SOAS SPIRIT
3 NOVEMBER 2020
FREE
YOUR INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER
ISSUE 13
WATER POLITICS:
NIGERIAN YOUTH AND
BLACK HISTORICAL
SHARING THE NILE
#ENDSARS
FIGURES: MALCOLM X
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No in-person undergraduate classes for the rest of the year at SOAS
Deserted Paul Webley Wing (Credit: Ewald Botha via Instagram)
Frances Howe, LLB SOAS will not hold in-person classes for undergraduate students for the rest of the year. Interim director, Graham Upton, confirmed this information in a general SOAS announcement emailed to students on 2 November. Upton wrote ‘...for Term 2 and 3 we continue to plan as in the autumn term for teaching to continue to be delivered and
accessible online.’ The lockdown provisions announced by the Government on 1 November exempt schools, colleges and universities from closing. Upton assured that ‘in-person activities’ provided by departments will continue. This will occur alongside in-person facilities such as library services and study spaces. Assessments are expected to be accessible remotely. The email also addressed the need to review planned additions to in-person library services set to open later in the term.
The Brunei Gallery exhibition space will close and be made accessible remotely. The plan to keep lectures and tutorials online was first made publicly available in a document posted online by the Students’ Union on 28 October. The document titled ‘Executive Committee Meeting Minutes’ revealed that the decision had been communicated to the Student Union at the school’s Continued on page 3
3 NOVEMBER 2020
Contents
Letter from the Editor
News
SOAS faces another round of cuts
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The ‘invisible’ impact of Covid-19 on p5 Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers US Presidential Race: the race to save the environment?
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Lebanon: how did we get here?
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Opinion Racist stereotypes have shaped ‘Western’ COVID-19 coverage in Africa
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UAE Normalisation with Zionist Israel: A Breakdown
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Features Humans of SOAS: Corinna Del Debbio
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SOAS Freshers reflect on a strange start to the year
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SOAS Festival of Ideas: Declonising Knowledge, Decolonising Education
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Dear Spirit readers, Welcome back to a new year at SOAS – albeit, a very strange one. As SOAS goes remote, so has the Spirit. Admittedly, I was nervous about this remote aspect. But I couldn’t be more proud of our new team. I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to this issue for a strong start to the year. I’m excited about the year that lies ahead of us. Working remotely has forced us to streamline our process and improve our communication. And, with the increasing digitalisation of all aspects of our lives, the media is no exception. Improving the Spirit’s online and social media presence has been a goal of mine for a while now, and COVID-19 has given us the perfect opportunity to do so. This month I had the pleasure of speaking at SOAS’s Festival of Ideas. The theme of the Festival was decolonising knowledge – a theme that the Spirit engages with heavily by transferring the power of knowledge dissemination to students whose voices may otherwise be underrepresented. One of our key values is inclusivity; we want to provide a platform for you to express your views and gain valuable experience, with the hopes of closing the BAME gap in the
media industry in the future. We have some special content published for Black History Month. But make no mistake: we will continue to highlight Black history, issues, and the work of Black writers all year round. We are very aware that the ‘A’ in SOAS tends to be brushed over. I urge all writers of colour – particularly Black writers – to get involved with the Spirit. Minority communities tend to face impostor syndrome and selfdoubt more often. At the Spirit, our diverse team of editors want to work with you to amplify your voice. Our SOAS News section is filled with exclusive information about the coming year, including a front cover story that clarifies the uncertainty about online teaching this year. As SOAS’s main student news source, we are committed to providing information about the School that can be accessed no matter where you are right now. The Spirit will keep the SOAS community connected and accountable. This issue includes some fascinating articles on the crisis in Lebanon, the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, and the #EndSARS movement. This year, we aim to produce accessible content about important global issues that are often swept under the rug. Our Features section includes a Humans of SOAS feature on Corinna Del Debbio, who is working to change SOAS’s policy for reporting sexual harassment, and interviews with SOAS freshers on how they’re finding this unique start to the year. Culture contains our recommendations of all the things that got us through the first lockdown, an article about museums during the pandemic, and a review of Rocks. We also have some exciting articles in Sports and Societies, too. Artemis, our section editor, plans on increasing engagement with this often-overlooked section by providing social and political context for sporting events. As always, be sure to engage with us on social media @soasspirit – we love hearing all your feedback and thoughts. Be sure to sign up for our mailing list via website to keep up to date with all things Spirit! Maliha Shoaib Managing Editor of The SOAS Spirit
Your SOAS Spirit Team
Maliha Shoaib • Managing Editor • Louisa Johnson• Co-Editor-in-Chief • Abdul Basit Mohammad • Co-Editor-in-Chief •
Culture Things that got us through lockdown
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Museum Musings
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Louisa Johnson • Co-Editor-in-Chief
Frances Howe • SOAS News Editor • Fakhriya M. Suleiman • National News Editor • Josh Mock • International News Editor • Anna Fenton-Jones • Opinion Editor • Ella Dorn • Features Editor • Destiny Adeyemi • Culture Editor • Artemis Sianni-Wedderburn • Sport & Societies Editor • Jia Ying Ailsa Gan • Layout Editor • Tamilore Ogunyemi • Layout Editor •
Sport & Societies
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Anti-vaxxer and on-court diva: is Djokovic still a role model?
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Society Shoutouts
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Lyla Amini • Copy Editor • Sajid Abbas • Copy Editor • Adela Begum • Copy Editor •
Abdul Basit Mohammad• Co-Editor-in-Chief
Jia Ying Ailsa Gan • Online Editor • Anneka Shah • Online Editor • Erum Nazeer Dahar • Online Editor • Alice Filiberto • Social Media Co-ordinator • Kahdijah Jihad • Social Media Co-ordinator •
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3 NOVEMBER 2020 https://soasspirit.co.uk/category/news/ News Editors: Frances Howe, Fakhriya M. Suleiman, Josh Mock
SOAS News
News
Continued from page 1
own executive meeting. The document states ‘In the School’s Exec meeting last week they decided all teaching this year will be online, including assessments. This hasn’t been communicated to students yet, but will be ASAP.’ The document adds ‘This is aiming to help students decide whether or not to come to London.’ The Spirit reached out to the Students’ Union who denied to comment publicly on the matter. Upton’s announcement follows a series made by SOAS to students in regards to COVID-19 measures. Prior to the start of the 2020-21 academic year, SOAS’s ‘Plans for September 2020 at SOAS’ was made available to students via an email from Harri ap Rees, Deputy C.O.O. The plans announced that no lectures would occur in-person in terms one and two. However, the plans also entailed that whilst the majority of
teaching would be remote, ‘some small group teaching/academic activities will happen on campus.’ In the email of 2 November, Graham Upton assured that these sessions would continue in term 2 and 3 ‘where departments can provide and students’ wish to access.’ These sessions are not mandatory for students to attend, and are decided by each individual department. So far, face-to-face sessions within the Economics, Languages, Culture and Linguistics, East Asian Languages, and Music departments have taken place. These sessions occurred from week three onwards, and were carried out only after following SOAS risk assessment guidelines. SOAS first announced the move to online classes in an email addressed to all students on 19 March. The closure was originally expected to last until the beginning of the Summer
term on 20 April. However, another update provided by director Valerie Amos extended this period to June. Amos affirmed that the campus would re-open ‘as soon as it is safe to do so.’ Teaching will continue for students remotely despite difficulties faced in both providing and accessing modules. Following the first week of classes Scott Newton, Head of the School of Law, publicly addressed students stating ‘I am writing as well to express my profound embarrassment and apologies, shared among my colleagues, at the inconvenience, confusion, consternation, frustration and anxiety to which many of you have been unfortunately and unfairly subjected.’ Graham Upton concluded his email by stating that the situation may vary in future depending on changes in Government guidelines.
Students Engage in Legal Battle amid Covid-19 Rent Strike Lara Gibbs BA Chinese (Modern and Classical) SOAS students at Dinwiddy House began a rent strike in April withholding around £1,500 of rent. Despite many students having left early when forced to return home due to Covid-19, accommodation provider Sanctuary Students is still requesting rent payment in full. This has resulted in an ongoing legal battle. Many students have received arrears letters, and additionally Sanctuary Students has allegedly brought in debt collection services. With the threat of legal sanctions, lawyers have been working pro-bono on behalf of students involved. According to Oscar Ward, SOAS Student Union Accommodation Officer, Sanctuary Students has since been instructed
to only communicate with students through lawyers. Ward also claims that Sanctuary Students has at no point acknowledged the rent strike. Ward described the current period as quieter and slower while lawyers examine Sanctuary Students’ contracts. Ward feels Sanctuary Students are deliberately dragging out the process. He added that the consensus amongst students is one of ‘sheer exhaustion.’ A former Dinwiddy resident, who wishes to remain anonymous, described feeling deeply disappointed with Sanctuary Students’ handling of the situation, saying ‘I feel let down by Sanctuary Students.’ The student explained that many students cannot afford to pay the final instalment of rent and added that they haven’t heard any news of progress on the legal front.
Sanctuary Students manages accommodation across England and Scotland for over 11,500 students. Following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s lockdown announcement in March, many student accommodation providers have granted rent amnesty. As of yet, Sanctuary Students have made no announcement of granting rent amnesty or even reducing rent. This is not the first rent strike carried out by SOAS students. According to the SOAS Student Union, over 150 residents of Paul Robeson and Dinwiddy House withheld the final instalment of their rent in 2015. This was in protest against conditions at the halls, such as rodent and cockroach infestations. In this case, the students won monetary compensation. Sanctuary Students have chosen not to comment on the publication of this article.
Dinwiddy House is a SOAS-only accommodation owned by Sanctury Students (Credit: Sanctuary Students)
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News
3 NOVEMBER 2020
SOAS Faces Another Round of Cuts in Attempt to Keep the School Financially Viable Millie Glaister, BA Politics and International Relations The Transformation and Change process is SOAS’s most recent attempt to make the ‘urgent, radical change’ deemed necessary to remain financially viable. As of the start of the 2020/21 academic year, SOAS has cut 60 programs and 247 modules. These cuts are accompanied by significant personnel cuts, the extent of which are still not officially disclosed.
“SOAS allegedly had the task of finding £17 million over the summer in order to stay afloat for the coming academic year.”
SOAS allegedly had the task of finding £17 million over the summer in order to stay afloat for the coming academic year. This figure was confirmed by Sandy Nicoll, UNISON branch secretary, who elaborated, saying these cuts were made
in preparation for a decrease in student recruitment for the upcoming academic year due to COVID-19. Nicoll claims that UNISON urged management to delay these decisions until they had a firm grasp on the effects of the cuts so that they could act accordingly, but were ‘clearly ignored.’ The main source of cuts came through voluntary severance (VS) packages, offered to both professional services and academic staff. Nicoll mentioned that the previous year, these packages offered ‘one year salary,’ but this year it was reduced to six months, despite ‘being asked to leave into what’s essentially quite an uncertain employment situation.’ Nicoll claims that student recruitment figures actually exceeded their projections, saying that ‘SOAS outperformed their COVIDadjusted targets.’ When talking to the Spirit, Dr Feyzi Ismail of the Department of Development Studies commented that ‘either they [upper management] are super incompetent, that they miscalculated gravely, and let all of these people go … or they did it deliberately. It’s got to be one or the other, or a combination of both, which is just inexcusable, really, it’s so unacceptable.’ Fractional workers at SOAS are amongst those positions which are vulnerable despite already facing a round of cuts earlier this year. Fractionals on fixed term contracts are unable to receive severance pay, instead, contracts are simply not
renewed. Maia Holtermann Entwistle, PhD student and de facto fractional representative for the Department of Politics and International Studies says this leaves fractional staff without ‘security in a global pandemic and a financial crisis, where jobs are very hard to come by.’ Holtermann Entwistle says the issue is further exacerbated by little communication between upper management and fractionals. The reduction in administrative staff has also had repercussions on students who are left unable to access student loans or attend classes online, with some students taking to social media to express frustration at the issue. Alongside fractional teaching staff, professional services saw cuts. Whilst official numbers are yet to be released, Nicoll estimates that close to 1 in 4 professional staff were made redundant - the effect of which, he states would cause ‘absolute devastation to the services provided to students and academic staff.’ Nicoll alleges that despite the ongoing pandemic, cleaning hours were cut by 40% and security hours by 30%. Interim director, Graham Upton, has made reference to a ‘December Census’ - the point at which the institution’s income of fees is determined. This census will provide an indication of whether the cuts made have been beneficial to the financial viability of the school.
