooked

politician just had to buy land in ad-

vance and would have their family

members gain the construction rights.

But with Thaskin it turned into a pro-

gram and policy corruption – for exam-

ple you come out with a program to help

the poor, and within those programs

there already are the corruption prac-

tices waiting for its launch, like the Rice

Scheme or whatever.

I think it has come to a point where

the Thai people

[have] started to

question money

politics and [there

is] rising discontent

with the abuses of

power; at the same

time people have started to question

[representative] democracy. This indi-

rect democracy has led to the abuse of

power and corruption and so on. The

representatives of the people have the

vested interests in themselves and not

in the society.

Western Media has portrayed an image

of the current protests as class based;

however in the opinions section of Al-

Jazeera you claim this is false.

From my point of view this conflict is

about morality and

governance and ethi-

cal standards, and

accountability and

transparency and the

rule of law. So it is not

what the Economist

and the Financial

Times and the BBC and the New York

Times have been paid to paint, the

picture of the urban rural divide, it is

nonsense, romantic. It is not about the

elite and the masses, or the regionalism

between the southerner and the north-

easterner and so on. This time it‘s about

the elitist status quo of money politics

versus the masses, who would like to

end [that] status quo and have more of

a participatory democracy.

There‘s a call for a people‘s council to

come and help the reforms come about,

but how can an undemocratically elect-

ed government provide democracy?

What the people on the street ask or

demand is a reform process [...], Occupy

Wall Street if I were to draw parallels.

They want to have the reform, and in

order to launch that reform, the people

on the street do not want to have the

involvement of all political parties,

including us the Democrat, they want

this to be the work undertaken by the

academics, the private sector, NGOs,

interest groups and so on, and once the

reform is completed in 6 months‘ time,

then there should be a referendum on

the reform and national elections

whereby participating political

parties would have to commit

themselves to the reform pro-

cess, so any parties winning the

election would be committed by

the referendum to carry out the

detailed reform or the restruc-

turing of Thailand.

So what next?

First, decentralisation, because Thai-

land is too centralised; second, lessen-

ing the role of professional politicians

and political parties; and third,

[empowering] the local governments,

their administrative power, where I

think one of the ideas is to have elected

governors, similar to what the Japanese

did 20 years ago with the governors of

their respective prefectures. I think the

trend in Thailand is in that direction, so

more power to the local governments,

more empowerment to the communities,

to people‘s organisations, to the profes-

sional occupations.♦

N.B. Mr. Kasit Piromya would like to note that throughout the interview, the opinions raised are his own, and do not necessarily reflect the official stance of the Democrat Party

Rebecca Harvey , MSc Development Studies

Thailand is in the throes of a political crisis whose origins stretch back to the country‘s development since the 1997 constitution. We talk to

Thailand‘s former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Kasit Piromya, to see what he makes of this loaded situation.

No more ‘money politics’ for Thailand

Thailand's former Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Kasit Piromya, thinks 'money politics' should disappear Image: © Abhisit Vejjajiva

―This conflict is

about morality

and governance‖

―What the people on the

street ask or demand is a

reform process‖

――I think the trend

in Thailand is in

that direction,

more power to the

local governments,

empowerment to

the communities‖


Features Special

Thailand is polarized and deeply divided. The current

political crisis was triggered by Prime Minister

Yingluck Shinawatra and her caretaker government‘s

attempt to pass a controversial amnesty bill in No-

vember. The bill would have nullified former Prime

Minister Thaksin's corruption conviction and would

have allowed him to return to the country. Thaksin

was removed in a bloodless coup in 2006 and currently

resides in Dubai in exile. It is also worth mentioning

that Yingluck Shinawatra is the sister of the former

PM. As one anti-government protester put it: ―I hate

her government because they're dishonest. They

spend our money, our tax money, on Shinawatra busi-

nesses and their networks.‖

Colloquially, the

Yellow Shirts and

Red Shirts are the

two dominant

colors in Bangkok

at the moment. To

put it simply, the

Yellow Shirts are the ones protesting and are mainly

middle and upper class residents of Bangkok, united

by their belief that Thaksin is still controlling the

current Pheu Thai government through his sister.

Because of their rural support base, Thaksin-allied

parties have won the last five elections.

The Red Shirts support the Shinawatra siblings and

the current government and are mostly from rural

and northern Thailand such as Chiang Mai, which is

the ousted PM‘s hometown. The Red Shirts supported

the most recent amnesty bill attempting to allow

Taksin's return to his homeland, and they support his

sister‘s continuation in office.

The mounting pressure led Prime Minister

Yingluck to dissolve parliament and call for new elec-

tions on Feb. 2. However, the opposition boycotted the

elections and Suthep Thaugsuban, Secretary General

of the People‘s Democratic Reform

Committee (PDRC), has consistently

called on people countrywide to rally in

Bangkok in order to oust Prime Minis-

ter Yingluck Shinawatra and her gov-

ernment. Suthep is demanding the

current government be replaced by an

unelected ―People's Council‖ and an

interim administration which would

implement political reform for 18 months before it

would be dissolved, prior to a general election.

The results of the election have not been released,

and hundreds of polling stations were forced to shut

down or prevented from opening by protesters trying

to derail the vote in Bangkok and in the south of the

country. This spurred an alarming concern about the

violation of political rights. The PDRC prides itself on

having acknowledged the painful fact that the politi-

cal system in Thailand is broken and that democracy

has not been in play for a while now. Much like a self-

appointed vigilante, Suthep needs to arguably tread

carefully in order to not accidentally violate the funda-

mental rights of the very people he

has vowed to deliver justice to. Ac-

cording to the Thai Election Commis-

sion, the closure of polls affected

more than six million registered

voters. Suthep most recently peti-

tioned the Constitutional Court to

annul the election, but his request

was rejected.

On Jan. 22, Thailand‘s government

imposed a 60-day state of emergency

in Bangkok and surrounding provinc-

es, following months of protests by

anti-government demonstrators in

the capital. The United Nations

Office of the High Commissioner for

Human Rights (OHCHR) has been

monitoring the situation and has

recently called on ―leaders of both

sides and security forces to ensure

the safety of those genuinely engag-

ing in peaceful demonstrations, and

to make sure that all sides strictly comply with the

law.‖ The OHCHR further called upon ―the authorities

to carry out a prompt, full and impartial investigation

to establish the facts and to ensure accountability for

this and other similar violent incidents that have

occurred over the past months.‖

According to the Erawan Medical Center, at least

20 people have been killed and 718 wounded since the

protests began in November. I walk through a demon-

strator camp on Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue every

morning in order to get to my office building, situated

opposite the Government House, an area which on the

morning of Feb. 18 was rocked by violence that led to

five deaths and more than 70 people injured. Six-year-

old Pajarakorn Yos-ubol, or Nong Cake, and her

younger brother Koravit, or Nong Ken, were the most

recent victims of a grenade attack near the

Ratchaprasong rally site on Sunday

afternoon, Feb. 23.

Tranakorn Yos-Ubol,

the father of the

children, stated: ‗‗I

wish I could say ‗you

are forgiven‘ to the

people who commit-

ted this violence.

But I don‘t know

who they are.‘‘ The Bangkok Post quoted

Tranakoring saying that he hoped his

family‘s loss would be the last tragedy of

the political violence.

The prognosis for Thailand appears to

be bleak, and Human Rights Watch

senior researcher Sunnai Pasuk recently

warned that a deep-rooted hatred was

spreading through communities across

the country. No one seems to know how

the political transformation will turn out

and the violence is escalating as ten-

sions grow. Most main roads are blocked

with sandbags and piled up tires, as well as strategi-

cally placed vans, all in order to maintain control of

the streets; at every corner, vendors sell ―Bangkok

Shutdown Jan 13‖ t-shirts, caps and banners, as well

as ―Shutdown‖ paraphernalia.

