FG NEWS!

ISSN: 2053-4426

30 APRIL 2014

FRIENDS

GAZETTE
Y O U R V I T A L A L T E R N A T I V E

Scary and dangerous comments about raw milk spark irritation and shock at meeting
A CLASH between an industry representative and raw milk producers erupted at a meeting in London this month.
The incident happened at a debate organised by the governments Food Standards Agency attended by raw milk producers from all over the country. The watchdog is currently mounting public consultation over the future of raw milk regulation which ends next week. But at the meeting held at the Congress Centre in Russell Street, central London, Luisa Candido, nutrition and technical manager at Dairy UK rubbed other delegates up the wrong way. Speaking from the podium she said: Raw milk does pose a serious threat to human health. Even though hygiene practices can reduce the risk they cannot completely eliminate it. And she went on to claim: The ban and restriction of raw milk sales have an effect on reducing the incidence of illness associated with the consumption of raw drinking milk. Her comments sparked an immediate response from the floor

CLASH OVER MILK CLAIM

milk should be considered healthy while natural milk which has been drunk for thousands of years should pose a problem for health, he said. Raw milk is another name for non-pasteurised or untreated milk. In the UK pasteurisation was introduced in the 50s when it was thought untreated or raw milk carried bovine tuberculosis which could be transferred to humans. The FSA consultation which began in February has considered a number of options. The favoured way forward seems to be to harmonise regulations across all parts of the UK, excluding Scotland where sales of non-pasteurised milk are banned, and that non-bovine raw milk such as goats and sheeps milk should all be subject to the same safeguards. These are basically that farmers can carry on selling un-pasteurised or raw milk directly to the public from their farms or at farmers markets and via the internet but not from vending machines or dispensers in shops. Steve Wearne, head of policy at the FSA, said the agencys preferred approach was to seek to strike the right balance between allowing consumer choice and protecting public health. !
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and chairman Julian Worricker was forced to intervene saying: Let Luisa finish please. A member of the audience who didnt give her name claimed Ms Candido was ignoring evidence about the safety of raw milk. I find those comments you made scary and dangerous, she said. And she went on: Simply because you choose not to research or to read the scientific evidence that is out there in humungus amounts does not mean there is not any scientific evidence [proving raw milk is safe]. And another member of the audience from Germany said he didnt like using the term raw milk but preferred to just say milk and pasteurised milk. I cant understand why artificial

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ADVERTORIAL FG NEWS !

30 APRIL 2014

!50 prize " last chance!

THINK you know your bhajias from your biryani; your korma from your kulfi?
If so, you could be in line for a massive 50 voucher at one of Londons top Indian restaurants. For the highly-rated Masala Zone group has joined forces with Friends Gazette to give you the chance to tuck into their menu for free! The veggie-friendly London-wide group was created by Camellia Panjabi who was born in Mumbai and studied economics at Cambridge. Her book, 50 Great Curries of India is an Amazon best-seller. Marketing manager, Joe Sripitana told FG: The group is in the midst of refurbishing the restaurants to raise the decor standard up to match the food in order to appeal to a wider range of clientele. We are happy to offer your readers an opportunity to win this voucher and experience a real taste of India at Masala Zone. We offer genuine Indian food from the true sources the gourmet homes and street stalls across Indias regions prepared by skilled chefs from those regions. FG editor Stephen Ward said: We are glad to be able to offer readers this opportunity. We are always pleased to work with our partners who spot the value of !tapping into our engaged, diverse and rapidly growing readership. We are familiar with Masala Zone and its a favourite destination with many of our readers. Masala Zone branches can be found at Bayswater: 75 Bishops Bridge Road, W2 5BG Tel: 020 7221 0055. Camden Town: 25 Parkway, NW1 7PG Tel: 020
Puppet on a string ! th" enchanting decor a# Masala Zones flagship restaurant in Floral Street, Covent Garde$

7267 4422. Covent Garden: 48 Floral Street,WC2E 9DA Tel: 020 7379 0101. Earls Court: 147 Earls Court Road, SW5 9RQ Tel: 020 7373 0220. Islington: 80 Upper Street, N1 0NU Tel: 020 7359 3399. Soho: 9 Marshall Street,W1F 7ER Tel: 020 7287 9966. Selfridges: Garden Cafe, 4th Floor, Selfridges, 400 Oxford Street,W1U 1AT. Answers should be emailed to friendsgazette@gmail.com and marked quiz in the subject area. The winner will be selected at random from correct answers. The judges decision is final. Closing date is TODAY! !