COVID-19 Cases Confirmed At SOAS Student Accommodation Jared Harris, BA Chinese and History As of 13 October, SOAS has officially confirmed nine positive cases of Covid-19 amongst its student population. SOAS students have begun self-isolating within their accommodation after several have tested positive for Covid-19 since the beginning of the academic year. In a general SOAS announcement sent out to its student population on the 13 October, SOAS stated ‘The local PHT have reviewed this situation today in the clinical team and are advising that active transmission within the halls of residence is unlikely at this stage.’ The email added that the PHT (public health teams) are in contact with the manager of the halls of residence. Those exposed to the virus or have tested positive for the virus have been contacted by their accommodation and ordered to self-isolate for 14 days. Those ordered to self-isolate received an email from student housing conglomerate Sanctuary Housing containing the following information: ‘We have just been informed that we have a student tested positive to COVID-19 in your flat. To reduce the risk of spreading we require the whole flat to self-isolate and to not get in touch with other residents. We are here to support you during those 14 days of self-isolation, and we will support you in any possible way with food groceries delivery and medicines.’ Sanctuary Housing has published information on their website regarding their approach to the pandemic and how they will ensure the wellbeing of their students during this time. Protocols listed on their website include ‘the deep cleaning of every room before a new tenant arrives’ and ‘two-meter markers at key areas across the properties where students might come into contact with other students or staff.’ Students in self-isolation have also been sent complementary cleaning materials, sanitary products and some food and drink to assist them during their period of isolation. Sanctuary Housing also sent out an email to those who have tested positive or are self-isolating, offering two external
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laundry contractors ‘Love2Laundry’ and ‘Laundryheap’, who do door-to-door drop offs of washing for £14 per 6kg. Oscar Ward, SOAS Students Union accommodation officer, commented on the fact that he believes that SOAS has ‘a good degree of confidence in Sanctuary Housing in correctly handling the recent outbreak of cases within their halls of residency.’ Nevertheless, when asked about the issue regarding the external laundry companies being referred to students who have tested positive and with no mention of a cost subsidy, he said he was both ‘shocked and appalled.’ Joanne Hogan, residential operations manager & student housing advisor for SOAS, stated ‘students should now have
the names of their hall manager and reception on site so they can ask for information to be sent if they can't find it at any point. Halls will be sending their own communications to students regularly, and when any government guidance changes impact on the halls.’ A 24-hour student support hotline has also been established by SOAS, a scheme that will assist students who have tested positive for the virus or who have come into contact with someone who has. A weekly update will be published by SOAS with the latest numbers of cases or suspected cases amongst its student population and up-to-date advice from Public Health England.
A graphic sent out to students via email by Sanctuary Students (Credit: Sanctuary Students)
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National News
3 NOVEMBER 2020
National News
The ‘invisible’ impact of Covid-19 on Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers
Public Health England merges Gypsies, Roma and Travellers into the category of ‘any other white background’, making it difficult to assess the real death toll and infection rate of Covid-19 within the community. (Credit: Friends, Families, Travellers)
Maxine Betteridge-Moes, MA Media in Development While many minority communities have been disproportionately impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic in the UK, there is no formal data collection when it comes to the infection and death rate among Britain’s Gypsies, Roma, and Travellers (GRT). As a result, the impact on the highly stigmatised community remains largely unknown and unacknowledged in government. But as the second wave tightens its grip in the UK and across Europe, a Romani journalist is investigating the true cost to his community. ‘What I’ve learned so far is the invisibility of [our people] within government,’ said Jake Bowers, whose investigation ‘Deadly silence’ was published in Travellers Times in October. ‘It is depressingly predictable that the government would not have thought about the Gypsy, Roma, Traveller community in their response to the coronavirus.’ Bowers’ reporting, along with the advocacy work of various charities, aims to shed light on how the virus has affected these communities, where government policies have fallen short, and what needs to be done to ensure their basic provisions and legal rights. There are an estimated 600,000 GRT currently living across the UK. These communities are made up of diverse people with different lifestyles and needs, and thus can hardly be considered a homogenous group. Yet, many within the community are especially vulnerable to the coronavirus, as GRT have some of the worst health outcomes and the lowest life expectancy of all ethnic groups in the UK, according to
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parliamentary reports. But Public Health England’s reports on Covid-19 merges them into the category of ‘any other white background,’ making it difficult to assess the real death toll and infection rate. Still, the impact has been felt deeply within the community, as Bowers cites the deaths of several prominent leaders including the boxing legend Les Stevens who died on 25 April. Bowers writes that: ‘the effects have left deep scars in the memories and bodies of community members themselves.’ At the outset of the pandemic in March, the government failed to include advice for self-isolation and nomadic living in its initial release of public health guidelines. Media reports at the time revealed that many GRT families were left without access to basic services, including water, sanitation and refuse collection, which the charity Friends, Families, Travellers (FFT) estimated could affect around 3,000 people living on roadside encampments. Others were forcibly evicted, despite a nationwide eviction ban. After pressure from FFT and other charities, Community Minister Stephen Greenhalgh wrote to local authorities about how they can better support the GRT community during the pandemic to provide basic provisions and establish safe transit or stopping sites. But activists say more needs to be done, and that they are still working with vulnerable communities by providing legal advice regarding evictions, installing water pipes at some caravan sites, and distributing their own resources on Covid-19 in relevant languages. Alison Blackwood, manager of Southwark Traveller Action Group, successfully advocated for the installation of a water standpipe at a traveller site in Hertfordshire that had no access
to running water. The charity is paying the fees for now, but Blackwood fears it could be cut off due to lack of funding if the local council does not install a permanent water supply on the site. ‘It seems ridiculous in a pandemic that [some people] haven't got running water and the temporary standpipe can be taken away,’ she said, adding that they are working with the council and other groups to find a more long-term solution. The FFT recently released a legal brief related to evictions from and service provisions to unauthorised encampments which outlines the rights of GRT families in accessing basic amenities. It states that: ‘what was previously a pure discretion for local authorities … has almost risen to the level of obligation during the pandemic.’ Thus, until adequate government support and interventions are introduced, many GRT communities have been left to fend for themselves. But Bowers says many inspiring stories such as fundraisers for local hospitals have been largely left out of the mainstream media. ‘People have really come together to support the public health system in this country ... which is really powerful and really positive. That hasn't been picked up by the media at all.’ Bowers is currently working on part two of his investigation, focusing on the experiences of Roma people during the pandemic. It will be published in the Travellers Times next month. ‘The community's response is the same as it always is, which is that we don't expect anybody to think of us and you can see that in our self-reliance,’ he said. ‘It’s bleak and hopeful.’
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National News
3 NOVEMBER 2020
Has the Government Closed the Covid Gap? Zanya Fechner, BA Social Anthropology and International Relations Trigger warning: issues related to death and racism The first case of Covid-19 was confirmed in the UK nine months ago. After a brief period of stability, government policy and local restrictions are once again being changed every few weeks in response to the rising number of cases nationwide. This has revitalized the Covid Gap discussion, which was first raised during the peak of the first wave. The disproportionate impact of coronavirus on Britain’s BAME (Black, Asian, Minority Ethnic) communities was first highlighted to the public in a report by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), published on 7 May. The study found that ‘men and women from all ethnic minority groups (except females with Chinese ethnicity) are at greater risk of dying from COVID-19 compared with those of white ethnicity’. Around the same time, several additional studies reporting similar findings were published. For example, when taking into account the comparatively young age of black Africans in the UK, which would theoretically reduce the risk of death within the group, a study conducted by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) found that the real number of deaths for black
Africans is ‘3.7 times higher than might be expected by geography and age’. People from Pakistani and Black Caribbean ethnic groups have also been found to have death rates 2.9 and 1.8 times higher than predicted, respectively. Not only this, but an article published by the BBC in June reported that BAME individuals are more severely impacted by the virus once infected, as shown by the disproportionately high numbers admitted to intensive care units. In examining the numerous studies conducted by various organisations, it becomes apparent that the disproportionate impact of Covid-19 on minority ethnic groups is caused by socio-economic and geographical factors. The first and primary social factor leading to this ‘gap’ is the high number of BAME individuals involved in public-facing jobs. One in five low-wage NHS workers are from ethnic minority backgrounds, increasing their risk of infection. Added to this is the high number of illnesses related to high-risk coronavirus cases, such as heart disease and diabetes - prevalent among Britain's Asian and Black communities, all of which are reportedly caused by lifestyle as opposed to genetics. Finally, the fact that, as stated in the aforementioned report by the ONS, ‘while only 2% of White British households experienced overcrowding, 30% of Bangladeshi households…16% of Pakistani households and 12% of Black households experienced this’. This limits the ability to socially
distance and prevent the virus from spreading within the respective surrounding communities. Addressing the nation’s Covid Gap will require tackling the aforementioned inequalities that are rife nationwide. The upcoming months will tell whether the government recognises the urgency in tackling the disproportionately high covidrelated death rate within BAME communities. However, the government is yet to carry out its promise of removing the NHS surcharge for immigrants, which would open up access to free healthcare - arguably demonstrating a reluctance to reduce the gap. With the potential of Britain descending into a ‘second wave’, however, comes an opportunity to reduce the chances of furthering such a catastrophic reality. Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth has emphasised that the ways in which to do so are clear, stating that ‘greater use of targeted testing and protection for staff on the frontline’ is needed. Looking at the government’s response to the pandemic so far, however, makes it easier to understand why the Covid Gap is far from being closed. The question we face now is whether the Prime Minister will respond to the findings of the ONS and the potential for a ‘second wave,’ and address the issue with direct and effective policy changes.
Raab Hints British Boycott of 2022 Beijing Olympics Charlotte Paule, Msc Politics of Asia During the socially-distanced Foreign Affairs Select Committee on 5 October, Rt Hon Dominic Raab MP was the witness. When asked by Conservative MP Alicia Kearns about whether or not Britain should reconsider attending the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022, Foreign Secretary Rabb retorted that ‘generally speaking… sport [should be separate] from diplomacy and politics, but there comes a point when that may not be possible.’. This was in light of intel that has surfaced in regards to human rights abuses by the Chinese State against its Uyghur ethnic minority, of which Raab claimed the UK needed to ‘hold China to account.’ This is in response to the situation in the Chinese province of Xinjiang, where international observers believe over a million Muslim Uyghurs are being detained in concentrationstyle camps. Since 2018, the international community has made several calls for China to cease its abuses against the Uyghur community, without any concrete results. Last week, the UK was also among 39 countries to express concerns in the United Nations (UN) about the human rights abuses in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong. Human Rights Watch claim in its 2020 World Report that over a million Turkic Muslims are believed to be detained in camps in Xinjiang - wherein they are subject to what the Chinese state dubs as ‘political re-education’. While some international observers have been allowed in the region, including journalists and UN representatives, their access has been limited and heavily controlled by the Chinese authorities.