During my first day in Bangkok, my taxi driver

decided to share with me his opinion on the current

political climate. He was a ferocious supporter of

Thaksin and proceeded to list all the reasons to con-

sidered Thaksin to be a good man, worthy of repatria-

tion. Despite some words being lost in translation, it

appeared clear to me that he feared he‘d be targeted

for what he wholeheartedly believed in. I did not know

it at the time but it seems that the deeply divided

country is metamorphosing into a state in which ex-

pressing your opinion could potentially cost you your

life.♦

Jagoda Sekular, MA International Politics

Thailand’s Political Upheaval Thailand‘s image of a peaceful tourist hub is changing every day as protests rock the

country. Jagoda Sekular reports from Bangkok.

Ratchadamnoen Nok Avenue, in front of the UN headquarters, is cordoned off. Image: © Iselin Shaw of Tordarroch

―I wish I could say ‗you are

forgiven‘ to the people who

committed this violence. But I

don‘t know who they are.‘‘ ‒

Protestor in Bangkok.

―No one knows how the

political transformation will

turn out and the violence is

escalating .‖ Anti Pheu Thai sentiments on the streets of Bangkok Image: © Jagoda Sekular


Features World

The news concerning the Ukraine has

flown through Western media like a

hurricane. At first, the world was

shocked by videos of police shooting live

cartridges at demonstrators holding

improvised shields, in the heart of the

Ukrainian capital Kiev. Things shifted

completely when president Viktor

Yanukovych fled the country and

sought refuge in Russia, and now, the

crisis over the Crimean peninsula

brings flashbacks of Russia‘s 2008 inva-

sion of Georgia. What is behind this

unprecedented turmoil in Europe‘s

second largest country and what future

can be predicted for its people?

Everything began in November last

year when President Yanukovych decid-

ed not to sign an agreement with the

European Union which would have

brought closer cooperation between the

Ukraine and the West and which could

have seen the country get closer to EU

membership. Instead, Ukraine turned

towards Russia and president Putin

announced a loan of $15bn for the

Ukraine, which many see as a kind of

reward for Yanukovych‘s decision to

turn its back on the EU.

This turn of events provoked massive

protests, especially in the western part

of Ukraine, known to be more eager for

closer ties with the EU. The demonstra-

tions were centred around Kiev‘s Mai-

dan (Independence Square) and accord-

ing to the BBC, the bloodiest days of the

protest came in the middle of February,

with at least 77 dead. Violence escalat-

ed on both sides with the demonstrators

using Molotov cocktails and the riot

police live cartridges. Things changed

dramatically when the parliament

voted a return to the constitution of

2004 (which reduces the power of the

president), Yanukovych fled the capital

and the country, and the imprisoned ex-

premier Yulia Tymoshenko was freed.

The situation escalated when Rus-

sian military units arrived in the Cri-

mean Peninsula on the pretext of pro-

tecting the large Russian population

living there as well as the Russian

naval base located on the peninsula.

The Crimean Peninsula is officially an

autonomous republic of Ukraine and its

prime minister needs to be authorized

by Kiev. However, following recent

events, the Crimean parliament ap-

pointed a pro-Russian leader on its

own, who then asked Russia to protect

the Russian majority on the peninsula.

At the moment of publishing, Russian

military forces were practically control-

ling the territory of the Crimean and a

referendum concerning Crimea‘s future

was scheduled for

March 16. The

legitimacy of this

referendum is

widely contested by

Kiev as it is a

proposal of the

Crimean parlia-

ment, not approved

country-wide and

restricted to the

Crimean popula-

tion. Russian ex-

change student

from UCL Gleb

tells me that back

home in Moscow

the Crimean Pen-

insula is actually

perceived as Russian already: ―I‘ve been

there many times for holidays,‖ he tells

me, ―and Russians in general see it as a

part of their country. Even on the pen-

insula, half of the people have relatives

in Moscow.‖

The repeated threat of Ukraine divid-

ing into pro-Russian (East Ukraine)

and pro-EU (West Ukraine) still seems

unlikely, but is gaining ground with

recent events, all the while the political

scene in Ukraine is far from united. ―All

Ukrainians wish Ukraine to be united,‖

says Jana, originally from western

Ukraine, now living in the Czech Re-

public. ―I still hope that this is how

Ukraine remains, but no one knows

what to expect from Russia‖. ―I would

not say there was something like the

EU vs. Russia or Democracy vs. Dicta-

torship. People simply wanted and still

want a better life and they thought that

the EU would provide it,‖ says Daria, a

student from Queen Mary University.

Moreover, even the

d e m o n s t r a t o r s

brought together by

disgust at police vio-

lence and Yanu-

kovych‘s corrupt gov-

ernment are now

realizing the differ-

ences in their own

views of the future.

The new interim gov-

ernment is certainly

not praised by every-

one, especially as the most important

posts are held by close associates of ex-

premier Tymoshenko, a fact that makes

many demonstrators suspicious.

Here in London, the Ukrainian com-

munity is also active. There have been

demonstrations in front of the Ukraini-

an embassy and the UK parliament.

―It‘s an incredible feeling when you

realise that you can also take part in

building your country,‖ says Arthur,

who studies law at Queen Mary Univer-

sity. Nadia from SOAS shares this

opinion and tells me that she took part

in the demonstrations here as well,

mainly to see Britain implementing

sanctions on those responsible for the

violence. ―We need support not only in

words [...], but [with] real actions which

might stop Russia,‖ she says, bringing

up the Budapest Memorandum. This

document was signed in the 1994 by the

UK, the US and Russia and mandates

the signatories not to use force to

threaten the territorial or political

independence of Ukraine.

While this is a complicated situation,

speculating about a return to the Cold

War seems like an overstatement. It‘s

tempting to see the world in an easy

bipolar division, but reality is usually

not as black and white. Although Rus-

sia and the US are on opposing sides on

different matters, we

cannot forget that to-

day‘s economy is far

more connected than it

used to be during the

Cold War. Plus, over the

last decades we have

seen the emergence of

new powers across the

globe (such as Brazil,

India and China) which

are not as interested in

this political battle as

they are in long-term stability and

economic cooperation.

More than anything else, the events

in Ukraine have proven that a system

which seems stable and strong can

change dramatically in just a few days,

and to predict any future developments

is thus extremely difficult. The interim

government will face a number of prob-

lems, starting with an urgent economic

crisis and ending with consolidating its

own power and bringing together vari-

ous factions of society. Now, the Euro-

pean Union and the West must come to

a decision on how much money and

assistance they can provide to balance

Russian influence, while Russia has to

carefully decide how much influence

and power it wants to use in its neigh-

bour‘s politics.♦

Katerina Veliskova , BA Middle Eastern Studies

Turmoil in Ukraine In the past few weeks alone, the situation in Ukraine has changed more

dramatically than in the past decade. A revolution, an occupation, a

referendum for the secession of the Crimean Peninsula. Katerina

Veliskova sums up the situation for the SOAS Spirit.

Image: © Eskil Wie, Norwegien Universitas

―Russians in general

see [Crimea] as a part

of their country. Even

on the peninsula, half

of the people have

relatives in Moscow‖


Features London/World

Bit of a weird date idea this one, but hear me out. I‘m

sure, as SOAS students, you‘ll know of Bikram and

his yoga – you may think it‘s way cool, culturally

appropriative, a shameless commodification of an

ancient religious practice or all of the above, and you‘d

be right on every count. Bikram

Choudhury himself is a bit of a tit

– that‘s not libellous, it‘s docu-

mented fact – but the man does

make a good yoga class, and it

also doubles up nicely as the

perfect sexy date venue.