THE QUIZ
Who created Masala Zone? Which restaurant is the Masala Zone flagship? What is the meaning of masala? There are plenty of veggie dishes on offer at Masala Zone; name two. What is a kulfi? A spicy dip, a type of bread or an Indian ice cream?
answers to: friendsgazette@gmail.com subject: quiz

Dear Mr Fantasy, play us a tune. Something to make us all happy. Traffic 1967 !

FG NEWS!

ISSN: 2053-4426

30 APRIL 2014

British Asians set to boost Ukip Euro vote

re p o r t e d ly a dd e d : I h a d my Mountbatten moment when Nigel Farage shook my hand during a visit to the Sikh temple in Gravesend, Kent. It proved definitively that those who say the Ukip are in any way xe n o p h o b i c , a re n o t h i n g b u t complete bounders. Nigel loves a curry as much as any Sikh in Britain, make no mistake about it. But Dr Robert Ford, of Manchester University, has pointed out that Ukip's true motive is to win over white voters. Those who like its policies but are reluctant to back a party that has accusations of racism swirling around it. The racist charge carries a significant sting," he is reported as saying. There is a large population of voters, not just ethnic minority voters, who will rule out parties if they consider them to be agents of intolerance might be one way of putting it. So Ukip have a strong desire to make sure they aren't seen in those terms. The European elections are set for May 22nd. The European Parliament is made up of 766 members elected across its 28 member states. The UK has 73 members. Germany has 99, the largest number of MEPs. Elections are held every five years. !

Nigel Farage, who snubbed a Westminister bid this week, in the European Parliament.

Ukip is set to clinch victory in next months Euro elections thanks to the support of British Asians.
The United Kingdom Independence Party led by the charismatic Nigel Farage has already passed the Tories and the languishing Liberal Democrats and is snapping at the heels of the Labour party according to pre-election opinion polls. And despite claims that it has a racist agenda the party is garnering much needed votes from British Asians, many of whom are

disenchanted with Labour their previous natural home. One of the main reasons Asians are supporting the party is its stance on open-door European immigration, which it opposes, and the fact that it wants out of the European Union. Ronnie Singh, chairman of Sikh division of Ukip, has been quoted as saying: My grandfather killed Japanese in the war so I could vote Ukip and stop Bulgarians stealing my Polish window cleaners job and stop Britain converting to Pakistan. And referring to the last Viceroy of India, Lord Mountbatten - adored by British-loving Indians - Singh

WIN FREE TICKETS TO VEGFEST BASH

EIGHT free tickets for the VegFestUK event in Bristol this month are up for grabs for lucky FG readers. Weve scooped six passes for the event (23rd-25th May) and another two just for the Saturday gig. All you have to do is send in your name to friendsgazette@gmail.com and say which day youd like to go and whether you prefer the event or the gig.
Closing date for entries is Monday, May 12th. One prize per entry. Winning names will be drawn at random. Judges decision is final.

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FG NEWS!

