Issue 22: 12 December 2022

HABIB HECKLER HARRASED BY SECURITY AT ALUMNI

Lost in Transmission: The Future of SOAS Radio

Toby Oliver-Clarke & Millie Glaister

On Monday 31 October 2022, Fred Molin, the manager of SOAS Radio was told that his contract had been terminated, and that his employment had come to a close as of the end of that day, giving him less than one day’s o cial notice. Molin, who had worked as the manager of SOAS Radio for four years and had been involved in less senior capacities for even longer, was given this information through a video call with SOAS HR.

On Wednesday 2 November, Molin was verbally informed that he had been suspended, with written con rmation not being provided until 11 November, according to a UNISON Spokesperson. A video made public by SOAS Justice for Workers on Instagram documented Molin’s removal from

campus. In the video, Molin explains that his suspension from SOAS Radio was due to ‘missing audio from the radio’s Soundcloud server’; Molin then goes on to state that he had been ‘instructed not to pay the subscription for the Soundcloud.’ As of 11 November, all the content has been made visible again following the SU paying the Soundcloud subscription.

e video also highlighted that Molin was not accompanied by a Union Representative when he exited the building, a measure which ensures that workers are made fully aware of the circumstances surrounding their dissmisal and to protect their emotional state. is precedent has historically been respected at SOAS.

Being under the employment of the SOAS Students’ Union,

responsibility for the termination of Molin’s contract lies with them. When asked for a comment on the ongoing situation and the status of Molin’s employment, the SU responded: ‘We are unable to comment on any ongoing contractual or personnel matters relating to SU sta and their employer’. Considering the actions taken against Molin were enacted by the HR department of the institution and not the SU, we also reached out to SOAS for comment. ey also stated: ‘We are unable to comment on any individual employment status at SOAS’.

Questions have been raised as to what the future of SOAS radio holds without the expertise of Molin. Jared Harris, a Master’s student who re-established the SOAS Radio society, supported by Molin’s advice, told us that ‘Fred has a lot of

Fred Molin in the SOAS Radio Station in 2017 (Credit: @SOASRadio on Twitter)

Contents Letter from the Editor

Looking toward this edition, I believe it’s one which truly o ers something to suit everyone. Our News sections are stacked with wide-ranging interviews, revealing investigations, and in-depth news reports. For those looking for their x of combative, no punches-pulled Journalism, our opinion section is lled with exactly that, with pieces covering Matt Hancock’s entry in the Jungle, Press freedom in India, and the lack of disability awareness here at SOAS. Our Features section continues to follow its thematic route, with this edition tackling the issue of Sustainability, alongside this, the section welcomes the return of a rm favourite - e SOAS Spirit Agony Aunt. Sports and Societies, a section which I believe has been excellently curated, contains articles covering the SOAS Netball Team, SOAS Uni memes, and England’s recent success at the Cricket World cup.

Dear Readers,

It would be remiss for me to start this letter with anything but a massive thank you. I know I speak on behalf of everyone at the Spirit when I say that the feedback and interaction received on the last issue was truly heartwarming, and a mark of our aim to interact further with the wider SOAS community. Equally, I’d like to say a massive thank you to the team at e Spirit, many of whom are working in a newsroom for the very rst time. Whilst the previous issue was not without its hiccups, the way in which our editorial and contributory teams took to issue 21 was truly admirable.

To conclude, I’d like to rea rm our determination to always act as an impartial, fair, and fearless voice for the student community at SOAS. It’s evident that the last few months at SOAS have been a time of great political and o en personal tumult. On occasion, this tumult has been felt by us at e Spirit, however, we remain steadfast in our independence, and obstinate in our desire to hold those in power to account- no matter what position or status they hold within the university. In this regard, I’ll end this letter, in the same way, I ended my rst, e SOAS Spirit remains a paper without vested interests and secret motives, wholly run both for, and by, the students of SOAS.

Best Wishes, Toby Editor-In-Chief

Your SOAS Spirit Team

Amelia Casey-Rerhaye • Managing Editor • 681085

Toby Oliver Clarke • Editor-in-Chief • 686196

Millie Glaister • Executive Digital Editor • 668292

Sanna Hamid • Creative Director • 680367

Eleanora Catenaro • SOAS News Editor • 670940

Madihah Najeeb • National News Editor • 670968

Viandito Pasaribu • International News Editor • 679304

Naeema Mahmood • Co Opinion Editor • 686194

Emily Holdcro • Co Opinion Editor • 672228

Naaz Hussein • Features Editor • 681486

Anisah Mahamoud • Culture Editor • 688334

Hala Haidar • Sport & Societies Editor • 691541

Unzeela Manzoor

Lulu Goad

Contributing Designer • 685698

Lulu Goad• Senior Sub Editor • 685698

Eman Baasti

692007

Sub Editor • 679630

Clayton Barrington-Russell • Sub Editor • 679437

Danyal Sabir • Sub Editor • 678361

Sophia- Fai Roche • Digital reporter • 6859991

Olivia Vallada • Digital reporter • 693931

Mahek Orora • Digital reporter • 672337

Unzeela Manzoor • Digital reporter • 692007

Amelia Casey-Rerhaye • Managing Editor

Millie, Sanna, Toby & Amelia • Senior Editors

News Editors: Eleanora Catenaro, Madihah Najeeb, Viandito Pasaribu

SOAS News

Continued from page 1

ongoing projects with the radio at the moment, and without his support, I’m very much concerned with the direction the radio station will take in the future.’

Molin has served as the manager of SOAS Radio since 2018. During his time as manager, Molin led the training of many students and sta at SOAS in the elds of broadcasting and radio. Many of those who worked alongside Molin have gone on to work in related industries, including at the BBC World Service. Molin has long been woven into the fabric of the institution at SOAS Radio. A colleague of Molin who requested to remain anonymous, told us that Molin ‘basically was SOAS Radio for a long time.’

Molin’s departure also puts the status of the newly revamped audio suite into question. e studios, situated on the h oor of the main building at SOAS, were due to be reopened

in the coming weeks, having undergone extensive refurbishment worth 30,000 pounds, according to Molin. is included top-of-the-range audio equipment that Molin was due to oversee the installation of this week. ose involved with SOAS Radio, including Harris, had hoped this would mark a ‘new chapter for the radio.’

As of 9 November, the SOAS Radio website has been replaced with a holding screen. When asked for comment on this development, a spokesperson for the SU stated: ‘At 12:42 yesterday (09 November) I received correspondence from a Senior Web Analyst in the IT Directorate of SOAS informing me that the website had been hacked and that it would have to be taken down once they had taken a backup. ey informed me that they would put up a holding page until this is resolved.’

Habib Heckler Harassed by Security at a SOAS Alumni Book Club Event

Molins’ departure from SOAS Radio follows nearly 500 redundancies made by SOAS in the past year, many of which were reported on by the Spirit at the time. Whilst the endpoint of this a air remains unclear, students at SOAS have

Discontent with SOAS Director Adam Habib has been present amongst the student body for almost as long as he has been in the position, with this vocal opposition being particularly highlighted during a meeting of the SOAS Alumni Book Club.

On 4 November the SOAS Alumni Book Club, a discussion group aiming to recreate the feeling of discussion within an academic environment for alumni, held a talk with historian and writer Ms. Jung Chang, who lectured at SOAS during the 1980s.

e talk was primarily about Chang’s books, ‘Wild Swans: ree Daughters of China’ and ‘Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: ree Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China’, with Director Habib providing an introduction. During the Q&A section, a student (who wished to remain anonymous) attempted to ask a question about Chang’s decision to share a panel with Director Habib, bringing to light a series of criticisms of Habib’s record as a university administrator, in particular his role in the suppression of protest movements during his time as Chair of Wits University in South Africa. His question was cut short, and the student was dragged o the premises by security o cers, as shown in a widely circulated video published by SOAS Justice for Workers and SOAS Solidarity.

e protests the student referred to were the Fees Must Fall (FMF) protests across South Africa, particularly at Wits University in 2015 and 2016, during which Habib was ViceChancellor. e protests against rising student tuition were particularly militant, and drew large crowds, with students being accused of physically assaulting police o cers while a cleaner died due to an asthma attack set o by a re extinguisher used by the protesters.

e police response was likewise militant, with police using rubber bullets, stun grenades and teargas on protesting students. Accusations that police o cers kidnapped leaders of the FMF movement were levied, with a member of the FMF logistics team, Arthur Muhamelwa, being abducted by police, stripped naked and le in Limpopo, over 200 miles away from Wits University. Muhamelwa accused South African police of torture. Habib was accused by the student at the book club of coordinating with police the suppression of these protests, particularly in using potentially lethal force.

e student made this statement in regard to his question and later treatment by security:

‘It seemed relevant to me that one of the most famous antitotalitarian authors in the world had chosen to share a stage with a man complicit in a police-state repression of demonstrators.’

When asked for a statement about his treatment by security, he said that ‘Fundamentally the issue is not some casualised, outsourced individual security guard being trigger happy because otherwise, he’ll lose his job, but a board of directors who have been slowly inculcating an atmosphere of automatic control of dissent.’

SOAS Administration also made a statement regarding the event: ‘SOAS students have a responsibility to follow the rules and regulations of SOAS whilst studying here. We want to remind students that this includes displaying appropriate conduct at SOAS events with external speakers and guests. We may intervene if behaviour is deemed a breach of the SOAS Student Code of Conduct.’

e full transcript of the question, as well as what the student intended to ask before he was detained and removed from the premises by security, is as follows: ‘I’d like to ask Ms

Chang, who has spent her entire life in the ght against totalitarianism, why she is sharing a stage with a character who led one of the most violent suppressions of a protest movement in recent history.

Adam Habib as chair of Wits University coordinated with the police in the use of potentially lethal force and created a permanent private militia armed with batons on campus to prevent students from gathering in groups of friends, let alone assemblies. e chairman of the Student Union, Shaeera Kalla, was shot 13 times with rubber-coated steel bullets as she turned her back to the police, the elderly university chaplain was hit in the mouth by a rubber-coated steel bullet by a range of about a foot, and student Arthur Muhamelwa was abducted, tortured by police, and abandoned without medical attention in the deep Veldt. ree police o cers have been charged with murder: it is clear from multiple videos where police encourage each other to shoot protestors at point-blank range that the number is a small miracle. Having been rescued from his political predicament in South Africa, Habib has responded to mild strike action at SOAS with outright false promises and a creeping spread of security throughout campus, with sta forced to picket outside the university campus. Considering that he has not repudiated his actions and seems likely to repeat them, does Ms Chang not wish to share a platform with people who are closer to her politics?’

(Credit: @soasjusticeforworkers on Instagram)

“the dismissal makes me question whether the institution really has sta and students interests at heart, or whether they see us only as a disposable cog in a wider machine.”

Jacob Winter, BA Politics and International Relations

SOAS ‘Charity Week’ Success: £29,921.54 Raised For Orphans & Children in Need

Interview with Charity Week Co - Leads, Fatima Suleiman (LLB) and Mohamed Amine (BSc Accounting & Finance)

‘Charity Week’ is a global initiative started by the charity Islamic Relief. Institutions across the world raise as much as they can in a week packed with events for various causes, powered by Just Giving. ere are three main fundraising categories: Healthcare, Education and Orphan Sponsorship. Speci c projects within each category can be chosen, such as psychosocial support of children in Gaza, building schools for children in Idlib and increasing access to health care for children in Afghanistan. ere are annual campaigns in the UK, US, Malaysia, Ireland, Germany, Qatar, Canada and South Africa. It’s an opportunity for communities to unite and demonstrate the collective power they hold to positively impact the world. It embodies the Islamic principles of unity and wealth redistribution. Not only does it provide aid to developing and war-torn countries, but it develops so many useful skills for all who participate in it.

From an initial idea in 2000, ‘Charity Week’ has grown to become one of the world’s largest volunteer-led and organised campaigns. e total international amount raised was $2.3m, a new record. In the UK alone, 1243 schools, universities and companies took part this year collectively raising over half a million pounds for children in need. e heavy li ing was done by London universities, their contribution amounting to £375,526.07. is year, SOAS contributed £29,921.54 - the highest SOAS has ever raised.

e committee this year was led by Fatima Suleiman and Mohamed Amine, both nal-year students who met with the Spirit to discuss their experience in more detail. e o cial ‘Charity Week’ dates were 24th - 30th October, but to maintain healthy competition with larger London universities (the likes of UCL, KCL & Imperial) they extended it from 17th October - 6th November. During this period, they raised money by having regular bake sales around campus

and hosting ticketed events including a FIFA night, a sister’s cultural night, games nights, quiz nights, calligraphy and ‘Milksheikh’ stalls, a sports day, a Hastings trek, the auction dinner and even authorised collections outside Holborn tube station. e conversation went as follows:

How many people were in the organising team?

Both: Around 12 students were in the committee altogether, with each person in charge of a speci c event and everyone else helped out.

How long have you been planning this?

Both: A couple of weeks before university started. Brainstorming ideas, planning speci c events and making timelines of what would actually be happening, then regular one hour meetings every couple of weeks in preparation.

What was the planning process like?

Fatima: ‘At the beginning, it was really exciting coming up with lots of really good ideas of what we are going to do, but the execution was trickier. e planning process went smoothly for the most part. For the biggest event, the charity auction dinner, all the auction items had to be acquired (ideally through donations) in advance, which meant contacting hundreds of businesses to explain our proposition. When it came to the actual events, there were lots of unforeseen circumstances, speci cally complications with room bookings within SOAS.’

What activity or event raised the most money?

Both: As a stand-alone event, the auction dinner. Entry cost £25 per head, and then a er competitive bidding, £13,000 was raised in one night from auction items. e cake that was donated by a small business sold for £3000. In second place, the Hasting treks raised £11,784 from individuals’ Just Giving pages.

How much did some other universities raise?

Both: UCL came in rst place, raising £54,103. Imperial was 2nd, raising £36,698. Simply because of numbers, other universities managed to raise more, but in proportion to the amount of students we have, we did very well.

How

did you

balance your studies and Charity Week?

ere was a ‘no missed tutorials’ policy that most people managed to stick to. As third years, some modules in certain degrees are graded by work done in tutorials.

Fatima: ‘Especially because it’s the third year, you want to do well. I like to keep myself busy, but I feel like charity week was the rst time I thought maybe it’s getting too much. I kind of knew my limits then. De nitely, right now, I am still catching up. During it, I did the basics, like preparing for tutorials. Anything extra, de nitely not.”

What was the hardest part about the whole process for you?

Fatima: ‘Every event.’

Mohamed: ‘Dealing with the back and forth with coaches for Hastings when they got back with random price increases. at’s one reason why we did Hastings instead of Snowdon, because the prices were so high.’

What motivated you to do this?

Fatima: ‘De nitely for the sake of Allah.’

Mohamed: ‘ e fact that we’re doing something to help the poor and the money is going to impact lives for the foreseeable future. Also that as Muslims, we are people of action. As Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him) says, “ e ummah is one body,” so we should take action and help those that aren’t as fortunate as us.’

How can others get involved in the Charity week committee next year?

Mohamed: ‘I got involved through the Islamic Society. Charity Week itself is very Muslim-dominated, but also anyone could get involved if they wanted to. You just need good people skills and come with lots of ideas about ways to bring money in.’

Fatima: ‘Also, by just coming to events, you’ll meet lots of people.’

What advice would you give the committee next year?