Here‘s why – skimpy outfits,

physical intimacy, sweatiness,

endorphins. This is the stuff that

sexy is made of. Whether your

date loves it or hates it, you come

up trumps. If they hate it they‘ll

be so pleased to have got out alive

that your offer of a post-workout

coconut water will have them

sobbing on your shoulder with relief and adoration. If

they love it … well, let's just say that one female

friend describes the euphoric feeling of ‗camel pose‘ as

―a cross between a head rush and an or-

gasm.‖ God knows there aren‘t many who

can offer a woman that on a first date.

Now you have to choose your Bikram

s t u d i o .

C o m e ,

g a t h e r

round – this is some

hard-won advice,

garnered from my

years at the coalface

of hot yoga studios

in London, so listen

up – not all Bikram

yoga studios are

created equal. Not

because the poses

are different (that‘s

kinda the point) or

t h e t e a c h e r s

(usually identikit little Bikrams, just without the

alleged sexual harassment) – no, what really makes or

breaks a studio is the stinki-

ness. Cramming dozens of

sweaty people into a confined

space five times a day is a reci-

pe for pungency, and not all

studios have an adequate clean-

ing routine. It‘s a grim truth,

but I‘m warning you now because there‘s nothing like

a cheesy feet smell to kill a romantic buzz. Of those

studios close to SOAS, I‘d put Sohot Bikram Yoga at

maximum cheesy and Yoga Haven Islington at mini-

mum cheesy (in fact pleasant!) – I can‘t overemphasise

how useful that advice is. You‘re welcome.

A final tip: a successfully executed toe stand is a

very impressive thing. I‘d advise any newbies to sneak

in a few preview classes before inviting any potential

lovers along. Obviously don‘t tell them this – your

expert ‗first class‘ will be a marvel. And your face

might be a bit less tomato-y at the end, which can only

be a good thing. ♦

Louise Perry , Social Anthropology BA

Looking for a first date option that is a little bit different? This edition‘s Cheap Chirpse idea…

Cheap Chirpse: Bikram Yoga Cost: about £15

Location: upper middle class areas (exclusively…)

Pro: the chance to impress with your lithe, flexible phy-sique

Con: exposing your less than impressive physique

Few will have been aware of the crisis unfolding with-

in the Central African Republic (CAR) before the

French government‘s announcement last November

that its former colony stood ―on the verge of genocide‖.

Yet the latest crisis to affect this landlocked country

had in fact begun eight months previously, in March

2013, when Séléka rebels seized power from the then

president François Bezizé. With the support of neigh-

bouring Chad, the Séléka leader Michel Djotodia was

installed as Transitional President. Djotodia‘s tenure

would last just 10 months but in that time the country

would be afflicted by escalating levels of violence,

culminating in the latter part of 2013.

The disparate groups that initially formed the Sélé-

ka rebels were predominantly drawn from CAR‘s

Muslim population situated in the

country‘s northeast. Aggrieved by

decades of neglect by the country‘s

Christian ruling elite who per-

ceived the minority group as

‗foreigners‘, they set out to estab-

lish a new order. Despite Djotodi-

a‘s installation as the country‘s

first Muslim president, his efforts

to bring Séléka‘s violent protest to a cessation proved

ineffective; indeed his failure in this regard was in-

strumental to his removal in January of this year.

Catherine Samba-Panza, the former mayor of CAR‘s

capital Bangui, has since replaced him.

The scale of destruction undertaken by Séléka

forces was documented in a Human Rights Watch

report published last September that reported the

razing of 1,000 homes between February and June

2013. The killing of civilians was also widely reported.

In response, predominantly Christian groups ‒ known

as anti-balaka ‒ launched reprisal attacks against

Séléka troops. Worryingly, anti-balaka groups are

now increasingly targeting entirely innocent members

of CAR‘s Muslim population, prompting large swaths

of this group to flee to neighboring Cameroon and

Chad.

The escalation of events in this way has enabled

commentators to present the conflict in CAR as a

religious one. However, to do so is to over-simplify a

far more complex situation. While historically a vola-

tile state, CAR‘s instability has not traditionally been

a product of religious animosity. At a recent Royal

African Society event on the crisis it was

argued that Séléka attacks had been concen-

trated in Bezizé strongholds and had not, as

has been contended, indiscriminately target-

ed Christian communities.

Today the principal responsibility of interna-

tional peacekeeping forces present in the

country must be to protect vulnerable com-

munities. This should take the form of sepa-

rating Séléka and anti-balaka forces hostile to one

another as well as the wider community. However, the

presence of peacekeepers alone will not bring hostili-

ties to a close, the deaths of a further 2,000 people and

displacement of an estimated 700,000 since December

– the month in which France‘s peacekeeping force was

deployed ‒ is testament to this. Only a political solu-

tion grounded in the conflict‘s true origins can secure

the peaceful conclusion sought.

It is in this context that an accurate understanding

of the conflict is critical. A successful peace settlement

must address the social and economic grievances

borne by elements of CAR‘s society. Arriving at this

stage will, as ever, be lengthy and France‘s aspiration

to stage multi-party elections in February 2015 cer-

tainly appears ambitious at this point. The interna-

tional peacekeeping force can expedite this process by

helping to provide a secure and stable environment in

which negotiations can take place. The recent commit-

ment of a further 400 troops by France, as well as a

proposed 12,000 strong UN peacekeeping force, is to

be welcomed for this reason. Sadly, this may prove to

be the easiest part of restoring CAR to a normality it

has rarely known.♦

Laurence Diment , MSc African Politics

Central African Republic: More Than Religion Recent statements by France and the United Nations that they will expand their missions in the Central African Republic have prompted

renewed interest in the latest conflict to affect France‘s former colony.

Only a political solution

grounded in the conflict‘s

true origins can secure the

peaceful conclusion.

―One female friend describes

the euphoric feeling of ‗camel

pose‘ as ―a cross between a

head rush and an orgasm‖

Image: Go Interactive Wellness

Former mayor of Bangui, Catherine Samba-Panza has become the interim

president of the CAR Image: Sia Kambou /AFP/Getty Images


Features Food

Oh, where to start? Should I start with the end, and

tell of how my friend and I practically had to roll each

other home after our visit to GAIL‘s Kitchen? Or of

how we were seriously debating ordering a third de-

sert, just to be able to taste the awesome-sounding

buttermilk panna cotta, spiced poached quince and

gingersnap?

Our evening there had begun reasonably enough,

with a great bottle of wine recommended by the great

staff at GAIL‘s: a Huia Sauvignon Blanc 2012, from

New Zealand, which was fresh, wildly aromatic and

with exactly the amount of kick needed to get the

evening going, without bringing it to an untimely

death. Foodwise, we started with the stoneground

polenta chips – that‘s polenta thin enough to crack

between your teeth, nicely crispy – served with burnt

tomato salsa & sour cream in a delicious combination

(£3), followed by the roasted butternut squash and

mascarpone ravioli with lemon, sage and parmesan

(£7), a mouth-watering dish, that left me feeling of

childhood tastes of pumpkin pie.

Feeling like the evening was ours for the taking, we

proceeded to try another eight dishes, which explains

why we were unable to move by the time we were

done. The highlight of the evening - and this coming

from someone who usually dislikes fish - was undoubt-

edly the salmon with tarragon custard gratin and

sherry and shallot vinaigrette, which melted into thin

air once it reached my palate.

The burrata with roasted sweet potato, currants

relish and mint (£7.50) was good, but the burrata

could have been even softer; the breast of lamb ar-

rotolato with green beans, lentils and rosemary aioli

(£8.50) was aromatic enough to entice me, but not so

much that it overpowered the delicate taste of the

meat. Not having tried enough by this point, we also

went for the chargrilled octopus with chickpeas &

harissa (£7.50), which was a bit of an overload taste-

wise (and aesthetically), and the pork special, which

came accompanied by the tinniest of gnocchi, in a

flavourful, warming stew.

