The Daily Mail published an interesting article on the topic of Somalis who come to the UK from EU countries and enter the welfare system. EU law appears to have superseded and circumvented national legislation when it comes to these particular matters.
The questions here are as follows:
[a] When person A enters the UK from an EU country, what rights do they have in relation to access to public services and the welfare state?
[b] What are the implications of large numbers of people moving into the UK to partake in these activities?
[c] How can the UK government best manage the welfare programme regarding the potential influx of a large number of recipients and the fraudulent claims of those individuals who are in The Daily Mail's lexicon 'frauds from abroad'?
The article raises a number of interesting questions and speaks of the mood of the public on this matter. You can read it by clicking here.
Wednesday, 24 February 2010
Thursday, 11 February 2010
Muslim bus driver locks passengers aboard as he stops to pray
A Muslim bus driver knelt in the aisle to pray for five minutes leaving bemused and anxious passengers trapped in ther seats.
By Heidi BlakePublished: 11:51AM GMT 08 Feb 2010
The driver pulled over without warning and rolled out a high-visibility jacket as a makeshift prayer mat before removing his shoes, turning to face Mecca and starting to chant in Arabic.
Passengers said they looked on in stunned silence, fearing the driver may be preparing for a terrorist attack on the bus. No one was able to get on or off the vehicle during the five-minute prayer session.
Gayle Griffiths, 33, complained to Transport for London (TfL) about the incident on the number 24 bus in Gospel Oak, north London, last week.
The mother-of-one from Camden, north west London, who had boarded the bus minutes earlier on her way home from work, said: “Everyone was looking round in a mix of shock and amazement.
“When he had finished, he just got back up and set off again – all without any explanation or apology. It was truly bizarre, ludicrous and aggravating.”
“We are delayed often enough as it is in London. We live in a multicultural society but there is a time and a place for prayer and the middle of a journey with a busload of passengers is not it.”
The NHS administrator added: “It even went through my mind that this might be some sort of terrorist attack with the bus blown up because I had heard that suicide bombers prayed before attacks.”
Gigi David, 38, a bus driver on the same route, claimed that he was aware of other Muslim drivers who had stopped buses to pray in the past.
"I don't like it and I don't accept it, but they do it," he said.
"They stop the bus and they make people wait while they pray.
"It's not fair on the public - why should they have to wait? If these Muslim drivers want to pray they should do it in their own time."
Ricardo Dinis, 27, who also drives the number 24, said: "It's wrong because it causes delays. I think these drivers should have time for their religion, but when it comes to work he should have waited.'
Sources close to London General said the company had consulted with a local mosque and been told Islam allows for the drivers to be flexible about their prayer times.
The driver in question, who is new to the company, is said to be from Somalia. London General refused to disclose his name.
TfL has apologised to all the passengers for the delay to their journey and the driver has been reprimanded.
A spokesman said: “A route 24 bus was delayed following a decision by the driver to stop the bus to pray.
“The bus company – London General – has had a word with the driver as this is not something that should be happening.”
Muslim drivers have been reminded that they should pray during rest periods between journeys to avoid delays, TfL said
By Heidi BlakePublished: 11:51AM GMT 08 Feb 2010
The driver pulled over without warning and rolled out a high-visibility jacket as a makeshift prayer mat before removing his shoes, turning to face Mecca and starting to chant in Arabic.
Passengers said they looked on in stunned silence, fearing the driver may be preparing for a terrorist attack on the bus. No one was able to get on or off the vehicle during the five-minute prayer session.
Gayle Griffiths, 33, complained to Transport for London (TfL) about the incident on the number 24 bus in Gospel Oak, north London, last week.
The mother-of-one from Camden, north west London, who had boarded the bus minutes earlier on her way home from work, said: “Everyone was looking round in a mix of shock and amazement.
“When he had finished, he just got back up and set off again – all without any explanation or apology. It was truly bizarre, ludicrous and aggravating.”
“We are delayed often enough as it is in London. We live in a multicultural society but there is a time and a place for prayer and the middle of a journey with a busload of passengers is not it.”
The NHS administrator added: “It even went through my mind that this might be some sort of terrorist attack with the bus blown up because I had heard that suicide bombers prayed before attacks.”
Gigi David, 38, a bus driver on the same route, claimed that he was aware of other Muslim drivers who had stopped buses to pray in the past.