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The UK, along with the rest of the European Union member states and the US, has repeatedly condemned the Chinese state in the UN Human Rights Council, as well as in joint EU-China communications. However, these statements remain carefully worded, and no concrete action has been taken since the arms embargo put in place after the Tiananmen square protests in 1989. China is, however, one of the largest economies in the world - second only to the US. It is also the EU’s second largest trading partner, a fact which analysts have alluded to as preventing the international community from taking further measures against this economic powerhouse. The Chinese state has repeatedly denied accusations of human rights abuses, asserting the harsh rules in Xinjiang as being part of its national de-radicalisation and counterterrorism strategy. Xinjiang was an area once independent of China during the 1940s. Since being subsequently under Chinese control after 1949, the country has faced separatist attacks by Uyghur extremists. China has since then targeted its Uyghur minority en-masse to prevent further potential attacks with a heavy military presence in Xinjiang. Chinese ambassadors abroad, including those in the UK and France, have repeatedly denounced the international community for trying to interfere in Chinese domestic affairs. However, observers, including Andre Vitchek of Global Research, have claimed the situation in Xinjiang was orchestrated by the West. Vitchek explains this was to prevent China from building its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a project to connect Europe and Asia by land and sea. Others have also pointed out that letters condemning China were never
adopted in the UN, with Muslim-majority countries such as Iraq, Pakistan, Palestine, and Nigeria voting against the Western bloc. In early September, a coalition of human rights groups wrote a letter to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) demanding it ‘reverse its mistake in awarding Beijing the honour of hosting the Winter Olympic Games in 2022’. They listed the abuses in Xinjiang, Hong Kong, the inner Mongolia region, surveillance in Tibet, and the intimidation of Taiwan as being grounds for the decision to be revoked. Meanwhile, Britain’s allies have also debated whether to boycott the upcoming Chinese Games. Richard Colbeck, Australia’s Sports Minister, said that the government would not force athletes to attend. Back in 2008 when Beijing hosted the Summer Olympic Games, the IOC had hoped
hosting the event would improve China’s human rights record. However, since then, Xi Xinping and his regime has tightened their grip on power and their control over the Chinese population. In addition to the issues in Xinjiang, Tibet, and Hong Kong - Human Rights Watch also calls out China’s mass surveillance, lack of freedom of expression and religion, and it’s treatment of human rights defenders. While a unified international boycott of the 2022 Winter Olympic Games could spell a very public humiliation for China, this does not guarantee substantial change in its treatment of its Uyghurs. It may possibly, however, represent one of the first concrete actions taken by the international community against its regime, just as it is set to obtain a seat on the UN Human Rights Council.
Banner against the Beijing Summer Olympics of 2008 at the start of the Human Rights Torch Relay of August 2007, in Athens, Greece. (Credit: Flickr/Longtrekhome)
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International News
3 NOVEMBER 2020
International News
Water Politics: Sharing the Nile Marie Vandermeulen, BA International Relations and Law
Map of Renaissance Dam and associated facilities (Image Credit: Rasta55; Underlying map: Courtesy NASA/JPL-Caltech)
The Blue Nile river runs from Lake Tana in Ethiopia to meet the White Nile in Khartoum, before flowing north into Egypt. Since 2011, Ethiopia has worked to build one of its most extraordinary projects to date: the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD). The electricity generated by the dam is a crucial lifeline, and promises to bring tens of millions out of poverty. To many Ethiopians, the dam is a glittering beacon of hope both for domestic use and international export, as well as a source of national pride. Further north, Egyptian authorities are less than pleased about these development plans. More than 90% of Egypt’s water supply is reliant on the Nile, which includes drinking water, industrial use and irrigation. Egyptian farmers fear the effect of Ethiopia's dam will mean the extinction of their already dwindling livelihood. Furthermore, Egypt’s own downstream Aswan High Dam could see a temporary 6% decrease in its hydroelectric capacity. For Egypt, the GERD is an existential threat to its economy and the water security of the country’s growing population. Not only are the socio-economic implications of the project troubling Egyptians, but many argue that its sovereignty on the Nile’s annual flow was actually established in the 1959 Nile Waters Agreement. These British colonial-era treaties established their power in the region, and Egyptians still consider the Nile’s waters as their birthright. Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sameh Shoukry, has been clear: should a water crisis occur, conflict will ensue.
Sudan has also expressed concern over the dam’s consequences. Geographically located between the two regional powerhouses, Sudan sides with Egypt, who have repeatedly insisted Ethiopia must not start filling the dam’s reservoir without first reaching a deal. The environmental ramifications for Sudan include worsened water shortages in an already drought-stricken region. The Sudanese people suffer from worsening conditions due to climate change and a renewed threat to its water resources will aggravate chronic water scarcity. Furthermore, Sudan’s rapid population growth and the highly unequal distribution of its water resources means that the country’s water security remains bleak. However, Sudan stands to benefit from the project through cheap electricity and reduced flooding. The nation has long attempted to keep a balance between Egypt and Ethiopia, and, many argue, has been left at the mercy of its neighbours’ quarrels. The start of the rainy season in Ethiopia began in June and lasted until September, effectively starting the filling of the GERD dam upon its completion this year. Years of negotiations have failed to produce a deal on how Ethiopia should fill and operate the dam, though the African Union and United Nations have tried to mediate talks, as did the US earlier this year. Most of the issues have been resolved, but the most important issue remains: how to handle the drought. It is clear that in an era faced with the consequences of climate change, water will remain to be the source of geopolitical tensions and crises.
Brazilian evangelical church accused of racist practices and money laundering has its temples closed Gustavo Giraldes, MSc Development Studies On 7 October 2020, prosecutors in Angola ordered the closure of three temples of the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG), a neo-charismatic evangelical congregation. With headquarters in São Paulo, Brazil, it is currently the biggest group of its kind. The ruling by the Angolan justice is the latest in a series of other UCKG temple closures since August 2020. These closures stem from accusations of racism, tax fraud, and money laundering against its Brazilian leadership from dissident groups formed by some of its Angolan members, in a political struggle that has been going on for months. Despite only being formally announced in June, the feud between the two groups began in November 2019, when over 300 Angolan pastors, led by pastor Valente Bezerra Luís, moved away from the UCKG.
The splinter group accused the UCKG of racist practices such as performing vasectomies and chemical castration on its Angolan associates, as well as of tax evasion. The charges led the Prosecutor General’s Office of Angola to open judicial proceedings against the church on 5 December 2019. Members of the Angolan group took control of over 80 temples in the Angolan capital Luanda and in neighboring cities on 22 June 2020. This group formalised the rupture with the Brazilian loyalists in a note the following month. Álvaro da Silva João, Angola’s prosecutor general, said that there were ‘enough indications of the practice of crimes of criminal association, tax fraud, illicit export of capital, abuse of trust and other illegal acts.’ Angolan political scientist Agostinho Sicatu declared that the UCKG has ‘always worked as a company’ since arriving in the African nation, and that it was responsible for ‘the suffering of many citizens who believed in it, and because of their faith, ended up selling their
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belongings.’ The leaders of the Brazilian congregation denied the accusations by the Angolan pastors, saying that they can easily be proven false by the fact that many of its pastors are of ‘different origins and skin tones’ and that many of them had children. UCKG also labeled the takeover of the temples as ‘criminal practices,’ and declared that the closure of its temples is ‘contrary to the rights to religious practice, conscience and thought.’ In Brazil, Angolan migrants have reported being subject to racist and xenophobic attacks since the start of the feud by supporters of the church. Founded in 1977 by its current leader, bishop Edir Macedo, the UCKG has grown to become the biggest neo-charismatic evangelical church in Brazil. With millions of members in different countries, the church has accrued much political influence. In addition to UCKG, Macedo also owns Record Group, which is one of the biggest media conglomerates in Brazil.
RecordTV, Brazil’s second biggest television network, and MyTV, a UK-based television channel, are part of this conglomerate. The church also has strong affiliations with right-wing political party Republicanos. It is the 10th biggest party in Brazilian politics, with 76 members in the country’s congress. In 2016, after supporting her candidacy two years prior, the party voted for Dilma Rousseff ’s impeachment. In the second round of the 2018 elections, the party backed far-right Jair Bolsonaro, who eventually won. This year, Flavio and Carlos Bolsonaro, sons of the president and congressmen themselves, have both joined Republicanos. UCKG’s activities also extend beyond Brazil. Apart from Angola, where it has 512 pastors, the congregation has temples and representatives in several other African countries. It also runs its Help Centres in regions of London such as Croydon, Hackney and Peckham.
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International News
3 NOVEMBER 2020
U.S. presidential race: the race to save the environment?
Trump said his administration would “take care of a lot of years of horrible abuse” towards the coal industry (Credit: Shutterstock)
Nahidah Khan, BA Development Studies and Politics On 3 November 2020, the USA is due to hold its Presidential Election. When coupled with the following 24 hours, an already consequential event transforms into one with environmental implications. The US is set to formally exit the Paris Agreement on 4 November 2020 after a one-year withdrawal process. The aforementioned international agreement aims to combat climate change through its target to limit global warming to below 2oC. An analysis by the UK-based website Carbon Brief on 70 peer-reviewed studies shows that an increase of just 2oC in global temperatures would have consequences, including a sea-level rise of 2ft (56cm) and potentially severe heat waves at least every five years for 37% of the world. This means that 388 million people could suffer water scarcity, and 195 million people would experience severe drought. As well as exiting the Paris Agreement, the Trump administration has rolled back regulations forcing coal plants to treat wastewater with more effective techniques to reduce water pollution. These changes were part of Trump’s campaign promise to revive the US coal industry. However, despite Trump’s best efforts and a ‘shameless handout’ as described by Brett Hartl (Government Affairs Director for the Centre for Biological Diversity) in reference to new Environmental Protection Agency effluent guidelines, the coal industry has continued to decline due to competition from inexpensive natural gas.
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If re-elected, President Trump will keep his environmentally-unfriendly stance, eliminating Obama-era rules which could have helped the climate. This includes the requirement that auto companies make vehicles 4.7% more fuel efficient every year. The US does still promise to cut emissions by 26%-28% compared to levels in 2005 by 2025, according to a White House fact sheet sent out to reporters in 2015 by Brian Deese, the White House Climate Advisor. The economic firm Rhodium Group claims that, depending on how much the pandemic affects the economy, the US could see emissions drop 20%-27% below levels in 2005 by 2025. Even if the US did manage to fulfil its pledge, the reductions itself are not significant enough to delay the rise of global temperatures. To put it in context, if all countries were to pursue similar commitments, the world would still get hotter by 3-4oC, according to analysis by the Climate Action Tracker. This is especially controversial as the US, along with China and India, have the highest levels of human-driven carbon pollution in the world, with carbon emissions totalling 17,575 million metric tonnes from fossil fuels in 2017 alone. If Joe Biden were to win the presidential race, there would be a stark difference in environmental policy. He promises to immediately rejoin the Paris agreement within an estimated 30 days. His goal to have overall net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 is a feat that scientists agree is needed from every country in order to avoid the worst possible impacts of the climate crisis. Another priority of his is the US electricity system, which
Biden wants carbon-free by 2035. He also says he plans for a $2 trillion investment into clean energy over the next four years. Although he has outlined an ambitious climate plan, the majority of it would still need to be signed off by Congress. His plans would be nearly impossible to implement unless the Democrats manage to take control of the Senate. Even if the Democrats gain a majority in both the House and the Senate, climate legislation may still be difficult to pass as priority may be given to resolving the negative consequences of COVID19, such as the economic downturn and healthcare issues.