Mohamed: ‘Plan ahead way more than you think you need to. Give yourself enough time for planning and your studies. Don’t allow yourself to get stressed out over numbers or over things that are not in your control. And have fun!

Fatima: ‘Have ‘Tawakul’ (Trust in God) that everything will go smoothly. ere were times when an hour before the event, we would have everything planned, but we didn’t have a room. It’s understandable because lots of societies are trying to book rooms, but Alhumdullilah (All praise and thanks to God) we knew Allah would provide a way, and everything turned out well in the end.’

(Some answers may be paraphrased)

“In the UK alone, 1243 schools, universities and companies took part this year...SOAS contributed £29,921.54, the highest SOAS has ever raised.”

Charity Week’ Co Leads and the cake that sold for £3000 donated by @_thelittlekitchen_ (Credits: Zubayr Beg and Fatima Suleiman)

Sanna Hamid, BA History and International Relations

SOAS UCU and UNISON Join Nationwide Strikes

employment standards; action to confront ‘excessive workloads and unpaid work’; and for full-time employment contracts to be 35 hours without a decrease in pay.

On 24, 25 and 30 November, SOAS UCU and SOAS UNISON branches joined nationwide strikes across UK universities. UCU strikes were seen across 153 universities and UNISON strikes across 19 universities. ey totalled 70,000 striking university sta and impacted more than 2.5 million students, making it the largest university strike in the history of UK higher education.

In two national ballots concerning pay, working conditions, and pension cuts sent out in October, an overwhelming majority of UCU members voted in favour of strike action: 81.1% ‘yes’ votes for the pay and conditions ballot and 84.9% ‘yes’ votes for the USS pensions ballot. ese results are especially signi cant because they are the rst nationally aggregated ballots to successfully pass a er anti-trade union legislation was announced by the Tory government in 2016. e UCU noted that university vice-chancellors did not make any revised o ers to education workers following the results of the ballots.

e UCU represents academic and support sta in the further and higher education sector. e demands of the strike centre around two disputes: USS pensions and pay and working conditions. e demands around the USS dispute include renouncing the cuts made on the USS pension scheme in 2022 and certifying that future assessments of the nancial health of the pension scheme are evidence-based and reasonable.

e demands of the second dispute include an increase of pay which would either take into consideration the rate of in ation + 2% or a 12% rise; to end the disability, gender, and ethnic pay gaps; a framework to cease precarious

Kerem Nişancıoğlu, SOAS UCU Branch Chair, explains, ‘While we’ve been facing long-term cuts to our pay—we’ve had around a 25% pay cut since 2009 in real terms—, this

of sta , and there’s a lot of anger about that.’

e UNISON strike demands a pay rise that will enable workers to deal with increased living costs. In May, the Universities and Colleges Employers Association o ered a 3% pay rise, which university sta turned down. In a statement on November 21st, UNISON noted, ‘With the lowest measure of in ation currently 11.1%, the rise in living costs is three times greater than the workers’ pay increase.’

year that pay cut is particularly acute… [T]here’s a cost of living crisis in this country, in ation is through the roof, and in ation has massively outstripped what the employers have o ered us in terms of pay. And so, for a lot of people, it’s simply a matter of survival to get a decent pay deal this time around.’

UNISON is a public service trade union that works across many sectors. In universities, UNISON represents non-academic sta , such as cleaners, security workers, administrators, and catering workers, who are generally the lowest-paid employees within the university. For most of the 19 UNISON branches who took part in this wave of strike action, including SOAS, this is their second strike since the start of term.

Sandy Nicoll, SOAS UNISON Branch Secretary, explains, ‘[T]his is not a national strike for UNISON because not all of the branches got across the threshold of 50%, but we did at SOAS and we did very, very easily because not only are we actually facing the cost of living crisis, we’re also facing the fact that two years ago the university put through a restructuring program, which meant that workloads are basically impossible for a lot

SOAS management shared their views on the strikes in a series of emails to students. On November 15th, Adam Habib, Director at SOAS, stated, ‘We do not believe such action will achieve the objectives people would like.’ On November 16th, Claire Ozanne, Deputy Director & Provost at SOAS, contended, ‘At SOAS, as an executive team we do not have the power to change the outcomes of the national discussions on pay and pensions. In place of this industrial action, we would wish to see continued national discussion and resolution to reach an agreement in the interests of sta and students.’

Nişancıoğlu highlights, ‘Our working conditions are fundamentally students’ learning conditions, and I know this is a slogan and something we say repeatedly, but it is fundamentally true. If we’re given the resources to do our work, that means a good education for students.’ In addition, he emphasises, ‘It’s the last resort, we’ve tried every other avenue to improve our work conditions…the only thing we can do is to use the only real power that we have in this institution, which is to withdraw our labour.’

Nicoll concludes, ‘Nobody should be working full-time in a university and then have to go to a food bank to keep themselves alive and that’s what some of our members do, which is totally unacceptable.’

“Secret Power: WikiLeaks and its Enemies” – The Inaugural ICOP Conference on Journalism

Toby Oliver-Clarke, BA History

Tuesday the 22 November marked the inaugural ICOP (In uencing Corridors of Power) Conference. e event titled ‘Secret Power: WikiLeaks and its Enemies’, brought together a panel of Journalists, politicians, and lawyers to discuss the current state of the British political landscape and the threat facing a free independent press. e keynote speech was given byw Stefania Maurizi, an Investigative Journalist with over 20 years of experience reporting on issues related to state surveillance, government overreach, and institutional corruption. Following a speech that covered the length and breadth of Stefania’s career, the conversation was opened up to the wider panel, an assorted group of experts including John McDonnell MP- Former Shadow Chancellor to the Exchequer, Ewen Macaskill- e Guardian’s Former Defence and Security Correspondent and a Pulitzer Prize Winner, and Estelle Dehon QC, a top ying lawyer who is currently representing Stefania in her case to access classi ed documents concerning WikiLeaks.

Stefania began by detailing the chance phone call that led to her becoming Wikileaks’s journalist of choice in Italy, and the impact that this would have on the rest of her life. In subsequent years, she has worked to secure the release of thousands of documents relating to Wikileaks, many of which consecutive governments (both American and British)

have claimed are held for the protection of National Security. She argues that the job of investigative Journalists has been made increwasingly tough by the government’s refusal to abide by established legal and political precedents, primarily, their refusal to respect the issuing of Freedom of Information Requests (FOI). As explained by then Prime Minister Tony Blair, these powers ‘Grant the public access to documents or other data in the possession of a government agency or public authority’. Whilst technically designed for public use, these powers have become a cornerstone of the work of many investigative Journalists including Stefania, who described the powers as a ‘lifeline’.w

Following this, the conversation broadened into a debate about the current state of civil liberties, and the avenues through which activists can safeguard these liberties going forward. In recent years, consecutive governments have passed legislation which one could argue has eroded our freedom of speech, assembly, and protest, none more divisive than the Police Crime and Sentencing Bill. e Bill, which was passed under Priti Patel’s tenure as Home Secretary, grants the police extensive new powers to regulate the capacity of protestors to freely assemble. Whilst the government has claimed that the Bill gives the police necessary powers needed to stop disruption, critics have argued that the Bill sets a dangerous precedent regarding civil liberties; Sacha Deshmukh, CEO of Amnesty International, has argued ‘ e Policing Bill is of a hugely worrying and widespread attack

on human rights from across government’.

In the face of an increasingly discordant political landscape, one would be forgiven for feeling isolated from the processes of power that shape our lives. I put this to John McDonell, a long-standing MP and former Shadow Chancellor, who argued that the only way forward was to ‘dig in and wage the battle of ideas, join a union, resist, and occupy’. Stefania, the author of the event’s namesake ‘Secret Power’, struck a similar tone. When questioned on whether Journalism was still an attractive career considering the threats faced by many around the world, she answered, ‘No matter the threats and di culties, I would do it all again, this is a career where you can truly make a di erence’.

As of 11 April 2019, Assange is currently a prisoner in HMP Belmarsh. Whilst his future remains uncertain, the main aim of Assange and his campaign is to prevent his extradition to the United States. Senior American politicians, including Mitch McConnel and Sarah Palin, have labelled Assange a ‘high tech terrorist’, calling into question the impartiality of any trial he may face in the States. ose supportive of Assange and Wikileaks have pledged to continue their advocacy on his behalf; Estelle Dehon QC, a senior lawyer who is currently representing Stefania told me, ‘I remain very hopeful, because hope in this sort of circumstance is a political decision and one that I maintain’.

Hala Haidar, BA Global Development

“Nobody should be working fulltime in a university and then have to go to a food bank to keep themselves alive.”

SU Investigates Claims of Discrimination

Millie Glaister, BA Politics & International Relations

e Desi Society have made allegations against Parwana Haydar, Co-President for Activities and Events in the SOAS Students’ Union, on the grounds of discrimination surrounding Haydar’s handling of their Diwali event.

e Desi Society and the Hindu society scheduled their joint Diyaa Night event for Friday 21 October to celebrate Diwali and sold between 100 and 150 tickets. Natalie Cox, who would normally handle all booking requests, was out of o ce at this time. During her absence, room booking requests were handled by the other members of the SU team. Complications arose when both societies had reached out to Haydar via email on Tuesday 18 October, to request a lecture theatre to accommodate 100 people for their event. Haydar informed them that no rooms of that size were available at the requested time. e following ursday, 20 October, the Musicians’ Society met with Haydar requesting to book the JCR for their Jam Session. Haydar informed them that the JCR had already been booked for a Black History Month event for the Afro-Caribbean Society and the Art & the Afrikan Mind Society. e Musicians’ Society then privately coordinated with ACS and AAM to collaborate on their events and use the JCR together.

During this time, the Desi Society contacted Sushant Singh (Co-President of Welfare and Campaigns) to request his help in booking a room for their event, and Singh provided the Desi Society with con rmation of booking the JCR. is led to a miscommunication that played out over Instagram, in which the Desi Society contacted the Musicians’ Society informing them that the Desi Society had booked the JCR and thus the Musicians’ Society would need to nd an alternative location for their event. is was communicated back to Haydar, which prompted her

to message the Desi Society via the SOAS SU Instagram page, ‘You haven’t booked the JCR and it’s not ok for you to lie about it and tell the musicians society that you have booked it.’

e Desi Society responded and explained that they had received a booking con rmation from Singh personally. Singh and Haydar involved the CEO of the SU, Irfan Zaman, in order to resolve the matter. It was established that there had been a clerical error regarding an out of date spreadsheet, and Zaman settled the matter by nding a smaller room for the Diwali event. All parties were informed, and all events went ahead on Friday 21 October.

e following morning, the Desi Society messaged the SOAS SU page on Instagram informing them that they were unhappy with the treatment they had faced, especially the accusations of lying. ey indicated they were going to formally take this up with the SU. In a response from Haydar, via the SU Instagram account, she explained that Singh had double booked the room and that it would not have worked having both events in the same space. She went on to say: ‘It’s black history month and for you to take over the bar with a Diwali party would have been really inappropriate.’

is comment led the Desi Society to call for the dismissal of Haydar on the grounds of discrimination. In a post shared on Instagram, Zaina Iman Younis, described feeling ‘anger, frustration, sadness, and di erentiated,’ and questioned ‘can we not celebrate Diwali & BHM together?’ She continued, stating ‘Our committee & it’s members value both equally, so why can’t the SOAS Co-President?’

is has resulted in an investigation of the incident, by the other two Co-Presidents of the Students’ Union, Gioia Scazza and Yara Derbas, per SU policy. e summary of the report stated: ‘it is found that the allegation of discrimination is

justi ed based on PH’s [Parwana Haydar] language towards the Desi Society. erefore, appropriate measures will be taken to address PH’s misconduct.’ e measures recommended in response to this matter were a ‘Formal letter of apology from PH to the SOAS Desi Society and NHSF Hindu Society’, along with Haydar attending ‘a workshop session on cultural sensitivity delivered by a member of the Equality and Diversity Team at SOAS and a member of an anti-racist South Asian organisation in the UK.’

Following this report being published, the Desi Society shared it on their Instagram, but have since removed it, having been informed by the SU that the report is con dential. However, the Desi Society allege they were never informed the report was con dential and have since requested a redacted version of the report that was shareable, for their followers who had been following the situation evolves. According to Younis, president of the Desi Society, this request has been repeatedly denied. Additionally, Younis and the Desi society have raised concerns with the SU that the investigation report has some inaccuracies, which has resulted in the status of the investigation as being ongoing, rather than concluding with the report.

While the issues with room booking were exacerbated by Cox’s absence, the situation has brought to light some interesting aspects of the SU’s constitution. Particularly, students such as Younis have raised questions about how investigations, such as that of Haydar, can be handled impartially when enacted by coworkers.

When approached for comment, a spokesperson for the Students’ Union has stated: ‘ e Students’ Union will not be commenting on an ongoing investigation.’ Haydar has been contacted for comment but has not responded.

The Humanitarian Concerns Behind the Dispendious UK-France New Migration Agreement

the issues it aims to solve. Pierre Roques, the coordinator of the Auberge des Migrants association, observed that more policing will not prevent migrants from crossing; Rather it will ‘make the [illegal] networks of crossing indispensable’. He explains, ‘the more police o cers you puton the beaches, the more you encourage the illegal networks.’ is is also proved by gures that show the increase in the number of migrants crossing the Channel in the last years, despite the enforcement of containment strategies (from less than 5,000 people crossing in 2019 to nearly 30,000 in 2021, according to the BBC).

Furthermore, Enver Solomon, Chief Executive of the Refugee Council, highlighted how enforcement measures ignore the urgency to create safe and legal migration routes and the need to work with the EU and other countries to share the responsibility to reduce backlogs in the asylum system. e majority of these migrants who are crossing the Channel are seeking asylum, which means that they are escaping situations in which their lives were at risk; Increasing police surveillance will not reduce the demand for the channel crossing. erefore containment, far from preventing crossings, results in making migrants’ lives more vulnerable, the journey more dangerous, and global eco-systems of criminality all the more lucrative.