After the heavy meats and strong savours, what

best to cleanse the palate than a rhubarb and vanilla

ice-cream, which came in two great scoops – not

enough, by our account! The photo opportunity of the

night came when we got our cookies and milk, pre-

sented in the cutest of ways, which we gulped down

together with an exquisite passion fruit and vodka

cocktail – who said that milk and vodka don‘t mix?

And that, dear reader, is how we ended up rolling

home that night.♦

Every month, for the pleasure of your tasting buds (and, we admit, ours too) we invite you to

check out a delish-place to eat, splurge and have fun at. This month, we‘re sending you to

GAIL‘s Kitchen, a tapas-style/gourmet restaurant that‘s perfect for dinner (graduation,

anyone?)

I had a hankering for Indian recently; I hadn‘t had a

good curry for a long time. Anyone who lives in Lon-

don knows that finding a good curry in Brick Lane is

like finding a guilty pickpocket in Chandni Chowk

and I haven‘t the time or inclination to venture down

to Tooting on a lunch break. So what about the little

enclave near Warren Street station? There are cer-

tainly plenty of options, but it turns out that finding a

good one is a challenge. In fact the best I‘ve found is in

Soho at The Red Fort. It may well be the best I‘ve ever

had.

HIT

The food at the Red Fort is delicate and refined. A

starter of spinach and cheese patties encased in fenu-

greek seeds was mild to taste and elegantly presented,

the oozing cheese centre nicely contrasted with a

crisp, fried exterior. Minced lamb skewers, so often

tough and overcooked, were remarkably tender and

the kick from the chilli was well balanced with a cool-

ing tamarind and onion salsa. The Hyderabadi Bhuna

Gosht, a curry of Herdwick lamb, was cooked long and

slow to melting tenderness, with ginger, garlic, corian-

der and chilli.

The Red Fort is in the Michelin guide and the prices

on the a la carte menu reflect that, but they do a set

menu, which is a steal at £15 for two courses or £18

for three. Perhaps a little more than your average

Indian feed, but the portions are substantial and the

quality far surpasses anything else I‘ve had in Lon-

don. Sadly, we couldn‘t manage dessert.

MAYBE

In the little enclave near Warren Sreet there are

two cheaper options worth a visit. Ragam does great

dosas – crispy pancakes made from rice and lentil

flour – with a range of fillings. The rest of the food

was disappointing, but a filled dosa would be more

than enough for lunch and a good price at £5-7. If you

are after a big feed at a low price, then the restaurant

at the YMCA Indian Student Hostel is your best bet.

A fish curry, two vegetable sides, rice, pickle and a

chapatti cost me £8.80 and could easily have fed two.

Fish curry was a bad choice on my part. It had been

sitting in a bain-marie under hot lamps for rather a

long time so the fish was dry and overcooked. Still, the

sauce was tasty – hot and tangy – so I mopped it up

with my chapatti and pushed the fish to one side.

MISS

The catalyst for my search was a Sainsbury‘s curry;

an inexcusable error for a foodie, I know. I didn‘t go

into Sainsbury‘s with the intention of buying a curry,

but it was a miserable rainy day and the smell of

warming Indian spices slapped me around the face

and dragged me over to the hot food counter. Silly me,

I know very well that all you have to do is chuck some

cumin seeds in a pan to get much the same aroma, but

I was cold and very hungry so I was drawn in all the

same.

I thought tikka masala would be the safest option –

it was invented in the UK after all – but the chicken

was overcooked and the sauce was bland and under -

seasoned, the spices watered down by an obscene

amount of cream. I am not a weight watcher, but I do

object to eating highly calorific meals which are not

the least bit enjoyable. What a waste!

If your main concern is getting a lot for your lunch

money, then the YMCA is the place to go. If, like me,

good value means quality as well as quantity, then

head to The Red Fort. You won‘t regret it.♦

Victoria Brown , MA Anthropology of Food

The Red Fort: 77 Dean St, W1D 3SH; 020 7437 2525; www.redfort.co.uk

Ragam: 57 Cleveland St, W1T 4JN; 020 7636 9098; www.ragamindian.co.uk

YMCA Indian Student Hostel: 41 Fitzroy Square, W1T 6AQ; 020 7387 0411; www.indianymca.org

Victoria‘s blog is www.onedishcloser.com

Image: Victoria Brown

Spirited Eats @GAIL’s Kitchen

Onedishcloser@Indian

Cristiana Moisescu , BA Politics

Image: GAIL’s Kitchen


Features London

Installation by Diebebo Francis Kere Image: James Harris

L o n d o n Tr i o Cristiana Moisescu, BA Politics

The Head of the River Race

March 29

For the more athletically-oriented SOA-

Sians, this is a sporting extravaganza. The

Head of the River Race takes place every

spring when a staggering 400 crews from all

over the globe take to the Thames to battle

it out for the winning title. The course runs

from Mortlake to Putney and stretches over

6.8 nail-biting km, with hundreds of boats

taking part and each manned by eight men

frantically battling it out to be crowned

winners. Get there early if you want seats

of front row quality and to see the teams

take their marks then head over to Chiswick

Bridge. The race officially starts at 2.15 p.m.

Sensing Spaces at the

Royal Academy of Arts

January 25 – April 6

For something completely unique, the

architectural exhibition of “Sensing Spaces:

Architecture Reimagined” at the RA is an

artistic spectacle of huge proportions. This

is ideal not only for those with an architec-

tural interest but also for anyone looking

after a completely immersive artistic experi-

ence. The revolutionary use of scents,

lighting and colour bring this exhibition into

the realms of 4D and touching. Climbing

and contemplating are all strongly encour-

aged, with the visitor seen as much a part

of the work as the exhibits themselves.

Tickets from £9.

St. Patrick’s Day Festival

March 16

Now in its thirteenth year and attracting over 100,000 people, London’s St. Patrick’s Day

festivities are a must for anyone intrigued to learn more about this vibrant culture. For the

very best of Irish song, music and dance, Irish jig your way down to Trafalgar Square to

soak up all of the delights on offer. Don’t forget your dancing shoes because this year the

focus is very much on the “World of Dance”, with headliners Riverdance set to perform. To

recoup your energy, sampling Irish culinary delights such as cheese, salmon and black pud-

ding will also be on offer at the food market in the square. The elaborate parade is not to

be missed, complete with marching bands, floats, street theatre and the representation of

all 32 Irish counties, dressed in their traditional country colours.

Pirates and raiders. These words best

match the original meaning of ‗Viking‘

in Old Norse, which stands as a tribute

to the reputation these people gar-

nered. Certainly, even in the modern

day Vikings are most widely recognised

for their brutal conquests and plunders

in a relentless pursuit of wealth – an

image which has been emphasised by a

number of recent films.

However, the most recent exhibition

unveiled at the British Museum,

―Vikings: life and legend‖ aims to give

its visitors a different insight into the

lives of the many peoples of Scandina-

via between AD 800 and 1050, allowing

us to form new perceptions of who the

Vikings really were. From the moment

that we enter the first room of the

exhibition, we are informed that these

men and women were not simply warri-

ors; they were also skilled sailors,

craftsmen, and adept traders. Most

importantly, they were exceptional

travellers which enabled them to devel-

op a global trading network that was

unparalleled in its time. In fact, Exhi-

bition Curator Gareth Williams reveals

that they voyaged ―as far West as East-

ern Canada ... as far East as Central

Asia ... as far South as Morocco‖.

On their travels, the Vikings did not

always engage in brutalities; they also

actively pursued cultural interactions,

leaving their mark on countries they

had visited while being influenced

themselves by objects imported from

near and faraway lands. Evidence of

this cultural adaption is displayed at

the exhibition and consists of large

numbers of foreign coins, such as Is-

lamic silver dirhams from the Middle

East, and intricate metalwork crafted

in styles borrowed from such countries

as Scotland.