“Two-thirds of Americans say that the government isn’t doing enough to combat the effects of global warming.” The environment is still at the forefront of the issues that the majority of Americans want to see addressed, even with the COVID-19 pandemic placing a heavier focus on healthcare and the economy. According to a survey by the Pew Research Centre from June 2020, two-thirds of Americans say that the government isn’t doing enough to combat the effects of global warming.
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International News
3 NOVEMBER 2020
Lebanon: how did we get here? Josh Mock, BA Arabic and Persian Once admired as a beacon of stability in an increasingly unstable region, Lebanon is currently a nation in crisis. The country is facing its worst economic crash in the modern era. The local currency, the Lebanese Lira, lost 60% of its value over June 2020, as well as decreasing in value by 80% since October 2019. Essentials such as medicines, safe drinking water, power, and internet access are in short supply as thousands descend into poverty. The World Bank projects that over half of the population will fall below the poverty line this year. Many saw the collapse of Lebanon’s economy as an inevitability. Successive Lebanese governments have been accused of economic mismanagement, endemic corruption, and overspending. But the main catalyst for the current situation was the shortage of foreign currency in October 2019, causing the value of the Lebanese Lira to fall against the dollar on the black markets that emerged. To increase revenue, the government introduced sweeping tax proposals on commodities such as tobacco, petrol, and voice calls, but these plans were fiercely opposed by Lebanese
citizens and thus rescinded. Although a lockdown imposed in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic forced many protesters off the streets, it also worsened the economic situation and exposed the inadequacies of the country’s welfare system. In the midst of this crisis, catastrophe struck when an explosion in the Port of Beirut on 4 August 2020 devastated the capital. Over 200 were killed, 6,000 injured, and over 300,000 left homeless. The explosion was caused by the detonation of 2,750 tonnes of ammonium nitrate that had been stored unsafely for six years. Following public anger and protests, Prime Minister Hassan Diab and his cabinet offered their resignations on 10 August 2020. Lebanon’s current crisis is political in nature. In a political system designed to share power along confessional lines, Prime Minister-Designate Mustapha Adib failed to form a cabinet made up of independent specialists that could work on enacting reforms, and thus offered his resignation on 26 September 2020. As of writing, the country is yet to install a new government. Many Lebanese do not feel hopeful about the future. Beirutis fervently want answers as to the reasons behind the
explosion. However, the FBI released a report on 13 October 2020 that reached no conclusion as to its cause. Judge Fadi Sawwan, who is leading the Lebanese government’s investigation into the explosion, is now awaiting reports from French and British explosive experts before making a judgement on the exact cause of the detonation. As well as answers, many Lebanese also want justice for the failures of the government to prevent the country from reaching crisis point. However, Lebanese President Michel Aoun suggested that charges of corruption against the country’s politicians were ‘unfair’ in comments made about mass protests in the nation. But because of endemic corruption, the international community has not been keen to help Lebanon. The country’s western allies have been offering an $11 billion loan package since 2018, but this is on the condition that the government implements reforms in the public sector. As these changes haven’t been made, the loans have not been granted. The future of Lebanon is firmly in the hands of the politicians that run the country. The extent of Lebanon’s recovery will be determined by the extent to which reforms are implemented.
Military conflict and mediation: Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict explained Haritha Balasubramaniyan, BA Global Liberal Arts Hostilities have escalated into violent warfare in Nagorno-Karabakh, the contested territory between Armenia and Azerbaijan. On 27 September 2020, clashes broke out along the Nagorno-Karabakh line-of-control resulting in the imposition of Martial Law in both countries. The violent clashes of the past month are particularly alarming, involving the use of drones as well as air and artillery attacks. The death toll remains speculative. Located in the Southern Caucasus between
Eastern Europe and Western Asia, the region has a history of violent ethnic and territorial tensions. The clearest point of origin for the conflict can be traced back to 1921 when Joseph Stalin had transferred two regions from Armenian to Azerbaijani control - the Nakhichevan Soviet Socialist Republic and Karabakh. This was widely seen as an effort by the USSR to garner Turkey’s support against Western powers. As a result, the NagornoKarabakh Autonomous Oblast was created in 1923 - an ethnic Armenian majority under Azerbaijani rule. Conflicts arose between the separatist Armenian majority and Azerbaijani
Locating Nagorno-Karabakh. Prior to the clashes of September 2020, the region had witnessed significant violence between both parties in the ‘Four Day War’ of 2016 and later in July 2020. (Credit: Creative Commons)
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minority in 1987, which by 1991 had escalated into the Nagorno-Karabakh War. A cease-fire was brokered by Russia in 1994, after three years of bloodshed resulting in around 30,000 deaths as well as displacement of hundreds of thousands of ethnic Azeris from the region. The ‘Republic of Artsakh’ was formed in 1991 as a self-declared government in Nagorno-Karabakh, but remains unrecognised by nations other than Armenia. The Artsakh Parliament had voted for the region to be transferred to Armenia in the late 1980s when the Soviet Union began to collapse, but this proposal was rejected by Moscow. Post-1994, the Armenian-controlled enclave backed by the Armenian government has been internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan although hostility and tensions have remained high. The mediating body in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict is the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group, chaired by France, Russia and the USA. The organisation had an original proposal for a peace settlement in 2006 and had updated the ‘Madrid Principles’ in 2009 to reflect ideas of deterrence, territorial integrity, equal rights and self-determination of peoples. France and Moscow have called for a cease-fire in light of violent clashes in early October 2020 and urged Baku and Yerevan to engage in peace talks. Other key regional players are also
stakeholders in the conflict, and prolonged violence may culminate in a hugely destructive regional war. Turkey’s ‘unconditional’ support is readily available to Azerbaijan whereas Turkey and Armenia have had strained relations arising from Turkey’s refusal to acknowledge the 1915 Armenian Genocide. Borders between them remain closed and they have had no diplomatic ties since 1993. Russia plays a dual role - as supporter and arms-lender to both countries as well as cochair of the Minsk Group, making Moscow’s role in the conflict particularly unclear. Russia and Turkey already support opposing sides in issues surrounding Syria and Libya. There have been further allegations from Yerevan about Syrian involvement in support of Azerbaijan. In addition, the Southern Caucasus occupies an important position in the global energy market and this makes further thirdparty involvement and escalation of conflict into a full-scale regional war a possibility. For instance, the European Union’s oil and natural gas supply pipelines connecting Azerbaijan and Turkey pass close to Nagorno-Karabakh. These factors make the exact calibration of power-relations in this region rather opaque. As global focus flutters between the many catastrophes that the year has bought, it is important to recognise the gravity of this ongoing conflict.
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3 NOVEMBER 2020
http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/opinion/ Opinion editor: Anna Fenton-Jones
Opinion
#EndSARS: Young people in Nigeria show they are a force to be reckoned with
Oba Ayangbure Palace Ikorodu Oba Palace, Ikorodu Rd, Lagos, Nigeria (Credit: Tobi Oshinnaike, Unsplash)
Tamilore Ogunyemi, BA Politics and Economics In an uncanny resemblance to the protests that resulted in the declaration of Nigerian independence exactly 60 years ago, Nigerians have raised their voices once again to unite in a fight for our future. Protests have sprung up across the country and amongst Nigerian diaspora communities calling for the end of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). After a turbulent year of political, economic and social unrest, we Nigerians are demanding change. Created to suppress violent crime, SARS was founded in 1984 by former Police Commissioner Fulani Kwajafa. According to the BBC Hausa Service, Kwajafa now ‘feels guilty’ for founding SARS, which today has become the face of all the problems in Nigeria’s police. SARS operated with complete impunity to harass and terrorise Nigerians. #EndSARS was first used in 2017, and the recent resurgence was sparked by a video capturing SARS
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officers shooting and allegedly killing a seemingly unconscious man. SARS were notorious for their flagrant abuse of power and human rights violations. They acted in the same manner as the criminals they were supposed to arrest, and they terrorised those that they are supposed to protect. Amnesty International reported at least 82 cases of ‘torture, ill treatment and extra judicial executions’ at the hands of SARS between 2017 and 2020. They brutalized and targeted young Nigerians – usually men aged 18 to 35 from vulnerable and lower income backgrounds – who they accused of fraud and robbery on the basis of appearing well-dressed or having a smartphone or a car. The ignorance embedded in such profiling patterns highlights dangerous internalised assumptions that Nigerians can only afford luxuries through illegal and illicit activities. #EndSARS is a call to end police brutality and police corruption in Nigeria. Solidarity with the youth-led movement has sparked peaceful protests across the globe. Engagement from the diaspora community and
celebrities including Wizkid, Davido, John Boyega and Big Sean have helped to raise the profile of the movement. Regrettably, protests in Nigeria against police brutality have been subject to scenes of more police brutality, where protesters have been met with live ammunition, teargas, and water cannons all at the hands of the police. Amnesty International has reported at least 56 deaths in Nigeria as of 21 October 2020. The problems within the Nigerian police force have not gone entirely unacknowledged by the country’s leaders. The Nigerian government spent the last 5 years suggesting its intent to disband SARS, but finally on 11 October Inspector General of Police, Mohammad Adamu, announced the dissolvement of the unit. Whether this will be a real victory for Nigerians remains to be seen as SARS officers will be redeployed to other police units and the role of SARS will be taken over by Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team. Protestors brought forward a five-point demand in response to this which included justice for victims of police brutality and compensation for
their families, and psychological evaluation and retraining for redeployed SARS officers.
“The #EndSARS movement is a clear sign that we, the youth of Nigeria and the diaspora, want lasting change.” Nigerians are not alone in the struggle against police brutality. Whether in the fight for climate action or the Black Lives Matter movement, #EndSARS is part of a greater youth-lead global struggle for our future. The #EndSARS movement is a clear sign that we, the youth of Nigeria and the diaspora, want lasting change. Celebrating 60 years of Nigerian independence has been bitter-sweet as we reflect on a tumultuous history and a challenging present, but with high hopes for our future - a future that begins with #EndSARS.
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Opinion
3 NOVEMBER 2020
Racist stereotypes have shaped ‘Western’ coverage of COVID-19 in Africa SJ Armstrong, MA Postcolonialism Studies ‘There will be bodies in the streets.’ Bill Gates’ dire premonitions about Africa’s response to the impending pandemic was dystopian - mass graves, collapsing economies, political disarray. His warnings of failed states and disrepair have come to fruition this year, but not in Africa. More than 200,000 bodies have been buried in the United States alone. Coronavirus has crippled the economies of Western Europe, plunging us back into lockdown as case figures soar once again. In this same period, the entirety of the African continent can count only 37,000 deaths. These account for 3.3% of total global casualties, in the home of 17% of the world population. ‘The continent [took] bold, aggressive and courageous steps in locking down their economies very early on,’ Dr John Nkengasong, director of the Africa CDC, told the Telegraph. ‘Countries went into a state of emergency or disaster when they had only four to six recorded cases. I think people tend to forget about that.’ Governments acted swiftly, with outstanding success in countries including Senegal, Ghana, Nigeria, and more. This success has been reported in the ‘West’ as puzzling, confounding, even as inexplicable to our ‘advanced’ and struggling nations.
