netherhalldecember news 2012
syria: war in the fertile crescent also: the rise of brazil saving face: privacy in social media
contents Cover page: as the conflict in syria continues to rage, stephen trafford offers some thoughts on the complexities of the situation, and what it means for the west. turn to p.8 to find out more.
CONTENT EDITOR Jonathan Parreño MANAGING EDITOR, DESIGN & SETTING Luke Wilkinson CONTRIBUTIONS AND ADVICE Peter Brown, Fr Joseph Evans, Zubin Mistry, Rafael Sumanilog, Dhrupad Karwa, Stephen Trafford, Puneet Talwar, Marcin Swiczewski, Neil Pickering. PHOTOGRAPHY Various CIRCULATION Netherhall News is sent by e-mail to current and past residents of Netherhall House. It is also available at http://www. nh.netherhall.org.uk/netherhall-magazine/ CONTACT US Would you like to be included in our mailing list, contribute to or express your opinion in Netherhall News? Write to: LUKE WILKINSON C/O NETHERHALL NEWS, NETHERHALL HOUSE, NUTLEY TERRACE, LONDON, NW3 5SA, U.K. or E-MAIL: alumni@nh.netherhall.org.uk DISCLAIMER All opinions expressed in this magazine are those of the authors concerned and do not necessarily represent the views of the editors of Netherhall News, Netherhall House, Netherhall Educational Association, or of Opus Dei.
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regular features editorial
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the first words from our new commander in chief...
director’s notes
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peter brown on a momentous changing of the guard
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16 saving face privacy and social media
brazil today its recent emergence
the story of poland and its people
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the reincarnation of crises
the new stolen generation the limits of reproductive liberty
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a way with words - unravelling the mistry re-lighting the lighthouse pickering’s progress passing through netherhall news
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editorial under new management:
Jonny parreño wields the editorial scissors for the first time...
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his December edition of Netherhall News is a landmark publication which trumpets the changing of the guard. This issue’s contributors are mostly new residents – very much reflecting the nature of a place like Netherhall where new faces appear every September to replace those ‘old’ ones which left in June, and I hope that they will continue to write over the coming year. The author of this editorial, i.e. yours truly, is also very new to the job. This is the first ever edition for which I have been in-house correspondent, and with Zubin’s departure for greener pastures (more on that below), I am also faced with the un-envious position of following in his footsteps to write this editorial. Please forgive me this time if I write just a few simple words – just to get the magazine out has been a major challenge (and we apologise for the delay). I hope in the next edition to offer a more reflective and substantial editorial and, to boot, as part of an edition which appears punctually on 1st February! But back to this edition. As the New Year approaches we have the chance to reflect on our experiences and actions, where we made mistakes and where we were successful. We also look forward to the exciting prospects of the future, mindful of the lessons we have learned from the past, and my articles on Brazil and the renovation of St. Patrick’s Church echo these sentiments. Our analysis and evaluation of our own personal journeys this year would necessitate some record of events that might otherwise be forgotten. Perhaps like 89% of 18 to 29 year olds using it regularly in United States, Facebook will be our primary archive for blurred memories, but if these events were...embarrassing to whatever extent, who else might be watching? That compromising photo might not be limited to killing the pleasant family conversation. Puneet Talwar investigates the notion of privacy in social networking. Hopefully readers won’t notice too much of a difference in your experience of the Netherhall Magazine under its new ‘management’ and in a way you might think of me as a reincarnation of Zubin, just as Dhru Karwa considers this current financial crisis as the newest incarnation of previous ones. Peter will be pointing out some of Zubin’s unique traits in Director’s Notes, and I chuckled when I found some parallels between your former editor and myself. I too can be found unshaven on many occasions (although that is hardly unique in a hall of residence). I support Arsenal, albeit nowhere near as passionately or faithfully, and I am a defiant smoker in the
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“I chuckled when I found some parallels between your former editor and myself. I too can be found unshaven on many occasions. I support (although nowhere near as faithfully) Arsenal and am a defiant smoker in the face of today’s prevailing winds of health obsession!” face of today’s prevailing winds of health obsession! Another far more important facet of health obsession is treated by Rafael Sumanilog’s report on the limits of reproductive liberty. The inevitable flood of Christmas cards will soon be jamming our letterboxes, and we will hopefully be celebrating lovely meals with our families in the festive season. But spare a thought for those who have a harsh Christmas to look forward to. For the people of Syria, celebration seems a long way off, and Stephen Trafford will be explaining the complexities of the situation that continues to rage. Jonny Parreño is in his second year at King’s College London studying English Literature. He is in his second year at Netherhall.
director’ s notes peter brown pays tribute to some
departing titans (one literally a titan) and ushers in the new academic year
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o lose one of member of the team that produce the Netherhall magazine may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose two looks like carelessness. It is therefore in a somewhat defensive mood that I announce, two months after the departure of Fr Joe Evans, the departure of Zubin Mistry from the staff of this illustrious publication. Without wishing to confuse or mix metaphors too much I hasten to add that the barn door was shut just in time to ensure that the services of Luke Wilkinson have been retained. Zubin (like Fr Joe) has been on the team since the magazine started nearly eight years ago, but having secured an academic post, got himself engaged. He is now having to work frantically to turn his PhD thesis into a publication. The man who will never use one word where twenty (flowery, exotic, enchanting, descriptive) words would do, has decided the time has come to hang up his pen (or at least the pen he used to write his editorials). Jonny Parreño has stood up to be counted and, starting with this issue, will do his best to stand in the big man’s shoes. Those who know Zubin will appreciate that it would take at least two Zubin type editorials to paint anything like a recognisable picture of the man himself. To call him an Arsenal supporting, cigarette smoking, occasionally unshaven, charming and patient young man with a very fine mind would be to scratch the surface. How do you describe the work of an editor who in his editorials covers items as diverse as dancing (January 2009), haircuts (January 2010), Bus 174 (October 2011), life under a totalitarian regime (August 2011) and honour killings (April 2012)? On behalf of everyone in the house and the many readers who have enjoyed his pieces over the years I thank Zubin for his great work, wish him every success for the future and ask him to remain a frequent contributor to these pages.
who have just progressed from student life to professional life) it amused me to see the rapid transformation brought about in some of the alumni by their ceasing to be students and becoming professionals. Out with the jeans and t-shirts, in with the sharp suits and ties. It is of course one of the hardest things known to an Englishman to sit with Frenchmen and not have some sort of banter about our respective nations’ recent interaction, especially that interaction which took place around 1815. When the Frenchmen are as passionate about their nation’s history as some of our recent French alumni, the chance of avoiding the subject is reduced to zero and I found myself once again listening to Paul Shira’s version of events: Napoleon lost not because the thin red line withstood and pushed back the Emperor’s Imperial Guard but because a) Grouchy didn’t come back in time and b) Blucher did. Allez les bleus! And finally, congratulations to Philipp Wirtz (2007- present) who has passed his viva and who, after completing minor corrections, will be awarded his PhD by SOAS. I’m convinced that there are few people in the world who know more about the Ottoman Empire than Philipp!