By Lucrezia Santa Maria, MSc International Politics

On the 11th of November 2022, the UK’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman and France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin agreed to update the deal on Channel migration, signed in 2021, which aimed to prevent illegal migration and human smuggling. According to the agreement, the UK will add £8m more to the £55m that is already annually paid to France to enhance 40% of France’s Northern border control and surveillance capacities. e deal results from the consequence of a considerable surge in migrants’ arrivals on small boats in 2022. According to the British Government, 40,000 people have crossed the Channel in small boats so far this year, the highest number since 2018, with 93% of them being asylum seekers.

e UK’s and France’s government e orts to nd an agreement and prevent illegal migration have a long and troubled history, that can be dated back to 2015 when the securitisation of borders became imperative across Europe. Financing in exchange for more military control and surveillance systems has since been the consistent strategy adopted by the two countries to prevent border crossing. e recent agreement, according to e Independent, the eighth update in the past seven years, will bring to £232m the total amount paid by the UK government to France. e considerable expense sustained by the English government, though, is not

considered to be a de nitive measure. Mr Sunak, the UK’s new Prime Minister, showed prudence when forecasting the e ects of the agreement on illegal immigration, as, in his words, ‘it isn’t a single thing that will magically solve this,’ and ‘there’s lots more that we need to do.’

ough the recent agreement was presented as a humanitarian measure that aimed to protect and improve migrants’ human rights, it also discourages the dangerous journey through the Channel and helps to dismantle the smuggling networks operating in France’s northern coasts. e same humanitarian discourse was used when presenting the heavily debated ‘Rwanda scheme’, which was designed to send migrants that entered the UK illegally to Rwanda, where their refugee status would eventually be considered. Despite the enormous cost sustained by Britain to enhance the plan and make positive changes, the political situation in Rwanda leaves many sceptical about the UK Government’s true attitude towards migrants. is tension between the benevolent intent expressed by public authorities and the reality of the Rwandan political situation is expressive of how the aims of containment strategies rely more on the will to exclude, rather than to save migrants.

e agreement signed by France and the UK is to be contextualised in the increasing e orts done by European countries to externalise migration, which means imposing its management on third-world countries and increasing border surveillance as a means to control and exclude any migrants entering the state’s borders. Coherently, the African Union judged the e orts to manage migration from Africa as ‘xenophobic’, highlighting Europe’s political interests and their ignorance towards the public’s opinion. e UK government’s continuous e orts to manage the migration situation show a lack of foresight and attention to the complexity of migration, which will ultimately lead to both enormous economic and humanitarian costs.

e large amount of money paid by the UK through citizens’ taxes raises several concerns on whether the newly adopted strategy focuses more on increasing militarisation and policing and is e ective in the management of migration ows. Many critics, coming from human rights organisations and refugee groups, consider the agreement fuel for

“Containment, therefore, far from preventing crossings, results in making migrants’ lives more vulnerable, the journey more dangerous, and global ecosystems of criminality all the more lucrative.”

Top: Border Patrol agents bring migrants into Dover harbour on a boat, after they tried to cross the channel, in September 2020. The amount of illegal crossings has skyrocketed in 2022

Bottom: UK’s Home Secretary Suella Braverman and France’s Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin signing the deal on the 14th of November 2022

Rishi Sunak Scraps Plans to Move The British Embassy to Jerusalem

e decision was announced during a press brie ng just over a week a er he had been elected as the new prime minister following the resignation of his predecessor, Liz Truss.

It comes as a surprise U-turn policy decision from Rishi Sunak, who has been an outspoken supporter of Israel, calling it a ‘shining beacon of hope,’ and who previously said he was willing to relocate the embassy during his leadership contest earlier this year.

Husam Zumlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK, welcomed the announcement. In a statement, he said, ‘We would like to thank the UK government, opposition parties, faith leaders, activists and members of the public whose e orts have helped keep the UK in line with international law on the matter.’

‘ ere is much work to be done to create a conducive environment for peace in the Middle East and make amends for the historic injustice caused by the Balfour Declaration 105 years ago.’

However, the UK government’s stance remains rmly aligned with Israel, with the friendship between Liz Truss and her Israeli counterparts smoothly transitioning to Sunak.

When the then Israeli Prime Minister, Yair Lapid, congratulated Sunak on his new role, he said the UK and Israel are close allies and that he ‘look[ed] forward to working together, showing the embassy decision does not necessarily mean the frosting of ties between the two countries.

Rishi Sunak has also vowed to ght against the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which aims to end international support for Israel.

Jerusalem’s Importance:

e renewed conversations surrounding embassy locations in Israel touch on the sensitive topic of Jerusalem, which contains holy sites that carry symbolic importance for all three Abrahamic religions.

In 2017, Donald Trump formally announced Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, ordering the US embassy’s move, despite its contested status. If the UK follows suit, it will be one of three countries breaking international law – the others being the US and Guatemala. However, other states have also announced they are contemplating the controversial decision including Romania and Paraguay.

Critics have warned of the potentially dire consequences for the occupation if countries chose to relocate their embassies in the holy city, stating it could quash any possibilities of reaching a two-state solution.

A UN expert on the state of human rights in Palestine, Francesca Albanese, has condemned the move, ‘Sheltering Israel’s [sic] from accountability or condoning its illegal

actions tarnishes the credibility of the [international] community.’

Jerusalem is home to the al-Aqsa compound, which is the third holiest mosque in Islam. It is believed to be where the prophet led a congregational prayer of all previous prophets in his miraculous night journey. e mosque falls in the same area as Temple Mount, which is the holiest site for Jews.

It has been a site of political and religious tension, prone to breakouts by protestors when Israel storms the compound, like in July last year. Alternatively, Israeli o cials or settlers are allowed in to tour the compound under military protection.

Since 2020 there has been an increase in the level of confrontations, and reports show that 2022 has been the

“Husam Zumlot, the Palestinian ambassador to the UK… ‘ ere is much work to be done to create a conducive environment for peace in the Middle East and make amends for the historic injustice caused by the Balfour Declaration 105 years ago.”

Israeli President Herzog met Rishi Sunak for the rst time this month.(Credit: Haim Zach / Wikimedia Commons)

UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak abandoned the controversial plans to relocate the British embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem earlier this month.

Reem Walid, BA Politics and International Relations

Qatar World Cup and Migrant Workers: The West vs. ‘The Rest’

workers. Hence, the Qatari government responded to criticisms by introducing policy changes in an e ort to reform the kafala system.

Changes to the system stated by Human Rights Watch include allowing ‘...migrant workers to change jobs without employer permission and set a higher minimum wage for all workers, regardless of nationality.’ e Guardian found that ‘Changes to the Kafala system have led to labour mobility. Now workers can negotiate for better conditions, and employers are incentivised to provide them in order to attract and retain talent.’ Critics, however, are yet to see whether these reforms will follow through post-tournament.

With the 22nd World Cup tournament kicking o in Doha, the world’s outrage over the host’s human rights abuses has blown out of proportion. e signi cant media attention over Qatar’s exploitation of migrant workers reinforces the West’s insecurity of seeing a Muslim country gaining prominence in hosting a major international event. I aim not to make the issue of Qatar’s abuses towards migrant workers a trivial matter. However, we must acknowledge that this magnifying media attention was not equivalently expressed during Russia’s hosting of the 2018 World Cup. e West aims to tamper the reputation of the rst Muslim nation hosting the World Cup by gnawing at all that is wrong with the state as means to alleviate them from their insecurity and give them the moral high ground.

Why is Qatar hosting ‘the most controversial World Cup in history,’ according to the BBC? e Council of Foreign Relations describes the kafala (sponsorship) system where ‘... the state gives local individuals or companies sponsorship permits to employ foreign labourers… e sponsor covers travel expenses and provides housing, o en in dorm-like accommodations or, in the case of domestic workers, the sponsor’s home.’ e kafala system is used across Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, including Qatar, Kuwait,

Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Such a system has opened up various job opportunities in the run-up to the tournament for largely South Asian and African labourers. Sponsor relations are a mechanism for Gulf countries to acquire cheap labour; why must then, the West strongly scrutinise Qatar and the system when they also outsource cheap labour to countries such as Bangladesh?

Whilst this system has allowed for mass job opportunities for migrant workers, the abuse of power and exploitation workers have experienced from their employers has outweighed its bene ts. Such exploitation ranges from delayed or refused payment of salaries to the inability to change jobs without receiving permission from their sponsors. Since Qatar was chosen to host the tournament in 2010, the Guardian recorded 6,500 deaths of South Asian migrant workers in the past 11 years due to poor working conditions in Qatar’s 40-degree heat. Sponsor relations have also enabled racial and gender discrimination. A UN report published in 2020 found that Qatari labour laws ‘...condition human rights signi cantly on the basis of national origin and nationality.’

Western countries in particular, are utilising the World Cup platform to voice poor working conditions in Qatar. is has allowed for increased awareness of the issue of the kafala system in exploiting and discriminating against migrant

Nevertheless, there remains an unprecedented media backlash over Qatar’s treatment towards migrant workers, as this was not apparent when previous countries, such as Russia, hosted the World Cup. Russia’s football culture triggered multiple racial and homophobic incidents in the lead-up to the tournament in 2018; e Guardian stated that Russia’s football hooligans ‘Ultras in St Petersburg in 2012 released a manifesto demanding their team refuse to sign non-white and gay players.’ Russia was not pressured by the international community to the extent Qatar is now. e extreme international concern expresses a deep power imbalance between the West and non-Western countries, with Qatar having to appease the West’s protest over labour conditions and rights.

International disapproval towards Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers goes further than this. e New York Times shared that Qataris ‘...are calling out the double standards. Why, they ask, do Europeans buy natural gas from Qatar if they nd the country so abhorrent that they cannot watch soccer there? Why don’t some of the international gures who have spoken out against Qatar do the same for the United Arab Emirates?’ Qataris hope to use the platform of the World Cup to challenge the stereotypes of the Arab and Muslim cultures. Yet, the West are, in fact, abusing their value of human rights to undermine Qatar as the media is out to spin Qatar’s actions to reinforce racism, Orientalism and Islamophobia.

Joe Biden and Xi Jinping meet at Bali: Di erent Stories Told by Two Governments

President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping formally met during the G20 summit, discussing various topics from global food security to nuclear weapons. However, both the White House and the Ministry of Foreign A airs of the People’s Republic of China tell di erent stories about what was being said in these discussions and the overall tone between both parties.

For instance, a clear and powerful example of this is the American and Chinese government’s accounts of the discussion regarding the war in Ukraine. Furthermore, the White House explicitly states that it is ‘Russia’s brutal war against Ukraine,’ and that the Russian government was giving ‘irresponsible threats of nuclear use,’ to the West. e White House also adds that China agrees that the use of nuclear weapons should not be threatened. On the contrary, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign A airs (FMPRC) doesn’t mention

nuclear weapons, rather having a more neutral tone, where they claim they understand that ghting a war is futile, but they state China is willing ‘to encourage peace talks.’ is isn’t an argument that Russia is not brutally invading Ukraine, but rather that both powers are reporting di erent things about a singular meeting.

Another example of this would be when the report states how the United States will ‘compete vigorously with the PRC,’ while the FMPRC states that ‘the world is big enough for the two countries to develop themselves and prosper together.’

With the previous U.S. government initiating a trade war with China, it seems that the White House is conveying that the United States still has a competitive and indefatigable spirit to compete with China, regardless of the risk of war between the two.

Additionally, both the White House and FMPRC have di erent opinions on the discussion of human rights. While it is reported by the White House that Joe Biden was concerned with the Chinese government’s ‘practices in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong,’ and its aggression against Taiwan,

the FMPRC seems to mostly avoid the issue of human rights violations within their borders. However, it is very defensive over the situation in Taiwan. ey still insist that it is an internal matter.

Overall, it has been apparent that both sides have used this meeting as a tool of discursive power to emphasise the interests and views of each respective state. Whether that is the United States’ condemnation of Russia or China’s perspective on the ‘Taiwan Question’. Perhaps the meeting’s purpose was not to solve anything but to make their stances rmer.

Workers at the construction site of Lusail Stadium. (Credit: Kai Pfa enbach / Reuters) Mahdiyah Mizan, BA International Relations

Husnain Muhammad, BA International Relations & History

President Joe Biden and President Xi Jinping meet in Bali. (Credit: Getty Images)

Istiklal Terrorist Attack: Unclaimed and Useful

A terrorist attack took place on Istiklal Avenue, a central commercial site on the European side of Istanbul. e blast resulted in over 80 people injured and six dead, including two children. Sadly, 13 November 2022 is yet another date in the long history of terrorist incidents in Turkey, as the country borders hostile groups such as PKK and Daesh. However, this time none of them claimed responsibility for the attack. Nonetheless, the Syrian population in Turkey fears becoming the scapegoat.

On 14 November, Suleyman Soylu, Turkey’s Interior Minister, reported that the police arrested a Syrian suspect allegedly connected with Kurdish militias from Ain al-Arab [Kobani] and announced that, ‘[Turkey] will retaliate against those who are responsible for this heinous terror attack.’ e retaliation happened on the following days when the Turkish military carried out more than 20 drone strikes in northern Syria, targeting villages near the Turkish border as well as the city of Kobani, killing 11 civilians.

From northern Syria, Mazlum Kobane, Commander-inChief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), reveals that Turkey’s drones struck SDF-US joint facilities. During an interview with Al-Monitor, Kobane reminded them that the SDF is a US-backed militia group that fought Daesh, denied SDF responsibility for the Istanbul attack and a rmed his aim at establishing a peaceful relationship with Turkey.

According to his assessment, the woman who planted a bomb in Istiklal is closely connected with Daesh and was part of a Syrian opposition group operating under Turkish control. Additionally, Kobane argued that the Turkish government is using the Istanbul attack to manipulate nationalist sentiment ahead of the elections next year, similar to what happened in the past.

If this is true, Erdoğan is not the only one working on his campaign. A well-known far-right politician, Ümit Özdağ, together with his supporters, paraded near Istiklal to ‘commemorate the martyrs.’ In a Twitter video that became viral, he claimed that ‘the police set up emergency barricades as the Victory Party enters Istiklal Street. Syrians, Afghans, Egyptians etc. enter comfortably,’ suggesting that discriminatory policies on the refugee asylum process should be considered to prevent further terrorist attacks. is idea, however, was better elaborated by Erdogan’s government, which proposes the expansion of the bu er corridor on the Syrian side of the border with Turkey. Following the drone strike, the government has now disclosed plans for a future ground operation that entails securing an area of 30 kilometres inland to where part of the Syrian refugees inside Turkey could be reallocated. Countries such as Russia and the US are critical of this proposal as it could lead to further destabilisation in a densely populated region where zones of in uence are not yet solidi ed. Erdogan’s government, however, nds the timing ideal. On one side, Turkey’s growing geopolitical importance

in the Ukrainian war gives it leverage to negotiate a compromise with Russia. On the other hand, the US may not be willing to see Sweden and Finland’s unsuccessful applications to join NATO if Turkey decides to play this card.

e Istanbul terrorist attack may trigger a war that Erdogan has been wishing for. Military operations have helped him win elections in the past. A narrative on foreigner threats increases his decisive position in the government as he becomes irreplaceable for the defence of the Turkish nation. is also supports the analyses that forecast Erdoğan’s intention to move towards strongman politics. e Syrian refugees in Turkey are among the ones paying a high price.

Turkey shelters 3.6 million Syrian refugees. Incidents such as the Istanbul attack are the catalysers of social tension, pitting Turks against Syrians. Last year, for example, a hungry mob attacwked Syrian refugees a er two other Syrians were accused of killing a Turkish teenager. Now, a er 13 November, the #Syrian hashtag on Twitter is widely used to promote hate speech as public gures call for tighter border controls. Other factors, such as the economic crisis and high level of unemployment in Turkey, may well contribute to a rise in animosity against the Syrian community, especially if they become the sacri cial lamb in the next elections.

US Convoy Attacked in Haiti Amidst Deepening Political Instability

On Monday 14 November 2022, shots were red at a US embassy convoy making its way into Port-Au-Prince, Haiti. e attack, attributed by local o cials to the ‘400 Mawozo’ gang, is one in a string of violent incidents caused by the increasing gang violence in the city. Although the attack was not lethal and none of the embassy sta were wounded, a Haitian commercial driver su ered from injuries, according to a State Department spokesperson. e o cial statement made did not identify a motive for the attack.

