immigration

YouTube assault video worsens Somali reputation

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:31:19 +0100

A group of Minneapolis teenagers have found themselves making headlines after publishing a video of themselves pushing people over in the street. Identified as of Somali origin, the pranksters will, our observer explains, only add fuel to the fire for the local anti-Somali press.

The six-minute-video was posted on YouTube by "madbi001" on 17 November. Despite a jovial introduction and upbeat soundtrack, the cruel scenes that follow were found far from funny by most YouTubers and soon came to the attention of the local police, leading to the immediate arrest of two members of the group. The incident soon found its way into the local headlines - many of them quick to report that the boys are Somali (when in fact they are American of Somali origin).

Immigration from Somalia into the US began in the early 1990s when the civil war started. Since then, tens of thousands of Somalis have arrived in the country, and Minnesota has received the largest numbers. The city estimates that 60-70,000 residents are of Somali origin.

Chinese migrants in Algeria – cohabitation "impossible"?

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 12:09:28 +0200

On August 3 violent clashes broke out between local residents and Chinese immigrants in a suburb of Alger. Our Observer in Blida, 50km from the capital, explains that reasons behind the conflict are economic as well as cultural.

After Calais 'jungle', police raze second migrant camp

Team Observers — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 14:14:53 +0200

All eyes were on the massive migrant camp in Calais, nicknamed the “jungle” by its occupants, when it was dismantled on Tuesday. Scenes of desperate-looking immigrants watching their scarce belongings razed by French riot police were caught on camera by French and British TV. Thirty kilometres from there, another "jungle", suffered the same fate; only this time no-one was watching.

The Calais "jungle" was France's most notorious illegal migrant camp before it was dismantled on Tuesday by over 500 policemen. The camp was set up in 2002 after the French government ordered the closure of a Red Cross shelter in nearby Sangatte. Its main occupants were Afghan refugees hoping to get across the Channel to England. France’s immigration minister, Eric Besson, hailed the dismantlement as a strong step against human trafficking and those who exploit the misery of migrants. But for several human rights associations, the operation is purely symbolic and will have no positive effect: migrants will simply be forced to find refuge in one of the dozens of other camps in the region.

Several hours after the Calais 'jungle' was demolished, security forces also razed another migrant camp, at Loon-Plage near Dunkirk. Our Observer was there, he gave us this account.

"Curry bashing": Indians the new scapegoats in Oz?

Sophie Team Observers — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 18:47:57 +0200

The following CCTV footage has outraged Australia's Indian community, which in the past few years has fallen victim to a record number of brutal attacks.

Melbourne, 9 May 2009. The victim: 21-year-old Sourabh Sharma.

According to the police, just under 1,500 Indians were attacked in Victoria State alone in the twelve months to July 2008. On Saturday yet another student was assaulted, this one stabbed in the neck with a screwdriver. It was an attack that drove the Indian community to take action, with thousands of demonstrators taking to the streets of Melbourne on Sunday. Tensions were further aggravated after a police intervention was lambasted by the Indian press.

This footage, broadcast by several Indian channels and websites, sparked protests in the country, where demonstrators insist that the attacks are racially motivated. The authorities in Australia however deny the charges, saying that most attackers target Indians because they often travel alone late at night due to unusual shifts and are known to carry expensive electrical equipment with them.

Another violent attack on Tuesday, however, has added weight to the demonstrator's argument, and increased worries for the authorities, who are well aware that the country's 93,000 Indian students bring in an enormous amount of revenue each year.

Border dispute: Mexican residents attending US state-funded schools

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:37:33 +0200

This video claims to show dozens of Mexican residents crossing the border into Arizona and being driven by bus to a school in the town of Douglas, where they allegedly attend a state-funded school. The document has caused a furore in the southwestern state.

The video was released on the state's education department website last Thursday. It was filmed by a staff member of the department, which is run by Republican Tom Horne. He insists that the footage "demonstrates conclusively" that the Omega Alpha Academy school in the town of Douglas is accepting students who reside in Mexico, at a cost of $300,000 [€217,000] per year to Arizona tax payers, and that the school is doing so knowingly:

"Since these vans operate either on school property or in areas immediately adjacent to the property, in full view of school staff, in order to pick up and drop off students, it is impossible that school leadership is unaware of this practice."

The school's leadership responded to the accusation the very next day. Director Jose Frisby scoffed at the alleged "evidence" and pointed out that the Arizona Department of Education had audited the school twice and found it to be in compliance with the law:

"This [is] an edited video that is neither time nor date stamped. Where a student goes before or after school is entirely up to the student, [...this accusation] ignores the reality of cross border traffic that occurs every day in our community. [...] Every student at Omega Alpha Academy has presented evidence, in a form approved by the Arizona Department of Education (ADE), demonstrating residency. (...)"

The hunt for Albinos is still on

Julien — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:44:25 +0200

The case of 18-year-old Moszy, who landed on a Spanish beach along with several other refugees from Africa, has raised awareness of the plight of albinos in many African countries, where witchdoctors claim albino body parts can bring wealth and good luck.