At the end of October Miguel Lim (2009-present) (my guide and translator) and I made a quick Eurostar trip to Paris for the Netherhall French alumni dinner (right). We were joined for the meal by a dozen or so French former residents in a restaurant a couple of blocks from the Eiffel Tower, led by the one and only Olivier Coste (1996-97, 2002-03). It was a wonderful meal and I enjoyed the whole evening enormously. As always in these situations (meeting recent former residents
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a way with words luke wilkinson on late night punnery with the illustrious former editor, Zubin mistry
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ome say that time is a great healer, though other begs to differ and claim that in fact ‘time is money’ (Benjamin Franklin). Groucho Marx notes that ‘time flies like an arrow’ (often quoted with the irreverent afterthought that ‘fruit flies a banana’), while Albert Einstein claims that ‘time is an illusion’. ‘What then is time? If no one asks me, I know what it is. If I wish to explain it to him who asks, I do not know’. So reflected Saint Augustine on the strange reality which ‘changes everything except something within us which is always surprised by change’ (Thomas Hardy). It seems that thoughtful, reflective and humorous thinkers, throughout time, (see what I did there?) have reflected on this slippery substance which melts imperceptibly from seconds into minutes, hours, days then years. Now one of those very same thinkers is himself being blown by the winds of time [Ed: come on now…] onto new shores. Having completed his PhD, taken a teaching post at an illustrious London university, been offered a book deal, and, to top it all, gotten himself engaged to be married, the commanders in chief have finally permitted him to step down from active service. His release papers have been issued, he has been jammed into some ill-fitting civvies, his family have been notified; he has served his time. (Honestly, I promise that’s the last time…[Ed: Grrr…]). The uniform short-back-and-sides haircut can finally be abandoned…oh wait…
From its humble beginnings as an admittedly drab Word document caterpillar in October 2005, the then newsletter has metamorphosed or - if you prefer your images natural scientific rather than classical poetic - evolved into a beautiful PDF butterfly magazine. (November 2007)
I refer, of course, to the late (!) great Mr Mistry, man of mystery. After seven years at the helm of HMS Netherhall News, Zubin has decided that the time [Ed: Please, this is getting ridiculous] has come to step down and entrust to a new recruit all future navigation through the ocean of words which land on the editor’s desk here at Netherhall News. And I am pleased to say that Jonny Parreño has fared well so far on this, his maiden edition. Aside from a mastery in the use of over-stretched and obfuscated metaphors, I have learnt a great deal from working with Zubin since I succeeded Kevin Gouder to the Managing Editor’s throne for the March 2009 edition. His way with words is quite incredible, whether used to craft his own insightful turns of phrase (some of which are showcased here), or emerging from the invasive, yet ultimately healing, surgery he has undertaken on the offerings of our many contributors over the years. Once I was faced with the daunting task of producing the Editorial myself while Zubin was selfishly concentrating on writing up his PhD, and to be honest, all I could manage was a cheap imitation of his ‘stunning punning and casual quippery’ (Editorial, Netherhall News, August 2010).
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As Peter comments in this month’s Director’s Notes, the topics of Zubin’s editorials rarely coincided with the contents of the edition to which they claimed association, but instead ranged wildly and wonderfully across the many things in which he takes an interest, and of which (somehow alongside studying for a PhD) he was thoroughly well-read. This is also reflective of conversation with Zubin, and I have our many late night scramblings to produce something in semblance of a magazine to thank for my introductions to Cormac McCarthy, The Wire, and Sufjan Stevens, as well as for the pleasure of a friendship forged on the bitter-sweet anvil of Netherhall coffee! I hope that readers will enjoy this short recollection of fantastic Zubinisms, as I let the great man speak for himself.
Faced with a zombie apocalypse, life wouldn’t be easy for struggling bands of human survivors. For a start, they would have to locate conveniently discarded firearms. (The prospect of a zombie apocalypse is, of course, the strongest argument for liberal gun control laws). They would have to aim for the head. But, just as fearfully, they would also have to struggle with semantics: does it make any sense to kill what’s already dead? (December 2010)
The very fact of selling the Big Issue presupposes a radical re- ordering of one’s life, some poor guy’s effort standing hours in the cold to get his life back on track. Perhaps my head’s in the clouds, but I find this quietly impressive. And that’s why I’ve been getting into the Big Issue. Altogether, the homeless are no saints. But I have enough confidence to wager that a fair number of saints were, at one time or another, homeless. And I also have significant theological hope that those contrarian, bien-pensant literary critics – and, indeed, those pretentious enough to use such ostentatious phrases – may just about be redeemable too. (November 2007)
Needless to say, his [fr joe’s] penchant for succinctness has countered my tendencies in the opposite direction. He has been a punctilious punster, charitable critic, painstaking proof-reader and perhaps the most important source of dynamism behind the magazine’s evolution over the years – and sometimes at unearthly hours and never, it seems to me, in neglect of his other responsibilities. (october 2012)
Perhaps it is because I am about to start an ancient history course that Peter Brown suggested that I edit this newsletter. He assumed correctly, of course – that all arts students have incredible heaps of spare time crammed into their diaries (which, in any case, they have obliviously mislaid in a café somewhere in central London during one of the numerous two hour coffee breaks which act as the fundamental ordering principle of a typical day) (october 2005 - first edition)
To visualise my laptop, think of James Bond films from the late 70s and 80s: they always seemed to feature an inevitable carchase in a fictionalised Eastern European country that would have Bond eagerly pursued by an impossibly tiny, bust-up, brown-coloured, paintchipped car, full of five barrel-chested bad-guys called Oleg. Like the car, my computer is too small, too slow, in need of a face-lift and always seems to crash. (september 2006)
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syria: warStephen in the fertile Trafford delves into the crescent complexities of the ongoing civil war T
wo teenagers were arrested when caught spraying anti-government slogans in the south of Syria. When their mothers came to plead for their release from the police station, activists on the ground claim they were told: ‘You won’t see them again. Go back to your husbands and make more children’. This was the cause for one of the first protests of the Syrian uprising. Syria’s civil war is currently resulting in 200-300 reported deaths a day. A Middle East Expert at the International Council on Security and Development and former resident, Alex Tylecote, visited Netherhall recently to give an overview of the current situation in Syria, along with his own insights on why the situation is in its current state and how the West should respond. He believed that the violent opposition to the regime in Syria was a reaction to dissent and the growing opposition to the Ba’ath Party who have ruled Syria for nearly five decades. The Syrian Government acted and still is acting with extreme severity. The Government claim that the protests are part of a conspiracy plot against them, but as Mr Tylecote was quick to assert, this is certainly not the case. It is clear that there was at first no organised reaction; the protests were not nationally co-ordinated but were rather local reactions to different issues and grievances. They were spontaneous reactions against the Government by a variety of the populace of all social classes across the country.