"I don't like it and I don't accept it, but they do it," he said.
"They stop the bus and they make people wait while they pray.
"It's not fair on the public - why should they have to wait? If these Muslim drivers want to pray they should do it in their own time."
Ricardo Dinis, 27, who also drives the number 24, said: "It's wrong because it causes delays. I think these drivers should have time for their religion, but when it comes to work he should have waited.'
Sources close to London General said the company had consulted with a local mosque and been told Islam allows for the drivers to be flexible about their prayer times.
The driver in question, who is new to the company, is said to be from Somalia. London General refused to disclose his name.
TfL has apologised to all the passengers for the delay to their journey and the driver has been reprimanded.
A spokesman said: “A route 24 bus was delayed following a decision by the driver to stop the bus to pray.
“The bus company – London General – has had a word with the driver as this is not something that should be happening.”
Muslim drivers have been reminded that they should pray during rest periods between journeys to avoid delays, TfL said
Wednesday, 3 February 2010
Inside Housing: Alarm at overcrowded Somali community
Researchers call for race equality watchdog to step in over poor housing
The Somali community in London is living in conditions so disproportionately terrible that the situation should be investigated by the race equality watchdog, researchers have warned.
The researchers, from consultancy Migrationwork, said the levels of housing deprivation they found among Somalis in north and east London was so extreme it should be viewed as an emergency.
They were so concerned they contacted the Equalities and Human Rights Commission while they were writing up the research, which was commissioned by Karin Housing Association, a specialist Somali social landlord. One of the report’s final recommendations is that the Equality and Human Rights Commission should launch a formal investigation into Somali housing conditions.
Researchers spoke to 158 Somalis as part of their work. Less than one third had a home big enough for them and their families. The report compares this ‘astonishingly high number’ to overcrowding statistics in Tower Hamlets ‘the most overcrowded borough in England, reporting 13 per cent of families as overcrowded’.
It states: ‘Many faced quite devastating levels of overcrowding. One family of eight, including a disabled woman, share a two-bedroom house, with five beds in one room.’
More than one third reported their homes as needing major repairs. No one surveyed owned their own home.
Sue Lukes, one of the report authors, said: ‘With choice-based lettings [allocation systems] there is an issue that if you are not on the ball and literate it is difficult for you to bid in a smart way.’
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said the finding that so many Somalis were living in overcrowded conditions indicated a ‘monumental public policy failure’.
He added: ‘We have created a housing allocation system insufficiently nuanced to understand the specific problems of individual people and individual communities in society.’
The Somali community in London is living in conditions so disproportionately terrible that the situation should be investigated by the race equality watchdog, researchers have warned.
The researchers, from consultancy Migrationwork, said the levels of housing deprivation they found among Somalis in north and east London was so extreme it should be viewed as an emergency.
They were so concerned they contacted the Equalities and Human Rights Commission while they were writing up the research, which was commissioned by Karin Housing Association, a specialist Somali social landlord. One of the report’s final recommendations is that the Equality and Human Rights Commission should launch a formal investigation into Somali housing conditions.
Researchers spoke to 158 Somalis as part of their work. Less than one third had a home big enough for them and their families. The report compares this ‘astonishingly high number’ to overcrowding statistics in Tower Hamlets ‘the most overcrowded borough in England, reporting 13 per cent of families as overcrowded’.
It states: ‘Many faced quite devastating levels of overcrowding. One family of eight, including a disabled woman, share a two-bedroom house, with five beds in one room.’
More than one third reported their homes as needing major repairs. No one surveyed owned their own home.
Sue Lukes, one of the report authors, said: ‘With choice-based lettings [allocation systems] there is an issue that if you are not on the ball and literate it is difficult for you to bid in a smart way.’
David Orr, chief executive of the National Housing Federation, said the finding that so many Somalis were living in overcrowded conditions indicated a ‘monumental public policy failure’.
He added: ‘We have created a housing allocation system insufficiently nuanced to understand the specific problems of individual people and individual communities in society.’
