No 378
25 April
2008
Migration, the movement of
people, is an unstoppable process, accelerated by increased globalisation and
environmental pressures such as climate change. In Britain’s big cities, so a
report by the Barrow Cadbury Trust reveals, there is more and more evidence of
collaboration mutual tolerance between different racial communities – though
this does not mean that there are not tensions as well.
One problem
lies in the way that public debate about immigration is conducted. It still
focuses largely on whether immigration is a ‘good thing’ or not, and tends not
to accept that Britain’s diverse community is now an established fact, and look
for ways of promoting greater harmony and co-operation.
For instance, when people
in local areas have worked together on what the report calls the ‘bread and
butter issues’ which face all poor communities: housing, health, education,
poverty and deprivation, there has often been a great sense of unity across
different ethnic divides. Frequently people from minority ethnic groups live in
poor, marginal areas of Britain’s big cities, and economic hardship causes
tension, since one group may believe that another group is receiving better
treatment. This, so the report states, is where effort by local and national
government is needed to show that the aim of achieving a healthy, stable and
secure society is to do with politics and economics, and not with race or
immigration.
It is
interesting to note that so-called ‘white flight’, the apparent exodus of
middle class white people out of the cities and into suburbs and villages, is
no longer ‘white’ but applies just as much to people and families of other
ethnic backgrounds as they become economically better off.
Even so,
with all the complexity of immigration and how it blends with other economic
and class-based patterns, the media and public debate is still stuck with
outdated, often quite unrealistic slogans and arguments. They might learn from
a butcher in Birmingham who is quoted as having displayed a sign which said:
“Buy your halal Christmas turkey here.” What part do you think the media
play in shaping people’s opinions about immigration?
[Sources: The Barrow
Cadbury Trust (.pdf file) – The
Guardian]
A central plank in the
argument for the 2012 London Olympic Games was that it would provide an
opportunity to regenerate East London, one of Britain’s most economically
disadvantaged areas. A report by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) suggests
that the fulfilment of this aim might be in danger.
The problem
the NEF sees lies in the assumption that if such an area becomes a focus of
tourism, transport and leisure during the period of the Games, the benefits
will automatically ‘trickle down’ to local people. It points out that this is
not necessarily the case. Regeneration has to include the efforts of local
people, local firms, shops and industries in the planning and construction of
the Olympic project, creating local jobs and initiatives which will be
sustainable after the period of the Games.
In fact,
says NEF, most of the procurement and construction contracts are so big that
small and medium enterprises have no hope of bidding for them. Large outside
contractors are taking them on and local people’s only chance is on a
temporary, sub-contracting basis. There are strict ‘branding’ rules involved in
the Olympics, and most of the sponsorship contracts have already been obtained
by multinationals, leaving no scope for local firms. (Not many years ago, cans
of Pepsi were forbidden at the Sydney Olympics because Coca-Cola was the
principal sponsor.) Moreover, when the Games are over, there will be
large-scale debts to pay off by the government, and one easy way to do this is
to sell off the land to the highest bidder, with little or no benefit to local
people.
NEF
emphasises that the long-term regeneration of this part of London was not just
an afterthought when the bid was first formulated. It was to be the “enduring
legacy” of the Games and a powerful reason for such a large investment. It
proposes that from now on local benefit should be a key criterion for all new
contracts; that contracts should be down-sized so as to be accessible to local
firms and enterprises and that standards should be set to ensure that this
takes place. There should also be a local body to ensure that any future plans
for the site should include provision for shops, work-space and land for
growing food which would be of sustainable benefit to the community. Do you
think it is likely that local interests will ultimately benefit from the
Olympic Games?
[Source: New
Economics Foundation]
This week
is Depression Awareness Week, and to coincide with it, the Depression Alliance
(DA) has published a report called ‘The Inside Story’ which focuses on the
impact of depression on daily life and especially the workplace.
The report
states that nearly 10% of the British population of working age suffer from
depression. It is a debilitating condition which is often characterised by lack
of energy and the inability to make decisions, loss of interest in everyday
activity, loss of ability to take pleasure in things, dislike or disgust with
oneself and a diminished sense of future. It is often also compounded by the
lack of understanding by non-sufferers of what people with depression are
experiencing.
Indeed,
sufferers often find that there is stigma and discrimination against them by
other people. This is particularly the case in the workplace. In ‘The Inside
Story’ DA reveals cases of people with depression being avoided by colleagues,
receiving negative comments and being refused challenging work or promotion.
Consequently many people admit to keeping their condition secret from
colleagues and bosses. Their dilemma is that very often being able to work
makes a positive contribution to their recovery.
Lack of
information among the general public is a large part of the reason why
attitudes to mental ill-health are so different from those towards other forms
of illness. ‘The Inside Story’ reports that many places of work have no
facilities for their employees when they suffer from mental ill-health.
Experience, for example in Local Authorities, shows that negotiated flexi-time,
programmes of phased return after illness and access to counselling are
effective in helping people back to health and work. The report recommends that
employers should make efforts, not only to provide more effective support to
people with depression, but also to combat stigma and discrimination in the
workforce. Why are so many people still so prejudiced – or in many cases
just nervous – in their dealing with mental ill-health?
[Source: Depression Alliance]
April 24th
is the anniversary of the 1932 trespass of Kinder Scout in the Derbyshire Peak
District by some 500 walkers, which ultimately led to the creation of Britain’s
first national park and, more recently, of a new law which allows the public
the right to roam over large areas of the nation’s open country. Now the
millions of people who visit and enjoy the park and its footpaths have become a
major cause of erosion, especially in the peat covered gritstone areas.
An
organisation called Moors for the Future is working to preserve and restore
large parts of the Peak District. It points out the importance of peat bogs in
storing carbon dioxide and helping to avoid climate change, and the focus of
its work, apart from restoration, is on raising public awareness and on
research. More people have more leisure-time, and an increasingly
health-conscious population is developing a taste for the countryside. But as a
result the landscape is suffering. The Pennine Way is one of the country’s most
popular long-distance footpaths. Sections of it have become seriously damaged
and large areas of peat have been worn away. The national park employs a team
of people who are gradually laying flagstones, flown in by helicopter, over the
most affected areas.
But the
right to roam has caused new paths to appear where there were none before, and,
ironically, it is people’s love of nature and solitude which is causing these
new problems. The Peak District Authority is looking for solutions which do not
restrict people’s access too much. Walkers are being asked to avoid certain
areas, mountain biking has been restricted, and fell races – another cause of
quite serious damage – are facing new limitations on the routes they can use. How
do you think that people’s access to wild places can be maintained without
causing too much harm to the natural environment?
The
Christian religion has for centuries had its list of ‘Seven Deadly Sins’. These
are lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride, though originally
they did not all mean the same as they do now. One hundred years ago, the
philanthropist (and chocolate manufacturer) Joseph Rowntree stated what he
thought were the seven main evils of his day. For him, these were poverty, war, slavery, intemperance, the opium trade, impurity
and gambling.
Now the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, endowed by him, has
carried out a survey to find out what people think are the main social evils of
the 21st century in Britain. There are more than seven, and they
include individualism, consumerism and greed, a decline of community, a decline
of values, drugs and alcohol, poverty and inequality, crime and violence. What
do you think of this list, and would be your seven chief causes of concern in
the society you live in today?