A country already prone to natural disasters, Haiti also su ered a magnitude 7.2 earthquake in August 2021, killing around 2,000 people and leaving thousands more injured and homeless. is caused intense food insecurity throughout the country with the World Food Programme estimating 1.3 million Haitians are at risk of severe hunger. In addition to this, the ercely territorial nature of the occupying gangs has meant that healthcare centres and pharmacies are widely inaccessible to the public, adding to the terror and instability of life in the city.

e reach and brutality of gang violence in Haiti continuously exacerbates the urgent humanitarian crisis currently facing the country, with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) reporting 90,000 out of 113,000 internally displaced people in Port-Au-Prince were forced out of their homes due to ‘urban violence linked to inter-gang,

gang-police, and social con icts’. is, along with frequent kidnappings for ransom, incredibly high fuel prices, and an intense cholera outbreak, has led to the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urging the international community to take action and address the country’s security crisis. e rapid decline in Haiti’s political and economic

children being snatched from their families and rape being used as a scare tactic to keep people in line. According to the UN, in the days between 9 and 17 July 2022, 209 people were killed as a result of a gang ght over an area on the outskirts of the city. ese territory skirmishes have become more and more commonplace as the gangs push into the administrative centres and begin to outnumber and push out state o cials.

As the political structure of the country continues to dissolve and the humanitarian crisis escalates, Haiti has garnered a lot more interest from the international community.

state dates back to the assassination of the serving President Jovenel Moise on 7 July 2021. Entering in the early hours of the morning, a commando group in ltrated the president’s estate and shot him to death. Although directly a er the event, Haitian police mobilised quickly to try and arrest the suspects, the parliamentary collapse that followed slowed the investigation, leading to an unstable military and political scene. is gave street gangs and criminals the upper hand in gaining control of the capital city.

Over the past year, over 200 gangs have laid claim to parts of Port-Au-Prince, riding into the city on motorbikes with assault ri es on their backs. e turf wars that ensued did not spare the civilians simply trying to live normally, with

Cesar Muñoz, a senior Americas researcher at Human Rights Watch, asks other countries to ‘do much more to support Haitian civil society groups and UN agencies as the crisis in the country deepens’. However, as seen by the shooting of the US embassy convoy, there is resistance and animosity towards international involvement from the city gangs. To take further steps to aid the Haitian people, the UN has to take precautions and care with its approach.

Bernardo Amaro Monteiro, MA Middle Eastern Studies

Polina Isangulova, BSc Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities

A view of Delmas 32, one of the neighbourhoods in Port-Au-Prince. (Credit: Creative Commons)

“ e reach and brutality of gangviolence in Haiti continuously exacerbates the urgent humanitarian crisis currently facing the country.”

Geopolitical challenges loom over the G20 summit in Bali

both nations to cooperate and coexist peacefully to bene t the two countries and, subsequently, the world. Despite the two leaders’ disagreements on the PRC’s policy towards Taiwan, they did reach a consensus regarding Russia. Both leaders hold a heavy stance against Putin’s threat over the use of nuclear weapons, stating that, ‘a nuclear war can never be fought and can never be won.’ Similarly, the two leaders agreed to work together when tackling issues such as climate change, global food security and macroeconomic matters.

Putin’s no-show and Zelensky’s Plea

e controversy around Putin’s attendance was one of the main concerns threatening the success of this year’s G20 summit. President Jokowi has stated that he would like to play the role of ‘peace-maker’, even going as far as visiting Kyiv and Moscow to urge Putin for a cease re. However, by the time leaders started to plan their journeys to Bali, Putin sent Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on his behalf. Nevertheless, this decision came as no surprise as leaders of the G7 had earlier provided Jokowi with an ultimatum: Putin’s attendance would have meant G7 absence. Before the event, UK Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, asserted that his government ‘will call out Putin’s regime.’ Facing pressure from world leaders, Sergei Lavrov walked out of the summit when questioned about Ukraine. When asked about the summit, Lavrov claimed that the summit was too politicised.

On Monday 14 November, leaders of the G20 nations arrived in Bali, Indonesia for the annual G20 summit. is year’s summit has been overshadowed by peak political unrest concerning Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, as well as increasing tensions between the US and China. It is without a doubt that the role of hosting the G20 summit this year was an unenviable position.

What is the G20 summit?

e G20 is made up of 20 members – the world leaders of the major economies. is includes Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, Japan, Russia, Türkiye, the UK, the US, and the EU, amongst others. e G20 accounts for 60% of the global population, 85% of the world’s economy and 75% of world trade.

e G20 has played a role in enabling an inclusive global economy for developing countries. Its primary purpose is to provide a forum for international economic cooperation.

e G20 summit in Bali was the biggest gathering of a group of leaders since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. To guarantee everyone’s attendance, it was reported by Kompas, an Indonesian news outlet, that Jokowi Widodo –president of Indonesia – personally called world leaders. Last year, a few notable guests, such as Chinese Leader Xi Jinping, attended the conference online, but almost all world leaders were able to attend the summit face-to-face this year against the backdrop of ongoing geo-political tensions. Before the event, Jokowi had set an agenda to focus on pressing issues such as economic recovery from the pandemic, global health and food security, and climate change. Although the

G20 primarily focuses on transnational economic issues, this year’s G20 summit also turned its attention to the war in Ukraine. An invitation was extended to the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, to attend the summit virtually.

President Zelensky was also able to attend the summit via video call. e President of Ukraine prepared a speech and sent copies of his speech written in the languages of each member of the G20. Addressing the summit as the G19 – a snub aimed at Russia – Zelenskyy celebrated the retaking of Kherson and urged the world leaders to become ‘co-creators of peace’ to stop the war in Ukraine. Moreover, most of the members in the G20 summit voiced their opposition to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including their opposition in the declarations of this year’s G20 summit.

What can we learn from the G20 Bali summit?

Every year, world leaders stand together for what is called a ‘family reunion’ photo at the G20. However, this year’s G20 avoided the tradition, underscoring the discontent amongst world leaders.

Biden and Xi Jinping provide Hope for Better Relations.

Although not an established G20 meeting, President Joe Biden and President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, met face-to-face as leaders for the rst time. is comes a er tensions between the US and China escalated during the summer of this year when Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan. Biden raised concerns about the practices in Xinjiang, Tibet and Hong Kong, highlighting human rights issues. Additionally, Biden raised US objections to the PRC’s ‘coercive and increasingly aggressive actions towards Taiwan’. Xi Jinping reiterated that China does not seek to change the international world order, asking Biden to explore ways which allow

Despite political tensions, world leaders were able to reach a general consensus regarding climate change, committing to decreasing temperature rises by 1.5 degrees rather than 2 degrees. Additionally, the summit welcomed economic reforms to strengthen multilateral trade and help the economies of developing countries post-COVID-19. Assessing the geopolitical obstacles that the Indonesian Presidency of the G20 faced, commentators have praised Indonesian diplomats and their members of the foreign ministry for pulling o what critics have deemed a ‘diplomatic success’. Academic observer Aaron Connolly states that at the height of the intergovernmental con ict, the summit did not “fall apart”. is not only shows that a country considered to be in the Global South can accommodate the needs of both the West and Russia but can also produce a political environment enabling diplomacy and reaching a consensus during peak political turmoil.

“Assessing the geopolitical obstacles that the Indonesian Presidency of the G20 faced, commentators have praised Indonesian diplomats and their members of the foreign ministry for pulling o what critics have deemed a ‘diplomatic success.”

Rishi Sunak and Justin Trudeau wearing matching Batik shirts enjoy a sel e with FIFA president Gianni Infantino at the G20 conference. (Credit: South

Safira Rachmadian, BA International Relations & Global Dev

Opinion editors: Emily Holdcroft and Naeema Mahmood

Opinion

Learned”- The Willful Neglect at the Heart of Awaab Ishak’s Death

Toby Oliver-Clarke, BA History

‘Engaging, lively, and endearing’ are words that have been used to describe many a two-year-old. Commonly the description given by a proud parent, teacher, or Nanny, they’re words which evoke images of a happy, secure child. Only in this case, they’re the words of Joanne Jearnsely, the Coroner tasked with investigating the death of Awaab Ishak, a two-year-old boy who died from ‘chronic exposure’ to toxic mould. Whilst shocking, Ishak’s death has become an all too familiar reality for many people of colour living in neglected, dangerous social housing.

Prior to the investigation into Ishak’s death, Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (the housing association responsible for the management of Ishak’s home), had claimed that his death was the result of ‘ritual bathing habits’ and the family’s lifestyle. As the inquiry progressed, it became clear that this defence was not only false but was an insulting and racialised attempt to blame Ishak’s death on his already grieving parents. As established by the inquiry, true blame for his death lies squarely with the Housing Association, particularly when one considers the following three points: Firstly, following an inspection carried out on the 14th of January

2020, the landlord had been warned that the at was deemed ‘un t for human habitation.’ Secondly, the association had received a letter from Ishak’s NHS home visitors who warned them that conditions in the house posed a threat to Ishak’s health. Finally, the association itself had stated the mould was so severe that it could only be remedied by a trained professional. e points raised above paint a picture not just of obstinate ignorance, they point to willful negligence on the part of the landlord, and, ultimately, the willful endangerment of a child’s life.

Despite the epidemic nature of our social housing crisis, one element always seems to be obscured in its coverage, the racialised nature of un t housing. ‘Lessons learned’ is a phrase which has become hollow following a death at the hands of un t housing. Lessons were apparently learned a er 72 people died in the re at Grenfell Tower; lessons learned a er Sheila Seleoane was found decomposing in her home; and lessons learned a er one-year-old Exodus Eyob fell from his at window – despite repeated requests from his mother to have the window xed. Nearly all these victims have one key thing in common, they are black. Whilst this may seem like an unfortunate, but insigni cant, coincidence, race plays a key role in the deaths of the people listed above. As previously mentioned, the Housing Association responsible

for Ishak’s house blamed the death on the lifestyle of his family, in particular, their ‘ritual bathing habits’. e word ‘ritual’ reveals much of the thinking behind those making up the Housing Association; its use points to backwardness, ignorance, and a sort of tribal obstinance on the part of the family. Of course, what the word really points to is a deeply held yet unspoken belief that, in spite of all the proven neglect on their behalf, and all the mitigations that were ignored, somehow, the family had it coming.

Whilst I’d love to write this article with the certainty that Ishak’s death will be the last of its kind, history begs to di er. e systemic racism which runs through the housing sector is more prevalent now than ever, and with a Tory government committed to the construction of poor quality and high quantity social housing, I fear we’re only starting to see the worst of our social housing epidemic. Michael Gove, e Secretary of State for Housing, has written to local councils calling on them to ‘dramatically raise the bar,’ whilst this might seem like an encouraging step forward, to me, it feels like Groundhog Day; the momentary, eeting clarity that comes before a sudden tragedy. Whilst only time will tell whether meaningful, substantial change is made to our broken housing model, readers can rest assured knowing one thing is certain – ‘lessons will be learned’.

The Indian fourth estate—Hanging by a Thread

Sean Young, MA International Studies and Diplomacy

Journalism is pivotal to society and democracy as it has the power to hold the powerful accountable. But what happens when journalism itself needs to be held to account? You have fact-checkers doing that job.

Renowned Indian fact-checkers and co-founders of AltNews, Mohammed Zubair and Pratik Sinha were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize this year. In a report by Time Magazine, the two co-founders of the fact-checking website have ‘relentlessly been battling’ misinformation in India, where the Hindu nationalist BJP party has been accused of frequently stoking discrimination and hate speech. But it hasn’t been a bed of roses for the fact-checker. Zubair was arrested in June of this year for allegedly ‘hurting religious sentiments’ when a Twitter user retweeted a tweet he posted four years ago, tagging the Delhi Police to take action. e tweet contained Zubair commenting on a hotel changing its name from ‘Honeymoon Hotel’ to ‘Hanuman Hotel’, and the retweeter tagged the Delhi Police, condemning Zubair’s comment as a ‘direct insult of Hindus’. What followed were multiple complaints lodged against him in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. On July 20th, the Supreme court of India ordered him to be released, saying that the court found ‘no reason or justi cation for the deprivation of his liberty to persist any further.’

But Zubair was the lucky one; many are not as fortunate as he was.

is year’s World Press Freedom index from Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked India 150th out of 180 countries worldwide, down from 142nd the previous year. With an average of three or four journalists killed in connection with their work every year, ‘India is one of the world’s most

dangerous countries for the media,’ the RSF noted further. Journalist Siddique Kappan was arrested in 2020 while travelling in Uttar Pradesh to cover the rape and murder of a Dalit woman. e Enforcement Directorate of India, an agency under the Ministry of Finance responsible for investigating economic crimes, led a case against him and four others last year; police accused him of seeking to incite religious hatred.

sponsorship, critique of the government, as one does in a democracy, is all but out of the question. Prime-time debates are a breeding ground for news anchors to propagate hate speech and peddle fake news. Journalist Anil Yadav, who worked with News Nation, quit a er 10 years stating, ‘I feel ashamed calling myself a journalist. I am a servant who is working at a news channel.’ In his twitter quote, he spoke on being forced to cover the toxic Hindu-Muslim narratives and the increasingly concerning situation surrounding freedom of speech. ‘We were given clear instructions not to speak against the government. If you want to criticise some leader or their policy, then there’s Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Mayawati, and Akhilesh Yadav (all members of opposition parties in India). You can slam them all you want.’

Only a er two years was he was able to get bail. But it’s not just journalists; media houses and independent organisations have also been targeted by the central government. Either they are harassed by the income tax department or the ED, and personal belongings and such have been seized. Last month, the income tax department conducted raids and surveys at the o ces of the Indian Centre for Policy Research, the global NGO Oxfam India, and the Bengalurubased Independent and Public-Spirited Media Foundation, also responsible for funding many independent journalism organisations in India. Both organisations have published work that is critical of the government’s policy.

ese above-mentioned tactics have not come out of the blue. Incidents of such nature have been happening for the last few years, and one can observe quite a dangerous pattern. With much of the media in India being owned by big corporations and having government ads as a means of

Last year, media revealed how governments around the world used Israeli-made spyware to spy on dissidents and journalists via their phones, highlighting that more than 1,000 phone numbers in India were among nearly 50,000 selected worldwide as of interest to clients of the Israelbased NSO Group, the manufacturer of the Pegasus spyware. According to a report by e New York Times, in 2017, as part of a larger arms deal, India bought the Pegasus spyware. ‘ ough the Israeli government’s oversight was meant to prevent the powerful spyware from being used in repressive ways, Pegasus has been sold to Poland, Hungary and India, despite those countries’ questionable records on human rights,’ e NYT reported.

So where are we now? We are at a point where there is an awakening that the media, the supposed fourth pillar of the most sacred and wonderful Indian democracy, is not doing its job—especially the ‘big media’. Only thanks to the work of independent media outlets and journalists is journalism hanging by a thread, rather than dead.

“Prime-time debates are a breeding ground for news anchors to propagate hate speech and peddle fake news.”

“Lessons

He’s a Member of Parliament… Get him out of there!

By the time you read this, ITV’s ‘I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!’ will have been and gone for the year, but as I sit here writing, we are still in the throes of being presented with a ragtag team of low-level celebrities clowning around in the jungle. One of these celebrities, however, is unlike the others, and in my e orts to chronicle my own reaction to having a serving MP feature on this reality show, I have come to understand that my reaction has followed a categorical path. You have likely heard of the ve stages of grief, but here I present to you the ve stages of realising an MP-andformer-Health-Secretary-during-a-pandemic-that-cost-over200,000-lives-in-your-country is appearing on ‘I’m A Celeb’.