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Mr. Tylecote was keen to stress that the context of the Middle East generally involves the key dynamic of sectarianism. While many view the Syrian conflict as being sectarian in nature, some have accused the al-Assad government of actually fomenting sectarianism themselves. The leader of the Ba’ath Party, Bashar alAssad is an Alawite, a minority Islamic group primarily from the north-west of the country. They hold the majority of cabinet and Government positions despite the majority of Sunni Muslims who believe the Alawites to be a heretical sect. At the uprising’s outset, some Sunni Muslim protesters reportedly chanted ‘Christians to Beirut; Alawites to the coffin’. The areas that have fallen under rebels control are mostly Sunni. ‘Shabiha’ (a term used in the context of the Syrian civil war to describe armed men in civilian clothing who assault protesters against the Government) have been known to carry out killings of Sunnis, prompting kidnappings and killing of Alawites by the Sunni side. The massacres at Houla and Qubeir, both Sunni farming settlements on the fault line between Sunni majority areas and the Alawite heartland of the Alawite Mountains, are said to be part of a plan intended by radical Alawite elements to clear nearby Sunni villages. There are also other groups of Muslims within Syria such as the Shiites, who support the Alawites, and approximately 10% of the population is Christian. The position of Christians within
“go back to your husbands and make more children”
the conflict is interesting and there has been a list of claims by various sources of attacks on, and the persecution of Christians, either by the Syrian government or by groups in the opposition. Many Christians seem to be supporting the regime and a CBS report claimed Christians are largely in favour of Assad because they think that their survival is linked to his government; The Economist reported that relations between Christians and the opposition, at least in some areas, were positive, with Muslims and Christians attending funerals together for slain opposition fighters and church-based groups ferrying medicine to rebels. The sectarian nature of the war would explain in part why resistance appeared very quickly and did not seem to have a leader. It also did not and still does not offer a clear alternative. Due to this, extremist Islam has attempted to fill the gap and this is something of major concern to Western Governments. Should the West respond to these events? If so, how? This is of course, the big question! On the one hand, the Syrian Government has been, as Mr. Tylecote put it, ‘…the number one enemy for years’, as it was operating an oppressive police state, but if the West were to give aid to the Free Syrian Army (FSA) who exactly would they be supporting? It could find itself supplying weapons to Islamist groups. There have been links made between the FSA and fundamentalist organisations such as AlQaida, Hezbollah and Hamas, and claims have been made of the growing influence of Salafists. There is also the serious issue of international relations. Although they both decry the growing violence, Russia and China have repeatedly vetoed UN Security Council resolutions seeking to impose harsher sanctions against the Assad regime. Russia has significant military interests in the region: the naval base at Tartus (Syria’s second largest port city) is its only military outpost outside of the former Soviet Union, and the only refuelling base they own in the Mediterranean Sea. Russia also continues to arm government forces, claiming that no international laws are being breached, due to the fact that they are continuing to fulfil a pre-conflict contract. Military and technical personnel have been sent to Syria as advisors and maintenance crews. In March 2012, a Syrian plane returning from Moscow was forced to land in An-
kara, Turkey, where Russian munitions were discovered and confiscated by the Turkish government. China has heavily invested in Syrian oil and petroleum ventures, and they are the Syria’s largest importers. Iran is supporting the Syrian government, and they (very likely) have nuclear weapons. Turkey, once allies with Syria, is strongly against the Assad regime. Earlier this year a Turkish F-4 fighter jet was shot down by Syria without warning. Thousands of Syrian refugees have fled north of the border which is now owned mostly by the FSA, and last month in retaliation for a Syrian mortar which killed 5 people including a woman and three children, Turkey began shelling Syrian targets. Saudi Arabia and Qatar are also giving military support to the FSA. The UK, US and France are primarily giving non-lethal military aid such as communications equipment and medical supplies to the oppositional forces in Syria, but there is reluctance to take any military action. NATO has explicitly stated that it has no intention of acting in Syria, having just finished its involvement in Libya. The US is the only real power that can challenge the supporters of Assad, and there is strong anti-US sentiment in the region as it is. There is a lot of public resistance in the West to frequent interventionism, especially considering the costs involved at a time of economic hardship. This attitude is particularly strong in Britain following our unpopular intervention in Iraq and the ongoing situation in Afghanistan. President Obama must find a way to encourage a positive transition in Syrian politics and must not support the wrong people. The President must be able to understand who the opposition is and in order to be able to do this would need to ensure a credible political opposition was created. It could be argued that, considering the extremely complex web of interests (not least the ‘proxy war’ between the US and Iran), the West should just leave the Syria to determine its own fate. However, it is clear that the bloodbath must not be allowed to escalate further. Stephen Trafford is in his third year studying Theology at Heythrop College, and is in his first year at Netherhall.
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brazil today Jonny parreño reports on its emergence & political & socio-economic challenges
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n the 1980s Brazil was considered a ‘failure’ as a developing economy when compared with countries like Japan and South Korea. Until the 1990s Brazil, as well as much of South America, experienced what is now known as the ‘lost decade’, characterised by economic stagnation and stunted growth. How did Brazil overcome this hurdle to become a major player on the world stage? Professor Anthony Pereira, Director of the King’s College London Brazil Institute, visited Netherhall on October 1st to offer his thoughts about the many changes that have shaped and continue to shape the host nation of both the upcoming 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympics. Professor Anthony assessed Brazil in three parts, with each having a particular theme or keyword. The first was economics, with the theme of ‘development’. The second was politics, with the theme of ‘stability’, and the third was culture, the keyword being ‘diversity’. There are various reasons for Brazil’s surge in economic clout. One is certainly the fact that it has taken advantage of its abundant natural resources. For example, Brazil is now a pioneer in certain fields of research pertaining to the oil industry, helped in good measure by the recent discovery of large oil fields beneath the sea bed. Petrochemicals and biotechnologies are also specialities of the Brazilian economy and the semi-privatized company Petrobras is the world’s 22nd largest company by revenue. Another recent change has been the exportation of raw materials to China. A second factor is that as a result of the Great Depression, South American countries were forced to adapt, leading to mass industrialisation. Today Brazil is the third largest manufacturer of commercial
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aircraft, and the aerospace conglomerate Embraer is one of the biggest corporations of its kind. Car manufacturing giants such as Ford, GM and Volkswagen have shifted their factories to this untapped market and the relaxation of tariff barriers successfully attracted even more transnational businesses, and other companies such as Honda, Toyota and Nissan have gained a
part of the market. In return cheap manufactured goods are imported to balance the books. But in the midst of this apparent boom there are some who have raised a note of warning and according to Professor Pereira, the situation may be seen as a ‘neocolonial’ movement. There are fears of de-
industrialisation and a worry of long term dependence on trade with China to satisfy the demand for manufactured goods. This has led to some tensions between the two BRIC countries. Looking at the pronouncements made at the 2011 BRICS summit in China, Brazil strongly insisted on more specific language that would clarify and change the trade relations between the two countries. China duly noted these concerns, but there was little commitment to real implementation. Unlike India and China, the Brazilian economy has been growing at a more moderate pace: 4-5% as opposed to the staggering 9-10% of the former two countries. Yet there are some differences which can account for the slower rate of growth, reasons which Professor Pereira called ‘unusual’. A great emphasis has been placed on improving social inequality. Minimum wages and pensions were raised, and a new method of funding was put into effect in order to help families with little money to send their children to school. The project, called bolsa familia, grants credit which can be exchanged for cash to such families, provided that the children continue to attend school. This has generated a ‘virtuous circle’ within the smaller, poorer communities since the cash is used to buy local goods, stimulating the local economy. 30 million people have risen above the poverty line, and there is a new middle class being formed. The impressive success of the Brazilian model has caught the eyes of organisations interested in development; DFID (the British Department for International Development) is currently investigating whether it can be applied to the situation in Sub-Saharan Africa. There are also agricultural research corporations from Brazil, such as EMBRAPA, which are currently engaged in attempts to improve crops grown in tropical soil. EMBRAPA have opened a station in Ghana with the aim of sharing scientific and technological knowledge.
“The impressive success of the Brazilian model has caught the eyes of organisations interested in development; DFID is currently investigating whether it can be applied to the situation in SubSaharan Africa” However, despite having provided much more stability, Professor Pereira was keen to stress that he did not want to exaggerate the reduction of inequality within Brazil. The new middle class would be more accurately described as working class when compared to more developed economies. The nation is still quite high on the international index for income inequality, although there is a desire to improve the situation especially in overcrowded cities like Sao Paolo.