30 APRIL 2014

Spanish event is covered in national press

A visit by a popular guru in a holiday Costa and vote!hungry politicians visiting spiritual centres in the Punjab spark reports in the Spanish and Indian newspapers AS THOUSANDS of followers Punjab's 9,000 deras (spiritual of Gurinder Singhs Radha centres) make rich pickings for voteSoami group converged on a hungry politicians, particularly those holiday resort in the Costa del seeking the votes of untouchables or Sol this month one Spanish dalits, the majority of dera followers. newspaper gave the event inIndia Today reports: Punjab is a land depth coverage. of gurus who take on an important El Mundo, a leading national, carried role during elections when politicians the story with a picture of cars parked come seeking their blessings and outside the centre in Alhaurin de la votes. Torre, Malaga, which it calls a temple For politicians in Punjab, the and a headline which reads An Indian campaigning is not just limited to guru draws m o l l a h s Cars parked outside the temple i" (priests) and thousands Alhaurin de la Torre ! El Mundo v i l l a g e s o f of people a c r o s s t h e i r Europe. constituency, And a it also sub-heading includes d r a w s paying visits attention to to deras for the fact an assured that the use win. of mobiles, And the cameras p a p e r and notecontinues: taking is prohibited during the groups Dera, which also means a seat or a meditation events. sect, is a place from where a particular En los actos y jornadas de meditacin religious guru originated. se prohbe el uso de mviles, cmaras y According to an estimate, there are tomar notas, the paper's strap line over 9,000 deras in Punjab. reads. Though many Sikhs frown upon The article goes on to describe the deras, a sizeable chunk of dera guru, who once lived and worked in followers are dalit Sikhs and dalit Spain and who speaks fluent Spanish, Hindus (untouchables). In fact, Punjab dalits have their own as: El hombre que lleva dos dcadas deras, which are home to over sixty enseando el Sant Mat, el camino de los different sects. santos, which translates as The man Namdhari sect, Divya Jyoti Jagriti who has for two decades taught Sant Sansthan, Dera Sacha Sauda (Sirsa Mat, the way of the saints. Haryana), Radha Swami Satsang, Dera " Meanwhile the Indian press has Sachkhand Ballan, Dera Baba Rumi focused on Indian politicians trying to Wala and Bhainiarawala Dera are gain access to deras in a naked bid to some of the prominent deras in the get an assured win in the general state. The number of dera followers is election currently under way. in crores (hundreds of thousands). !
Courtesy El Mundo

Summer probe into death of volunteer

AN INQUEST into the death of a volunteer injured at a Bedfordshire spiritual centre is set to continue on July 30th.
Amrik Blaggan, 57, of Broad Street, Kidbrooke, south east London, suffered severe head injuries in an incident at the Radha Soami Satsang Beas India UK headquarters in Haynes Park on Friday, April 4th.

The Magpas helicopter

He was attended by helicopter ambulance (Magpas Helimedix) and then taken to Addenbrookes hospital in Cambridge where he died on Sunday, April 6th, the day after his birthday. The helicopter arrived at the scene at 12.26pm on the Friday w i t h d o c t o r Jo n B i r k s a n d paramedic Keir Rutherford. The team who flew the Helimedix to the scene was pilot Richard Eastwood and crew member Adam Bright. An ambulance crew, a rapid response paramedic and Beds police were also present. The inquest opened on April 11th at the Bedford Coroners Court in Woburn Street, Ampthill, before being adjourned to the summer. !
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FG COMMENT NEWS!

30 APRIL 2014

FRIENDLY FEEDBACK
friendsgazette@gmail.com

FRIENDLY COMMENT
Best of luck! (see story p10.) ED

Its what were here for, Jon . . .

HI STEVE, I hope youre well! I've been enjoying the FG as ever. Keep up the good work. Would you like to include an article on Jonny!Veln (my artist name) and the start of my crowd funding campaign? I will be using Kickstarter, a crowdfunding company, to raise funds for my first studio album that I am recording this summer. A short article in FG highlighting my cause may help me hugely and would no doubt be of interest to your readers, especially those into new music and helping artists. My funding campaign starts May 1st and is only for 30 days so the below copy and attached photo would need to go to press May issue please! What do you think, is this possible? By all means adjust my copy as you see fit. Warm wishes, ! Jon Bristol Well done, Jon. Ill be happy to include your article in the April issue. After all, its what FG is here for.