When the news hit the headlines that Matt Hancock was going to be on ‘I’m A Celeb’, my initial reaction was a mixture of true excitement and glee at the thought of lawful vengeance. e absurdity of a serving MP going out into the Australian jungle and taking part in a series of debasing challenges banished all rational thought processes from my brain. Instead, it seemed to me that the public had been served Hancock on a silver platter to exact their revenge through public humiliation and the consumption of a variety of animal genitalia. e whole situation seemed like karmic retribution, catharsis for the hardships endured by the British public at the hands of Hancock. My thought process - albeit naively - perceived this as something enacted upon him, something out of his control and something that he must truly be dreading. is was something I will admit I took pleasure in, and thus I found myself in Stage one: Delight.

As the initial shock and hilarity of the story wore o and the reality set in, my mind was consumed with questions that seemingly I could nd few answers for, and the answers I could nd were not what I was looking for: Is this a joke? (answer: no); Is this allowed? (answer: yes? Maybe? Not sure?); What about his constituents? (answer: who cares?);

will there be repercussions? (answer: yes, but nothing as signi cant as you have in mind); is there anything I can do to stop this? (answer: no, and it will be covered in every media outlet constantly, making it unavoidable). We saw promos being released of Hancock looking as smarmy and insincere as ever, and yet I still couldn’t believe my eyes. Even when the Conservatives announced they had suspended the Tory

“As if we should be expected to look past not only his agrant disregard for his constituents, or the innumerable people that didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to loved ones, or those whose mental health still hasn’t recovered from the lockdowns, or even the more than 200,000 lives lost under his management of COVID-19, simply because one man fell in love.”

whip, leaving Hancock serving as an independent, all I could think was, is that it? It’s all well and good removing a title, but that doesn’t change the fact he is still itting around the wilderness on the other side of the world. ere I was, falling under the embrace of stage two: Confusion.

Along with this confusion, I started to realise this was no more than a calculated publicity stunt. At best, it was a means to reconcile his image to the British public, and at worst was the last chance to get a big paycheck and expedite his fame in advance of his book release (conveniently set for 6 December) a er he realised he had no future in politics. A er mishandling the pandemic’s response continually, along with being publicly exposed for breaking his own covid rules while maintaining an extra-marital a air with his aide inside the Department for Health o ces, you might have thought Hancock couldn’t have stooped any lower. But lo and behold,

he decides to abandon his constituents amidst the worst cost of living crisis in a generation, in which it is estimated by National Energy Action that 14.5% of households in Hancock’s constituency live in fuel poverty. us, I was gripped by stage three: Outrage.

My outrage rapidly devolved into pure and irreconcilable anger. e combination of his blatant lack of care for his community, constituency and the country of which he has been elected to serve, and the report by the Sun that Hancock is due to be paid close to £400,000 for his time on the ITV show, le me in a state of fury. is was only fueled by watching a clip of him explaining away all his wrongdoings, saying, ‘I messed up, and I fessed up,... I resigned,’ and even worse, stating, ‘It’s no excuse, but I fell in love.’ As if we should be expected to look past not only his agrant disregard for his constituents or the innumerable people that didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to loved ones, or those whose mental health still hasn’t recovered from the lockdowns, or even the more than 200,000 lives lost under his management of COVID-19, simply because one man fell in love. It’s despicable, and it’s unfathomable, but here we are, stage 4: Rage.

One might think that the logical progression following the real ve stages of grief lands us somewhere around acceptance. But that is not something I am capable of, as it turns out. So all I am le with is stage ve: Shame. Deep, all-consuming shame that the state of our country and political system has le us with a Member of Parliament gallivanting around the Australian jungle while thousands of people across the UK are having to choose between food and heating this winter. Not only that, but the inherent complicity of mainstream media, especially ITV in this situation, in marketing to us a redemption arc for a man whom many of us hold accountable for some of the lowest points in our lives. I don’t foresee being able to move past this stage, and for the time being, I am stuck looking at the nation’s political sphere as a playground for egotistical and power-hungry men who have little to no regard for anyone else.

Credits: Millie Glaister

Millie Glaister, BA Politics and International Relations

Emotional Validation: The Question of Pet Bereavement and Extenuating Circumstances

Maria Gilani, BA Global Development and International Relations

Until you’ve had a pet, it’s impossible to imagine the impact they can have on one’s life. In a practical sense, pets alter the structure of a person’s daily routine. On a psychological level, pets can also improve mental health and quality of life, especially in the case of service animals. erefore, the loss of a pet can entirely disrupt a person’s life, both on a physical and psychological level. It would appear a seamless conclusion then that pet bereavement is included as an extenuating circumstance at universities, and at SOAS, it is.

However, the SOAS Mitigating Circumstances Policy lists bereavement and the loss of a pet as two separate circumstances. is insinuates a distinctive di erence in the way grief is felt for humans and animals; however, grief is a highly personal and immeasurable phenomenon. is separation points to a larger societal issue of inadequate understanding of mental health and the importance of emotional validation. Holding great a ection for a pet is natural and inevitable; there’s a reason the universal dad who ‘didn’t want a pet’ always falls hard! In an article for People Magazine, pet loss counsellor Sakakeeny explains the relationship between pets and owners is purer than in human relationships; we rarely argue with or resent our pets, so the love is less complicated. Moreover, the comparison of pets to family members is supported by psychology. According to the phenomena of misnaming, the human brain can come to incorporate pets and family members into the same semantic eld. Professor John Archer from the University of Central Lancashire even goes as far as to say that the caregiving pets elicit from their owners mimics that of parent-child relationships. us, it’s evident that the human-pet bond can be substantial and is

comparable to that of human relationships. So why is pet bereavement treated as less valid than the loss of a human as an extenuating circumstance in institutions? Holding great a ection for a pet is natural and inevitable; there’s a reason the universal dad who ‘didn’t want a pet’ always falls hard! In an article for People Magazine, pet loss counsellor Sakakeeny explains the relationship between pets and owners is purer than in human relationships; we rarely argue with or resent our pets, so the love is less complicated. Moreover, the comparison of pets to family members is supported by psychology. According to the phenomena of misnaming, the human brain can come to incorporate pets and family members into the same semantic eld. Professor John Archer from the University of Central Lancashire even goes as far as to say that the caregiving pets elicit from their owners mimics that of parent-child relationships. us, it’s evident that the human-pet bond can be substantial and is comparable to that of human relationships. So why is pet bereavement treated as less valid than the loss of a human as an extenuating circumstance in institutions e loss of a pet is undoubtedly a desolate phenomenon. Many argue that pet bereavement is not grounds for extenuating circumstances. e phrases ‘it was just an animal’ and ‘it’s not like it was a person’ are common responses to pet loss which actively invalidate a person’s grief, suggesting it is less impactful than the loss of a human. Yet, as Sakakeeny stated for People Magazine, ‘If there is a di erence between losing a human and losing an animal, it has to do with the depth of love.’ Let it be noted that the grief felt - be it a sh, dog or hamster - depends simply on the loved shared.Although not all who experience pet bereavement may feel they require extenuating circumstances, the option must be present. Anyone experiencing grief deserves to have their emotions validated, and those who are a ected to the point that they can’t complete work should retain the right to apply for mitigating circumstances. e SOAS Mitigating Circumstances Policy de nes extenuating circumstances as, ‘unexpected

non-academic events that have a signi cant impact on [students] ability to complete assessments.’ Section A10 of this policy lists the death of a pet or assistance animal as legitimate grounds for extenuating circumstances. is shows that SOAS recognises the impact pet death can have on students. However, the death of a pet is interestingly separated from section A2 ‘Bereavement’. Why is this distinction made? Does pet bereavement not count as bereavement?

According to the policy, bereavement refers speci cally to the loss of a person, proven with a death certi cate, doctor’s note, obituary, or letter from a psychologist or religious leader. In comparison, regarding the loss of a pet, ‘signi cant supporting evidence from a professional source is required,’ and it is not stated how long the policy applies for. is distinction, and the language used, subtly enforces the idea that pet loss is less impactful than the loss of a human. Above all, loss of life is just that, and to suggest that loss should be hierarchised reinforces toxic attitudes regarding emotional validation. is separation is also logistically unfair. As psychology professor McAndrew states, the resources available for pet bereavement are lacking, meaning there are fewer opportunities to acquire the ‘evidence from a professional source’ required by SOAS policy. ough this is a social issue, Mitigating Circumstances Policies should be sensitive to this and o er the same exibility for proving pet loss as they do for bereavement.

Overall, SOAS’s inclusion of pet loss in the Mitigating Circumstances Policy is positive. However, the policy’s failure to recognise pet loss under the category of bereavement is problematic. As discussed above, if pet-owner relationships are comparable to human relationships, the loss of a pet should also be treated as such. us, the SOAS policy makes a huge, yet subtle comment on institutions’ inadequate understanding of grief and emotional validation.

The Rise of TikTok Therapy - Is it Helpful or Misleading?

Anisah Sadiq Mahamoud & Madihah Najeeb, BA International Relations & BA Global Liberal Arts

e in uence TikTok has had on everyone’s lives is never ending, as we nd ourselves scrolling mindlessly through the app for hours on end and saving all kinds of videos. Whether it is make-up tutorials, recipe ideas, or visually pleasing edits that we think we will need to rewatch at some point in time; there is no denying that TikTok has reached a point where it is becoming the new ‘Google’. Users today of all ages, are nding answers through their curiosity and self-persuasion on the app.

TikTok ‘therapy’ is one of the many umbrella genres of videos appearing on the app that appeals to a wide range of users. You nd yourself watching and listening to a minutelong video by someone, who is not a professional therapist, telling you signs that you may have ADHD, anxiety, or depression; aided by the aesthetics of low lighting and tranquil music to set the mood. Of course, not all ‘therapy’ videos do this, you will nd TikTok’s that take a more positive approach by sharing messages of hope and wellness encouragement, that fall under the categories of “self-love” and “positive vibes.” Both kinds of videos seem to have this magnetising e ect, which re ects how dependent we have become on social media and its content being the answers to queries and dilemmas.

One key aspect in our lives that is monopolised on TikTok is relationship therapy and advice. Not all relationship advice is sound counselling, especially if it originates from a platform where users are all vying to portray

relationships as simple situations. While some advice can be helpful, one should bear in mind that it’s easy to become stuck in the concepts of right and wrong, and consider this advice with caution. As we have repeatedly seen, these socalled therapists attempt to change word de nitions to suit their argument. In times with such advice prevalent, is it essential to remember every couple’s relationship has unique boundaries and workings. If you haven’t seen this kind of “advice” on your feed, it consists of really unfavourable information about relationships that are portrayed as being “true” or “realistic.” It can cause overthinking, which is harmful to you personally and ultimately, can a ect your relationship.

So why is this the case? Some of the main reasons it appeals to audiences are because it ts with the Help in the moment, Just when you need it motto. is idea is that you don’t have to pay for a professional therapist, book appointments, or attend sessions because the ‘answers’ you are looking for are on your phone. e convenience of this tends to outweigh the bigger picture, which is that you are listening and acting upon advice from a random account user that has self-certi ed their account to be known as a ‘professional therapist’. is essentially leads watchers and users to almost ‘self-diagnose’ themselves with mental health issues, based on what they have heard on the internet and inform others without having a formal assessment done.

Despite this, self-diagnosis as a result of this content can have a positive e ect on marginalised communities. e therapy itself is o en inaccessible for most people, due to prices or the lack of knowledge regarding resources for those of a lower economic class. e availability of nding videos where professional therapists give advice can aid people in day-today solutions and spark conversations of positive change.

Whilst some may view as harmful, others could see this as valuable as it is raising awareness on mental health issues, and the talk of mental health alone can be seen as positive, so it helps to combat the existing stigma in society. Given the positives and negatives, excessive use of TikTok therapy can lead to di culties, such as social anxiety and self-image issues. Why should we go to such an extent to believe in information that is not medically accurate? If this is still an ongoing case, then the convenience of TikTok therapy will eventually outweigh the need to seek advice and medical support from professional therapists and medics, misleading millions.

Credits: Naaz Abdulnabi

Hidden Disabilities at SOAS

the soul become taxing, which cycles back to feeling unable to attend classes. We use so much of our energy just getting to the starting line, while most others have already begun the race.

Upon enrollment at SOAS, we are asked to check a box asking whether or not we have a disability. From a standardised list of options, we are allowed to choose which extra accommodations we require, such as deadline extensions, in our Study Inclusion Plan (SIP). e extent of our individual needs is limited to a set of choices that have already been deemed manageable. As a result, the burden is placed on the disabled individual to self-advocate, which can be the hardest thing for us to do. When we are able to try, it is still possible that we remain unheard.

Agony Aunt QR code

Hannah Smith, BA International Relations and Arabic

When entering the SOAS campus, you may have noticed the signs informing us that it is disability history month. ese hard-to-miss posters seem to represent a wider strategy at this university: projecting an image of inclusivity whilst concealing a vastly di erent reality. To many of us with disabilities, it is a laughable display of solidarity. I will stipulate here that this article refers speci cally to the experiences of people with hidden disabilities relating to learning and mental illness, although its themes may be relevant to the experiences of those with other types of hidden or visible disabilities.

According to Scope UK, an estimated 80% of the 14 million disabled people in the UK have an invisible disability. e reality of this can be dark for many people, not only must we cope with managing ourselves, we must also convince people that our di culties are real. is makes student life particularly complex. It means being vulnerable to judgement from others and sometimes exposing personal trauma in order to be treated with empathy. ere are hurdles to overcome before starting the day that neurotypical people never see or experience. Missing one lecture can induce an overwhelming spiral? spiral of overwhelm, as the readings and subsequent classes then make no sense, and approaching an assignment or exam becomes nearly impossible. is bleeds out into our social lives, as the energy it takes to make it through the day can become so drained that there is none le for spending time with friends. On top of this, activities that should feel replenishing or good for

e dedicated sta members of the Disability O ce and Student Welfare team scramble to answer the neverW-ending emails and provide support however they can, but our concerns are o en either redirected, delayed, or acknowledged but ultimately unaddressed due to a lack of resources. In 2020, SOAS spent £25,000 on support for access and participation for disabled people - less than half the amount spent on Director Adam Habib’s private residence (according to SOAS’s nancial records). It is hard to reconcile this fact with their supposed stance on caring about disabled people. us, it seems that there is help at SOAS for those with learning and mental illness-related disabilities, as long as you t the established criteria of what constitutes a disabled person. You may choose what you require from a set list of xed options, anything else you may need is for you to organise. Yet, by the very nature of having a disability that a ects cognitive functions, many of us are unable to do so. Even if we can, the resources available are stretched to their limits, and the sta are overwhelmed with student demands.

Sadly, the ableism at SOAS comes as no surprise to us. It is a re ection of a set of social issues that permeates everyday life for a disabled person. As a result, many of us do not speak up. Meeting our needs is presented as an inconvenience, so many of us stay silent in our ableist-induced shame. I am hoping to change that. We should not, and will not, apologise for asking for our basic, fundamental needs to be met. It is easy to ignore a group of people who struggle to advocate for themselves. So, they acknowledge our existence to make the brand of SOAS seem inclusive, but refuse to engage meaningfully with our demands. e problem is not that disabled people exist, it is that we are expected to function in a society that refuses to cater to a diversity of needs.

Dinner Table Conversations

Polina Isangulova, Introduction to Social Sciences, Arts and Humanities

‘Papa?’

