Repost: Interview with Dr Shawn Sobers

 

Reposting this interview from 19 June 2020  

Interview with Dr Shawn Sobers: on BLM, Colston' statue and the role of arts against racism

On 19 June 2020, a few days after the toppling of the Colston statue un Bristol, I spoke to Dr Shawn Sobers, filmmaker, photographer and writer, and Associate Professor in Cultural Interdisciplinary Practice at the University of the West of England, Bristol (UWE - Film and Journalism) about Black Lives Matter, the fall of the statue and the role of the arts in the current fight against racism.

UK: Government must address ‘root cause of racism that plagues our society’ - Amnesty

 

Amnesty - August 5, 2024

UK: Government must address ‘root cause of racism that plagues our society’

In response to recent racist attacks and other violent disorder across the UK, Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK’s Chief Executive, said: 

“The widespread violence and hate crimes we’ve witnessed over the last few days are utterly unacceptable.

“It’s disgusting to see hotels housing people seeking sanctuary set on fire, mosques and businesses attacked, and people targeted because of the colour of their skin, their faith or their country of origin. 

Events of the last few days have been reported as ‘anti-immigration protests’ or ‘pro-British demonstrations’ and they should not be labelled as such 

- Sacha Deshmukh, Amnesty International UK

“The racist violence we are now seeing on our streets has been preceded by an intense period of scapegoating refugees and migrants by politicians and others – in dangerous rhetoric and policy. I hope those who spread that rhetoric look on the consequences of their words and learn.

“Events of the last few days have been reported as ‘anti-immigration protests’ or ‘pro-British demonstrations’ and they should not be labelled as such. What we are seeing are clearly violent racist attacks targeting specific communities. 

“The Government’s response must be a serious one which ensures that policing is directed to protecting at-risk communities but also actively avoids dangerous and discriminatory ‘quick fix’ solutions like the further deployment of facial-recognition technology or 24-hour courts if that creates the potential to challenge judgements and so end up in fact damaging confidence in the judicial process.

“Above all, the Government must address the root causes of racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia that plagues our society – and this includes actively calling out and addressing the dangerous rhetoric of politicians and commentators on social media and elsewhere.” 

England: Statement from the Runnymede Trust

 

From Runnymede Trust - Charity working for racial justice see on their Twitter account:

England: A racist nightmare?

 

What is happening in the UK is so shocking to me... 

I lived in England for over 7 years (in Bristol and London), and always felt it was less dangerous for  minorities than the rest of Europe. 

What a horrible evolution...

Protesters gesture at police officers during the 'Enough is Enough' demonstration
called by far-right activists in Bristol on August 3, 2024. JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP

Details here:

As the British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is preparing to hold an emergency meeting with police chiefs this Monday, the days of violent anti-immigration protests are still intensifying.

Buildings and vehicles were torched and hotels holding asylum seekers targeted all over the weekend in different location.

Source: Reuters (https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uks-starmer-hold-emergency-meeting-riots-intensify-2024-08-05/)

The violence erupted across towns and cities last week, after three girls were killed in a knife attack in Southport in northwest England.

The murders were seized on by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim groups as misinformation spread online that the suspected attacker was a radical Islamist who had just arrived in Britain. Police have said the suspect was born in Britain and are not treating it as a terrorist incident. 

Interior minister Yvette Cooper said rioters had felt "emboldened by this moment to stir up racial hatred", with bricks thrown at police officers, shops looted and mosques and Asian-owned businesses attacked.

Over the weekend riots broke out in Liverpool, Bristol, Tamworth, Middlesbrough and Belfast, in Northern Ireland, with largely young men, covering their faces and draped in the British flags hurling rocks and shouting "Stop the Boats", a reference to migrants arriving on the south coast in recent years. 

In Rotherham, northern England, protesters sought to break into a hotel that housed asylum seekers.

A police dog bites a protester in Bristol, southern England, on 3 August 2024

during the 'Enough is Enough' demonstration held in reaction to the fatal stabbings

in Southport on July 29. JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP

Online hatred

Online disinformation is largely to blame, amplified by high-profile figures for driving the violence, first and foremost Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who leads the anti-Islam English Defence League group. 

He wrote: "They are lying to you all," for instance, and has been blamed by media for spreading misinformation to his 875,000 followers on the social network Twitter, re-branded X by new owner Elon Musk. 

Musk himself weighed in on the violence. 

Responding to a post that blamed mass migration and open borders for the disorder in Britain, he wrote: "Civil war is inevitable."

According to The Independent, Robinson has been accused of stoking far-right riots from afar, after he left the UK last week. 

A High Court was told on Monday that the anti-Islam activist had indeed left the country after being released on unconditional bail following his arrest in Kent the previous weekend. 

A fresh warrant was issued for the English Defence League (EDL) founder’s arrest after he did not attend a scheduled hearing in a contempt of court case.

“There is no doubt that Tommy Robinson’s social media is playing a really important role in these far-right demos,” a spokesperson for Hope Not Hate told The Independent.

Inaction?

Meanwhile, some have deplored the lack of response from the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, election on 4 July 2024.

Former Scottish leader Humza Yousaf has for instance called for decisive action, warning that the situation is spiralling out of control following widespread unrest across the UK. 

"How much worse does it have to get before the army is sent in Keir Starmer?" 

"The Police clearly do not have a handle on this situation. This pogrom against Muslims and People of Colour is going to cost lives unless these far-right thugs are stopped," Yousaf wrote on X, highlighting the urgency of the crisis. 

Yousaf is a Muslim himself.