Raw deal for the UKs milk lovers

PICTURE the scene. Its a warm summer morning, or a cold winter one or any other one for that matter. You venture down to the local grocery store to pick up some milk for your coffee, tea, hot chocolate or even just to drink on its own. You prefer the raw version; the un-pasteurised kind. Youve heard of its health giving properties - asthma, eczema, allergies of every sort, even unwanted growths on the neck and other parts of the body miraculously disappear, youve heard, when raw milk is imbibed. Not that you or your friends suffer from any of these conditions.You just like to eat and drink naturally - away from chemicals, genetic modification and other interference with Gods own creation. And there, stacked in the cooler, is shelf upon shelf of raw milk, brought in from local farms unpasteurised, un-homogenised, un-sterilised - un-adulterated! You help yourself and tuck in. Theres only one problem. Its not the UK - anywhere in Europe, sure, but just not here! And now it seems regulators may crack down on non-bovine milk too! Why? Why, in this country do we run scared of blinkered scientists who want to limit choice? Why does the mainland respect freedom of choice the way we in the UK just cant? Lets stand up for our rights! Tell the Food Standards Agency and/or your local MP you want to be treated as a grown up and dont need the nanny state deciding whats good for you! ! ED
Published by Stephen Ward Publications, London, England. ISSN: 2053-4426

I will be making a claim after reading FG

AFTER reading the FG about claiming compensation (Fear over rights to justice: FG March) I will be taking legal advice hoping I can win my case. I was hurt in an accident at a traffic light which was not working. Luckily there was a witness coming the other way and they have said they are willing to help me fight my corner. I have hurt my shoulder and hip and I feel it wouldnt have happened if the light was working properly. Thanks again for encouraging me to take this step. ! Name withheld for legal reasons London

Informative and enjoyable

THANK you, Steve [for the FG]. Informative and enjoyable. Be well. ! Vivienne Carlson Winchmore Hill

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

THREE inaccuracies occurred in the Camera, Lights, Action article on page 10 of last months FG. Nigel Lesmoir-Gordons name should have had a hyphen. Mark Stevens should have been Mark Stevenson. And the character John was not a mathematical genius as stated in the article but a budding author. Susie, another character, is the maths genius. We apologise for the errors. FG aims to be accurate, fair and balanced in all reports. If we get anything wrong we are keen to put things right as soon as possible.

True friendship is when you walk into their house and your wi!fi connects automatically. "Annon ! internet probably#!!

FG NEWS NEWS!

30 APRIL 2014

Nazi orchestra %as a cultural plunderer

by Stephen Ward
The painting shows a sailing ship moored in a harbour and dates from 1883. It was stolen by a German military secret police official from a member of the French The criticism comes as the Vienna resistance at the beginning of the Philharmonic orchestra has this Second World War. month written to possible heirs of It was handed over to the orchestra the owner of an unnamed masterpiece by French artist Paul Signac. The painting has been languishing in storage vaults at the Austrian cultural giant and has only just come to light. The orchestra which purged Jewish members and became a propaganda handmaiden to the Third Reich has pleaded ignorance about this artwork until now. Marc Masurovsky, an historian and co-founder of the Holocaust Marc Masurovsky Art Restitution Project, said: Its always the same story. We didnt by Hitlers henchmen as a thank you know. We didnt know where to for performing in occupied France in look. What to do? 1940. How many times do intelligent After more than 73 years the people have to act like simpletons, orchestra sent out letters to the especially in a country like Austria, owners heirs this month telling them where so much loot from France was the painting had been found. laundered and which produced so President, Clemens Hellsberg, told many agents of cultural plunder? the International New York Times: We

THE CO-FOUNDER of an organisation fighting for the restitution of art lo o t e d by N a z i s h a s slammed cultural plunderers of the era.

The unnamed painting by Paul Signac

are thrilled that this property from Vienna will be transferred to France and to the right persons. It was always a knowledge and a responsibility. It was really a moral problem. He said efforts to find the rightful owners began in 1999 after Vienna city council issued an edict that the citys museums, libraries, archives and collections should check their stock with a view to identifying any questionable items. The orchestra took on a law firm to help. And he added: N o w t h a t w e h av e t h e information everything seems logical and easy, but we went down many, many wrong ways. Mr Masurovsky commented: Certainly such pleas of ignorance dont say much about the sophistication of the law firm that represents the Philharmonic and nor does it say anything good at all about the willingness of the management of the Philharmonic to find out who the true owner of the painting was. !
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True friendship is when you walk into their house and your wi!fi connects automatically. "Annon ! internet probably#!!