‘Yes, child.’

‘What is progress?’

‘Well, it’s taking something old or broken and making it better.’

‘Like painting pretty things on blank paper? Is that progress?’

‘Yes, exactly.’

‘And how people in the olden days needed carriages but we have cars? Is that progress?’

‘Now you’re getting it.’

‘Oh! And how they built the cool giant skyscraper where the trees used to be? at’s progress, right?’

‘...’

‘Papa?’

‘Right.’

“It seems that there is help at SOAS for those with learning and mental illness-related disabilities, as long as you t the established criteria of what constitutes a disabled person.”

Credits: Hannah Smith

FEATURES EDITOR: Naaz Hussein

SOAS Agony Aunt: Your Problems, (Occasionally) Helpful Solutions

enjoyable, and comfortable. If we take consent out of the equation, sex becomes none of those things.

Good luck getting lucky, Agony Aunt Academic stress

Dear Agony Aunt, I’m not sure this is the place for this, but how do I keep going? University might not be the place for me.

- UG3 BA International Relations

Kit King, BA Languages and Cultures and Linguistics

Welcome to the SOAS Agony Aunt! You submit your burning questions, hot gossip, or darkest secrets to my little Google form and I respond via this column. If you want to see your issues addressed, please complete the form at https://tinyurl.com/SOASAgonyAunt or scan the QR code! Please note, this is only meant to be semi-serious and I am not responsible for the consequences of your actions.

As Paris Hilton once said directly to me about me, “Some girls are just born with glitter in their veins.”

Stay hot, Agony Aunt

Love and Lust

Dear Agony Aunt, I want to explode through the cells of other human beings but I don’t know how to. I’m lacking intimacy on campus. I just want to traverse, puncture and perforate into the souls of the people around me but I’m blocked with severe social anxiety. How can I create intimacy with others if my anxiety doesn’t allow me to?

- UG2 BA Anthropology

Dear Agony Aunt, I fancy so many people on campus. I would love to have sexual relations with at least one person but I don’t know how to even begin. It’s like I’m blocked and I can’t get myself to make any kind of move. I’m scared of doing it. I’m scared of overstepping the boundary and receiving a negative response. How can I navigate sexuality in an increasingly sensitive consent culture that erects walls and de ates genitalia?

Dear readers,

ere seems to be A LOT going on in the 2nd year Anthropology classes… ese are quite similar, so I am going to address the general issue and then speci c points.

Firstly, sex and sexuality at SOAS always seem to be complex issues. is is due to the fact that at SOAS we, generally speaking, have quite a sexy student body but at the same time are quite a small, close-knit community. erefore, we are constantly at risk of word of our sexual exploits being spread around campus. However, one should NEVER be ashamed of their sex life, and that is a rule that I rmly live by.

Now, in order to not be embarrassed by sex, you have to have sex in the rst place. Unfortunately, I cannot give you irting advice because every person reacts di erently to di erent things. You have to tailor it to the emotional needs of yourself and the other person, gauging how they react to your advances along the way. I will say though, making yourself seem unique from others around you is a universal way to sow the seeds of seduction. is is because once they notice that you simply exist, you can then begin to highlight the best parts of yourself. To quote Paris Hilton, “ e only rule is don’t be boring and dress cute wherever you go. Life is too short to blend in.”, and she’s dead right.

irdly, do not fear rejection because each time you are rejected, it acts as an opportunity to learn from your mistakes and help you master the art of seduction.

Lastly, I would like to address the question “How can I navigate sexuality in an increasingly sensitive consent culture that erects walls and de ates genitalia?”. Enthusiastic consent and respecting boundaries are key to any sexual encounter. If you are worried about crossing someone’s boundaries, then either ask them if it is ok to do that thing or do not do it at all. is article is a good place to start thinking about consent: tinyurl.com/C0nsentArticle. e “sensitive consent culture” is there for a reason. Sex is supposed to be fun,

Dear readers,

is happens to everyone at least once in their academic career - it happened to me very recently! I believe there are 3 ways forward:

You push through and put trust in yourself and/or whatever higher power you believe in that you will nd clearness. It is your last year a er all, so you could just nish your degree, graduate, and then explore pastures new.

Find a distraction. Yes, university should be your main focus, but keep yourself busy with parties or cute co ee shop dates or getting addicted to stan Twitter when you aren’t studying. It just has to be something that scratches your brain.

Option three is by far my favourite: bimbo cation. e bimbo is a mythical state of being, one I believe that everyone has within them somewhere inside. Maximise your slay. Allow yourself to be underestimated. en turn around and blow the world away with your astounding yet sexy level of intelligence. Become the Elle Woods of SOAS.

As Paris Hilton once said “I’m very intelligent. I’m capable of doing everything put to me. I’ve launched a perfume and want my own hotel chain. I’m living proof blondes are not stupid.” en again, Paris Hilton once said “What’s a soup kitchen?” at my friends, is a true bimbo success story.

Slay the day, Agony Aunt

Turning tragedy into Triumph: Sir David Attenborough’s contribution to changing generational views on climate change

Anisah Islam, BA Global Liberal Arts

Climate change is a controversial topic, one which can be described as causing a divide in society as some argue it is not real. However, the UK’s national treasure and climate advocate Sir David Attenborough, would disagree, he has been voicing his thoughts on the detrimental e ects of global warming on the world for years. Although many of us will be able to recognise his voice from his narration of the BBC documentary ‘Planet Earth’ (2006), the same cannot be said for his activism for mitigating climate change, limiting population growth, and reducing meat consumption.

In his 2020 Net ix documentary titled ‘David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet,’ Attenborough explains how we are in a new geographical era, called the ‘Anthropocene’ age. is new period can be de ned by the e ect humans have on the world, prompting a change in the climate as opposed to a change caused by nature.

Some crucial facts from the documentary were deemed

shocking and devastating by viewers, and many wish for this to be the nal warning for those who are not trying to make changes to the world for the better.

1. e Amazon rainforest is getting dry One of the largest remaining wildernesses is losing its ability to make rain. It is unable to recycle its rain because of the reduction and fragmentation of the surface of the forest, eventually leading to carbon being released into the air.

2. Ice caps are melting e two permanent ice caps in the Arctic and Antarctic are vital to maintaining a stable and moderate global temperature. is is as the sheets of ice re ect the sun’s light, helping to cool the world. Yet, the more ice that is lost will increase the risk of warming and sea levels could rise by a disastrous 50 meters if all of Antarctica’s ice was lost.

3. COVID-19 and the Australian wild res were a wake-up call

e 2020 Australian bush res caused by climate change

killed billions of animals and plants. But nothing would be more impactful than the pandemic that a ected the entire world during the same year. It has been reported that the outbreak began with the spread of infectious diseases from animals, Attenborough elaborates that an ‘unhealthy planet’ is the cause.

Despite all this, Attenborough has high hopes for change in the future, but states it is up to governments to actively make decisions against threats, similar to the 1980s when nations rallied to stop using chlorine-based chemicals that were depleting the ozone layer in the Southern hemisphere.

It is noted that we need a fossil fuel-free economy in the next 30 years to regulate the world’s temperature, this means the next decade is crucial for everyone. ere have been suggestions that were made that do not require much from the public, he advises that people should continue to recycle, plant more trees, and consume less red meat in their diet to support the development of the world.

He poignantly remarks ‘the future is not determined; it is in our hands.’

A Farming Revolution Beneath the Streets of London

Drago Nuić, BA International Relations

e future of agriculture can be found 33 metres below Clapham, or so claims Growing Underground, the agricultural retail brand of Zero Carbon Farms launched in 2015 by co-founders Richard Ballard and Steve Dring. Located in a deserted World War Two air red shelter, the pair set up a hydroponics farm which currently grows various microgreens such as broccoli, pea shoots, coriander, red cabbage, and sun ower. e novelty of their approach is not limited to having your greens cultivated underground, but rather can be found in the innovative principles they advocate for how food should be grown. According to Growing Underground, the core of their vision is to grow food while reducing their carbon footprint at every stage of the production and distribution process – aka, ‘Zero-carbon food’. e World Resources Institute estimates that a 56% food gap in crop calories produced will have to be closed by 2050 in order to feed the projected human population of 10 billion sustainably – a production increase that will need to occur in the context of spiralling climate change and intensifying environmental degradation. Ballard and Dring have also stated that they were inspired by the works of academics Dickson Despommier and Jeremy Ri in, in particular Ri in’s 2010 book ‘ e ird Industrial Revolution’ in which he projects the transition from a carbon-based economy to a post-carbon world, and Despommiers theorisation of feeding the world

sustainably using vertical farms. e challenge is to nd a way to grow more food in ways that lowers emissions, without using more land, and is resilient to climate change. e farming facility Growing Underground established underneath Clapham is their proposed solution.

Underneath the mimicked sunlight of low-cost pink coloured LED lights for photosynthesis, planted in trays of used wool carpet cut-o s given a new lease in life rather than being dumped in a land ll, row upon row of microgreens are carefully cultivated. Growing Underground’s hydroponic system requires 70% less water, grows 12x more per unit area, and contains up to 90% more nutrients than microgreens grown using conventional farming methods – all without the use of pesticides or more land use overground. e farm also fully grows a new batch of produce every 10 days consistently throughout the year. Once the microgreens have been harvested, they are packed on site and sold locally, including at the New Covent Garden Market less than a mile away and at various grocers in London such as Waitrose, M&S and Tesco, reducing emissions and food miles. However, by their own admission, this process uses 4x more energy per unit area than a regular farm but Growing Underground accounts for this by running their farm with 100% renewable energy. Growing Underground has also partnered with Dr Ruchi Choudhary and their team from the Centre for Smart Infrastructure and Construction of the University of Cambridge and the Data-centric Engineering Programme from the

Alan Turing Institute to develop a form of “Smart farming” in which every detail of the growing process is monitored and optimised by a system of complex sensors. Growing the microgreens in this contained and closely regulated environment allows for higher yield year-round harvesting regardless of the climate, quality of soils, and the threat of pesky pests.

Growing Underground recognises both the vast potential, and the possible limitations, of their operation; they are aware that growing microgreens in small facilities such as theirs in Clapham will not address world hunger and climate change alone but see this farm as a step in the right direction, as a model to be replicated and expanded. Moreover, they recognise that the development of vertical underground farming as a solution to food security and climate change relies on the parallel development of other technologies, such as cheap renewable energy, greater battery storage, and more energy e cient LED lighting. Growing Underground as a business is realising its own potential, having increased its production capacity, and expanding their scope to partner with cosmetic brands in 2021 to produce the ingredients for their fragrances and avours. Time will tell, however, if the seed that Growing Underground has planted, in the form of a sustainable ‘Zero-carbon’ model of agriculture, will germinate into a global phenomenon that will be able to concretely tackle the issues of food security and climate change.

Credits - Alex Board

SOAS SPIRIT CROSSWORD

(Answers on backpage)

Sowing the Seeds of a Decolonial Future

Emily Dickinson-Holdcroft, BA Social Anthropology

Space in London is allotted within the tight grid of an urban centre, built for function and productivity. Parks, even trees, act as generous gi s bestowed via council bureaucracy. It goes without saying that the distribution of ‘green’ space in London is in uenced by the wealth and the intersectionality of the race of residents. Black people in England are almost four times more likely than white people to have no outdoor space.

You won’t nd too many sun-lit benches on the De Beauvoir estate but a short bus journey to the freshly gentri ed Stoke Newington you’ll nd Clissold Park - complete with overpriced at whites, an aviary and manicured ower beds. is isn’t to say that the land isn’t there - 18% of London is green space, but increasing amounts are privately sold for further capitalistic endeavours. ‘Green’ space in London takes a very speci c format, indigenous plants and trees that bloom natural ecosystems are replaced with monotonous grass lawns. Instead of a varied interconnected network of plants that help o set carbon, lawns further contribute to soil infertility and kill habitats.

e ‘enclosure of the commons’ in 1500s Britain led to mass amounts of land being privatised, meaning open elds were constricted into compact units. ese beginnings of pro t from land linked to colonial exploits further down the line. Colonialism functioned o the same values of growing wealth for a few elite— no matter at what cost those deemed dispensable pay.

A functioning tool of colonialism, lawns, were a sign of the elite in England during the 18th century. In the US, they helped to forge an ownership over stolen land by presenting green ‘cultivation’ as another thread of ‘cultivating’ the colonised peoples; an attempt to validate their brutal imperialism. It’s a symbol that has retained its weight — you only need to notice the distribution of private gardens in London today. Just as colonialism worked o a constructed entitlement to space and resources, it is not just an echo of this history, but a loud, tangible shout that this space still does not

belong to us.

I say this to highlight the absolute necessity for publicly owned, community garden spaces. Not only does a garden grow biodiversity — it grows livelihood in the form of accessible food, strength in the form of unity; knowledge in the form of replenished indigenous heritage and a decolonial world in its re-owning of space by those who still today are dispossessed.

ese, to some, may seem like grand claims for a garden. Yes, gardening and growing are also ‘just’ living — yet it can also be read as a not so quiet act of resistance and reparations when you see the power of hands working soil.

If colonisation was the draining of land for hoarded wealth, the act of care and connection with our world, which many have dissociated from, is strongly decolonial. Land has been co-opted and stolen to such an extent that we can’t even see it below these concrete paving slabs. When a plant springs through it is labelled a ‘weed’- ‘a wild plant growing where it is not wanted’, it o ers no aesthetic value or func-

simultaneously promoting and preserving knowledge relating to foods of Caribbean diaspora. In the words of co-founder Pauline Shakespeare this is ‘a project aimed at challenging and disrupting some of the structural inequalities that exist within the current peri-urban food growing sector in London.’

Get in touch - pauline@ubele.org.uk: Wolves Lane Horticultural Center in Haringey

Coco Collective’s Ital Community Garden

An Afro-diaspora-led food growing space in Lewishamnamed a er a word with Rastafarian, Jamaican origins ‘Ital’ connotes ‘vital’ and refers to growing food naturally on local land. Founder, Valerie Goods built this upon council-owned land that was completely disused; now it is full of ourishing, culturally diverse foods and healing herbs. Workshops span beyond food growing into mental, physical health and arts and cra s, with a growing team to help facilitate. Having worked in sustainable fashion, Valerie entered the community garden project with ambitious expectations but she notes that working with the earth has been a learning curve taken together with her mother who has helped the garden become what it is.

Get in touch: 07801 794884

Open to all every Sunday 10 am-3 pm: 73 Firhill Rd, London SE6 3SE

GoGrowWithLove

tionality so it is disposed of. e urban community gardens featured present opportunities to partake in this growth of our future — and the seemingly simple chance to nd peace, community and solidarity within London today.

Black Rootz

is food-growing collective is multi-generational and Black-led, focused on generating collective wealth and investing in your health, be that mental or physical. Growing Tiger Nuts, Oca and Jamaican thyme, are diversifying the soils and

Led by ‘soil sistar’ Sandra, also known as ‘Miss Dandelion’ to kids, this garden is a community-run, not-for-pro t. Organised by majority women of colour, the philosophy of this collective is centred around the West African concept of Sankofa, interpreted as ‘we must continue to go forward as we remember and honour our ancestral past and plant a seed for the generations a er us’. ey aim to contribute to people in a positive way by promoting traditional skills and creating sustainable food systems for today’s generations.