Another significant reason for Brazil’s resurgence was the redemocratisation in 1985 after 21 years of military dictatorship. The Second Republic (1946-64) had been a period of political instability. On August 24, 1954, President Getúlio Vargas committed suicide after being demanded to resign by army generals. Juscelino Kubitscheck was elected in 1955 and presided over the construction of an entire city that would be designed partly by the great architect Oscar Niemeyer. Brasília, now the capital of the country, was inaugurated in 1960. After this, the left-wing government of João Goulart, a protégé of Vargas, was subsequently overthrown by a military coup to the great relief of many (including international spectators like the US) who had feared the rise of Communism. The coup would become a model for the 1966 revolution in Argentina and the 1967 revolution in Chile. But unlike the latter two Brazil’s junta was unique in its governance. There was seemingly little intent by any one person to grab power. Every five years another general was elected; the party system was kept relatively intact. Even though there were many instances of human rights abuses, they never reached the depths to which Argentina and Chile sank. Communist and Socialist politicians and public figures were mostly exiled rather than imprisoned, tortured or executed and 1968-73 witnessed what some have called the ‘Brazilian Miracle’, a golden age which experienced on average over 11% growth in the economy. At the same time nationalistic fervour was buoyed by the 1958, 1962 and 1970 World Cup victories, and the slogan ‘Brazil, love it or leave it’ was popularised. Eventually after 15 years of unbroken military control the slow but sure march to re-democratisation began. It was a ‘zigzag process’, according to Professor Pereira, beginning in 1974 with the newly installed General Ernesto Geigel, a former president of Petrobras, who made clear his intention to prepare the country for a transition back into civilian rule. Distensão was the term Geigel used to describe this eventual transformation – the word literally means ‘relaxation’. The human rights abuses lessened and the military began to withdraw their authority. Indirect elections were held in 1985. In 1988 a new constitution was drawn up and full elections were held the following year. This year marks a milestone: democracy is now older than the military dictatorship which is still remembered by those of an older generation. Yet there remain some problems. There has been debate on the ‘quality’ of the democracy. Corruption has been a huge issue, with public funds being misappropriated and political campaigns being clandestinely financed by questionable means. An expression has developed to define this – terminar em pizza – ending up in pizza. It is used when investigations into allegations of political corruption are eventually dismissed. Ângela Guadagnin notoriously danced the ‘pizza dance’ in the Chambers of Deputies of Brazil when João Magno was cleared of all charges relating to corruption in 2006. In 2005 the ‘Mensalão’ scandal broke the news, prompting a national enquiry and the resignation of many key politicians. It was alleged that the ruling party (Partido dos Trabalhadores) had paid many Congressional deputies large sums to vote in favour of legislation favoured by the party. Finally, things did not end
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right (from top): world leaders at the brics summit. dilma roussef (first on left) became the furst female president of brazil in 2011, having been chief of staff to former president luiz lula da silva. scenes from the rio carnival. for all its modern progress, brazil continues to celebrate its ethnic diversity and links with its ethnic indian origins up in pizza. The trial began in August, and already there are signs of a paradigm shift. Several defendants have been found guilty, and prison sentences have been handed down. Perhaps, suggested Professor Pereira, there is a new intolerance for corruption. He stated that the press is now robust and unfettered, and electronic voting is ‘fairly trusted’, although the voting system is at times frustrating. This is because, he says, it combines the presidential votes with congressional votes. Differing political views are represented quite well in Congress, but certain groups always seem to control power regardless of the current President. On a lighter note Brazilian culture is a positive and increasingly pluralistic area. The country has the world’s largest Catholic population and Protestantism, particularly Evangelical, is steadily growing. Social outreach by religious organisations is strong especially in poorer areas where they are perceived to be providing practical solutions for everyday problems. The monumental statue of Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro is a permanent symbol of the country’s relationship with the Church, although the state was formally separated from it in 1889. Discrimination is being firmly tackled in all spheres of life. In terms of gender, more attention is being paid to women’s rights and roles. Stricter laws targeting domestic violence are being enacted. More and more women are entering the workforce; going back to politics, 30% of all party candidates are required to be female. This does not necessarily translate into 30% representation in Congress, says Professor Pereira, because women are often placed where they will be sure to lose, but defying this trend is Dilma Roussef. She became in 2005 Brazil’s first female Chief of Staff to the President of Brazil under Luiz Lula da Silva, and in 2011 she became Brazil’s first female President. There is also the lingering race issue which is being confronted through various government programmes similar to the affirmative action taken in the US. Just as the US program tries to increase the number of Afro-Americans in the workforce, the Brazilian programme aims to ensure more Afro-Brazilians are employed. It is slightly different in that roughly half the population of Brazil can trace their ancestry to Afro-Brazilian roots to some extent, muddying the water when it comes to the question of who exactly counts as an Afro-Brazilian. The Foreign Service provides extra tuition to Afro-Brazilians wishing to take the exams for the civil service. Brazil is once more a country of high immigration. After the slump of the lost decade, the economic upturn is enticing more foreigners to settle within its borders. As of yet, Brazil is not ‘multicultural’ in the same way as Europe is, but it is definitely become more pluralistic.
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With the eyes of the world upon Brazil, the next few years will be the perfect opportunity for the up and coming South American heavyweight to show what it is capable of. Its infrastructure will be placed under extreme pressure to accommodate the tourists, athletes, business and population moving towards the cities for the Football World Cup and the Olympics. There are some concerns (as there will always be in any host country) that the event sites will not be ready on time, and that costs are spiralling out of control. But as Professor Pereira noted, Brazil cannot yet compete against the likes of India and China when it comes to sheer wealth or manpower. What it is investing in, and what it sorely needs, is that innovative generation which can drive technology forward, attract more international business and propel Brazil onto the world stage not simply as one of the BRICS, but as a country to equal any of the more economically developed nations. This is an interesting moment to think of Brazil.
in other news...
above: On 3rd November the Trio Satz (from l-r: pablo hernan, oscar alabau (2008-09), Ricard Rovirosa (2007-present) ) gave a dazzling recital for piano trio in the auditorium. They are going from strength to strength and in September won a full scholarship to the prestigious Queen Sofia School in Madrid, to study under Prof. Rolf Gothoni. This they combine with their studies at the Guildhall. left: on 26 november, we were visited by His Excellency Federico Trillo, Spanish Ambassador to the Court of St James. His talk, ‘Spain: what crisis?’ covered topics ranging from the economy to catalonian independence. mr trillo was President of the Spanish Congress from 1996-2000 and Minister of Defence between 2000 and 2004
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uncovering the new stolen rafael sumanilog on the ethical generation limits of reproductive liberty There was a time when making babies and starting a family was a simple matter. Benevolent Nature and gentle Evolution had so kindly equipped our race that man and woman only had to be literally of ‘one flesh,’ albeit briefly, to beget human life. Usually, this child would be nurtured by the same parents until he, too, was ready to play his part in Nature’s more ecstatic rituals. Our modern age being post-modern, however, we are uneasy with the thought that life could be so straightforward. Indeed, the confident march of 21st century reproductive technology has made even in vitro fertilisation — supposedly the Nobel-worthy panacea to the disease of infertility — quaint in the face of new procedures. After all, we can now potentially manipulate animalhuman hybrids, or allow dead people or pre-born foetuses to conceive children through multiple parenting, posthumous conception, and germ line gene manipulation.