Dr Nkengasong joined many other prominent Africans in outspoken denouncement of the ‘Western’ media’s portrayal of the crisis in the continent. He agreed that ‘[The projections] were embedded in a shallow understanding of the continent, and a rush to make headlines.’ ‘It was not based on science. I don’t think the assumptions were solid. I think they were based on stereotypes… Modelling is only as good as the assumption put into it.’ These stereotypes were born of the colonial narratives that haunt Africa. Racist notions of ubiquitous underdevelopment across the continent led to assertions like that published by the BBC: ‘Coronavirus in Africa: Could poverty explain mystery of low death rate?’ The since-renamed article explores the
consequences of coronavirus in Africa, where the population lives, according to the writer Andrew Harding, in ‘crowded townships [with] poor hygiene... where large families often share a single room.’ When writers only understand Africa within frameworks defined by degrading colonial discourses, this antiquated altruism and derision is predictable. These esteemed media outlets were, it seems, disinclined to pay African reporters to cover African stories. Nigerian journalist Edwin Okolo, whose work has featured in the New York Times and African Arguments, said that ‘prestigious news outlets completely failed Africa in their coverage of the pandemic.’ Valuable on-the-ground reporting was
substituted by patronising incredulity. Okolo stressed that this stems from the consistent lack of opportunities being given to African writers and journalists who have the experience and context necessary to tell a nuanced story. ‘We have had to fight to tell our own stories on their platforms,’ Okolo noted. Joyline Maenzanise, a journalist based in Zimbabwe, was equally outraged by the angle taken by reporters in the Global North. ‘It has become clear that the ‘West’ can't fathom - or accept - how we have not lived up to its colonialist perception of Africa as an underdeveloped continent riddled with poverty, starvation and malfunctioning systems.’ ‘You would think,’ they remarked, ‘[this] was raised out of a genuine concern about the welfare of people living in Africa. No!’ Indeed, in these takes, astonishment seems more consistent than compassion. As Ghana is used as the case study for effective track and trace and Senegal introduces $1 coronavirus tests, African scientists are playing leading roles in pandemic innovation. Nonetheless, prestigious outlets in the Global North continue to publish perplexed articles, asserting that nobody can understand how the continent has succeeded to such a degree. ‘It’s unsurprising,’ said Okolo, ‘…and exhausting.’
(Credit: Martin Sanchez, Unsplash)
Is the Bank of England missing an opportunity to implement real green policy in the wake of a slowing economy? Umar Kaleem-Ur Rehman, BSc Economics In our pursuit of a carbon neutral economy, the prime minister is perceived as the most able to achieve it. Now that we have determined who our Batman is, who do you believe to be our Robin? Who is the second most powerful person in the UK to address climate change? I will give you two hints. Firstly, they are unelected. Secondly, resist going with your initial instinct. If you guessed that this person is the Queen, you would be wrong. I will now try and persuade you how the current head of the UK’s central bank is the second most powerful person in addressing climate change. Jonathan Marc Bairstow; remember that name. Currently, the Bank of England has their hands tied behind their back by the interest rates reaching 0%. Without the ability to raise and lower interest rates, the most important monetary tool used by the Bank of England to meet their inflation targeting mandate is useless. Consequently, the once unconventional quantitative easing programme is now becoming more conventionally used by
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Bairstow. This is done in an attempt to achieve a 2% inflation target each year by increasing spending in the economy. Is this a missed opportunity for the Bank of England’s pandemic quantitative easing programme to transition into a low carbon economy? Indeed, the Corporate Bond Purchase Scheme (increased by £10 bn) implemented by the Bank of England is at odds with the Paris Climate Agreement. By their own admission, the bank stated that the Corporate Bond Purchase Scheme is aligned with 3.5 degrees of warming by the end of the century. Sadly, a carbon bias is strengthened by the reality that 57% of the Bank of England’s eligible bonds for the Corporate Bond Purchase Programme are classified within the carbon intensive sectors. Andrew Bailey has said that aligning the Bank’s Corporate Bond Purchase Scheme with climate goals such as the Paris agreement is a ‘perfectly sensible thing to do’ and should be made a ‘priority.’ However, his actions suggest the opposite is true. Currently, the Corporate Bond Purchase Programme is a missed opportunity to set in motion investment of a green recovery and the transition into a low carbon economy. It can
be argued that a broad interpretation of the Bank of England’s mandate to keep the UK’s financial system stable in the long term is a sufficient reason to address climate related financial risks. Even if the BoE decides to implement climate conscious policy, a low carbon and green corporate quantitative easing programme will not be enough to ensure a transition into a low carbon economy. Moving forward, support from the government in the form of strong fiscal policies will be needed to achieve it. The most important takeaway is that the vast majority of people reading this article did not realise that Bairstow is in fact a professional cricketer and not the appointed head of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey. This exemplifies the ignorant attitude towards one of the two key protagonists in the fight against climate change. As Boris Johnson takes on the role of Batman and Bailey plays Robin, are we confident that Gotham will be saved from the transitional and physical risks that climate change poses? Because currently, it is ‘business as usual.’
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Opinion
3 NOVEMBER 2020
UAE Normalisation with Zionist Israel: A Breakdown
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain Dr. Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald J. Trump, and Minister of Foreign Affairs for the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan signing the Abraham Accords at the White House, September 15, 2020 (Credit: Shealah Craighead, Flickr)
Clayton Barrington-Russell, BA Arabic and International Relations In a historic move described as ‘A treacherous stab in the back’ by Palestinians, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain formally signed a deal ‘normalising’ relations with Israel on 15 September. This involves increased cooperation regarding security, healthcare, tourism, and trade in exchange for the ‘suspension’ of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s promise of annexing the Jordan Valley – the fertile heartland of the future Palestinian State. On Monday 12 October, the first shipment of cargo arrived in the occupied city of Haifa from Jebel Ali Port, Dubai. Just a few months ago this would have been inconceivable, yet this presents one of the first steps towards a full-fledged economic partnership between two of the most prominent economies in the Middle East. This follows the first-ever commercial flight from occupied Palestine to the Emirates in August. The occasion was marred by protests in opposition to the deals in the West Bank cities of Nablus, Hebron, and Jenin, as well as in Gaza and across the world. A spokesperson for the Palestinian Authority referred to it as a ‘betrayal of the Palestinian Cause,’ while Palestinian political parties Fateh and Hamas were united in their condemnation. Traditionally firm backers of Palestine, it is alleged that
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Saudi and Emirati officials have had secret cooperation with Israel in recent years, due to their mutual distaste of Iran’s nuclear deal. Economically, both Israel and the UAE will benefit from the new deal, with increased Emirati investment in Israeli technology and the reported future opening of a direct shipping route from Jebel Ali Dubai to the occupied port of Eliat. However, this economic growth will come at a huge cost – Palestinian lives. Regardless of the motives, the so-called ‘Abraham Accords’ are an extremely risky attempt at political theatre. The timing of the deal is significant, generating support for Netanyahu after he failed to form a government twice last year. The US election is to be held in November, and, in the eyes of the Trump administration, a meaningless ‘peace agreement’ between two allies of the US will demonstrate to the average American voter the diplomatic skills of the President.
“The so-called ‘Abraham Accords’ are an extremely risky attempt at political theatre…” Nevertheless, continued support of the Israeli regime will
result in further breaches of international law, such as the recognition of the occupied Golan Heights as sovereign Israeli territory in March last year. The hypocrisy of this deal has exposed the Zionist narrative now more than ever. As for the Emirati and Bahraini ruling elite, normalising relations with Israel will come with its own dire consequences. Directly undermining the 1967 Khartoum Resolution remains hugely unpopular amongst the general population of the Gulf, where Arab League members previously agreed upon the Three Nos: ‘No peace with Israel; no recognition of Israel and no negotiations with Israel.’ Public opposition to the recent thawing of relations may be limited due to the nationwide ban on ‘political demonstrations,’ although an Emirati petition condemning the recent deal has racked up over a million signatures online. With over 100,000 Palestinians living in the Emirates beforehand, the authorities risk a hostile response to the normalisation.For the 2 million Palestinians under siege in Gaza, 3 million in the West Bank, and countless more in the diaspora, the normalisation deal effectively rewards the Israeli regime for their crimes and continued illegal occupation. As native Palestinians are yet again barred from worshipping at Jerusalem’s holy sites, a visit of pro-normalisation Gulf Arabs to Al Aqsa Mosque a month almost seems like mockery. For Palestinians home and abroad, the future looks more uncertain than ever.
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Opinion
3 NOVEMBER 2020
Red horizons predicted for Hong Kong in the wake of the National Security Law running after allegedly supporting Hong Kong independence. Activists say that this is only the beginning of a continuous erosion of Hong Kong liberties under the ‘draconian’ National Security Law. It follows a disturbing pattern of events as China’s strong-man Mr. Xi Jinping aggressively expands his powers into Hong Kong, thwarting the widely supported prodemocracy movement. One wonders whether the people of Hong Kong will have free Legislative Council or District elections ever again. It is difficult to believe that Mr. Xi will ever allow a prodemocratic majority right on China’s doorstep. Contrary to what Ms. Lam might say, a strong democratically-sound constitution cannot co-exist with an overarching legislation that can label anything misaligned with Chinese government ideology as subversive or terrorist.
“Mr. Xi Jinping aggressively expands his powers into Hong Kong, thwarting the widely supported prodemocracy movement. One wonders whether the people of Hong Kong will have free Legislative Council or District elections ever again.”