Get in touch - info@go-grow.org.uk : Butter eld Close, Haringey, N17 7NT info@go-grow.org.uk

“If colonisation was the reaping and draining of land for hoarded wealth, the act of care and connection with our world, that many have dissociated from, is strongly decolonial.”

Culture

Why Dating Shows are Problematic

Sophia-fai Roche, BA Social Anthropology and Global Development

Unfortunately for the singletons out there, cu ng season is upon us. e Christmas season has a funny way of unearthing all the happy couples, as they post pictures of their hot chocolates at Winter Wonderland and their cute matching pyjamas on Christmas day. Gone is the old fashion stereotypical love story where people meet at school or work. Now we have something much more unnerving, dating shows.

behaviour explained that,‘When young adults see certain behaviours being rewarded, they are likely to act similarly.’ is raises alarm bells for critics of these shows as much of the behaviour exhibited ts into toxic and abusive characteristic traits. In the 2018 season of Love Island, one contestant, Adam Collard, came under heat for his apparent emotionally abusive behaviour towards his partner Rosie Williams. e encounter was so alarming that Women’s Aid had to step in and publish a statement regarding the situation. ese dating shows are framed within the normative heterosexual standard whilst assimilating emotional abuse within relationships. Social cognitive theory shows us that we learn behaviour by mimicking what we see. If viewers witness toxic behaviour on TV and then mimic this in their own lives, it has the potential to become very dangerous and further perpetuate toxic masculinity and abusive behaviour in the real world.

e dating show mania is one of great strength, from ‘Too Hot to Handle’ to ‘Love is Blind’ and the infamous ‘Love Island’; we are inundated with singletons going on national tv on a quest to nd love. But at what cost? Studies have found that these intoxicating shows have a skewed impact on our cognitive development when it comes to how we de ne, look for, and act when in love. Love Island is notorious for attracting criticism for its toxic masculinity, abusive behaviour, and lack of diversity depicted across our screens. e 2022 Love Island debut attracted an impressive ve million viewers, exhibiting their chokehold on the nation being one of its greatest strengths. More worryingly, the actions depicted on the show have real-life rami cations and, unfortunately, are not addressed enough.

An article published in 2013 by researcher Michael Milmine regarding the impact dating shows have on young adults’

In the 2019 season of the show, contestant Maura Higgins fell victim to the sexual double standard that the show enables. Miss Higgins was overtly sexually con dent, which goes against the status quo of the passive persona that women are expected to obtain. Her openness regarding the topic of sex landed her in an unfortunate situation with her partner, Tom Walker. Mr Walker made a vile remark about her, to which she was o ended, but when she addressed the comment, the boys in the villa gaslighted her and labelled the comment as just ‘banter’. Love Island enables a damaging double standard that subscribes to women being passive and unable to speak about their sexuality to the same degree men do. Miss Higgins was branded as sex-obsessed and had derogative language blasted about her both on air and in the media, whereas her male counterparts did not receive the same for their sexual remarks.

Dating shows are not only damaging for the toxic behaviour that they perpetuate, but they are also harmful due to the producers not doing enough to include marginalised groups. American dating show, e Bachelor, has always attracted controversy over the blatant racial insensitivity on the show. Producers need to do more to address racist and homophobic narratives that are exhibited on air, as they have damaging impacts on marginalised communities. Individuals may feel unable to enter these spaces for fear of being racialised or experiencing homophobic slander. Many dating shows explain that they employ a colour-blind casting technique to help increase the representation within the show. However, incorporating a colour-blind technique means that POC are expected to exist in a race-less space. e answer to this problematic issue is not to avoid all conversations about race on our screens but to shine a light on the apparent exclusive nature of the shows and open discussions regarding it. e Net ix show, Love is Blind has combated this issue by addressing race on their show by opening discussions between contestants that are informative and impactful, thus, attempting to change the discourse.

So, what is the answer? Humans love the idea of love, so when we see love playing out on TV, we get addicted due to the release of dopamine that we experience watching the shows. However, more representation and producer awareness is needed to protect both the contestants and viewers from the toxic behavioural traits that exist partly on these shows. We must open a dialogue regarding representation on the shows to make them inclusive and supportive of all individuals in society.

“When young adults see certain behaviours being rewarded, they are likely to act similarly.”

Credits: Unsplash

Culture Editor: Anisah Mahamoud

Unmasking the Grief Behind Black Panther 2

Lawrence Baafi, BA International Relations and Development Studies

Chadwick Boseman’s unexpected death in 2020, compounded by the ctional passing of the character he brought to life, ‘King T’Challa,’ sparked profound grief across the world. In the a ermath of his passing, the void he le behind in the Black Panther franchise raised questions about how the story could possibly move forward. A er making such a signi cant impact on popular culture, many supporters thought it was unimaginable that Boseman could be recast. Marvel Studios considered his presence to be irreplaceable. Another character would have to step into the role of Wakanda’s protector, which is why the lm’s initial screenplay has to be rewritten to bring ‘Princess Shuri’, played by the talented Black British actress Letitia Wright, to the forefront. Needless to say, as the new Black Panther, she has some big paws to ll. e importance of this commemorative scene, paying tribute to Boseman, demonstrates how the Black Panther was not only tasked with the mission of rescuing everyday Wakandans from fresh existential threats but had to save audiences from the sense of loss we all experienced as fans when walking into cinemas to watch this lm. Kick-starting the movie this way spotlights how monumental the concept of grief was in shaping how the women-led cast and crew approached the creative direction of this action-packed blockbuster.

Di erent philosophical outlooks on grief are illustrated and highlighted throughout the lm. Wakanda is a civilisation that sits at the intersection of traditionalism and the wonders of technological advancement, providing people with con icting explanations for what the concept of death means in society and how to contend with it. In essence, with the Wakandan royal family struggling to cope with the loss of their beloved king, the lm illustrates a struggle to

understand the underlying purpose behind the inevitable nature of death. On one hand, ‘Queen Ramonda’, played by award-winning African-American actress Angela Bassett, symbolises how many people are comforted by an indulgence in spiritual traditions. e vivid imagery of a vision she had where she encountered King T’Challa a er he died, illustrates how relationships can persist even in the face of death. Alternatively, as a rationally-minded genius with a passion for science, Princess Shuri illustrates how in the context of modernity, we can struggle with accepting the spiritual explanation for why we lose loved ones. Addressing the fact that her brother passed away is complex for her since she is sceptical about the validity of the ancestral plane and struggles to participate in the conventionality of ritualistic practices, which may o er her some sense of relief.

e antagonist of the lm, ‘Namor’, who hails from ‘Talokan’, an underwater kingdom based on the neglected historiography of indigenous cultures in Latin America, functions like a mirror which re ects the grievous su ering of Princess Shuri. We meet these characters as they strive to cope with painful emotions that cause them to become overwhelmed with rage, fueling their anger towards the world. Since they have been a icted with identical wounds, they both represent an internal con ict we can see unfolding throughout the movie, which revolves around the hardship of overcoming the negative feelings that arise as a consequence of losing those we love. Drowning in the tragic loss that they face sparks a complex emotional journey, we see them struggle to stay a oat in the sea of a painful grieving process, where they could either sink into vengeance, or use the pain to swim towards making the world a better place.

On a nal note, the Black Panther series is more than

My Neighbour Totoro Review

Nathalie Sophie Wise, BA Social Anthropology and World Philosophy

genius Hayao Miyazaki, is praised for its magical nature and lessons of kindness. Recently adapted into a stage version by the Royal Shakespeare Company, there was doubt, but buzzing anticipation nonetheless, surrounding the show’s ability to convey the dramatic but whimsical spirit of the original 1988 lm. However, I can assure you this adaption of a classic was a reminder of the happiness and pure captivation that the medium of theatre has the ability to deliver, as it marvellously embodies the inspiring warmth that My Neighbour Totoro is known and loved for.

“ is adaption of a classic was a reminder of the happiness and pure captivation that the medium of theatre has the ability to deliver, as it marvellously embodies the inspiring warmth that ‘My Neighbour Totoro’

just entertainment. An alluring feature of the franchise is the positive representation which humanises marginalised groups that have been neglected or demonised on the big screen for so long. Captivating storytelling centred around Africa and indigenous people enriches our understanding of the world by encouraging us to become attuned to the struggles of the oppressed. ematically, the anti-imperialist standpoint expressed in the movie uses ction as a means to shed light on the plight of underdeveloped countries in the Global South, countries that are exploited by wealthy countries for their raw materials. e lm beholds cathartic qualities that evoke a wide range of emotions within the audience. Watching this cultural phenomenon is like being immersed in a therapeutic experience that can heal our collective consciousness from the politics of hate, urging us to constructively use the loss we encounter to build bridges and ght for a better world.

A Studio Ghibli coming-of-age classic, the heartwarming and playful story of My Neighbour Totoro chronicles the adventures of two young sisters, Satsuki and Mei, as they move into a new and seemingly haunted countryside house, encountering a variety of enchanting creatures who emerge as new friends and join the sisters on their feat exploring their new town. e iconic tale, originally directed by the creative

Written by Tom-Morton Smith, who, alongside the original composer Joe Hisaishi and set designer Tom Pye, transform the Barbican’s theatre hall through an extremely intricate revolving set design that perfectly captures the marvellous and otherworldly nature of the original lm. e stage seamlessly used hidden tracks throughout the performance, which did not distract from the story, but rather makes one feel as if you are moving alongside it, totally

immersing the audience into the setting that was being created right before their eyes. Additionally, the scenes are accompanied by a beautiful musical score performed by a live orchestra, completed with the exquisite voice of Ai Ninomiya, which was a key element to the creation of the perfect ambience present within the performance.

Furthermore and perhaps most notably, the highly intelligent use of puppets, and the mastery of the puppeteers on stage, was a key aspect of the show. Despite the clear presence of the puppeteers on stage, due to the highly innovative approach to creating very clear-cut characters out of each puppet, whether it be the mischievous soot spirits or the epic title bearing Totoro, the sense of wonder that is created on stage through these whimsical characters is undeniably impressive, as their movements seem far from robotic, but completely uid. e puppets brought another layer of magic to the show, as well as several smiles on the audience’s faces.

Overall, My Neighbour Totoro (Barbican eatre) presents a beautiful story for both children and adults to enjoy together. e show manages to take many of the beautifully imaginative elements of the original lm while also conveying a great deal of immense talent from not only the cast, who perfectly exhibit a great deal of chemistry and covey a youthfulness that My Neighbour Totoro embodies, but the array of highly thought-out components of what I can only call a theatrical masterpiece.

My Neighbour Totoro at The Barbican Centre, (credit: RSC)

(Credit: Marvel Studios/Youtube)

is known and loved for.”

V&A African Fashion Exhbition

Carlotta Rose Busetto, BA Chinese

For the rst time since its opening in 1852, the V&A is holding an exhibition entirely dedicated to African fashion design until the 16th of April 2023 called ‘Africa Fashion’. It is a wonderful attempt to remove the veil that has concealed African creativity for so long, particularly within the world of fashion. e main theme re ects a concept of ‘abundance’ over ‘lack’, underpinned by ‘a new Pan-Africanism’ that seeks to unify rather than exclude. rough a diverse presentation of pieces from African household names and photography, the exhibition attempts to release African fashion from the constraints of colonialism and racist assumptions, thus allowing individual stories to dominate instead.

e exhibition starts with a historical contextualisation centred around the a ermath of decolonisation both within Africa and among African people dispersed around the world. During the era of independence, from the 1950s onwards, the emergence of Pan-Africanism was not limited to politics. e newly found pride of being African appeared and established itself across all artistic elds, including fashion, thus provoking an ‘African cultural renaissance’. Values of empowerment and equity, fundamental to independence politics, inspired African designers to incorporate ‘traditional local practices’ with ‘global contemporary practices’ to create designs that celebrated and uni ed the Black Diaspora, as well as mobilising support for the cause of independence within countries still under colonial control. Governments of newly formed African states realised fashion’s potential to advocate Pan-Africanism, and thus to decolonise African minds, and pursued economic policies to incentivise the fashion sector.

‘Africa Fashion, starts o with an introduction of some of the most famous African designers, who, as a result of the economic ourishing of the fashion industry and their growing foreign clientele, added styles from outside the continent to their repertoire.

In fact, the postcolonial period encouraged a kind of design that crossed the borders of Africa and reached African communities dispersed around the world, as African textile techniques were o en paired with sartorial practices developed in Europe, where a high proportion of African people resided. e designers presented include Alphadi, Naïma Bennis, Ko Ansah, Shade omas-Fahm and Chris Seydou.

“ rough a diverse presentation of pieces from African household names and photography, the exhibition attempts to release African fashion from the constraints of colonialism and racist assumptions, thus allowing individual stories to dominate instead.”

Alphadi was born in Mali, where he rst learnt fashion design, and later on moved to Paris to pursue his studies. Among the designers exhibited, he is probably one of the main representatives of the globalisation of African fashion in the post-colonial period. His insights into traditional African dress-making methods from a young age and the clear absence of African design in mainstream outlets prompted him to found the International Festival of African Art (FIMA) in 1998, showcasing African talent, as well as designers from other parts of the world like Kenzo and Yves Saint Laurent. Some of the textiles he worked with included Kuba cloth, made from woven ra a, and Téra-Téra cloth, which was historically used for bridal wear in Nigeria.

Naïma Bennis was a Moroccan fashion designer who

started her brand in 1966 with the opening of her rst boutique in the Hilton Hotel in Rabat. Her designs catered to the international guests staying at the Hotel, as well as the local people of the city. Because of this, many of her pieces included a combination of Moroccan and European design, which was most commonly found in her pairing of ‘Moroccan silhouettes’ with ‘French couture fabrics’ for convenient and fashionable apparel for women in the cities. One of her most renowned designs is the evening cloak attained from a combination of masculine (‘bernous’ - cloak) and feminine (‘qe an’ - gown) Moroccan fashion pieces. is infamous piece was cra ed from velvet fabric,with gold trimmings and catered to upper-class women of the 70s and 80s.

e second part of the exhibition explores fashion through the lens of photography. A series of images are displayed, half of which were taken in photo studios across Algeria, Burkina Faso, Mali and Cameroon, while the other half consist of portraits probably taken by family members in both casual and formal settings.Taken throughout the post-colonial period, through people’s choice of attire, the photos not only capture the ‘renaissance’ within African fashion itself but also within people’s perception of being African. In fact, fashion photography of the 70s and 80s immortalised and boosted the newly found African pride felt within the continent itself, as well as across the diaspora.

As stated by the curators themselves, it was about time that an exhibition like ‘Africa Fashion’ was arranged. Silencing within African design is a phenomenon that is still very much present in mainstream fashion, and the exhibition is an attempt to raise awareness that this is an issue that should no longer be perceived as the norm. ‘Africa Fashion’ walks visitors through an extremely informative journey of the ‘African Renaissance’ of the post-colonial period and is an opportunity that should absolutely not be missed.

SHEIN: The Pitfalls of Their Success

Alica Mitra, BA Social Anthropology and Global development

Shein was founded in China in 2008. It began as a worldwide leading wedding dress company but is now known as an online fast fashion retailer. In 2020, Shein e ectively blew up and was one of the most talked about brands on large platforms such as TikTok and YouTube. In comparison to other fast fashion places such as H&M and ZARA which introduce new pieces or trends through a three-week process, Shein is able to cut this process to ve to seven days, therefore every week there are new styles being sold on their website. rough the use of these platforms, techniques, and Shein’s incredibly low prices, young teenage shoppers are attracted to their website. As of 2022, the company now has an overall net worth of $100 billion USD. To increase their revenue, Shein has opened up a number of pop-up shops internationally where they combine the advantage of their physical store with their online presence where customers can view their products in person, which they can buy online via the Shein app.