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At what point do we draw the line between helping patients conceive and playing God? There’s the rub of reproductive liberty that Dr. Jacqueline Laing, Senior Lecturer on Jurisprudence at London Metropolitan University, sought to address when she visited Netherhall House on November 19th. By calling artificially conceived children as the ‘New Stolen Generation,’ Dr Laing hearkened back to Australia’s infamous attempts to ‘civilise’ its aboriginal children by removing them from their families and transferring them to white households in the mid 19th century. Despite the scientific ingenuity surrounding artificial conception, she argued that the ideology behind today’s promotion of donor-conceived (DC) children is barely different from the social re-engineering programmes of the past. Indeed, as Dr. Laing pointed out, the neo-eugenicists’ promises of a ‘bet-
ter people, earthly immortality subject to resource allocation, the triumph of technological progress over benighted ignorance,’ not to mention a society ‘spiralling toward the light,’ are reminiscent of the eerie manifestos of Hitler’s Third Reich and Stalin’s Communist ambitions. All these movements, Dr. Laing said, are just different variations of the theme of Social Darwinism, fallaciously applying principles of evolution to justify the organised elimination of so-called inferior peoples for the ‘survival of the fittest.’ Yet whereas the earlier eugenicists exploited political, racial, and sexual differences to discriminate among peoples, either through extermination (e.g. the Holocaust) or forced sterilisation, the neo-eugenicists simply bypass the rights and values of the DC children, and place them under the free consent of their consumer-parents. The vanguards of this new movement, Professors Julian Savulescu and John Harris, argue that it is a moral duty for parents to use available technology to make their children healthier, intelligent, and longer-lived. Otherwise, to ‘decide not to intervene…where we can do so is to condemn future generations to life without the advantages we might have bestowed.’ Dr. Laing argued that the new language of social experimentation promoted by these ‘eugenocrats’ is facilitated by the eroding consensus as to what makes up a family. That support for the traditional family norms continues to be under siege, in place of the idea that it is merely a synthetic entity, can at most fuel the eugenocrats’ determination to reconstruct society, or at least remove the ‘yuck’ factor that once hindered socio-genetic experimentation. In any case, there is a sense among the eugenocrats that this is an inevitable stage of societal development. Peoples’ demand to have children as soon as possible, or later in their careers, will continue to grow: therefore it is best not to stop this progression, but rather adopt regulations to ensure that this is done with utmost autonomy and freedom. Dr. Laing then focused her talk on the current rights of DC children to know medical history and biological inheritance. Such rights, she says, are currently unrecognised as DC children are rarely told about whether they were artificially conceived, and are often ‘infantilised’ and ‘ridiculed’ by the fertility industry when they learn and seek to know more about their status. Not surprisingly, the multi-billion pound fertility industry is wary of sharing any information in order to safeguard their financial interests. But another reason for the secrecy is the claim that adopted children often fare well in their surrogate families, suggesting that DC children should be the same. But for Dr. Laing, there is all the world of a difference between an accidental loss, injury or damage, versus one that is ‘done avoidably’—a distinction often made in criminal law. Moreover, it’s quite a non sequitur to say that just because the exceptional circumstance adoption happens to work well for children, we should actively encourage the divorce between children and their biological parents through artificial conception. But parents also take part in the concealment. Dr. Laing cited polls where 85-90% of parents admitted that they would not tell their children how they were conceived. While parents often claim that they do so in the spirit of charity, to protect their chil-
“the new language of social experimentation promoted by these ‘eugenocrats’ is facilitated by the eroding consensus as to what makes up a family” dren from unnecessary psychological trauma, Dr. Laing simply calls it ‘irresponsible parenthood.’ This is because DC children very often realise that they are distinct from their surrogate families, and deeply suspect their given identities. The telling case of Olivia Pratten in Canada, for example, is but a symbolic example of the anxieties and difficulties that DC children face, and the ensuing legal challenges that they have had to endure to know more about their conception. After years of struggle, and with early victories from the lower courts of Canada, a court of appeal in British Columbia recently denied her right to know her biological origins. The Court feared that revealing such information would ‘result in state intrusion in the lives of many,’ suggesting that it is more concerned with the sperm donors than the DC children. Pratten vowed to take her appeal further to the Supreme Court of Canada. Some milestones have been achieved, however. For example in the UK, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) allowed DC children conceived since 2005 to be able to request information when they reach 18 years of age. Yet Dr. Laing argues that much more needs to be done to recognise the rights of information for all DC children conceived before that period. As reproductive technology continues its march forward, Dr. Laing warned against the commoditisation of human beings in the hands of the fertility industries. Although autonomy and freedom to choose are important ethical principles, they should not trump the rights of persons to know their race, medical inheritance, kinship, and paternity. As Dr. Laing described it, the tragedy of Oedipus, the Norse myths, the Hindu sacred texts make sense because of our basic understanding of our biological selves. Suppressing this fundamental human reality, for the sake of profit or convenience, is to steal the next generation’s history.
Rafael Sumalinog is currently pursuing Masters of Public Health at Imperial College London and is in his first year at Netherhall House.
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saving face puneet talwar likes Dr Ian Brown’s overview of privacy in social media
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n 22nd October, 2012 Netherhall residents welcomed Dr. Ian Brown, Associate Director at Oxford`s Cyber Security Center and senior Research fellow at Oxford Internet Institute. Dr. Brown spoke on the privacy issues in social networks, especially relating to Facebook which now has more than a billion active members, with 89% of 18 to 29 year olds using it regularly in United States. The talked revolved around the idea that users are not aware of the risks involved in using social networks in terms of how the information they share can be used against them. The amount of data that Facebook collects is simply mind-boggling. Last year, Max Schrems, an Austrian law student requested Facebook to provide him with all the data the company had catalogued on him. After much evasion on the part of Facebook, his insistence won out and they agreed to send him the information via post. He received a whopping 1,222 pages.
But the content users put on social networks can be used in more disruptive ways. One scenario would be that of potential employers. A recent poll showed that almost 53% employers use social networks to search for behavioral patterns of potential employees. This can be an embarrassing private photo you have uploaded (earlier all photos uploaded were public on Facebook by default), a comment or even an event that you may have attended. In fact even if the user did not perform any activity themselves, some friend might have tagged them in a photo or posted something on their wall. There have been a number of cases over the past few years where people have been fired from their jobs or fined due to the content they posted on Facebook. A couple of years ago, some Oxford students were fined for creating a mess during after exam party and the evidence used against them were the identifiable photos they uploaded to Facebook.
With storage costs so low, companies like Facebook have no issues storing large amounts of data regarding their users. So every photo you upload, every friendship you declare, every comment or even invitations you send and receive are recorded to create a social image representing the real you. Even deleted photos, chats and comments came up in the report Max received. After Max, some 40,000 more users requested Facebook for their data which they couldn’t provide in CDs as it would have been too expensive. So a new online tool was developed within the Facebook profile where each user can now download their profile data. But many people have raised concerns that this does not provide all the data that Facebook is storing for each of its users.
One also might think that their profile is private and cannot be seen by people who are not in their friends list but in extreme cases an image of you based on the behavior of your friends that have public profiles can be created. In fact, now there are companies out there such as Social Intelligence Corp. that offer services like employment background checks and corporate due diligence based on social media content.
The logical question that arises is: who can access this data, and how can this data be used? Personal information is hugely beneficial for advertisers to target specific customers relating to their behaviors on social networks. Based on a user`s location, age, likes, comments, groups, etc., Facebook provides specific advertisements which are likely to attract the user. This is the primary source of revenue for Facebook and also for Google who use your search queries to determine the kind of advertisements that will be shown to you.
