"I have never welcomed the weakening of family ties by politics or pressure" - Nelson Mandela.
"He who travels for love finds a thousand miles no longer than one" - Japanese proverb.
"Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence." - Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
"When people's love is divided by law, it is the law that needs to change". -
David Cameron.

Sunday 5 May 2013

Tightened UK visa rules reduce many to Skype parents

http://www.thestatesman.net/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=455087&catid=35

Mr Ankit Verma met his partner Ms Michelle Holden in Liverpool while studying in the UK. Ms Holden was four months pregnant when he had to return to Delhi because his visa ran out and, since then, he's tried repeatedly to go back to meet his child and to help her raise him.

He sends money to the UK to support Michelle, who doesn't work as she is looking after their boy, he said.

His application for a visitor visa was refused because he showed hotel bookings in different towns, which made them question the relationship, and because he wasn’t atthat time working in India, he said.

“It's a nightmare. Not even a single day goes by when I don't cry. I am already so depressed,” he said.


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European Policy Centre signals concerns about 'strong attack' from four member states, including the UK, on free movement rights.

http://www.migrantsrights.org.uk/news/2013/european-policy-centre-signals-concerns-about-strong-attack-four-member-states-including-u


 The EPC Commentary makes the point that the letter implies that EU citizens may be a priori categorised as abusers and a threat to the social cohesion of hosting member states.The implication is that it is only when the presumption of abuse is removed  in the case of each specific act of migration will the crossing of the internal borders be permitted.

The Commentary concludes that the joint letter is a "big step backwards, trying to turn the clock back to before 1992 when freedom of movement was mainly granted to 'economic players'"  As such it does not reflect the major changes which have occurred since the Maastricht Treaty and the creation of EU
citizenship which entitles EU citizens to the right to move and reside freely within the territory of the member states.

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https://twitter.com/emmabmoussa tweets :
Wouldn't it be nice of UKBA to reimburse me for the 6 months they have held my new 10 year passport I paid for and can't use.
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https://twitter.com/BritCits tweets :
#UKBA shambles..armless man denied visa due to inability to provide fingerprints. Can they get any more idiotic?
http://m.tengrinews.kz/en/politics_sub/19170

“We should have been in Great Britain on April 15, but the passports were sent back to us only in the end of April. We waited for the visas until the last moment. It was surprising for me. My exhibition is abroad and we have decided to keep it there to avoid additional transportation,” Kuyukov said.

The artist added that he had no visa problems when he went to the U.S. in December 2012. “When I applied for the visa, they saw that I don’t have hands and didn’t say anything. And this situation in unclear. My next trip will be to Japan in August. We will be preparing for this trip in advance just in case,” Kuyukov said.

Karipbek Kuyukov was born in 1968 not far from Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. He was born armless. He draws his paintings holding the brush in his mouth or toes. Kuyukov’s paintings are exhibited in state and private collections in the U.S., Germany and Japan.


Mr Kuyukov :
http://theatomproject.org/en/survivors/karipbek-kuyukov

Talk about crushing a butterfly on a wheel.

Monarch butterflies migrating, as is natural for them :

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https://twitter.com/BritCits immigrant of the day :
PuertoRican Wilnelia Merced,ex Miss World.Fell in love with UK & @bruceforsyth.Lives in Surrey.Helps underprivileged kids.

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https://twitter.com/rmw tweets :
@David_Cameron, we owe it to Afghan interpreters to offer them the option of asylum, as we did Iraqis.
http://www.avaaz.org/en/petition/Abandoned_in_Afghanistan/?wQeDBbb




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Public support asylun for Afghan interpreters.

http://www.britishfuture.org/articles/public-support-asylum-for-afghan-interpreters/

The British public believe that Britain should offer asylum to Afghan interpreters who worked for British troops, according to a new YouGov poll for British Future.

Sixty per cent (60%) of those who have an opinion believe that Britain should allow these workers to settle here while four out of ten oppose the call.