However, despite Shein’s success as an online fast fashion retailer, there are many pitfalls to their success. Providing the newest trends to their huge amounts of customers in under a

week has de nitely taken a toll on both the environment and their workers. Greenpeace Germany ran a chemical analysis on 42 items from the online retailer and discovered that the dyes used were poisonous. is method is one of the largest contributors to river pollution which causes harm to both human and marine life. River pollution causes an increased risk of heart disease and respiratory problems to humans, the pollution also causes PH levels to change in the water which can kill aquatic plants, consequently, the plants create little or no oxygen, creating spots where aquatic life cannot survive. e clothes are made from cheap synthetic fabrics like polyester and nylon, these fabrics do not last long and most likely will stay longer in a land ll than in our wardrobes, therefore, contributing to the growing pollution problem. Shein produces thousands of new clothing items every day, and is therefore partly responsible for the increase of global warming and climate change through the vast amounts of carbon emissions their manufacturing process creates. In an attempt to put a stop to the harmful e ects fast fashion has on the environment, Greenpeace is protesting to encourage the European Union to enforce its laws on hazardous chemicals, but also these issues need to be addressed through a global treaty.

A recent documentary by Channel 4 exposed Shein for its exploitative acts towards its workers. Its’ employees revealed

that they work three shi s per day; however, according to Chinese labour laws, workers cannot work more than 40 hours per week. Channel 4 provided their viewers with a shocking insight into Shein’s workers, who work 18 hours per day, totalling 126 hours per week. On top of this, workers are massively underpaid, they earn a basic salary of £492 per month to make 500 pieces of clothing per day, and if any item is wrong, money will be deducted from their salary. e company responded to the documentary made by Channel 4 in which they said they are concerned about the claims made however, they are following the local laws and regulations based on international labour organisations. Shein, a er their working conditions were exposed, released a new model called the ‘environmentally friendly model’, which encourages shoppers to buy and sell previously owned products. Overall, Shein’s responses to the claims made by Channel 4 were all attempts to mask their participation in sweatshop labour.

In sum, despite Shein’s success as a fast-fashion retailer, its popularity and constant upkeep of trends have a detrimental e ect on the environment. In order to keep its prices low but still produce copious amounts of clothes, the company has an exploited workforce who are underpaid and forced to work in sweatshops.

Sports & Societies Editor: Hala Haidar

Sport & Societies

Why Netball is Underrated

Kate Geraghty, BA Global Development

Any person who has played netball will be used to the frequent, somewhat patronising, insults that netball ‘isn’t a sport’ or at most is just a lesser version of basketball. A er all, if you can’t move with the ball, hold the ball for more than three seconds, contact the opposition players or be within one metre of said opposition players, then what tness or special skills are even required?

ese common misconceptions have led to a sadly unappreciative attitude to this sport even though over 20 million netballers play across 80 countries, according to Come to Play. I’m here to dispel that belief and prove that netball is a competitive, fast-paced, and intense team sport requiring immense skill and stamina. e 2022-23 SOAS Netball Team is proof of that.

“ ere is no room for mistakes; you must be smart and tactical with every run and pass you make.”

Firstly, the aim of netball is to score as many goals as possible by getting the ball through a small ring on the opposing team’s three-metre-high post. Di erently to basketball, once a player has received the ball and planted their feet, they cannot move. You may only hold onto the ball for a maximum of three seconds and there are speci c areas that players can or cannot enter depending on their position. Netball is a non-contact sport (more on that later, and if you are defending a player with the ball, you cannot be within one metre of them.

You may be thinking that these rules make netball quite

restrictive, but that is exactly what makes it so exciting. ere is no room for mistakes; you must be smart and tactical with every run and pass you make. e pressure of a ticking down three seconds means every player must be on their toes, ready to o er. ere is constant o -the-ball movement from all players in a netball match, something quite di erent to other sports. Watch any SOAS BUCS match and you will see our centre, Alina Malik, darting across the court endlessly, never taking a break.

Now onto the no-contact rule. Technically speaking, netball is a ‘fair contact sport’ meaning that two players may contact each other if both are contesting for the ball and neither is disadvantaged by the other. However, in reality, netball is anything but a non-contact sport. ere is constant contact and physicality between players, both when contesting for the ball and o the ball. Players will try to block drives, hold opposition players in a speci c place and push them away from their goal in addition to intercepting balls. All this requires a degree of contact. Just ask any SOAS netball player at Sports Night and they will proudly show their share of bruises and cuts from the match.

e contact rule leads nicely into the obstruction rule. If an opposition player has the ball, you can mark that player and defend the ball. However, before you put your hands up and over the ball, your feet must be one metre away from the opposing player, thus hindering your ability to defend. But you would never think that watching our president, Nabila Williams, whose long stretch and lightning-speed re exes mean she routinely leaps in the air and intercepts the ball the very moment it leaves the hands of the opposition player.

ese contact and obstruction rules, although making it harder to defend, prove the tactical superiority of Netball over other sports. Our defenders must be constantly aware of their positioning to not give away penalties and work around the contact restrictions to be able to block players and

Meet the New Liberation Caucuses!

Amran Abdiqadir Mohamed, BA Global Development and Social Anthropology

In 2022, the previous SOAS Students’ Union team underwent a governance review wherein they examined their current democratic processes. As a result of this review, six new liberation caucuses have been introduced and launched this academic year.

e caucuses are as follows:

Black Students’ Caucus

Disabled Students’ Caucus

Women’s Caucus

LGBTQ+ Students’ Caucus

Working Class Students’ Caucus

Trans* and Gender Identity Students’ Caucus

e liberation caucuses are aimed for people who self identify with the group and share similar experiences. One of the reasons the caucuses were introduced was for students to recognise and build on their shared concerns. ere have already been many overlapping concerns across the caucuses,

which is no surprise, as students are operating within the same context, be that SOAS or the current political climate in the UK. e caucuses are designed to act as a vehicle to ‘mobilise and build power among students’ so that they can work in joint struggle, says Yara Derbas, SU Co-President for Equality and Liberation.

intercept balls. Just watch Ricky Rodenas who whips around players and intercepts the ball without them even knowing, like a lion going in for the attack. Smart stu

I hope I have made you more appreciative of this great sport! e SOAS netball society is very special this year and we’re having a phenomenal season. Having been promoted to British Universities & Colleges Sport (BUCS) for the rst time since 2019, our BUCS team have gone straight into the season with ying colours, winning against Imperial and UCL. Our London Universities Sport League (LUSL) team is having an equally smashing season, beating LSE in a closelyfought plate match. O the court, we have also been growing closer as a team with frequent outings a er matches to the closest bars as well as an exclusive ((BOUNCE)) trampoline tness session and an end-of-term celebration meal.

SOAS Netball is a great community of people who come together to train and play competitively and socially. If you think you’d like to join in, come along to one of our training sessions from 5-7 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays at Highbury Fields Netball Courts or message us on our Instagram: @soasnetball. If you feel like supporting us at matches then look out for news on our socials. Anyone is welcome!

Each caucus has a delegate that’s appointed by the caucus members. Delegate positions within the caucuses are exible depending on your capacity and are direct interchangeable throughout the year. Each caucus delegate has a seat on the Students’ Union Executive Committee where they feed back the needs of their members to the committee. e caucuses are viewed as a way of bridging the gap between students and the institution.

e caucuses are autonomous and self-governing, therefore it’s up to the members of the group to decide what they want to do, what their priorities are, and what direction they will take. Some of the groups are planning socials, discussion events, and budding campaigns. In addition, one of their main priorities is creating a safe space for people who selfidentify with the caucus group.

Although they are student-led, the liberation caucuses are separate from societies. ey are an SU initiative decided by the governance review and are supposed to be representative of the SOAS community.

ey meet at a minimum of twice a term, and they will soon have an Instagram page up and running so everyone can easily access information about what they’re up to. If there are issues that you want to raise or you’re just looking for your people on campus, join one of the caucuses! Students’ voices at SOAS are valued by the SU, and the caucuses are a space for you to remember that you are never alone in your struggle. Information about them can be found on the SU website and Instagram. Alternatively, feel free to direct any questions to Yara Derbas in the SU o ce!

“ e caucuses are designed to act as a vehicle to ‘mobilise and build power among students’ so that they can work in joint struggle.”

BUCS team after their win against UCL (credit: SOAS Netball Team)

We Talked to @SOASUniMemes, the ‘Humour Therapists’ of SOAS

Diana Son, BA Law and Politics

If you are a SOAS student and an Instagram user, it is more than likely that you have come across a meme by @soasunimemes, either on their page or through the countless story reposts made by fellow SOAS students. Since the beginning of the term, over 50 posts have been published on the page, featuring submissions from followers, as well as posts created by the admins; all of these revolve around the typical experiences students have at SOAS. In an anonymous interview, the admins describe their content as ‘a blend of student humour, political satire, and real-life SOAS concerns.’

While students attempt to discover who leads the account, the identity of the admins continues to be a mystery. During the interview, they revealed that there are ve admins; however, they wished to stay anonymous, even joking that they ‘don’t want to get jumped.’ On a serious note, they expressed how the anonymity makes them ‘feel liberated’ to ‘say whatever [they] wanted without fear of being judged’ or being ‘questioned about [their] posts.’

Despite their humour-based nature, the memes do not fail to bring attention to the unpleasant aspects; the admins attribute the rise of their popularity to their ‘straightforward approach that has resonated with students.’ ey claim they are ‘the only SOAS page that posts humour and also

addresses di culties at this university, making them an important awareness-raising platform among uninformed students. is means the page is somewhat of a public forum, and with that comes a lot of interaction with the students. Based on that, we wondered what the admins believe is the biggest ‘issue’ currently surrounding SOAS and its community. In return, the admins had a list ready:

e admins nd this management ‘heartbreaking’ and ‘absurd’, supporting the criticism being voiced around the university. Like many students, they link all these issues to one core concern. ey express, ‘there is a signi cant administration problem at the school, and Adam Habib is the root of it all,’ which is evident in their content which o en highlights what they claim to be the hypocrisies of the SOAS Director.

‘ e security guards, who are now ruining what should be a normal student experience [...] by physically moving students and verbally assaulting us’ What they claim is the university’s failure to ‘hire enough cleaners to handle the maintenance [...] resulting in inappropriate working conditions.’

e expectation on lecturers to ‘provide [a] world-class education,’ while being ‘subjected to questionable workingconditions’.

When asked about the account’s mission statement, the admins responded, ‘we honestly just want to entertain students.’ ey described the current state of the world as ‘gloomy’, with a ‘variety of socioeconomic challenges, which can be di cult for students who already have a lot on their minds.’ e admins’ main aim is to ensure no one is ignored.

ey conclude, ‘I suppose we’re like humour therapists? Is that a thing? We’re going to make it a thing.’ Judging by the popularity of their page, @soasunimemes is achieving their aim just right.

England Win the World Cup … It’s Not the One You’re Thinking Of

Archie Thomas, BA Politics and International Relations

‘No, not that world cup. e cricket world cup!’

On 13 November the T20 Cricket World Cup came to an end with an enthralling nal at the MCG in Melbourne, Australia. England beat Pakistan by ve wickets to become world champions in the T20 format for the second time.

England, widely regarded as the best white-ball batting team, met Pakistan, the best bowling team in the tournament. In front of a Pakistan-supporting crowd at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, England won the coin toss and elected to bowl rst. Momentum swung both ways through Pakistan’s innings, without either side being able to dominate for extended periods. England were unable to control the scoring of Pakistan as they did in their semi- nal humiliation of India. But Pakistan were unable to score freely. Every time they looked to establish a strong run rate, England were able to slow their scoring by taking regular wickets.

Sam Curran was the outstanding bowler of the England attack. Claiming three wickets with an economy of just three runs an over. He bowled out opener Mohammad Rizwan in the rst powerplay. en bowled out Shan Masood just as Masood had built up a 36-run stand with Shadab Khan, to dramatically halt Pakistan’s progress going into the nal four overs. He capped it o with the wicket of Mohammad Nawaz. Curran received the player of the match award as well as the player of the tournament award, for his outstanding performances during the World Cup.

Adil Rashid was also crucial for England, limiting

Pakistan in the middle overs. He took two crucial wickets, Babar Azam and Mohammad Haris, as well as maintaining a strong economy of 5.50. With this, Pakistan set a sub-par total of 137-8, and England le the pitch at the break the happier of the two sides.

Pakistan started the second half on the front foot; Shaheen Shah Afridi took the wicket of Alex Hales with a direct hit in the rst over. Jos Butler soon steadied things for England, with the help of Phil Salt, together scoring six boundaries in the opening power play. In the fourth and sixth overs, Haris Rauf took the wicket of Salt and Butler respectively. Restoring hope for Pakistan.

deliveries, light rain was hindering their running—Stokes slipped over at one point almost getting run out—but Pakistan needed Afridi’s two remaining overs to ensure Stokes and Moeen Ali couldn’t score freely in the nal overs. Afridi returned to the eld to bowl the sixteenth over, he scu ed his rst delivery and his pain was evident; his knee could not cope, and he le the eld for a second time.

I ikhar Ahmed nished the over. is was the turning point for England. Against Ahmed in the sixteenth, then Mohammad Wasim in the seventeenth, Stokes and Ali took advantage. Stokes scored a four and a six and Ali took three fours, in just two overs. e game had turned decisively for England.

Ben Stokes came in to replace Salt. Stokes, the captain of England’s test side, was a contentious inclusion in the England side. He soon showed his worth. He formed a partnership of 39 runs with Harry Brook to maintain good scoring in the middle overs. en came a crucial wicket. In the third ball of the thirteenth over Shadab Khan’s delivery was struck to long o , by Brook, where Afridi caught the low and powerful hit, falling to his knees. As Pakistan celebrated an important wicket, Afridi was laying, back at against the grass, writhing in pain. He immediately le the eld to seek medical attention on his right knee.

Pakistan were now in a decent position. England were behind schedule in the run chase needing 41 from 30

Wasim bowled Ali out in the penultimate over, but with just six runs needed from ten deliveries, the game seemed already won. at said, as recently as late September, England had su ered a catastrophic batting collapse against Pakistan, with just ve needed from ten on that occasion. But Stokes saw it through earning his rst international T20 50. en, in the nal ball of the nineteenth over he hit it leg side for a single and England came running onto the pitch in celebration.

Ben Stokes once again proved his brilliance as a big game player for any format of the game. is performance will sit alongside his miraculous run chases in the 2019 50-over World Cup Final, and the 2019 Ashes test at Headingley.

Jos Butler led the side brilliantly in his rst tournament as England’s white-ball captain. Continuing England’s ‘golden era’ in short form cricket, which began under the captaincy of Eoin Morgan. England is the rst country to hold the world titles in both the 50-over and T20 formats at the same time.

“England is the rst country to hold the world titles in both the 50-over and T20 format at the same time.”

“they expressed how the anonymity makes them ‘feel liberated’ to ‘say whatever [they] wanted without fear of being judged.”