Apple Daily headquarters curtained off by police tape (Credit: VOA Cantonese)
Javier Vidal Cano, BA Chinese Studies The passing of the National Security Law in July 2020 marked the end of an era for Hong Kong and the start of a new, more sinister chapter for its 7.4 million inhabitants. Ever since its implementation, the city has been weathering a turbulent socio-political storm as its democratic institutions wither under relentless Chinese pressure. The vague provisions of the law prohibiting acts of ‘treason, secession, sedition and subversion’ have allowed it to be enacted arbitrarily according to the political agenda of the Chinese Communist Party. As Chief Executive Carrie Lam desperately tries to assuage local fears with promises of the preservation of free speech and respect towards human rights, her words ring hollow in the face of a wave of activists arrests, the banning of pro-democracy opposition candidates from elections, and increasing censorship in education and media. The future of the city is now in the hands of Beijing as they seek to increase their influence in Southeast Asia and indeed solidify their presence on the world centre stage. Despite unprecedented developments over recent months, Hong Kong has since dropped out of the limelight in international news as the world battles the COVID-19 pandemic. Consequently, Beijing is enjoying a period of free reign over the city, citing security concerns as it uses the sweeping National Security Laws extraterritorially to gain complete socio-political control over Hong Kong. One of the most notable developments was the arrest of tycoon Jimmy Lai in late August who is facing allegations of collusion with foreign forces. He had been a prominent
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pro-democracy figure, often using his newspaper, Apple Daily, as a platform to criticise the Chinese government. On 15 October 2020, members of the Hong Kong Police National Security taskforce also raided the Apple Daily offices, confiscating material and seizing documents. Agnes Chow and Joshua Wong, both acclaimed pro-democracy activists, were arrested on charges of secession and participating in an ‘unauthorised assembly’ last October. Exiled activists Nathan Law and Sunny Cheung have had arrest warrants issued on their name for attending the 4 June peaceful Tiananmen vigil which the police banned this year due to ‘health concerns.’ Activists are now desperately trying to flee to Taiwan, however, even this is dangerous. In August 2020, 12 Hong Kong citizens attempting to flee to Taiwan were captured by the Chinese coast guard and detained by Chinese authorities. They are currently facing a potential trial in mainland courts. Despite public pressure mounting this week through social media with the trending hashtag ‘#save12hkyouths’ demanding their release, little is known of their whereabouts or their fate. However, the National Security Law spans much deeper than just petty arrests on questionable premises. Unfortunately, it has penetrated the very foundations of the Hong Kong constitution and will have long-lasting implications for the legal future of the city. The November 2020 legislative election was postponed for one year as Ms. Lam invoked her emergency powers again citing COVID-19 concerns. The pro-democrats were looking to make massive electoral gains after their landslide victory in the District Council Election of 2019. These COVID-19 concerns cited by Ms. Lam are questionable, considering that just days prior 12 opposition candidates were disqualified from
Unfortunately, Chinese attempts to reshape Hong Kong according to their own terms by subverting what's left of its democratic institutions under the guise of ‘national security’ appear to be working. Ms. Lam’s public approval rating has plummeted to an all time low with many lawmakers and activists accusing her of ‘surrendering Hong Kong,’ and, with the current situation, who can blame them? It seems like Hong Kong may have witnessed two handovers in living memory, one to China in 1997 and one in 2020 to Xi Jinping and the iron-clad grip of the Chinese Communist Party.
Protesters took to the streets of Beijing in May (Credit: Reuters/ Tyrone Siu)
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http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/features/ FEATURES EDITOR: Ella Dorn
Features
Humans of SOAS: Corinna Del Debbio Frances Howe, LLB Trigger warning: sexual violence Corinna Del Debbio is a final year Politics and International Relations student at SOAS. On the 28th of August this year, Corinna published an open letter to SOAS regarding their guidance on ‘Preventing and Responding to Sexual and Gender-based Violence’ (SGBV). Corinna’s letter, signed alongside 50 students, called for more accountability from SOAS. Above all, the letter criticised a policy which removes the victim from the focus of proceedings and which regards a consent workshop as an appopriate sanction for sexual violence. Tell me a bit about where the open letter came from. As I mentioned in the letter, I was triggered by one specific case that I heard about at SOAS. It was a combination of that and trying to get involved and an interest in addressing sexual abuse in general, and personal experience as well. [When] this case at SOAS happened, it was quite close to my heart and I actually had the opportunity for the first time to act on it. Because, up until then, it's been an issue I speak about loads. It’s an issue I’m vocal about on social media; it’s an issue that I always offer to give people advice on. But I had never done something for it that was proactive and so that’s what sparked writing the letter. I wrote it, a couple of my friends proof-read it, and then I sent it in. Were you shocked to find out that a university seemingly as progressive as SOAS had such a backwards policy on complaints of sexual violence? Yeah, I was really shocked. I was also immediately shocked because it was so hard to actually find the documents with the policy - that was a massive red flag. And then reading through it, it was really shocking because there was no specific set of potential attributions for ways to deal with it that were any different from any other type of issue you’d have at uni. From plagiarism, to graffiti, to rape - it’s all in one context.
“It was so hard to actually find the documents with the policy - that was a massive red flag.” What was the reaction from students to the letter? Really amazing. On my Instagram story, I put up a post explaining very basic elements of the case in question and what went wrong with it. I put this out saying: ‘This is what I'm writing, guys. If anyone at SOAS wants to get involved, please drop me a DM and I can send you a letter so you can put your name on it …’ After having written that, two or three of the students that signed it then reached out to me to speak about their own experience with sexual abuse. Among students, the reaction, the feedback, has been amazing. It’s been really nice. How did the university respond? I haven’t had a direct response. In the meantime, the senior management have released a draft of their new SGBV policy which they’ve been working on after quite a lot of pressure from Account For This and also a little bit of pressure from
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Corinna Del Debbio (Credit: Corinna Del Debbio)
my letter, I’m not sure. So, in a weird way, they’ve not directly acknowledged my letter, but it's quite nice because bits of it are echoed in this new draft. What would have been your ideal response from SOAS? First of all, any response. I would have loved for it to be directly acknowledged, that would have been a really big thing for me. You mention that SOAS is coming out with a new policy - have your recommendations been taken into account? There’s some changes being made. There’s a definite attempt to refocus the policy, trying to make it victim-centered and trauma-informed. There’s a definite attempt to do that. Whether or not that carries out throughout the entire policy, I’m not actually sure. There’s a couple of bits of the policy that just shouldn’t be there. For example, they’ve included a whole subsection on false reports. I mean, you wouldn’t have that in any other type of school policy. You wouldn’t have a whole bit on plagiarism if someone’s made a false report. There was just no need to put it in. I t really just feeds into the myth that false reporting for sexual abuse is massively high when it’s just not. It’s a tiny proportion. All it does is just regenerate that narrative.
Since publishing the letter in August, Corinna has kept busy planning the release of her podcast with SOAS radio. The podcast, ‘Sex Undressed’ aims to make up for the shortcomings of sex education by encouraging listeners to engage in healthy discussions about what we enjoy and what we don’t. At school you’re very much taught consent - at least I personally was. We went over it briefly in one lesson, and it was essentially just: ‘Do you want to have sex? Yes or no? If it’s yes it’s consent, if it’s no, it’s not.’ They didn’t really delve into different types of consent. How consent can change during sex and how you can consent to have sex in a certain way but that doesn’t mean you consent to have sex any way… I think the aim of the podcast would be for people to get used to hearing others talk about these things, and then hopefully be in a position where they [can] also start to talk or think about them more freely. Yet Corinna’s plans don’t end there; after SOAS, she plans to continue working around these themes. I want to develop my photography portfolio so that I can do a photography masters, with an end goal in mind of being in a position where I can take photos related to this issue. Photojournalism centred around this issue is the long-term aim; the short-term goal is to get a photography masters.
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Features
3 NOVEMBER 2020
BLACK HISTORICAL FIGURES: Malcolm X The first installment in our new recurring Features segment about our favourite Black historical figures
Malcolm X visiting Smethwick in February 1965, just months after the General Election. (Credit: Express/Getty Images)
Fakhriya M. Suleiman, MA Global Media and Communications My first encounter with Malcolm X was during secondary school. It was Black History Month of 2010 and my history assignment was to write about a prominent Black historical figure and discuss their impact. Being a huge Michael Jackson fan, and since he had only just passed away the year prior, I initially set out to do my report on him, his groundbreaking achievements, and his influence on the entertainment industry. 'You should write about Malcolm X instead', my mother remarked when I told her about my plan. Up until that point, Malcolm X was a name I had not heard of. 'Hop to it!', my mother went on, ushering me to go and do my research. I scoured the internet to find out about this figure who had eluded me all this time. I discovered that he was an African American who strove to shatter the staunch barriers of American Jim Crow laws and dismantle its farcical mantra that Blacks were recipients of 'separate, but equal treatment'. His was an endeavour that also hoped to bring to the forefront the issues of racism on both sides of the Atlantic. The 1964 British General Election, for example, was later dubbed by The Guardian as being 'Britain's most racist election' after Conservative MP, Peter Griffiths, won his Smethwick seat with the slogan ‘If you want a n----- for a neighbour, vote Liberal or Labour’. In solidarity, Malcolm X travelled to Smethwick that same year due to being 'disturbed by reports that coloured people in Smethwick
[were] being badly treated' amid Griffiths’ plans to prevent the sale of homes to local Black families. Furthermore, the likes of Professor Seyyed Hossein Nasr and Professor Richard Brent Turner credit Malcolm for being pivotal in the spread of Islam among America's Black communities. Professor Nasr cites that in the spread of mainstream Islam following his departure from the Nation of Islam (NOI) movement, 'Malcolm X was of particular significance.’ Given the above, and as a member of Britain's Black Muslim diaspora, it was a puzzlement that I, and most likely my fellow members of the community, had not been taught about such an individual who could have served as a much needed role model to us early on. On the bright side of things, after marking my report, my History teacher gave me an A*. Fast forward to 2011. I was in my final year of secondary school and had chosen History as one of my GCSE subjects. I was delighted when I found out the 1960s African American Civil Rights Movement was included in our syllabus and I assumed I would have plenty of airtime to impress my classmates with all the Malcolm X trivia I had amassed. However, much to my dismay, when browsing through the textbook, mention of Malcolm therein was no more than a mere paragraph. Said paragraph pitted him against the exemplar of Martin Luther King Junior's tact of non-violence, framing Malcolm as a hindrance to the African American struggle for civil rights. Once again, I was left puzzled. While my GCSE History textbook was presented as
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being the key source to my success, containing the important aspects needed for me to succeed in my eventual final exam, a huge chunk of the narrative was woefully disregarded. My textbook charged Malcolm X with advocating indiscriminate violence against white people as a whole given his once strong affiliation with the NOI movement during the early years of his activism. While the NOI was a separatist movement that did, and still does, preach an ideology of Black supremacy - which Malcolm X did subscribe to, it is oft seldom told how his ideology altered after his split from the movement and his return to America in 1964 after making the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. In Birmingham, following his visit to Smethwick, when asked about MP Griffiths Malcolm X wholly refuted NOI ideology by saying ‘the worst form of human being is one who judges another by the colour of his skin’. My textbook may have also been alluding to Malcolm's assertion that Black Americans should exercise their Second Amendment Right to bear arms. While he knew stressing upon said Right would render him a pariah within the Civil Rights movement, he chose not to stand mute while Blacks were the perpetual recipients of state-violence. My textbook was not able to specify an instance where Malcolm X was the violent aggressor. Tragically, however, such is still assumed of Black men, and, in 2016, Philando Castile, a Black man legally carrying a concealed weapon, was shot dead by police in Minnesota for no other reason than being armed. Given the recent turbulent summer of protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, the call of Malcolm X for us all to ‘one day
meet together in the light of understanding’ could not be more germane. Admittedly, I do lament over whether much has truly changed since I was in secondary school writing about Malcolm's struggle for the betterment of his people.
“Given the recent turbulent summer of protests sparked by the killing of George Floyd, the call of Malcolm X for us all to ‘one day meet together in the light of understanding’ could not be more germane.” It is a shame that the mainstream portrayal of Dr King and Malcolm X has been reduced so much that the former is celebrated while the latter is fled from, almost shunned completely. Even though, as pointed out by African American novelist and activist James Baldwin, ‘by the time each died, their positions had become virtually the same position’. Despite this, 10 years on from my initial encounter, Malcolm X remains a figure I hold in the highest regard for his courage and sacrifices. His is a name and legacy I hope history will do the same for, too, ‘by any means necessary’.