The numerous hoards of jewellery,

expensively ornamented weapons and

household objects cast in precious met-

als cannot be overlooked. Arguably, the

most impressive and eye-catching of

the lot are the excessive, oversized

brooches and neck rings which would

have been worn by prosperous Viking

men. These were impractical accesso-

ries which, though hallmarks of wealth

and status, would have been most

cumbersome to wear, as exemplified in

a gold-cast neck ring which originally

weighed over 2 kilograms. ―It's not

there to be comfortable. It's there to

show that you can afford to be uncom-

fortable,‖ Mr Williams underlines.

Indeed, prosperity and ostentation

were valued qualities and thus gener-

osity was the mark of a worthy ruler.

Similarly, the gilded armlets and silver

-clad swords do not fail to awe.

Nonetheless, the centrepiece of the

exhibition is undoubtedly the hull of a

colossal Viking warrior ship – to date,

the largest ever to have been excavat-

ed, initially measuring over 37 metres.

Though only 20% of its timbers sur-

vived, the rest of the Roskilde 6 (which

was discovered between 1996 and 1997

in Denmark and which was probably

built circa AD 1025) is suggested by the

metal mount that recreates the ship's

original shape and size. In its entirety,

the enormous skeleton stretches across

most of the hall it is presented in. If not

for any of the other fascinating items

on display, one should definitely visit

for this impressive testimonial of the

Viking Age.♦

In Your Lunch Break go to...

“Vikings: life and legend” Most of us think of Vikings as bloody warriors, but the most recent

exhibition at the British Museum seeks to disprove that. Think a lot

of weapons, jewellery, household objects – and the largest Viking

ship found to date. Darian De La Cruz , BA Japanese

Roskilde 6, the largest Viking ship ever discovered Image: National Museum of Denmark

“Vikings: life and legend’” runs until Jun. 22 with a concessionary entrance fee of £13 for students.


Features Theatre

I must say I completely underestimated

RADA. And my guess is that I am not

alone in this. For many of us RADA is

that ―posh drama school‖ opposite from

our common grounds, where you usual-

ly see the ―cool‖ actors in black clothes

hanging out. That they frequently put

on great and extremely professional

shows might come as a bit of a surprise

to some.

For example, staging Ibsen‘s ―The

Lady from the Sea‖ is a challenging, but

rewarding project. This play tells the

story of Ellida, a woman feeling anxious

and claustrophobic, trapped in a ration-

al marriage and a conservative, oppres-

sive society. She is one of ―these people‖

who, having grown up at a lighthouse,

live the life of the sea in ―waves and

tides‖, as her husband, the kind, but

overly prudent, Dr. Wangel puts it.

They have been married for two years,

living with his two grown-up daughters

in an idyllic small, Norwegian town.

But Ellida never let go of her first love,

a mystical sailor who before his hasty

departure asked her to wait for him.

Now he‘s returned and Ellida has to

choose, only that the choice seems to be

taken away from her. Her husband is

bound to keep her small and under

control, afraid of seeing his illusion of a

happy, domestic future crushed.

Ibsen‘s play is a brilliant and sharp

analysis of his contemporary society. It

tells a story about oppressed women,

accepting responsibility and the strug-

gle for (individual) freedom – could it be

any timelier? This is a play about let-

ting go and trying to protect the people

you love from themselves; only, this

never works out and setting them free

is the only way to keep them. That is

what Ellida‘s husband has to learn the

hard way. Director Iqbal Khan found

his ―intellectual journey‖ to be ―the

most heroic gesture‖ in the ―whole

play‖. And ―The Lady from the Sea‖

teaches us that some-

times it‘s not enough to ban the phan-

toms of your past from your mind. You

have to physically face them.

Having said that, the actors were

very committed to their characters and

quite exceptional in their performances.

The staging and costumes were so pro-

fessional that

it seemed

hard to be-

lieve that you

actually were

in a drama

s c h o o l ,

w a t c h i n g

actors who

still are in

training. At

RADA they

o b v i o u s l y

take their job

very serious-

ly. So I can

only warmly

re commend

that you have a look at one of their

productions yourself and who knows –

one day you might be able to say that

back then you saw the Anthony Hop-

kins and Joan Collins of tomorrow rise.

So be sure to get your programme

signed… ♦

Dorina Marlen Heller, BA Chinese and Social Anthropology

RADA presents Ibsen’s “The Lady from the Sea” There is a treasure right opposite from our beloved uni. The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts puts on great plays; if you haven‘t seen one yet,

go check it out and follow the first steps on stage of the next Joan Collins or Anthony Hopkins

Seeing ‗The Bodyguard‘ in the West End turns the

1992 American film, starring Kevin Costner and Whit-

ney Houston, into a live experience, and makes this

romantic thriller a must-see. Beverley Knight plays

Rachel Marron, a famous popstar, who is being

stalked and threatened by an unknown, dangerous

psychopath. Tristan Gemill (well known for his role in

Casualty) plays the ex-Secret Service-turned body-

guard Frank Farmer, who is hired to protect Ra-

chel, only to end up embarking on a romantic rela-

tionship with her.

While his acting has been criticized, Gemill‘s stone-

faced exterior is central to his role as a committed

bodyguard, and flashes of his personality allow for the

development of his relationship with Rachel and sev-

eral humorous scenes, such as his robotic and monoto-

nous karaoke attempt at

singing ‗I Will Always

Love You.‘ Marron‘s

vulnerability is portrayed

brilliantly by Knight,

whose famous soul voice

keeps the audience capti-

vated from start to end,

with emotional perfor-

mances as well as classic,

upbeat hits. Playing a

popstar makes the musi-

cal numbers flow natu-

rally with the plot, keep-

ing the show intense and

entertaining, instead of

forced and banal, which

is often a risk when turn-

ing films into musicals.

Fletcher, Rachel‘s son, is

cute and refreshing to

have in such an intense

thriller.

In my opinion, one person steals the limelight in

this production. Nicki Marron, played by Carole Sten-

nett, has a voice that will leave you with goose-bumps

after each breath-taking performance. Whilst the play

follows the original script quite closely, the underrat-

ed sister of Rachel is spun quite differently to how she

comes across in the film. Instead of appearing older,

unstable and unexplored as a character, she has a

much better role in the theatre production, in which

she‘s seen to be much more of an underdog. This

evokes great sympathy from the audience which I feel

the original film did not achieve to the same extent.

The transition from a film to a play is done incredi-

bly smooth by director Thea Sharrock, who creatively

uses screens and dramatic techniques to add to the

theatrical momentum musical and create an atmos-

phere of suspense, which is central to the plot. As the

threat of the stalker grows, you have several eerie,

hair-raising moments. Despite the dramatic and quite

frankly, depressing plot, the play ends with an upbeat

performance of ‗I Wanna Dance With Somebody,‘

leaving audiences with an opportunity to pull them-

selves together after the emotional storyline and real-

ly appreciate this incredible production. The musical

has been announced as one of the 16 West End pro-

ductions eligible to receive the BBC Radio 2 Audience

Award at this year‘s Olivier Awards 2014.♦

Paloma Rao , Law LLB

As the threat of the stalker grows, you have several eerie, hair-raising moments. The Bodyguard

Beverly Knights is the 'Queen of the Night' in the Bodyguard Image: Paul Coltas

Image: RADA

Tickets have been released for shows up to 30 August 2014.


Features Film

The Phoenix Cinema

is London‘s oldest

continuously running

cinemas. It opened in

1912 as the East

Finchley Picturedome

and although the

name has changed several times, the building has

kept its Art Deco magnificence. The screening room

has retained its original barrel ceiling, and Art Deco

friezes were added in the 30s, all perfectly preserved

today. Although the entrance hall reminds one of

better days, the cafe upstairs is

a nice surprise, selling any-

thing your heart desires at

more than reasonable prices –

and it‘s all free to take inside.