FG NEWS!INVESTIGATION

30 APRIL 2014

Sainsburys pull salmonella sultanas after routine tests

SAINSBURYS own brand of organic sultanas have been pulled from supermarket shelves nationwide after tests found the product contained salmonella. The item is popular across all diets especially vegetarian and vegan ones featuring organic items. A spokesman for the company said: We are recalling sainsburys SO Organic Sultanas (500g packs) because low levels of salmonella were found during routine testing. Food safety is our top priority so we immediately took this product off display and, as a precautionary measure, we are asking customers who have bought these sultanas to return them to their nearest Sainsburys store where they will receive a full refund. We apologise to customers for any concern and inconvenience this causes. UK food watchdog the Food Standards Authority said: Sainsburys is recalling all date codes of SO Organic Sultanas on a precautionary basis because salmonella has been found

NO HARMAN IT!
PROPERTY show queen and long-time veggie, Jasmine Harman has turned vegan FG can reveal. The lithe A Place In The Sun presenter, who has convinced numerous couples to choose France over England as home, told Steve Ward: The French do great salads. If you like goats cheese youre OK. My staple was goats cheese salad. Sometimes I had it twice a day. Jasmine, who is married to cameraman Jon Boast and who recently gave birth to daughter Joy, will now be scouring Britain for vegan items. Reason? She has switched with co-presenter Jonnie Irwin to cover the UK end of the show so she can spend more time with her family over here. !

during routine testing. If you have bought this product, do not eat it. Instead, return it to the store where you bought it for a full refund. According to the Public Health England website while anybody can be affected by the bug young children and the elderly and people with weak immune systems are at the greatest risk from salmonella poisoning. Symptoms include watery diarrhoea, stomach cramps and sometimes vomiting and fever, it says. No other Sainsburys products are known to be affected. !

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FG NEWS!

30 APRIL 2014

Indian Catholics snap up UK monastery

Inaugural mass at St Augustines monastery

special FG repor#

INDIAN Catholics have snapped up an ancient former monastery a nd begun developing it into a retreat centre.
St Augustines Abbey, in Ramsgate Ke n t w h e re C h r i s t i a n i t y w a s reputedly first preached in England,

has already been the venue of an inaugural mass attended by top UK and Indian Catholic clergy as well as hundreds of Catholic Indians. Now the Vincentian Fathers group which follow a charismatic form of worship want to turn it into a regular UK retreat centre working hand-inhand with its headquarters in

Moorangor, Kerala, south India. Speaking on the Divine Retreat Centre UK website Rev Fr Augustine Valooran said: We are grateful to every one of you for your prayerful encouragement and financial support. The abbey was one of the Benedictine monasteries in Britain forming the English province of the international Benedictine congregation of Subiaco, Italy. The abbey was founded as a result of the invitation from Bishop Thomas Grant, the first Bishop of Southwark, to the Italian abbot Dom Pietro Casaretto, to send monks from St Benedicts own monastery at Subiaco to undertake a mission at Ramsgate. By 1856 a Gothic church by the famous Gothic revivalist architect Augustus Welby Pugin was built on the site and donated to the diocese of Southwark. According to the its website the Divine Retreat Centre is the largest Catholic retreat centre in the world. Since 1990, over 10 million pilgrims from all over the world have attended retreats here. Weekly retreats in seven languages are held non-stop every week of the year. !

CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS

Is an article wrong or unclear? Get your specs out and tell us about it Friends Gazette is keen to keep stories fair, balanced and accurate email: friendsgazette@gmail.com
Please put c&c in the subject area Thanks - from us and our readers!
True friendship is when you walk into their house and your wi!fi connects automatically. "Annon ! internet probably#!! 8

FG NEWS FEATURE !

30 APRIL 2014

Facts about crowd funding

In the past five years the crowd funding industry has grown by an estimated 1,000% according to industry analysts. While, at the same time, the scheme has provided around $10 billion in funding to startups and small businesses. The crowd funding industrys expected to grow by an additional 92% this year. Pictured left and below Jonny Velon in the studio and on stage. !

Help Jonny; get arrested!

TRANSCENDENTAL meditator and FG friend Jonny!Veln is looking for support in making his debut studio album this summer.

Jonny is a singer and songwriter based in Bristol, England.