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Features
3 NOVEMBER 2020
Three SOAS Freshers Reflect on a Strange Start to the Year Ella Dorn, BA Chinese and Linguistics When Valerie Amos announced in mid-March that all SOAS classes would move online as a COVID-19 measure, many students took this in stride: public anxiety over the virus had steadily grown, and the sudden transfer of lectures and tutorials to a computer screen seemed almost affirming. At that point, however, it was unclear how the situation would affect the next academic year. If Amos had proclaimed then that the whole first term would be taught online, with Language Year Abroads postponed or cancelled and a number of students physically away from London, the reaction might have been more lukewarm. 2020 is hardly the best year to start university: with the virus causing complications for school-leaver exams, mandatory quarantine for some international and domestic arrivals and little real-life opportunity to meet new friends, the situation might make returning students gratefully nostalgic for their own first weeks at SOAS. I spoke to three Freshers about their recent experiences, hoping to get their perspective on starting university - and not just any university - in a global pandemic.
Two of the students interviewed had relocated to London to start their degree, one travelling internationally. ‘I had to fill in a form before leaving France and then isolate for two weeks after arriving,’ says Charlotte Paule, who is studying the Politics of Asia MSc. ‘I couldn’t quite enjoy the city at first and it was tough to really settle in.’ Elle Robertson, who moved into student accommodation in London from her home in Cardiff to start a BA Korean degree, was grateful to have a second-year friend in her flat, who could ‘help [her] with any questions [she] had’. So, how does SOAS seem to compare to other UK universities? ‘I have friends who also go into uni for tutorials, which I would have liked,’ says Nahidah Khan, who is studying from home in London for a BA in Development Studies and Politics. ‘It would’ve made me feel as though I was part of SOAS.’ Paule explains that her friend, a returning UCL student, has had an experience that ‘also seems a bit chaotic, and she has a hard time with online classes’. Many students have had difficult experiences dealing with SOAS admin this year. After a large proportion of staff were made redundant and some degree programmes were restructured, enrollment and module selection became a challenging process. ‘I had a flat out mental breakdown when my
department announced a class I wanted to attend was full, a week after I tried to register to it,’ says Paule. ‘It got solved in the end, after several days of anxiety since it was a class I was taking for my dissertation.’ Student finance was also a challenge: ‘I know that a lot of people, including myself, had issues with fees and it did take a while for SOAS to respond to any of us,’ says Robertson. ‘Not ideal when you’re already so stressed out about starting uni!’ These blows came with mixed levels of mental health support from the university. She cites, ‘a lot of emails from SOAS about the support available for mental health and studying’, while Paule reveals she received ‘no support... all they did was give all of us panic attacks’. Meeting new people seemed to be a mixed concern. ‘I’ve made a couple friends but I think right now it’s very awkward,’ says Khan. ‘It's really hard to tell a person's vibe over text so it becomes more difficult to connect.’ Others fared better: ‘We had set up a WhatsApp chat with people from my programme during the summer,’ Paule says, ‘and more and more people joined through the weeks. We met in September, and I actually formed a solid group of friends who I see very regularly and with which I can talk about classes and life!’
Japanese “renku” Group Poetry: An Ancient and Unique Style Matthew John Turnbull, MA Japanese Studies Renku has a long history in Japan, dating all the way back to the Heian Period (794 to 1185) and beyond. It was popularised by poet Matsuo Bashō and, during the Edo Period (1603-1868), finally saw widespread practice as the use of poetic nicknames ensured the anonymity of participants meaning that people of any social class could join in. In what was otherwise a rigidly segregated society, here peasants sat beside samurai. Aside from who was present at these gatherings, what was made had, and continues to have, great social and creative effect. Renku is not like many poetic styles, especially Western forms where individual writers sit alone and pen their lonely pieces. Renku is a shared experience. A group of any size, led by a decision maker called the sabaki, take turns writing and submitting individual verses that come together to form one collaborative poem. This was radical in the Edo-period, but still today group poetry is almost unheard of. Even Japanese people have often never heard of, and certainly never practised, renku! A single glance at a renku poem may confuse the uninitiated; ‘What do these verses have to do with each other?’. Well, like with all creative endeavours, this is where deep consideration rewards you. Each verse carries subtle links to the one before it while also shifting away, creating an elegant and dynamic movement through the piece. This can be seen particularly well in the longer formats which can be up to one hundred verses long. I encourage you to look for the delicate connections between the verses.
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Pointillism
With contributions by Eiko Yachimoto, Heidi Völkl, Andrew Shimfield, and Matthew Turnbull. (Author’s initials are shown after their verse). dew soaked lawn the postman leaves behind his footsteps (AS) sardines on pizza a crime not to be repeated (HV) harvest in drinking cider by moonlight (AS) jays, sparrows and finches bathe in the birdbath (MT) held captive thousands of Muslims in Xinjiang (AS) one cool evening we marched arm in arm (MT) fireworks painted in pointillism Yamashita Kiyoshi (EY) my son delighted by the clown’s red nose (AS)
Matsuo Bashō, celebrated renku and haiku poet, by Hokusai (Credit: Wikimedia Commons)
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Features
3 NOVEMBER 2020
Decolonising Knowledge, Decolonising Education:
In Conversation with Amina Yaqin, Director of the SOAS Festival of Ideas
The SOAS Festival of Ideas featured a series of panels and events from 19-24 October, including a speech from Maliha Shoaib of The SOAS Spirit at the Opening Program. (Credit: SOAS Festival of Ideas)
Maliha Shoaib, BA English and World Philosophies Tell me a bit about the theme this year for the SOAS Festival of Ideas. The SOAS Festival of Ideas came out of a research environment connected to impact and knowledge exchange. When I was asked to contribute, I thought we needed an overarching theme that helps bring together the kinds of research we’re conducting at SOAS in a way that’s responding to some of the urgent questions facing us, both in the Higher Education [HE] sector, and the broader culture and society. I settled on the theme of decolonising knowledge. The Festival is inspired by Achille Mbembe’s lecture series on decolonising the university, and also my involvement with the Decolonising Working Group. It’s in conversation with
Amina Yaqin is an interdisciplinary researcher who works across literary studies, cultural studies, and postcolonial studies. (Credit: Amina Yaqin)
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students, and it’s about amplifying student voices and thinking about structural change within the institution. This theme of decolonising was something that was going around a number of departments, but it’s also not uniformly accepted and structurally present in all the things we do at SOAS. We have a history as a colonial institution, so decolonising knowledge is an opportunity for us to reflect and think back on that history of hierarchies, and also think forward to the future. I don’t think we’ve had an opportunity to have those difficult but necessary conversations. The university as an institution has often upheld these hierarchies – who can access education and who can access a ‘successful’ life. Do you think Higher Education can be decolonised if it is inherently rooted in this system? It’s a difficult question, because there are so many structural things involved in the decolonising process. And we’re doing this from research funding, which also has attachments to processes of colonialism and how we disseminate knowledge, particularly in terms of how the state gets involved with the delivery of Higher Education. I think for young people it’s a very tough climate right now, because it is about exclusion. It’s a movement of education towards privilege, so that greater access is provided for those who have more availability of funds. Paulo Freire talks about how education has become a bankable system where you just produce knowledge as a commodity and add it to your CV to sell yourself as the next market value product. But education is, philosophically speaking, about something much more. It’s not a bankable process, when education works successfully in terms of the exchange of ideas and knowledge production and growth. I know Achille Mbembe talks about his vision for education and the free pursuit of knowledge. What steps are SOAS taking to decolonise? I think SOAS is in a very difficult place. It’s in a financially challenging place, and therefore it has to make all those decisions based on capital. Where it is true that we are an industry leader in decolonising externally, and we’re doing a lot of exciting research, what’s happening in our classrooms? Are students really getting the benefits of a decolonised education?
What does a decolonised education actually look like at SOAS? We have a decolonising teaching toolkit which emphasises inclusivity and discussion. But I don’t think decolonisation is an easy process. It’s about financial structures and transparency. It’s also about establishing the norms of a Eurocentric canon – how are we reproducing canon formation in the way that we teach, and do we really value scholars from the Global South as much as canonical figures? What sort of place does a decolonised education have once we leave the SOAS bubble and go out into a world where the structure and content of our courses are completely different from everyone else’s? When you go out into the ‘real world’ or you want to go to a different institution to do your Masters or PhD, there’s a gap in knowledge. And that’s why it’s a much bigger project [than one at classroom level] – why is it that we continue to reinforce a particular type of knowledge as the standard? I think the conversations are beginning to happen across institutions as well – everyone’s talking about decolonising. But if the university ranking system in the UK is going to be based on a tiered system, in which certain universities are always the top two, and this ranking determines your access to jobs, networks, and opportunities, how are you going to change things?
“We need to change the way that the social and economic structure of society works – because the current model is collapsing around us.” So for that very reason we have to change the way education works, because it’s become too complacent, too comfortable, with those centralized positions for particular types of people. I think we need to change the way that the social and economic structure of society works – because the current model is collapsing around us.
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3 NOVEMBER 2020
http://soasspirit.co.uk/category/culture/ Culture Editor: Destiny Adeyemi
Culture
Things that got us through lockdown Cooking Through Covid Elizabeth Edwards, BA English What got me through lockdown? Food. I filled my days with a beautifully comforting cycle of recipe research, cooking and the final gratification of sitting down to enjoy a meal with my family. I used the empty months as a way to take my time over everything, discovering the pleasure and sense of achievement that comes with creating something delicious for those you love. The most useful aid in this discovery was Ella Risbridger’s Midnight Chicken (& Other Recipes Worth Living For), a recipe book so full of love and comfort that anything you decide to make from it will taste and feel like a hug. She writes in such a way as to make you read the whole book from cover to cover in one sitting, mesmerizingly telling the story of how hope and courage may be found in the simplest of things; like bread, and vegetables and chicken.
Absurdism in absurd times
Ella Dorn, BA Chinese and Linguistics I spent my otherwise peaceful, rural lockdown investigating the discography of German punk icon Nina Hagen. While her bout of technically skilled but incredibly weird records from the ‘70s to ‘90s have been all-but-forgotten by contemporary journalists, her music turned out to be the best possible accompaniment to the entirely random situation of Covid-19. Where else can you hear an operatic aria, an epic guitar solo and a bout of chicken noises on the same track (Naturtrane), a cryptic interpretation of the Cold War with bonus circus music (Atomic Flash Deluxe), a camped-up disco takedown of a Nazi-era hit (Zarah), or an unwise commentary on the Gorbachev regime (Michail, Michail)? The UK government was absurd in their early handling of the pandemic, but not as absurd as Hagen’s vocal range, instrumentation or songwriting. This was an oddly comforting thought.
In search of Fellini: Re-discovering to dream again in the face of uncertainty. Shanjida Ahmed, BA History For many people in the UK and around the world, lockdown brought a lot of changes, uncertainty, stress, and even loneliness. During lockdown, I found myself seeking out routes of escapism from reality through the medium of books and movies. I particularly enjoyed In Search of Fellini, directed by Taron Lexton and released in 2017, a coming of age movie that follows 20-year-old Lucy’s departure from her postcode area for the very first time and her adventure of meeting legendary Italian filmmaker Federico Fellini. The movie explores the idea of dreaming big and self-discovery in a harsh world, all the while keeping an element of fantasy and innocence woven throughout the movie and evoking a bit of travel bug in the audience. The movie helped me cope with demotivation and feelings of helplessness related to my present and future by re-inspiring me to dream big and list postlockdown activities in order to stay motivated and not lose my aim or myself.