All in all, it‘s a charming place,

which could probably use a bit

of a spruce-up, but with stu-

dent ticket prices starting at

£6, we‘re definitely sold.

―The Grand Budapest Hotel‖

is a kooky affair, a frenzied

combination of Agatha Christie

whodunit, complete with ex-

travagant décor and eccentric

characters, and ―Grand Hotel‖

remake, with everyone potentially high on LSD, direc-

tor Wes Anderson included. ―The Grand Budapest

Hotel‖ bears Anderson‘s signature mark and gathers

round all his fetish-actors, Bill Murray, Adrien Brody,

Owen Wilson, Edward Norton and Tilda Swinton

(whose transformation into an 82-year old is amazing-

ly fun and unfortunately not given enough screen-

time). Together with Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law and

Harvey Keitel (the list goes on, and on...) they make

up quite the Hollywood-crowd.

Then again, that‘s precisely what the Grand Buda-

pest hotel is about, its extraordinary guests and staff,

all either fabulously rich or fabulously quirky, and

ruled over by the gentlemanly, energetic, no-nonsense

M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes). When one of the hotel‘s

most celebrated guests, dowa-

ger countess Madame Celine

Villeneuve Desgoffe und

Taxis (Tilda Swinton) unex-

pectedly dies of strychnine

poisoning, M. Gustave gets

blamed for her murder, for

they were not only lovers (at

82, she was apparently

―fantastic in bed‖), but he is

one of the heirs in her will. A

family feud ensues as her

sons, Dmitri (Adrien Brody)

and Jopling (Willem Dafoe)

contest the will and M.

Gustave is forced to flee..

All this takes place in the backdrop of the Grand

Budapest, in the republic of Zubrowka (no, you can‘t

find it on the map), in between the two world wars.

The changes that World War Two will bring are al-

ready being felt, the most permeating of which is a

sense of an ending. Indeed, we first discover the hotel

as a shadow of its old past, an image that preempts

the fate of its inhabitants. Throughout the movie, M.

Gustave‘s elegant mannerisms are the focus of atten-

tion, as a reminder that men like him, and indeed,

that whole world, no longer exist. In that regard, it‘s a

good thing that Zubrowka is an imaginary country, for

only there could one still find an enclave of this glori-

fied past.

That being said, this is also a very fun movie, a

crazy colours parade, with secret romances and secret

wills, a lot of running around and many absurd mo-

ments delivered in the best matter-of-fact way. A

carnival of the absurd, if you will, a fantasy created as

an antidote to the realities of the fascist and com-

munist regimes which the movie hints at, especially

through the reference to novelist Stefan Zweig, whose

writings inspired the script. He famously committed

suicide due to the ravages the war had inflicted on

that old world, the old Europe he had tried to preserve

in his books and it is that same world which ―The

Grand Budapest Hotel‖ wants to take us to, albeit

with a little too much flamboyance.♦

Cristiana Moisescu , BA Politics

The Grand Budapest Hotel @The Phoenix Cinema

One thing you probably should not do

when one of your favourite books is

turned into a movie is go and see it with high expecta-

tions. But that is precisely what I did when I went to

see ―The Book Thief‖, which is based on Markus Zusa-

k‘s eponymous novel. And I don‘t want to turn this

into a philosophical discourse about how one should

see books and their screen adaptations as separate

pieces of work – although one undoubtedly should - ,

but I think what is most important is the overall feel-

ing that stays with you when walking out of the film.

An ―I‘m-just-coming-from-a-different-wondrous-place-

and-I-liked-it-there‖- feeling was what I definitely got

from watching Brian Percival‘s German-American

adaptation of Zusaks‘s novel. The story takes you back

to Nazi Germany, where a young girl and her little

brother, whose parents are persecuted by the regime

for being communist, are shipped off to foster parents.

On the train journey through icy wintery landscapes

her brother dies and the narrator of the story, death

itself, becomes fascinated with stubborn, headstrong,

brave Liesel Meminger (impressive performance by

Sophie Nélisse). There is just something outstanding

about this little girl.

Liesel is fascinated by books and soon gets her kind,

warm-hearted adoptive father Hans Hubermann

(fantastic Geoffrey Rush) to teach her how to read.

She gets along with her adoptive mother Rosa (a very

authentic Emily Watson) and finds a friend in ener-

getic, fair-haired Rudy (simply heart-breaking Nico

Liersch) who soon loves and respects her deeply. So

far, so good, but this seemingly idyll is overshadowed

by the dawning of World War II, by food-scarcity,

bomb-raids and the ever-present anti-Semitism. One

night Max Vanderburg (played by a convincing Ben

Schnetzer) knocks on the door of their humble house.

Max is a Jew who is running for his life. His father

gave his life to save Hans‘ in the First World War and

now his son is asking the Hubermanns to return the

favour. They hide him in their cellar, and a danger-

ous, high-risk game begins. It‘s a powerful, moving

story being told here, and the actors seem to be very

much aware of their place in it and their responsibil-

ity. The film brings out aspects which the book treats

as secondary plots, an interesting facet. The oppres-

sive, manipulative methods of a regime that brain-

washed millions of people are brought out well and

while the use of the German accent and certain Ger-

man words or songs might seem slightly irritating at

first, they also help in establishing the story‘s essen-

tial historical and geographical background.

Overall this is a beautifully-told tale of courage,

bravery and the power of literature and language,

which, as any other film, has its ups and downs.

Sometimes crucial details are sacrificed for the sake of

simplifying the story and sometimes Hollywood‘s

marks are too obvious between swastika-flags and

burnt books, but the actors‘ commitment to the story

is perceptible. That leaves you with a gratitude for

life, its beauty and hardships, as well as with a feeling

of empathy for death, who, in his own words, is

―haunted by people‖. And that is a lot to take out from

a movie.♦

Dorina Marlen Heller , Ba Chinese and Social Anthropology

Image: FOX UK FILM

Wes Anderson‘s latest movie is a rollercoaster ride to sit through, but a highly enjoyable one.

The Phoenix Cinema:

The Grand Budapest Hotel:

The Book Thief plays at the Ritzy Picturehouse until

the 16th of March.

“The Grand Budapest Hotel” plays at the Phoenix Cinema

until March 18.

Expectations are high when going in to see

a movie based on a well-loved book, so how

does ‗The Book Thief‘ hold up?

The Book Thief

M. Gustave (Ralph Fiennes) and Zero (Tony Revolori) form a grand

pair in the Grand Budapest Hotel Image: FOX Searchlight


Features Books

Richard Sakwa‘s ―Putin

and the Oligarch‖ is a

detailed account of Mikhail Khodorkov-

ski's journey from childhood, as a com-

mon Soviet pioneer boy,

to becoming the

wealthiest business-

man in Russia turned

o u t sp o k e n so c i o -

political leader and

now ‒ the redeemed

victim of Putin's nasty

side. The author pro-

vides a comprehensive

analysis as to why it

was Khodorkovski in

particular who was

targeted by state authorities, and takes

the reader through every courtroom

battle between Yukos (Khodorkovski's

multibillion dollar oil company) and the

‗Putinites‘. Sakwa argues that, as one of

Russia‘s leading businesses, Yukos was

inevitably caught up in Putin‘s business

-and-oligarch bashing campaign during

his first term as president (the resound-

ing message at this time being that big

businesses must comply with the law,

withdraw any political influence they

may have held pre-Putin and sit in their

corners quietly, letting the state do as it

sees fit.) Actually, even during this

period in the early 2000s, plenty of

shady agreements were still being made

between the oligarchy and state offi-

cials, and dodging laws and taxes was

easy for any company with a few high

standing friends ‒ the only necessary

thing was to rub Putin the right way.

Khodorkovski, sadly, rubbed him entire-

ly the wrong way. He was not the first

to speak a little too loudly and get swift-

ly ushered out of Putin‘s powerful circle,

and as Sakwa points out, he will defi-

nitely not be the last.