He writes songs about beauty and magic, love and loss, conflict and struggle, man and nature, the sublime and the everyday.
Inspired by many of the great British and American popular songwriters, his music also comes from his classical piano training and his love of jazz, world and classical music. Speaking to FG last year about his meditation practice Jonny said: There is a physical and mental reassurance that TM gives - at its best it feels like the whole universe is holding me like a mother holds her new born baby. His band has been playing shows this last year and gaining fans of their exact and moving arrangements of his songs. Now he is looking to the larger musicloving public, FG readers included!, to help him achieve his dream of a fullyrealised studio album. And in return for help in the making of this record, Jonny is offering exlusive rewards such as free copies of the album, signed memorabilia and even VIP recording studio visits during the making of the record. The 30-day crowd-funding campaign starts May 1st and will run for 30 days only, during which supporters can donate to the project if they wish and sign up to the cause. The end result will be a unique and arresting record that will, in a way, have been made as much by the new community formed and my band, Jonny told FG.!! For more information about Jonny!Veln, his music and how to join the album project, go to www.jonnyvelon.com To find out more about transcendental meditation click here.
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True friendship is when you walk into their house and your wi!fi connects automatically. "Annon ! internet probably#!!

FG NEWS!

30 APRIL 2014

Get away to bonnie Scotland!

Rennaldburn self-catering farmhouse

Rennaldburn is a 17th century farmhouse which sleeps seven to eight. We also rent individual rooms ~ and can provide a veggie or vegan breakfast if requested the previous day. We are Buddhists and revere all life - so we do not take hunters or anglers. Best rates. Reductions for FG readers. Find us on: www.gonebeyond.co.uk Eskdalemuir, Langholm. Tel: 01387 373277

True friendship is when you walk into their house and your wi!fi connects automatically. "Annon ! internet probably#!!

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FG FEATURE NEWS! !

30 APRIL 2014

Manuel V alls es# sur un volca$

Manuel V alls croit tre sur un nuage, mais il est sur un volcan. C'est ce qu'affirme Christophe Barbier, directeur du journal l'Express.

par Victor Donadei

Manuel V alls

Depuis le 2 Avril, Manuel Valls est officiellement le nouveau Premier Ministre. Encore un jour plus tt et l'on aurait cru au Poisson d'Avril. Mais non, c'est bien vrai, Jean-Marc Ayrault fait ses bagages et retourne dans sa ville de Nantes. Manuel Valls, lui, est prsent le deuxime homme de la France, si l'on peut appeler a ainsi. Mais cette dcision prise par le Prsident de la Rpublique Franois Hollande est-telle judicieuse ? Va-t-elle tre bnfique pour les tudiants ? Pour les retraits ? Pour la France ?

par le gel des pensions, un chiffre considrable. Cette mthode permettrait la France de renflouer les caisses, mais quel prix ? Rendre

Les fonctions des ministres : trop charg ?

les retraits en besoin permanent ou encore voir des tudiants obligs de travailler pour pouvoir manger ? Les ministres lus vont-ils s'en sortir avec les multiples fonctions qu'ils contiennent ? Et le Premier Ministre, n'a-t-il pas des ides contraires son Parti ? Des tudiants non-boursiers, les parents n'ayant pas de difficults salariales, doivent dj travailler pour pouvoir subvenir leur besoins car les parents ne leur donnent pas d'argent. Ils galrent trouver un boulot entre les emplois du temps chargs des coles et les devoirs. Dj, ce facteur est affligeant. Alors, en plus, il faudrait que les bourses des enfants en difficult de

part les revenus des parents soient enlevs ? C'est assez incomprhensible quand l'on imagine o cela pourrait mener. Il y aurait des difficults trouver du travail, tous les tudiants courant aprs, il n'y aurait pas assez de place pour tout le monde, compte tenu du chmage qu'il y a en France. Alors, imaginez. Continuons ainsi, verriez-vous des retraits qui ont travaills toute leur vie pour pouvoir se payer une petite maison, tre diminuer de leurs retraites ? C'est inimaginable penser. Valls veut trouver des solutions mais ces solutions ne sont pas adquates pour rver d'un monde sans pauvret. Il y a dj assez de chmeurs, de SDF et de pauvret en France pour en rajouter. Parlons aussi du rle qu'ont a jou les ministres. Des Ministres rduits et remplis de fonction comme Najat Vallaud-Belkacem qui s'occupe des Droits des Femmes, de la ville, de la jeunesse et des sports, ou encore Stphane Le Foll qui est porte parole du gouvernement, ministre de l'Agriculture, de l'Agroalimentaire et de la fort. Quatre fonctions lui seul. Et pour finir,Valrie Fourneyron, ministre dtat au Commerce,