Albinism is an inherited genetic condition characterised by the absence of melanin in skin, eyes and hair and can affect all races. African albinos, easily spotted by their white skin and fair hair, have long been ostracised and discriminated against. The target of superstitions and sorcery, they are hunted down for their body parts, some of which are thought to confer magical powers.

Beaten to death for a packet of biscuits...and because he was black

Team Observers — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 17:35:54 +0200

In September last year, 19-year-old African-born Abdul Salam Guibre was beaten to death with metal poles by a shopkeeper and his son. Accused of merely stealing a packet of biscuits, the incident reignited the debate over racism in the country. Now, CCTV footage of the event has been revealed.

Burkina Faso-born Guibre had lived in Italy almost his entire life. Early on the morning of 14 September last year, Guibre entered a shop with two friends. Accounts differ, but it is thought that Guibre was accused of pick-pocketing a packet of biscuits by shopkeepers 51-year-old Fausto Cristofoli and Daniele Cristofol, 31, (their lawyers say the pair believed that the group had stolen their float as well). A dispute then broke out between the group and witnesses reported that the pair shouted "thieving niggers" and other racist insults as they attacked Guibre. He fell into a come and died a few hours later.

The trial is set to open on April 21. Yet prosecutors are unlikely to claim the attack was racially motivated since the video footage taken by a surveillance camera and produced during the trial was mute. The attackers have been accused of murder and face a prison sentence of up to 30 years. They could see their jail term reduced to just a third of that, however, after they asked to be tried via an shorter procedure (Rito abbreviato), thereby forgoing the possibility of an appeal.

British jobs for British workers – a racist movement?

Sophie Team Observers — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 16:20:52 +0100

The Conservative Party is vandalised for campaigning in favour of immigration caps. Image: Nic Walker on Flickr.

Unemployed British Labourers are now in their third week of staged protests against lower pay for their foreign counterparts. And rightly so - government statistics show that while over 200,000 immigrants were given jobs in the last quarter of 2008, nearly 300,000 UK-born workers lost theirs. However, the action is being marred by an unofficial movement of childish bullying at work and an overly keen interest from the British National Party, as our Polish Observer in the UK tells us.

In the most recent demonstration 400 people gathered at a power station in Nottinghamshire on Wednesday, demanding that British workers are given the same opportunities as foreign labourers and that pay is the same for both groups. The movement is largely caused by a growing discontent amongst British labourers of which increasing numbers have found themselves jobless in the economic crisis. But the rift has led to worries over racism and nationalism in Europe's most eurosceptic country, after the British Nationalist Party threw their support behind the protestors. While Union chiefs say the BNP has nothing to do with it and British workers insist that they're not being racist, some foreign labourers report being subjected to petty bullying at work, even to the point of losing their jobs.

Immigrants, integrate yourselves!

Sophie Team Observers — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 14:10:01 +0100

A new government immigration campaign is up on the walls in Italy. An Egyptian pizza maker, a Filipino carer and a Senegalese labourer are here to let immigrants know that they can stay in Italy... as long as they make the effort to integrate themselves. A message that doesn't please everyone.

Each of the immigrants featured in the posters delivers the message in the local dialect. The posters also read "Respecting Italian laws will make your life, and the lives of those around you, easier. You have the right to live in Italy, but it depends on you. Consult the integration manual". For some, it's a positive message for immigrants, who should adopt the language and culture of their host country. But for others, the campaign is laughable, and no more than an effort to reassure Italians. Must immigrants abandon their own cultural backgrounds and become "true" Italians in order to settle in the country?

This post was put together with the help of our Observer in Milan, Alberto Celani.

If you don't speak English, don't bother coming to Nashville!

Sophie Team Observers — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 16:01:20 +0100

Next Tuesday, Nashville, Tennessee could become the largest US city to ban government use of any language other than English. Civil rights groups, business leaders and even the local mayor are against the proposition. So how has the idea reached referendum level?

Like most cities in the US, Nashville official business is currently not restricted to any one language, meaning that residents can communicate with the state in any language they have translation services available for, if necessary. Metropolitan councillor Eric Crafton however, has lobbied the local government for a referendum on restricting the choice to English only. He believes, after himself managing to learn fluent Japanese while in the Navy in Japan, that immigrants too should adopt the language of their host country. Although there are thirty states in the US with English as the compulsory language, all major cities provide translation services. Nashville, known as the "Athens of the south" for its diverse population, would be the largest city to cut these. Crafton collected 5,500 signatures to warrant the referendum, which he says will unite the city's inhabitants and save money on translation services. But critics say the election itself is costing more than a hundred years' worth of the services, and will jeopardise the human rights of immigrant families and refugees. Crafton however, is not convinced. He hopes to spread the concept throughout the United States ("like a domino effect") where over 1% of US citizens do not speak English at all.