---

https://twitter.com/paulgslatter tweets :
Being 'tough on immigration' leads to this sort of ungracious, unpatriotic, rude, jobsworth nonsense
http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/05/03/uk-britain-afghanistan-interpreters-idUKBRE9420NM20130503
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London mass for migrant workers.

http://www.indcatholicnews.com/news.php?viewStory=22467

Via https://twitter.com/The_UK_Migrant
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https://twitter.com/iainfpalmer tweets :
1/3 A LGBT case today at Harmondsworth Fast Track. How to prove you're gay? Well, it seems that if you haven't hit every gay bar in town...
2/3...had multiple sexual partners and have photos to prove it you'll be fighting a losing battle. 'Why haven't you been to gay bars?'..
3/3..went the question. 'I was very nervous.' 'But you know this country respects human rights and you wouldn't be harmed?'..
+1 'You say this country respects human rights? You've locked me up for 4 months when I've done nothing wrong.' Just perfect.
+2 Harmondsworth Hearing Centre: Perverse hearings in a perverse environment.


Gay asylum seekers feeling increased pressure to prove sexuality, say experts.

Assessment changes by UK Border Agency has led immigrants fleeing persecution to even show film of themselves having sex :

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/feb/03/gay-asylum-seekers-pressure-prove-sexuality
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https://twitter.com/lowles_nick tweets :
Rise of UKIP and its anti-immigrant rhetoric reopens debate on how #hopenothate should respond.
http://action.hopenothate.org.uk/page/s/bye-bye-bnp
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https://twitter.com/TonyDDyer tweets :
Bristol's response to divisive politics of UKIP was election of young Somali Muslim woman with over 50% of vote. So proud to be Bristolian.
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https://twitter.com/respect65 tweets :
Do people really think that stopping immigration will solve Britain’s problems? Oh, the power of propaganda!
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US tightens student visa rules after Boston bombing.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-22409193
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Hate is where the heart is: Time for Europe to confront anti-Gypsyism.

http://www.opendemocracy.net/bernard-rorke/hate-is-where-heart-is-time-for-europe-to-confront-anti-gypsyism
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https://twitter.com/USAID tweets :
Who represents the largest #diaspora population in the US? @DiasporaIdea @MigrationPolicy http://ow.ly/kwVC9  Answr: #GERMANY

Some nice ancestry maps here :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ancestry_of_the_people_of_the_United_States , especially http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Census-2000-Data-Top-US-Ancestries-by-County.svg .

The German diaspora is in blue :



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Special edition of Citizen Artist newspaper condemns integration of UK universities into border control regimes.

http://www.migrantsrights.org.uk/news/2013/special-edition-citizen-artist-newspaper-condemns-integration-uk-universities-border-contr


 In an introduction to the issue, Daphne Plessner, of Goldsmith College and the University of the Arts, argues that , during these past years, “the role and purpose of the University has shifted from its Enlightenment objectives (the formation of critical citizens) to a complex commercial enterprise producing ‘knowledge capital’, the full consequences of which are too  immediate to gauge.”

The integration of university management into the surveillance procedures of is indicative of the changes which are taking place in the academy.  Under the terms of the new regime,  management and staff are transformed into “agents in the production of divisions in status that enact the policing policies of the State [...]  All of these conditions impact on a member’s sense of identity, mobility and belonging.“

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https://twitter.com/LondonMigrants tweets :
What is integration? A Somalian migrant tells his story.
http://www.channel4.com/news/immigration-nation-somalia-one-mans-story

Politicians often blame immigrants for not doing enough to integrate into society. But do they know what integration means? Jamal Osman shares his experience of moving to London from Somalia.
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 A 17th century Russia community living in 21st century Alaska. The Old Believers.

http://www.theatlantic.com/national/archive/2013/05/a-17th-century-russian-community-living-in-21st-century-alaska/275440/
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One in five UK households borrowed money or used savings to cover food costs in April, a Which? survey says.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22417334
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Fascinating mapping tools for surnames in Britain.

http://www.uncertaintyofidentity.com/GB_Names/Mapping.aspx

http://gbnames.publicprofiler.org/Surnames.aspx

... which could also be used as a way of mapping migration patterns!
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Workers march for rights across SE Asia.

http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/05/02/labor-day-actions-in-southeast-asia/
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Old anti-poll tax badges :
https://twitter.com/GuidoTallman/status/331076954835009539/photo/1

Via https://twitter.com/GuidoTallman
 

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