Manuel V alls et so" penchement vers la droite :

l'Artisanat, lconomie sociale et solidaire. Quand le verdict des ministres a tait lu, toutes les tlvisions franaises se sont empresss de dire combien il tait compliqu d'avoir plusieurs fonctions et comment cela serait-il possible de s'en sortir ? Depuis l'affaire des Roms, un autre problme inquite les Franais. Manuel Valls serait assez catgorique et ngatif envers les immigrations et les sans-papiers quand l'on voit sa raction face l'affaire Lonarda. "16
11

Des tudiants et des retraits en risque pour la France?

L'ancien ministre de l'Intrieur veut conomiser de l'argent en supprimant les aides au logements des tudiants ou encore diminuer les rgimes de retraite. Plus de 13 millions de personnes sont concerns

True friendship is when you walk into their house and your wi!fi connects automatically. "Annon ! internet probably#!!

FEATURE !
Sheila Heard

30 APRIL 2014

Seeking refuge
Transitions London is a community interes# company tasked with finding work for refugees and asylum seekers in London. Managing director and founder, Sheila Heard, talks to FGs Sophie Shao
AS a group, refugee professionals are likely to have higher levels of qualifications and marketable skills than the UK population, and yet, according to Greater London Authority, more than 70% of the refugees in London are out of work.
Transitions London is a social enterprise dedicated to getting refugee professionals into jobs befitting their qualifications and skills. Managing director Sheila Heard describes the typical reception a refugee might face in the UK. A refugee, or forced migrant, will arrive in the UK after facing reasonable fear of persecution in their own country, and then have to claim asylum, explains Ms.Heard. Transitions candidates largely come from Syria, Eritrea, Ethiopia, North and South Sudan and Zimbabwe, with the numbers from Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan having climbed noticeably since Transitions was started in 2011. Most have graduate qualifications, in the fields of Engineering, Finance and International Development. Transitions has had candidates previously employed by international NGOs and companies such as Oxfam, Bechtel and also the UN. (Ms.Heard estimates that, for whatever reasons, over 90% of them are male.) While most of the worlds refugees are located in less developed countries, people do target Britain, she says, because they feel theyre going to be treated properly, or they hope they are. A common misconception, she adds, is that refugees actually want to come to the UK at all. Theyre here because they have to be, but for most people, the only thing they want to do is to go back... The motivation isnt to settle. The motivation is to be safe. Obtaining asylum in the UK is an extremely difficult and complicated process, and most peoples claims are rejected; in fact, according to the Refugee Council, in 2010 only 25% of the people who claimed Asylum achieved it. While a forced migrant is always refugee in the literal sense of the word, while the Home Office is processing their request, they havent yet qualified for the legal status refugee - they are, instead, an Asylum seeker. This means that under UK law, they have very few rights beyond their basic human rights. Asylum seekers are not allowed to work, and, having no recourse to public funds, cant apply for benefits, claim jobseekers allowance, or live
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True friendship is when you walk into their house and your wi!fi connects automatically. "Annon ! internet probably#!!