Vladimir Putin's values, interests and

strategies are illustrated well and over-

all, after reading this, I feel like I under-

stand him better. It‘s not hard to see

Putin as an international joke: the bare

chested Russian man on a horse, the

hero in the motorised hang glider

helping the cranes migrate or

discoverer of an ancient artefact

while diving unrealistically close

to the shore. But with growing

human rights controversies sur-

rounding Russia‘s anti-gay laws,

continuous imprisonment of vari-

ous human rights groups and

political activists and the number

of journalists that have disap-

peared or been attacked over

recent years, Putin‘s indifference

to international opinion seems more and

more apparent. Sakwa paints a telling

picture of a ruthless politician whose

vise grip over his carefully built authori-

tarian regime does not appear to be

weakening.

The book is a thorough overview of

the shifts and conflicts in the Russian

economy and political system from

around the 1960s to present day. The

transformation of a backward com-

munist nation into a money-breathing

capitalist giant is portrayed with vi-

brancy, though a hint of glamorisation.

My only criticism would be that at

times, it feels as if Khodorkovski is over-

glorified as the speaker of the people or

the protector of sacred Western capital-

ism. Still, Sakwa accurately shows the

deep-rooted corruption at the elite level

of power hungry politicians and busi-

nessmen, which infiltrates every part of

modern Russia and Khodorkovski is

used as an exemplary figure who stands

in opposition to Putin‘s approach to

business, justice and political re-

sistance. Overall, a very informative

read!♦

Asya Zuyeva , BA Development and Study of Religions

Putin and

the Oligarch ‗With Russia and its president

dominating the news for the past few

weeks (from the Sochi games to its

affairs with the Ukraine), we think it‘s

only appropriate to look at Richard

Sakwa‘s new book, ―Putin and the

Oligarch‖.

Where do I start? ―Orange Trees‖ is

simply exquisite: a tale that under-

stands the complexities of families, the

way war and imperialism rip through

not only nations but individual hearts,

lives and relationships. Raised in Brit-

ain and Canada as a third culture child

(with an Iraqi father and an English

mother) Leilah Nadir's curiosity about

Iraq began early in life, with visits

from her magical Iraqi relatives. She

had still not visited Iraq when war

broke out in 2003, by which time she

was an adult, but she retained child-

hood memories of her Iraqi relatives

and a deep desire to visit them. Sadly,

sh e n e v e r h a d t h e c h a n c e .

Nadir plunges us almost straight into

operation Shock and Awe, March 22,

2003: seeing the bombing through her

eyes, the reader can feel her fear in-

tensely. Nadir had relatives in Bagh-

dad, and six of them died during the

occupation.

The war devastated her. ―I realised

that my mother's culture

was terrorising my fa-

ther's,‖ Nadir writes. ―It's

as one part of me is invad-

ing the other. I feel like

this war is between two

cultures whose blood flows

in me.‖ Nadir's story grows

outwards from there as she

explores her father's mem-

ories of her family history,

records her relatives' expe-

riences of living through the war, and

eventually travels to the Middle East

herself – staying out of Baghdad, but

exploring family roots and connections

in Syria and Lebanon. Nadir takes joy

in the smallest details of Middle East-

ern life, but the visit is marred by

horrifying reports of the war damage in

Babylon and the inhumanity of the

American forces.

The prose is wonder-

ful: often poetic yet

always lucid, sometimes it borders on

the mythical: ―One day it is necessary

to depart with nothing rather than stay

with everything, because everything

you have is worthless,‖ Nadir writes,

describing Iraqi refugees. But when

looking at the war, Iraq's historical

background, and tragic stories from the

Middle East, Nadir switches skilfully

to deadly accurate, insightful observa-

tion. This balance of the poetic and

journalistic is present throughout the

book. This is a personal story of loss

and deep love and near the end, Nadir

describes her agony at hearing about

the death of one of her relatives in

Baghdad: ―Rage that somehow the war

has won, the war has kept us all from

being with her for the last years of her

life ... Everything about our connection

to Iraq was vanishing.‖ But in a bitter-

sweet turn of events, it turned out all

was not lost. Without giving away too

much, in Nadir's words

―Iraq came to me.‖

The war in Iraq has been

well documented, but

often Westerners forget

that the country is more

than a ―conflict zone‖, and

lives are more than num-

bers. In my opinion, every

Western apologist for the

war, including Tony Blair

himself, should be made

to buy a copy of ―The Orange Trees of

Baghdad‖ and read it, cover to cover.♦

―The Orange Trees of Baghdad‖ is published in the UK on March 13 (Simply Read Books).

Beth Jellicoe, BA History of Art

“Pieces of

Civilization”, love and loss in

Baghdad ―The Orange Trees of Baghdad: In

Search of my Lost Family‖, by

Leilah Nadir

―Everything about

our connection to

Iraq was vanishing.‖

―Khodorkovski,

sadly, rubbed

[Putin] the

entirely wrong

way‖


Features Travel

My sister and I have never been partic-

ularly religious, but growing up, we

interacted a lot with the stories and

mythology of Hinduism. My sister

would sit in my grandfather's room and

ask him to tell her stories of Krishna,

how he would sneak away and steal

butter from all the neighbours' houses,

how he killed demons and snakes, how

his mother once saw the

whole universe in his throat

when he opened his mouth.

When we would play dress-

up, I wore a blanket around

my shoulders and put on an

old turban on my head and

pretended I was Lord Shiva,

and I pointed through the

window at the house opposite ours and

said that was where my children, Gane-

sha and Muruga, went to school. I

adapted the story to fit modern urban

life!

Whenever we would pray, like on

festival mornings, we would always

have conversations with whichever god

we were praying to. We'd read Amar

Chitra Kathas, the comic books telling

these mythological tales, and at night

the stories would play again and again

in our heads. These were real charac-

ters for us, populating our world as

tangibly as people did.

So for me, visiting Kumbakonam this

December, a small town in Tamil Nadu

known for the number

of temples crowded onto

its lanes, was a bit like

entering the toy-town of

my childhood. I had

heard about the temples

but was not prepared

for just how many tem-

ples there were: at least

five on every street. Some were bigger,

of course; the well-known temples ‒

Sarangapani Temple; Chakrapani Tem-

ple; Ramaswamy Temple. But even the

nameless temples that got no attention

were quietly slotted onto the streets

next to front porches, food stalls, the

occasional restaurant or guest house,

reminding you that there was a big

world of cities and travel that had even

made its way here. The temple towers

were painted blue, green, yellow, as in

the comics we‘d read. As we walked

barefoot into the Ramaswamy Temple

and saw the paintings on the wall tell-

ing the entire epic tale through stick

figurines, I thought of my grandfather,

and I could almost hear his slow, shuf-

fling footsteps, the laugh in his voice

after he drank his evening coffee.

Temples, then, can be free of sectari-

an or even religious charge. I myself

have always had a skeptical, distant

relationship with religion and its reali-

ty, but I found that I too could see in it

something more; that connection that

people are always talking about, that

draws them again and again to travel,

to visiting certain places that remind

them of a simpler or stronger version of

themselves.

Kumbakonam is a beautiful town,

and religion and art enthusiasts, as

well as tourists eager to see amazing

sights, often visit just to see the tem-

ples. But to me, the town was made

beautiful through the meaning with

which I imbued it. Two young children

are reading about Ganesha and Krish-

na somewhere, and messily smudging

blue paint onto their faces. Take them

to Kumbakonam; they will know what

to do there. ♦

It‘s been proven numerous times that the best holiday

plans are always the last minute ones, created in a

half-ecstatic, half-drunk mindset, with a couple of

crazy people and a couple of beers. This year, the idea

was to take my friend‘s gigantic eight-seat car, bring

some sleeping bags, tents and a ton of canned corn

and take off for about two weeks towards the Baltics.