Tuesday, 2 February 2010
Anglo-Somali Society Meeting, Wednesday 24 February 2010
5.30pm for 6pm at the YMCA Indian Student Hostel, 41 Fitzroy Square, London W1T 6AQ
The nearest underground stations are Great Portland Street, Warren Street, and Euston. The venue is the upstairs CONFERENCE ROOM, approached through a door to the left of ‘reception’. The supper menu is not published far in advance but is, typically, rice, sambar, choice of curry, perhaps fish or vegetable, with tea or coffee, at a flat rate of £5, paid in advance. Meat is halal. Tickets will be posted on receipt of a cheque or postal order.
5.30 - 6.00 p.m. Arrival in Conference Room
6.00 - 6.15 p.m. AGM Chaired by the President, DR.YUSUF OMAR ALI
Agenda 1. Chairman’s Report. 2. Treasurer’s Report. 3. Council elections.
Proposals of new Council members (with their prior agreement) and names of volunteers for all offices including those of Editor of the Journal and Membership Secretary should reach the Hon. Sec. Dr. Virginia Luling by 10 Feb. 2009. The names of all the present Council Members and Officers can be found inside the back cover of the Autumn 2008 Journal. All those named are eligible for re-election.
4. Any other business. 5. Date of next AGM: Wednesday 23 February 2011.
6.15 - 6.45pm Somalis and the Media. Adam Dirir, Editor of Somali Eye will talk and answer questions about this highly-regarded and upbeat magazine, which is ‘The Voice of the Somali Community in Britain’ and published in Bethnal Green four times a year. Adam has been a frequent guest at the Society’s Meetings.
6.45 – 6.50pm Dr. Martin Orwin, Senior Lecturer in Somali and Amharic at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, will place Somali novels in an historical context, and introduce the next speaker:
6.50¬ - 7.25pm Black Mamba Boy Nadifa Mohamed will be in conversation with Dr. Orwin about her first novel, Black Mamba Boy, which is based on the extraordinary life of her father, Jama G Mohamed, who is also a longstanding member of the Society and who will be guest of honour at the meeting. On 16 January the Times described the novel as a ‘stunning debut’ and urged readers to ‘watch out for this one in the prize season’. Nadifa’s travels and project emerged from a conversation she had with her father about his friend Mahmoud Mattan who had been wrongly executed in Cardiff in 1952. There will be time for questions and discussion.
The nearest underground stations are Great Portland Street, Warren Street, and Euston. The venue is the upstairs CONFERENCE ROOM, approached through a door to the left of ‘reception’. The supper menu is not published far in advance but is, typically, rice, sambar, choice of curry, perhaps fish or vegetable, with tea or coffee, at a flat rate of £5, paid in advance. Meat is halal. Tickets will be posted on receipt of a cheque or postal order.
5.30 - 6.00 p.m. Arrival in Conference Room
6.00 - 6.15 p.m. AGM Chaired by the President, DR.YUSUF OMAR ALI
Agenda 1. Chairman’s Report. 2. Treasurer’s Report. 3. Council elections.
Proposals of new Council members (with their prior agreement) and names of volunteers for all offices including those of Editor of the Journal and Membership Secretary should reach the Hon. Sec. Dr. Virginia Luling by 10 Feb. 2009. The names of all the present Council Members and Officers can be found inside the back cover of the Autumn 2008 Journal. All those named are eligible for re-election.
4. Any other business. 5. Date of next AGM: Wednesday 23 February 2011.
6.15 - 6.45pm Somalis and the Media. Adam Dirir, Editor of Somali Eye will talk and answer questions about this highly-regarded and upbeat magazine, which is ‘The Voice of the Somali Community in Britain’ and published in Bethnal Green four times a year. Adam has been a frequent guest at the Society’s Meetings.
6.45 – 6.50pm Dr. Martin Orwin, Senior Lecturer in Somali and Amharic at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), University of London, will place Somali novels in an historical context, and introduce the next speaker:
6.50¬ - 7.25pm Black Mamba Boy Nadifa Mohamed will be in conversation with Dr. Orwin about her first novel, Black Mamba Boy, which is based on the extraordinary life of her father, Jama G Mohamed, who is also a longstanding member of the Society and who will be guest of honour at the meeting. On 16 January the Times described the novel as a ‘stunning debut’ and urged readers to ‘watch out for this one in the prize season’. Nadifa’s travels and project emerged from a conversation she had with her father about his friend Mahmoud Mattan who had been wrongly executed in Cardiff in 1952. There will be time for questions and discussion.
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