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“every photo you upload, every friendship you declare, every comment or even invitations you send and receive are recorded to create a social image representing the real you”
Apart from employers, university staff might want to find out more about a potential student before offering him/her a place, or maybe an insurance company would want to find out about the lifestyle of their customers. Car insurance companies have already used mobile applications to monitor the driving patterns of their customers in terms of speed, braking frequency, turn radius, etc. to calculate the risks and therefore the premium rates. Organizations are now offering benefits to their customers for ‘liking’ their pages on Facebook. In essence, this ‘like’ gives them access to the user`s social profile, that can then be used for making optimal decisions. Another growing concern is the issue of data being retrieved from Facebook profiles by other websites. Users give permissions to these websites and applications without understanding what kind of data they will store. Over the past few years, Facebook has increased the visibility of user profiles to these external systems with discussion regarding inclusion of contact information such as addresses and phone numbers.
privacy violations and mishaps are handled also differ in the two continents. In the US, individuals have to sue corporations in the case of privacy violations, but the penalties are usually too small to discourage improper use of data. So the culture is to allow private players to sue each other with no intervention from the authorities. On the other hand, in Europe the State is the first line of defense where consumers can directly appeal to relevant authorities. The fines and restrictions imposed are also much stricter when compared to the US. Facebook has already been affected by EU privacy laws. In August of 2011, the Northern German State of Schleswig-Holstein found that Facebook’s ‘like’ button tracker violated German and European privacy laws, and ordered all sites in the state that use the ‘like’ button to remove it or face big fines. Another example is the head of the German data protection authority asking Facebook to disable its facial recognition feature in 2011 and arguing that facial recognition amounts to unauthorized data collection on individuals. Across the Atlantic, American society continues with this feature, with little substantive protest.
Online privacy is especially important for children and teenagers who are not yet capable enough to understand the consequences of giving out private information. With Facebook allowing anyone above 13 to have a profile, teenagers sharing information over the web can have serious ramifications. There have been several cases of child abuse over social networks, the most recent being that of the 15 year old Canadian girl - Amanda Todd. After sending explicit photos of herself to an unknown man she met in a public chatroom when she was 13, the man stalked her on Facebook for a long time, posting the photos for all her friends and those around her to see. This led her to upload a video on Youtube to explain her fears and her ordeals, but being a video in a public space, various anonymous commentators began abusing her, eventually leading her to commit suicide.
Dr. Brown finally talked about the concerns regarding security in social networking sites that need to be addressed. Firstly, users, especially younger people don`t really care about the privacy and assume that they are protected under law, which in fact (in the US) they are not. They want to share everything with the largest audience possible and don’t realize the possible consequences. Secondly, the privacy settings are usually too complex and hidden. For example, a significant number of users don`t know that they can stop their friends from tagging them in photos or even show your name in the facial recognition system.
Parents have a major role to play in preventing their kids from getting cyber-bullied or exploited. They have to take into account the social value of having a Facebook profile for children. For some, all their friends are on it and they can be isolated if their parents don’t allow them to use these networks. But they can of course talk to their children about privacy over the internet and actively monitor their activities. The privacy laws and protection offered by the regulations differ a lot around the globe, especially when comparing the EU with the US. In Europe, there many restrictions on the way organizations can gather and use private data about individuals. How
Social network platforms work on the principle of sharing. The more you share, the more data is created, replicated and recorded. This is advantageous to them because they can therefore collate and analyse trends within the userbase, then use the information to target particular advertisements to particular social groups. If you are a middle aged male interested in personal appearance, the assumption might be that you will be interested in hair growth products, therefore you will receive notifications, popups and other forms of advertisement for this sort of service. We need to be more aware of what and who we share information with. Puneet Talwar is pursuing an MSc in Computing at Imperial College, London and is in his first year at Netherhall.
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the reincarnation of crises dhrupad karwa reports M
ankind has been using money for thousands of years, yet it is still a nebulous concept. The word itself comes from a title of the Roman deity Juno – Juno Moneta – the goddess of warning and advice, which seems uncannily appropriate given the current state of affairs. However, I do not intend to embark upon an in-depth analysis into the nature of money; rather, the purpose of this post is to share my perspective on the state of the world and the cyclical reincarnation of its problems. Why does human history go from one economic crisis to another? Philip Coggan’s recent book, Paper Promises: Money, Debt and the New World Order, offers a number of tremendously insightful case studies. One of which is the story of John Law (1671-1729), the Scottish mathematician, gambler and early economist who left his homeland and moved to France after killing a man in a duel. Law was the first economist to implement ‘monetary easing’ as a way of boosting the economy (and paying off the French monarchy’s gargantuan debts). The bottom line was that Law’s scheme spectacularly failed. The credit he created was not used to create new businesses or trade; instead, the money was diverted to speculation. Law could no more stop the inflationary impact of the extra money he created than hold back the speculative frenzy which accompanied his system. When his central bank collapsed, he was dismissed from royal service and eventually died in poverty. John Law’s experiment was, in essence, an attempt to redefine money. Our contemporary Masters of the Universe – the finance dons – have done exactly the same. Once upon a time, money took the sole form of gold and silver coins. Now, it has evolved (or perhaps mutated, depending on your beliefs) into fast-moving digital entries on Bloomberg screens. Now I am not demonising modern finance, as it is crucial to material development. However we cannot afford to ignore the ominous historic parallels: John Law’s 18th century experiment was conceptually equivalent to the 21st century financial experiments which have led to the current crisis. In both situations, money was redefined: In the Law case, a system of paper currency was introduced, replacing commodity money; in the current era, financial instruments became more intricate and complex, such as Over-TheCounter Derivatives. Both of these new systems created tangible material gains, but then they both overindulged and crashed: ‘Wall Street got drunk…and now it’s got a hangover’, as former U.S. President George Bush eloquently summed up the crisis.
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Questions loom large: Are we, the human race, truly developing? Are we fostering sustainable long-run living? Or is the long-run simply the reincarnation of the volatile short-run? Will society be trapped in immortal cycles of creative destruction? My thinking on these matters was further fuelled by a recent talk at Netherhall given by Robert Padron. Robert, an equity research analyst at Merrill Lynch, came to Netherhall on 8th October to speak about the recent financial crises. He is an economist who was trained at the University of California, Berkley and University of Navarra. He has worked in a number of research roles at academic institutions, including Yale University and also at investment banks. His talk was very well researched and he concluded somewhat philosophically.
“Questions loom large: Are we, the human race, truly developing? Are we fostering sustainable long-run living?” Robert believes that there is no miraculous mechanical cure to the world’s financial problems. Due to the disharmony between Mr. Economics and Mrs. Politics (as validated by the Eurozone fiasco), such a cure is a utopian ideology. But there is perhaps a way out of the gloom. And this is through a shift in expectations. Expectations reduce joy. We, as a society, need to expect less (in material terms). We need to be more grateful for what we have in our lives as opposed to shedding tears over what we do not have. After all there is no limit to material desires. Someone will always have a larger house, a faster car, a better suit… If society liberates itself from this material matrix, then perhaps the vociferous circle of destruction can be squared. No doubt, there will be many who scorn such an idealist solution – even Robert himself recognised the near-impossibility of such a scenario. But it is certainly a notion worth meditating upon and it was impressive to hear a leading financial analyst promoting such a solution.
Through my Ethics in Applied Economics module this year, I came across Michael Sandel’s book, What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets. Sandel argues that we have drifted from having a market economy to being a market society; in recent times, market values have crowded out non-market norms in almost every aspect of life. The years leading up to the financial crisis of 2008 were of market triumphalism. They began in the early 1980s, when Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher proclaimed their convictions that markets not governments held the key to prosperity and freedom. But the glory years are over. The financial crisis serves as witness to the market’s inability to allocate risk efficiently. Many also feel that markets have become detached from morals and it is crucial that the nexus between the two is (re)established. Michael Sandel feels that greed only played a partial role in the financial crisis; the main cause was the expansion of markets, and of market values, into spheres of life where they do not be-
long. Market values have crowded out nonmarket values worth caring about. So this begs the question, do we need to embrace an alternative notion of ‘value’ in society, to achieve a sustainable future? The economist Joseph Schumpeter believed that economic recessions are transition states from one stable economy to another. As changes and errors accumulate in a stable economy, it becomes unstable; a shift occurs, and the economy leaps into a new stable order. Physicist Max Planck once said that science advances ‘one funeral at a time’. Perhaps this is the way of the world. And perhaps the reincarnation of crises is inevitable. Yet we must never give up on the quest for sustainable growth. In the words of Oscar Wilde, ‘Ambition is the germ from which all growth of nobleness proceeds’. Dhrupad Karwa is in his third year studying Economics at University College London.