FEATURE !
in council housing, and many of the services designed to help asylum seekers have been shut down, notably legal services. The right services just arent there. Ms.Heard states. Both refugees and asylum seekers are also invisible under the important piece of legislation, the 2010 Equality Act, which lists a number of protected characteristics such as gender, sexuality, religion etc. Many employers channel large amounts of money every year into building diverse, pluralistic workforces, using the Equality Act as guidelines, and so refugees not being mentioned in the Act means that employers arent even aware of this cavity in their workforce. Its outrageous. Ms.Heard says. I dont know how it happened. All of these factors, combined with the social stigma attached to asylum seekers (much of which stems, says Ms.Heard, from anti-immigrant campaigns conducted within the media during the early 2000s) means that asylum seekers are, almost by definition it seems, unemployed, unemployable and often homeless. It wouldnt even go through most peoples heads here that refugees or asylum seekers could be highly skilled. If a person does achieve Refugee status, they gain full access to education, employment, housing and other public services. However, Ms.Heard adds, this only lasts for five years, after which a refugee must apply for indefinite leave to

30 APRIL 2014

remain if they want to stay in the UK. Again, it can take a long time for the Home Office to process an application, up to a year in some cases, and also requires the applicant to hand in all of their identification, including their travel documents and refugee status card, leaving them stranded without any official identification. Before that, however, despite their new-found rights, even the most qualified refugees will struggle to find employment. Widespread misunderstanding of what asylum seekers and refugees actually are leaves them highly vulnerable to unconscious, and plain old conscious bias, Ms.Heard says. While Transitions London can only take on candidates with Level 2 English or above, any kind of broken English can make potential employers hesitant, and the situation becomes increasingly difficult as the unemployment gap on their CV gets wider.

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FEATURE !
Unable to find professional work, JobCenter Plus nowadays directs refugees into applying for entry level jobs, rather than assisting them with guidance and work experience to return to their professions, as they might do with other clients. Ms.Heard describes the case of Transitions candidate Elfateh Ahmed, who had to leave his home in Afghanistan after being persecuted for working with the UN to rebuild city infrastructure. Ahmed, a highly qualified civil engineer, applied to Transitions London, and was subsequently found a three week training course on tunneling safety with Crossrail, the precise kind of opportunity for which the JobCenter receives taxpayers money to finance. The job center, however, unwilling to pay for Ahmed to go on a course which could have lead to future employment, forced him to decline the offer, and take up full time work in a Halal butchers shop, where he now works. The job center has no policies or staff training or targets related to refugees. Theres no supervision, its completely off the radar. The refugee council arent doing anything. Nobodys doing anything. What the UK needs, Ms.Heard says, are better settlement services - It doesnt need to be such a traumatic experience, just finding somewhere to live and work. However, ultimately, it seems that the most important thing is raising awareness of the realities of being a refugee or Asylum seeker in the UK. The little-challenged mentality about immigration in this country is that we (a country of many second or third generation migrants and European cross-breeds) are letting them in. However, few people have any idea what that really means - that having refugee status doesnt grant any kind of special treatment, or some kind of fast-track priority ticket for employment. Token gestures such as Refugee Week, which celebrates the contributions of refugees to our society, and celebrates Britains tradition of welcome, could actually prove destructive in the long term, by bolstering this idea that by letting them in, were doing more than enough, hitting our humanitarian quota for the year, without promoting any thought for What now? !
Sophie Shao

30 APRIL 2014 #13

Christophe Barbier,

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Ce sont les lois, il faut respecter ces lois en a jug le Ministre de l'Intrieur cette poque. Manuel Valls a vir Lonarda de son cole et de la France. Puis Franois Hollande a essay d'tre plus fin en disant qu'elle tait autorise revenir en France seulement si elle venait seule, sans sa famille. Le Mouvement contre le racisme et pour l'amiti entre les peuples (MRAP) a port plainte envers Valls pour provocation la haine, la violence et la discrimination raciste. Le 24 Septembre, Manuel Valls avait dclar au micro de France Inter que les Roms avaient vocation retourner en Bulgarie et en Roumanie, et avait ajout J'aide les Franais contre ces populations, ces populations contre les Franais.. Le gouvernement Valls va-t-il changer quelque chose ? Va-t-il tre plus constructif et efficace que le gouvernement Ayrault I et Ayrault II ? Va-t-il conomiser sans avoir besoin supprimer des choses primordiales pour les retraits comme pour les tudiants ? Rponse dans trois ans. ! Victor Donadai is a regular FG contributor. He is a journalism student in Toulouse.

True friendship is when you walk into their house and your wi!fi connects automatically. "Annon ! internet probably#!!

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