At least 100 people have been arrested still, after demonstrations organised by far-right groups descended into disorder across several towns and cities, including Hull, Liverpool, Bristol, Manchester, Stoke-on-Trent, Blackpool, and Belfast.

Happy 100, Mr Baldwin

 

Africa Station: More from Malians, Senegalese, Ethiopians, Kenyans and Moroccans

 

'Station Afrique' is at L'Île Saint Denis for athletes and sports fans interested in African cultures and history.

This Thursday, Moroccan cultures were at the centre of the events, with Gwana music, food and craftwork.

Club 2024 at the Africa Station, hosts sports fans, families and kids... 

Other countries have stands and will invite delegations, athletes, artists, including Kenya, Mali, Ethiopia:

And these games and events would never take place without the hard work of organisers and cleaners like these two gentlemen: 

-

Stop Deep Sea Mining

 

STATEMENT: A Moratorium on Deep Sea Mining is Essential for Ocean Health

As contested International Seabed Authority negotiations continue, ocean scientist Enric Sala makes the case for a pause on all seabed mining activity

Negotiators from around the world have been in Kingston, Jamaica this week for International Seabed Authority (ISA) meetings. Member countries were expected to hold the first-ever open debate on a deep sea mining moratorium, with more than 25 countries in support of putting the brakes on seabed mining for environmental and other reasons. 

Recent research has shown that the deep sea is a treasure trove of biodiversity and that the ocean floor serves as a critically-important carbon sink. Additional research has shown that deep sea mining has the potential to harm important tuna fisheries in the Pacific. 

Dr. Enric Sala, National Geographic Explorer in Residence and Pristine Seas founder, said:

“Giving the greenlight to deep sea mining would open a Pandora’s box of unknown impacts.  Mining the seabed will inevitably affect fragile sea life that we barely know. And a study last week showed that deep-sea polymetallic nodules produce oxygen in total darkness, which may be key to ocean health. The more we look in the deep sea, the more we discover. Rushing to mine the seabed will surely go down in history as an environmental disaster we should have stopped before it started. It is short-sighted to destroy, in minutes, ecosystems that have taken millennia to develop. Countries worldwide have so much more to gain by protecting vital parts of the ocean than signing them away for short term profit.”  

###

About Pristine Seas

Pristine Seas works with communities, governments, and other partners to protect vital places in the ocean using a unique combination of research, filmmaking, community engagement, policy, and strategic communications. Since 2008, Pristine Seas has conducted more than 40 expeditions around the world and helped establish 27 marine reserves, spanning more than 6.6 million square kilometres of ocean. Pristine Seas is a non-profit project whose mission is driven by scientists and filmmakers. We are fully independent from National Geographic publishing and its media arm.
 

Western Sahara: Reactions

 

“France’s recognition of Morocco’s illegal annexation of the Western Sahara is a significant blow not just to international law’s strict prohibition on acquiring territory by force but to the very human beings in Western Sahara the law is intended to protect.  This recognition will only encourage the impunity of regimes like Russia and Israel, who see that eventually, their own might, in Ukraine and Palestine, will make right. If even France must fall in line behind US diktat on Western Sahara, the laws of war be damned, France’s own sovereignty has taken a hit.” 

 - Sarah Leah Whitson, DAWN's Executive Director 

Read my story for more, on RFI:

https://www.rfi.fr/en/africa/20240730-algeria-recalls-ambassador-after-france-backs-moroccan-plan-for-western-sahara

France, Morocco, Algeria

 

France backs Moroccan autonomy plan for Western Sahara; Algeria withdraws its ambassador in France

France recognises a plan for autonomy for the Western Sahara region under Moroccan sovereignty as the "only way" of resolving a long-running dispute over the territory, President Emmanuel Macron has said in a letter on Tuesday. 

>> The latest from news agency:

France has recognised Morocco’s sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, shifting a decades-old position, while the United Nations-mediated peace process remains stalled. 

"For France, autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the framework within which this issue must be resolved," according to the letter sent by Macron to Morocco's King Mohammed VI.

"Our support for the autonomy plan proposed by Morocco in 2007 is clear and constant. For France, it now constitutes the only basis for achieving a just, lasting and negotiated political solution in accordance with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council."

According to a statement from the Moroccan Royal Cabinet, the French president sent this letter to Mohammed VI on the occasion of the Throne Day which marks the arrival in power of Mohammed VI, in 1999.

The Royal Palace in the statement welcomed the announcement and said it was a "significant development in support of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara."

Algeria said a few hours later that it has withdrawn its ambassador to France over Western Sahara rift.

"The Algerian diplomatic representation in France is now the responsibility of a charge d'affaires," the Algerian foreign ministry was quoted as saying by the official Algerian news agency APS.

The ministry denounced Macron's statement as a "step that no other French government had taken before."

 

Paris 2024: The 'Africa Station' - an Olympic haven for athletes, fans • RFI English

 

My latest report from the Games... On the side of competitions, following fans, organisers, delegations, journalists and other lovely people

Paris 2024 Africa Station: an Olympic haven for athletes, fans • RFI English

The Africa Station, in Île-Saint-Denis, north of Paris, opened its doors to the public a few days before the Paris 2024 opening ceremony, in partnership with France Médias Monde.

RFI's Melissa Chemam went to check out this unique venue designed to celebrate sport, the spirit of the Olympics and the diversity of African cultures. 

Find out more in our article: https://rfi.my/ApN9.y 🔔 Subscribe to our channel now: https://rfi.my/YTen 🌍 Get all the news from around the world live: https://www.rfi.fr/en/