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the story of poland and its people a recent guest speaker on polish history led Marcin Swiczewski to reflect on his nation’s democratic spirit, which survived even when the country ceased to exist
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oland prevents some problems to historians not only because Poles are difficult people to deal with but also because it was not able to create its own narrative in the way other . nations have done so. Let me explain. When nations started to create states in the 18th century those same nations created their own stories; they tidied up history and put everything nicely and clearly. But in the period from 1795 onwards Poland did not even exist because the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth had been partitioned by the Austrian, Prussian and Russian Empires. Each one of these latter powers had its own way to represent what had happened. In this stateless situation it was impossible for the Poles to invent their own narrative. This was the case presented by Adam Zamoyski, author and historian, to residents at Netherhall House on the 29th of October. History is based on documented facts and military power. Traditions in Anglo-Saxon nations, for example, focus on great countries and their powerful institutions. But Polish historians could not do that. Yes, they dwelt on isolated great victories, like that at Grunwald in 1410, or the relief of Vienna in 1683 when a Polish army saved Europe from the Ottoman Empire. They could also celebrate intellectual and cultural titans like Copernicus, Chopin, and Sklodowska-Curie. They could rejoice in all those Olympic gold medals we had won. But when all was said and done, it was a balm for the wounds. Unfortunately (or maybe not), Polish history has been far too complicated to permit any simplistic narrative. Officially Poland was created in 966 as a monarchy, then in the 14th century it split into numerous duchies. Then we were invaded by the Tatars. After this came a time of anarchy, where the power of one person to block reform became painfully evident and Poland basically collapsed. Some historians would like to sweep that period under the carpet.
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But in the midst of these apparent twists and turns, a certain narrative was discretely beginning to develop. This can be seen, for example, in our political institutions. Poles have always valued systems of government where the people got to have their say. They did not want to be ruled by someone far away; they wanted to have their own local duke. It was a major issue – when communities were collected they wanted to talk with a king and to tell him that you cannot do this or that in our territory without consulting us. It was all very enlightened. In 1434, for example, nobody could be held in prison until he had committed a crime, i.e. suspected felons or potential threats could not be preventatively detained. This was a real revolution for its time. A few decades later in 1458 the first National Parliament met. In 1508 that same Parliament declared that no king can succeed his father unless he was voted by parliament. In 1572 Polish law laid down that anybody can practice any religion and cannot be discriminated against. At that time in France thousands of Huguenots were burned on the stake because of religious persecutions. Changes made in Poland were revolutionary and evolutionary. Between the 17th and 18th centuries when Poland was once again attacked by (so it seemed) everybody, central authority collapsed. In its place local districts, councils, elected judges and militia then came into play to decide which public works (such as administration or education) would be continued. People began to question just what exactly was the role of central governments. It just raised taxes, armies and started wars. Thus there was one flow of thinking which believed that it was safer without a central government. However, even though the petty dukedoms and localities did not want to invade others, others outside the country did not think the same way. Locals were continuing to elect national parliament but they overlooked other minorities such as the Jewish, Ukrainian and Belorussian people who had coexisted with the Poles for a long time. There were too many outside influences and a lack of real power within the national parliament – ultimately it could not sustain itself. Meanwhile the neighboring empires had grown sufficiently in power to be able to invade, then partition Poland. In a word, the de-centralised system was gullible. From the conversion to Christianity and baptism of the Polish people in the tenth century and during the times when Poland was partitioned, priests continued to teach the faith to the people. Christianity became very important and it still is in the present day. The force of Catholic faith was seen particularly in the people’s resistance to, and the eventual overthrow of, Communism.
“In many ways the sense of human rights has always been inherent to the Polish way of life. This resistance to control by others is an essential part of the Polish psyche” There are moments in history when Poland was multinational and multicultural, especially from the mid 16th until the late 19th century where two thirds of the population were Poles. One of the biggest communities living in Poland was the Jewish community. In 1772 75% of the world’s Jewish population was in Poland because it was the only place in the world where they were given so much freedom. They lived entirely according to their own law and their own traditions. None of the other European countries provided as much freedom as Poland. As a country it is very difficult to compare with other modern states. Between the two World Wars you had a country which was trying to be very European with its own army and very strong patriotic attachments and traditions, like many other countries at that time. However it maintained a very strong spirit of being against domination by any state structure and a strong conviction of individual rights. In many ways the sense of human rights has always been inherent to the Polish way of life. This resistance to control by others is an essential part of the Polish psyche and is
simply a continuity which is a spirit clearly discernible from the early 10th century, reaching to the present day. Polish history is thus such a difficult story to write because you cannot simply slot it into a convenient pidgeon-hole. As rich as its tradition of thought, culture and philosophy is, it is not a school of philosophy or an intellectual movement. As profound as its Catholic faith has always been, it is not simply a “Catholic state”. Indeed, as I have tried to argue, you cannot simply write a history of the “Polish state” because for a long period this state just wasn’t there and any form of “state” there was kept changing. But in the floods and droughts of history the stream and then river of Polish identity have kept on flowing. Polish history is like all real history worthy of the name: a rich reality which must be looked at from many different angles. Marcin Swiczewski is in his second year studying Business Management at Queen Mary College. It is also his second year in Netherhall.
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re-lighting the lighthouse the restoration of st patrick’s church, soho square. Jonny parreño reports The parish church of St. Patrick’s has often been described as a ‘lighthouse’, an oasis of calm and prayer amidst the hustle and bustle of one of London’s liveliest – and least salubrious – districts. The Astoria is next door, as are sex clubs, bars, restaurants, reeking alleyways which are the home of drug dealers and their victims. Red Bull, the FA and Bloomsbury have their headquarters here. Reflecting the diverse background of the neighbourhood, the parishioners of the small church come from across the globe, and they inhabit every social stratum. Every day Mass is said in Spanish, Portuguese, English and Cantonese. Before the church’s renovation one might have found a tourist, a homeless person seeking some quiet place to sleep, or one of the various workers from the area behind the peeling paint and the shadowy narthex. Architecturally speaking one might say the same. The Italianate style of the 19th century covers the older building extending back to the 17th century. But by the 21st century, the passage of time had worn down the building. Dry rot, damp and urban pollution had taken their toll, and parish priest Fr. Alexander Sherbrooke’s social projects were growing larger and larger. There was therefore a pressing need for more space. At the same time there needed to be a restoration of the wonderful artisanship that had been steadily eclipsed by decades of grime. Javier Castañon of Castanon Associates Architects condensed six months of planning and twelve months of physical labour into a one hour presentation for residents at Netherhall House on October 15th. The step-by-step transformation of the Grade II listed building was carried out at a blistering pace and residents were shown the key moments of the project as well as the various practical challenges faced by the team of artists, architects, engineers, archaeologists, and builders. When Javier first walked into the church, he immediately noticed a grille running either side of the central aisle. It suggested to him that the current floor was not in fact the original floor. This was confirmed after he took a sample of the ground with a hollow drill by the steps of the side entrance. There were bricks, then soil, then nothing. He knew then that this was a promising sign for his plans. If there was no way they could expand into the already crowded streets, they would dig. But to excavate over three metres in the centre of London is not simply like digging a new flower bed. Over 300 drawings and sketches had to be submitted to the many parties involved with the site, including English Heritage, the Historic Churches Committee, and the ever watchful council planning committee. The history of the actual building is quite colourful. It was originally a lordly house in an area of London reserved only for the landed gentry. It was surrounded by ‘The Rookeries’, the notori-
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ous gin-flooded slum depicted by Hogarth in his picture ‘Gin Lane’. Many of the inhabitants were Irish, thus there was a need and desire for religious service; when the anti-Catholic laws were relaxed in 1791 a Father O’Leary was able to procure the building and it was consecrated as a church the following year. Saturated with over three centuries’ worth of life, it is no wonder that archaeologists were required to sift through every rubble bag. There was another archaeological reason, and that was because Javier was digging lower than any known record within the area. There had to be a ‘mitigative plan’ - Javier had to ensure that no stone was left unrecorded, and for a few weeks the site became an architectural trench, full of patient scholars gently teasing out anything of interest. This included an impact crater complete with unexploded WW2 bomb which was noted and commemorated with a plaque.