From the very beginning, things were a bit hectic.

At the last minute, two of our friends backed out,

which made room for my friend‘s dog and the various

hitchhikers we found on the road. We left Prague on a

lovely sunny day, during which we then managed to

tear off our wind mirror and get into an argument

about whose music is the most suitable for a road trip.

This rocky start was nevertheless more than made

up for by the hot summer days we found in Poland.

We passed by Krakow, a beautiful, vibrant city with a

medieval castle and numerous narrow little streets

that everyone falls in love with at first sight. Further

on, we had a curious encounter with drunk Polish

oldsters in a village in the middle of nowhere, during

which we found out that regardless of how close our

languages are, alcohol erases all similarities.

Entering Lithuania, we exhaustedly searched for a

place to light a fire and spend the night, close to the

country‘s second biggest city, Kaunas. What we found

instead was an abandoned military bunker with huge

dilapidated hangars. Of course, we went through the

place and stared in amazement at the flaked signs in

Cyrillic and the forgotten equipment.

Exhilarated by this, we decided to step on the gas

and arrive at the seaside overnight. However, in the

middle of a Lithuanian highway, our car decided to

break down, leaving us to spend the next two days on

a lovely rest area next to the highway, waiting for our

car to get repaired in a local garage.

A few days and several other car services later, we

ended up on the outskirts of the Latvian capital Riga,

with no car available for at least five days. The group

decided to split, and I along with two other people

took a train to the Latvian natural parks close to the

city. Our next days were marked by stunning nature,

peat lakes, Russian tourists on holiday and a quite

unbelievable number of bloodthirsty mosquitoes.

Returning to Riga, we managed to see its historical

centre with the huge cathedral, musicians at every

corner and friendly locals.

Only slightly delayed, our car, our beloved car, was

up and running in all its yellow glory just in time to

allow us to see Vilnius, Lithuania‘s capital, on our

way home. Fifteen days later, we emerged at the same

place from which we had started, with a little less

money and a lot more stories and mosquito bites. The

car was fine, the dog survived and Estonia still awaits

discovery, on another crazy journey. What are your

plans this summer? ♦

Katerina Veliskova , BA Middle Eastern Studies

Stand First When we first heard the engine light

beeping in our car in the middle of a Lithuanian

highway, thousands of miles from our home in

the Czech Republic, we knew we‘d have stories to tell.

Road Trip through the Baltics

Shreya Ramachandran

Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu: A Childhood Come Alive

The

pan

els illu

stratin

g tales fro

m th

e Ram

ayana, R

amasw

amy

Tem

ple

Image: Sh

reya Ram

achan

dran

Sunset near Lithuanian port Klaipėda Image: Katerina Veliskova

Temples, then, can be

free of sectarian or

even religious charge.


Entertainment

FACT FILE:

Started:

2013

Founders:

3 Arabic year 2 Students; generally spotted dashing from class to the library with short detours via the JCR.

Members:

Over 190 online!

How We Work:

We run arty sessions throughout the year. These include gallery vis-its, Drink and Draw evenings, Life Drawing– which has proved ex-tremely popular and much more. The society was created in order to give SOASians a creative outlet and is organic in their approach of running events and sessions. If you want to do it, ask for it and the Art Soc will try and make it happen!

SOASian Artists at work…

This month, Mastahn Each month, some of our members will showcase

some of their works and thoughts on art and life in general. Get in touch if you have work you would

like to share, and stand a chance of winning yourself a sketch book!

The SOAS Art Society have hijacked a page in

your paper! From now on, we‘re here to bring a

bit of creative inspiration and help you relieve

those academic woes and stresses. Each edition,

we‘ll bring you news of outings, creative outlets

and general artiness. We‘re a fun loving bunch.

And have we mentioned we love art?! (and

cake!)

'You must first realise the prison of your mind before you can escape it'

'He tattooed her memory so even death couldn't do them part'

Thoughts on art and imagination -A. D.

Amongst the varying forms of art, Cinema is one which, if cre-ated with serious intent (and not only with “art-house” ped-antry) has the greatest “possibilities”; offering a means of transcending reality and recreating a world of the imagined.

Our imagination is often coloured by the tones of our cine-matic experience – childhood memories of impressionable scenes, the close up of a certain characters face, the emotions of one heightened sequence of aesthetic rapture. Like no oth-er “form” of art, it seizes the imaginative mind of the specta-tor, as well as implicating them in oftentimes complex reflec-tions upon society, history, politics, language, expression… But I would like to try to disentangle the imaginative challenges that a film, or other art forms, poses to us. What is the place of our Imagination in experiencing a work of art? How does the “total immersion” of an expressive medium like cinema change or move us?

A work of art can impact us through all of our sensory means; but it is precisely through heightened experience (of course only certain works can achieve such artistic merit) that we become aware of its very inadequacy. That is, the art work’s inadequacy compared (insubstantially) to our Imagina-tion. The possibilities of our mind’s eye – where sensory im-pressions from our past, ingrained banalities of the present and the speculative plains of the future – converge, regardless of our identity, or our conscious perceptions and focus.

Although a work of art will often share a commonality be-tween the observer and the artist, the observer interprets and recreates the work of art anew within the confines (or, per-haps more appropriately, the expanses) of their understand-ing.

This is perhaps one crucial aspect of story-telling, and the reason why we often feel enchanted when hearing the long-winding and enrapturing narrative of a story. The story, as expressed through the words of another, uses the most con-cise and precise evocations (given the restrictions of lan-guage) of meanings and images; thus leaving spaces of “silence”, much like the white on an unfinished canvas or a pause between suspended notes. These interstices beckon the listeners to not only imagine what could be, but to pro-

ject their own understanding of creative possibility within the “blank” frame.

This is one of the many gifts the artist gives. Not only pre-senting a necessarily (as all forms of articulation will always be limited in their expression of the “original” idea or impression) imperfect fragment of their conscious understanding of the world, but allowing the listener or observer to articulate –or rather, recreate- their own creative understanding, through the inspired framework that the work of art gives to our imag-ination.

Something often lost in the inevitable functionality and obligations of our daily lives. But art is one means of re-establishing this – a call to the imagination, a call to our own

individual creativity.♦

If you’d like to attend any of our events, please email to confirm a spot!

Want to get involved? Check out our Facebook page, drop us an email or follow us on twitter:

Facebook Search: SOAS Art Society Twitter: @ArtSocSOAS Email: [email protected]

SOAS Art Society! HIJACKED

Recent Events and Excursions

Discover Islam Week Art Exhibition

- Aaya Al-Shamahi and Werisha Hussaini On the 24th February, the Islamic Society hosted the annual Discover Islam Week (DIW) which unfold-ed at SOAS; with a number of events and prevalent speakers tackling the most prevalent questions regarding one of the larg-

est monotheistic religions in the world. One of the events taking place was the Islamic Art Exhibition; its aim to showcase Islamic art and how Muslims express themselves through different mediums. Taking place in the bustling atmosphere of the JCR, the event provid-ed an interactive opportunity for both artists and audience, Muslim and non- Muslim alike, to explore the ways in which Muslims embel-lish their faith and develop their identity through art.

From traditional calligraphy to contemporary photography of Is-lamic architecture, the artworks touched upon both political, social and religious concepts. A particular favour-ite of the students was the 'Prayer Mat'; a sculptural piece made out of bricks and fabric, signifying the im-portance of the obligatory daily pray-er, Salah, as a foundation of Islam.

As well as the exhibition, students had the chance to try their hand at some calligraphy on one of the stalls which proved to have some very interesting results!

The exhibition was a success and the ISOC would like to issue a huge thank you to everyone involved! Keep in touch with the Islamic Society and the Art Society for details on any future events of this

kind.♦ (Images: Ruman Hassan and Marium Ullah)

Documents

SOAS Spirit issue 08