Once the desired level had been reached and the archaeologists had had their fill, the hard work began. The window of opportunity given to Javier was extremely tight. A new transport initiative, Crossrail, was due to begin working in Soho, which gave the project 12 months to be completed. In the process of excavations it was found that the empty space from the drill sample taken near the steps was not so empty after all. This meant that there would be no need for underpinning (supporting the building by inserting new foundations), drastically cutting time. The ‘empty space’ was simply a gap between the pillars of the building and the external wall which had been knocked down on the surface (remaining beneath the ground intact). The gap would be pragmatically put to use as ducts for the pipes providing cooling and heating. Back on the main floor, a four storey scaffold had been erected, and at each layer the same methodical procedure was followed. Steel beams were placed down, then corrugated sheets laid on top. Next came a bed of wire mesh, then insulation, under floor heating, screed, chipboard and finally a layer of concrete to seal it all. Having finished the floors, the plans we had seen at the beginning of Javier’s presentation began to make sense. His primary objective when designing a building is bringing in as much natural light as possible. The human eye is incredibly sensitive to the differences between natural and artificial light, and the former is always seen as a superior medium. By cleverly using shafts, Javier was able to do exactly as he intended, and the result was to dispel the atmosphere of a cramped and dingy basement. The extension now housed parish offices, a cloakroom, a multi-purpose room in which meetings could be held, soup kitchens run, and more. There are two lecture halls, a disabled toilet, a translator’s office, and an office for Cenacolo, a service specifically for the care of drug-addicts.
“for a few weeks the site became an architectural trench...This included an impact crater complete with unexploded WW2 bomb” As a finishing touch, the rehabilitation of the decorations adorning the church revealed exquisite details. After a simple wipe, the original paint was uncovered – six washes later and the dirty green had melted into a gorgeous blue. A small inscription was found high up near the roof; it was the signature of John Harbind Powell, a pupil and collaborator of the great 19th century architect Pugin. Unfortunately not all the original painted panels were recoverable, and expert artists were called to help recreate the style, as well as the marbled effect on the huge slabs beside the high altar. The result was a spectacular metamorphosis which has been widely acclaimed in the media. Finally on May 31st 2011, the reopening of the Church was celebrated with a Mass and an uplifting commemorative musical piece aptly titled ‘St. Patrick’s Magnificat’, composed by the famous Scottish composer, James MacMillan, who, by the way, has also spoken at Netherhall. Today one might still find that tourist, that homeless person or that everyday worker seeking solace in the church, but they will surely be comforted by the restored beauty of a building truly fit for the worship of God.
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pickering’s progress a photographic account of Neil pickering’s most recent asian adventures
above: A photograph taken during the Netherhall reunion (hosted very generously by Denis and Agnes Chang) in the Hong Kong Club on 27 October 2012: Left to right top row: Joseph Chan, Daisy Kan and son Kevin Kan, Jorge, Donald Pang mrs lee; bottom row: Luis Pedruco, John Wong, Neil, YS Lee
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above: NH reunion in Kuala Lumpur, 7 November. from L-R: Joseph Poh, Hanmol Singh, Aig Wee Gan, Jeffrey Phang, Neil, Leow Chai Fah
right (from l-r): In the Opus Dei residence in Singapore: Nicholas Ho, Neil, Fr Michael Chan
opposite: NH reunion in Tokyo 17 November: L-R top row standing: Hideki Kaji, Takahiro Sekine, Neil, Harushige, Sam Yoshiura, Yutaka Kikugawa, colleague of Haruo Tohmatsu; seated middle: Nao Tashiro, Ichiro Odagiri + son Ray, Yasuo Iijima, Prof Hanzawa; kneeling: Daisuke Yokohama, Hideaki Nagashima, colleague of Haruo Tohmatsu (Haruo went down with a fever and couldn’t attend). netherhall news
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above (from l-r): Bangkok 6 November: a friend of panuchat’s daughter, Neil, Panuchat Tongudai, Archan Boonyanan, Kanit Muntarbhorn right (from l-r):Japan: Ichiro Odagiri with his son, Ray, and Neil at the Tokyo reunion In both reunions, there was a movie showing of the history of Netherhall, featuring buildings, history, events, and people, including shots of those attending when they were students at Netherhall, a nostalgic and joyful stroll down memory lane. Also the 60th anniversary Netherhall News was taken and some were left in each country so that they could have a record. The oldest resident was from 1959/1960: Prof Augustine Chong; the newest from last year - Geoffrey Lee. All decades were represented. Interestingly in the Bangkok photo were two Chairmen of the Netherhall student house Committee but separated by more than a quarter of a century: Panuchat Tongudai 1969-71 and Archan in the 1990s/2000s.
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netherhall news
above (from l-r): Kuala Lumpur, 7 November: Danny Tan, Neil Joseph Poh & wife Rachel (& baby), Aig Wee Gan, Hanmol Singh right (from l-r): In Tokyo: Prof Sawada with Neil (holding the parchment in Latin which was a memento for the major benefaction of books for NEA’s Thomas More Institute). This trip, which straddled October and November, included reunions in both Hong Kong and Tokyo. Many others were met who do not necessarily appear in the photographs. HONG KONG/CHINA: Adrian Chang, Alan Chu, Alec Chan, Alistair Wong, Bruce, Chris Tsai, Denis Chang, Eugene Low, Henry Suen, Jonathan Lau, Leo Wang, Mak Sai Yiu, Michael Chan, Michael Leung, Tony Eccles, Charles Shiuan, Edwin Guo, Eng Wee Chua, Gregory Pang. JAPAN: Ed Wijaya, Hiro Ohnaka, Kazumasa Yoshida, Ken Kohno, Masayasu Maki, Minoru Umezu, Santo Oshima, Soichi Hatoyama. MALAYSIA: Freddie Long SINGAPORE: Augustine Chong, David Teeters, Edward Lam, Eugene Lim, Geoff Lee, Gopal Menon, Hari Gunasingham, Jonathan Foong, Joon Eng Chua, Lay Kok Tan, Lim Wah Tong, Peter Heng, Philip Lim, Raj Devadas, Seen Meng Chew, Sony Adhiguna, Terence Siew, Tim Watkin. netherhall news
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passing through right: ricard rovirosa (third from right) recently played a concert at the prestigious doctor’s club in barcelona. miguel anton (2006-08, 2009-11) (fifth from right) took a group of students from the opus dei residence, pedralbes, where he is currently living. below left: jorge aguirre (2008-11), alan chu (2008-09) and bosco chu (2008-09) recently met for dinner in hong kong, where they are all living and working below right: joe la porte (1991-92) sent in a picture of him with his family bottom left: congratulations to shane latchman who got married last year bottom right: tim thoo (2002-03) visited in august with his wife and friends
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netherhall news
news from former netherhall residents