Bird’s eye view of an Italian town (Credit: Z S via Unsplash)
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Nina Hagen in 1981 (Credit: Dirk Herbert / CC BY)
Travelling beyond my room
A short guide to staying in and staying well
Agustina Villalba, IFCELS ICC
Katherine Brown, MA Chinese Studies
Listening to podcasts and reading books during lockdown has been a great way to travel metaphorically beyond the confines of my quarantine room and broaden my cultural horizons. I’ve particularly enjoyed the podcast Mythology by Parcast Network. Each episode is a dramatization of a different myth, brought to life by great voice actors. Unlike other mythology podcasts, it doesn’t limit itself to classical mythology. Instead, it includes myths from all over the world. I’ve spent countless quarantine afternoons curled up with a cup of tea and a good book. Out of these books, I really liked The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, by Saad Hossain. It’s an inventive novella set in a futuristic Kathmandu ruled by Karma, an impartial intelligent computer. It’s a blend of science fiction with elements of traditional folklore. The Fishermen by Chigozie Obioma also deserves a mention, it’s a gripping tragedy set in 1990s Nigeria which blends together descriptions of Igbo and Yoruba culture, political issues, and a family drama.
With another lockdown looming, it’s easy to get bogged down by the bleak reality. On days where focusing on work tasks can be difficult, it’s important to take time to do something for yourself. Whether it’s going for a walk or trying a new recipe, here are my top lockdown recommendations: Baking: ‘The Pastry Chef ’s Guide’ by Ravneet Gill (@ravneeteats on Instagram) is one of my best lockdown purchases, and every recipe contains amazing secrets to success. Yoga: I visit Cat Meffan’s YouTube channel (@catmeffan) on a daily basis. Taking a 30 minute yoga break during the day benefits your overall wellbeing and helps reduce stress . Books: autobiographies help me feel connected with the outside world: ‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama, ‘Things I Don’t Want To Know’ by Deborah Levy, ‘Educated’ by Tara Westover, ‘Step by Step’ by Simon Reeve, and ‘What If This Were Enough?’ by Heather Havrilesky.
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Culture
3 NOVEMBER 2020
The Royal Academy could save 150 jobs by selling their Michelangelo - but they won’t Maya Reus, MA Near and Middle Eastern Studies with Intensive Language The Royal Academy of Arts (RA), similar to many cultural institutions, is facing a grave financial situation due to Covid-19 related
losses. The institute is considering laying off 150 people - a whopping 40% of their staff. Several of their academicians have called for the institution to sell their famous Michelangelo sculpture in order to save jobs. The ‘Taddei Tondo,’ made by the famous Italian sculpture in 1505, could yield over 100m
Michelangelo’s ‘Taddei Tondo’, more formally known as “The Virgin and Child with the infant st. John (1505) (Credit: Royal Academy of Arts, London)
pounds. While the Guardian has described the situation as a ‘dilemma,’ on 25 September, the RA’s chief executive told BBC that it was, in fact, a ‘false dilemma’ and that the RA is not actually considering selling the renaissance sculpture. Responding to whether or not it would be a pragmatic solution, he told BBC that it is the RA’s role ‘to protect and preserve treasures such as the Michelangelo.’ One might as well pose the question as to why the RA would even consider keeping the Michelangelo if the sale of it could save 40% of their staff from having to be fired? Aside from protecting the livelihoods of staff who work at the Royal Academy, the sale of the statue would ultimately protect the institution. The piece might be a huge asset, but isn’t preserving their workforce also? The situation invokes previous debates of the value placed on material culture versus human life. In Spring 2019 when the Notre Dame Cathedral caught fire, news spread like wildfire and there was an international outpouring of grief and vast amounds of funds were raised. During that same time period, hundreds died due to an attack in Sri Lanka, a situation which received hardly any news coverage or international solidarity. This example of selective news coverage leaves a bitter taste. It’s not just that more value is put on material than on human life. It’s the excessive value that is put on ‘big art’ pieces, or ‘great civilisational works.’ Of course it would not be practical for the RA to sell each and every piece to protect their workforce, but knowing the difference that selling it would make, why hold on to this one piece? Multiple employees have stated that the ‘Taddei Tondo’ is already an anomaly in their collection.
An RA spokesperson has told the Art Newspaper that it is their ‘duty,’ ‘privilege’ and ‘responsibility’ to look after the Taddei Tondo. While this universalist claim might be problematic already, it can be argued further that if their funds are lacking, and if the government can’t and won’t pitch in, why should the RA feel obliged to take care of the Taddei Tondo? Doesn’t the fact that they don’t have the funds effectively eliminate their responsibility? Another fear underlying a possible sale is that the high price tag would require the potential buyer to be from abroad. The RA’s website proudly states that they possess the only marble sculpture by Michelangelo in the UK. The sculpture is moreover seen as a ‘national treasure’, mentioned by none other than the queen herself, who is also the royal patron of the RA. But why is a piece of Italian renaissance art, one that was made for the Florentine wool merchant, considered to be a national treasure? European countries are deeply engrossed in the renaissance, a period seen as having led Europe out of ‘a thousand years of darkness’ and a pinnacle moment for western civilisation. Claiming the ‘Taddei Tondo’ and other renaissance works as national treasures has imperialist undertones. It implies that the UK is the true heir of this ‘civilising’ period that took place more than a thousand miles away. Of course, selling the piece would be a pity, but what to do? The Royal Academy does not receive formal government support. While the UK has pledged to give 3.4b to cultural institutions, the RA is still awaiting response on whether or not they will receive anything. If their royal patron would pitch in, that would be great. If not, the decision to sell should not be that difficult.
Rocks: a film review Destiny Adeyemi, BA African studies ‘Rocks’ is a film which explores sisterhood from a young, Black, British girl's perspective. It was heavily praised at the Toronto Film Festival (TIFF), and released on Netflix on 1 October. The film was directed by Sarah Gavron and features a diverse, female cast. The main character, ‘Rocks,’ is played by Bukky Bakray, and Kosar Ali plays Sumaya, Rock’s best friend. The story follows Rock’s journey with her humorous brother Emmanuel after their mother disappears. Early on in the film, previous mental health issues of Rock’s mother are hinted at, with her leaving for short periods.
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The main character is heavily explored and developed. The characters are written with purpose and fully realised through the acting. Rocks is a flawed character: she steals from friends, she does not ask for help. However, the film critiques a flawed system that does not do much to help her. Friendship becomes a key theme as Rocks and her brother go from couchsurfing to sleeping in a hotel. The film has a dynamic portrayal of social services, featuring a painful moment with a social worker. Rock’s friends later support her in seeing Emmanuel. In this tender moment Rock's maturity and love for her brother is explored. The film portrays a natural slice of young black girl’s life and the sisterhood that keeps her going.
Poster for Rocks (film) (Credit: @bukksbakray)
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3 NOVEMBER 2020
In Conversation with Jeremiah Brown Elizabeth Edwards, BA English The Barbican’s ‘Subject to Change: New Horizons’ project launched in July and is focused on creating a platform for young minds to produce pieces in response to our times. One creative response is published each month, and pieces range from poetry to music and visual art. During the month of October, poets Jeremiah Brown and Gabriel Jones began a remarkable collaboration and The Spirit had the opportunity to ask Jeremiah Brown a few questions related to their project. How are you? How have you found working and creating in the current climate? As well as pandemic and politics, have you found any other challenges to your work recently? Where have you been finding your inspiration? I’m calm. From a writing perspective the pandemic kinda is what it is now. Being able to connect up and create with people has changed a lot and that’s probably the biggest challenge. Linking up with people is difficult and things are often changing so you can’t make plans either. I’d say I’ve found my inspiration from books and TV. I’ve rewatched The Wire, I’m bingeing Modern Family at the moment, I’ve read Bloodchild by Octavia Butler recently. All that combined with just existing in this time has inspired me.
“Being able to connect up and create with people has changed a lot and that’s probably the biggest challenge.” You have both taken part in this project before but separately. Could you tell me a little about your previous projects with the Barbican please? The last time I did this it was ‘I’m Rooting For Everybody Black.’ That’s still the vibes, that’s always the vibes. This year, you are collaborating. How have you found this process? Is it something that was completely new to you, or do you have any experience of working in collaboration? How is this manner of working different to working on your own? Me and Gabriel have been working together for a while now. The process was a bit different this time because we’d been commissioned. We had a conversation about what we wanted to explore, went away and separately worked on some things, then brought together what we’d come up with apart. The structure of the track bears the signs of that process I think. This year’s project is titled Subject to Change: New Horizons. What do you hope this ‘New Horizon’ to be? I don’t even know, I think to me this one is about saying everything’s a bit mad right now. Does the fact that it is Black History Month play a part in your piece this year? You touch on your thoughts on this in your most recent podcast episode. Would you like to expand on this for our readers? Last time I did this I had February which is BHM in America. This time it’s October and BHM in the UK. It’d be hard to talk about the past month, or the lockdown period and not speak about race, so in that sense I don’t think
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Jeremiah Brown (Credit: Reneé Maria)
BHM has impacted the project that much. Lol, my thoughts on BHM. I’m not a big fan of the idea of reducing Black History down to a single month as opposed to it being incorporated into education all year round. That said, if it didn’t exist I don’t think it would be incorporated all year round, so if this is what we’ve got, let’s expect organisations to do it properly. On The Sugar and Dread Podcast I was asking for the bare minimum, if you’re doing a BHM event then please book Black artists not white ones. That’s how I feel.
And finally, what work can we look forward to seeing from both of you in the coming months? We’re working on a project together. Hopefully that’s coming in the next few months. I’ve been writing short stories. I might share some of those on a blog in the next few months. Be sure to keep an eye out for Jeremiah and Gabriel’s piece which was published on the Barbican website. There have already been three fantastic projects published, including one by The Spirit’s very own Culture Editor, Destiny Adeyemi, so be sure to have a read.
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Culture
3 NOVEMBER 2020
Museums Musings Online Accessibility and the Arts Deirbhile Ní Bhranáin, MA Media in Development Covid-19 has changed everything. Nobody would deny that. But one of the most positive things to emerge is how readily accessible art has become. Almost every artistic profession has been forced to adapt and come up with creative alternatives, an undertaking that is almost an art in itself. Film festivals, plays, choirs, and music groups occur remotely, connecting people worldwide.
“In many ways, artists have wider audiences and audiences have wider choices than what exists within geographical or financial constraints. With improved accessibility, what people conceive of as ‘art’ is changing, too.” Visual art is no exception. Social media thrums with artists selling their prints, making edgy, creative masks, holding digital viewings. One of the most exciting art pieces
I have seen this year was a short film about postcolonial land ownership, shot during lockdown by Irish artist Eimear Walshe. In many ways, artists have wider audiences and audiences have wider choices than what exists within geographical or financial constraints. With improved accessibility, what people conceive of as ‘art’ is changing, too. The only gallery I’ve been to since March is Ireland’s National Gallery, a beautiful, wonderful space which welcomes, envelopes, and challenges every time I return. The familiar arrows on the floor guides one around the space, which completely removes the exploratory aspect of visiting. But it also let me concentrate more fully on what was there: you don’t have to worry about all the art you’re missing when you can engage with what’s in front of you. Viewing art online somewhat mimics what wandering through a gallery used to be. There is a guide in place, but that’s not to say you can’t use the back button.
Museums and Galleries On Display Zhanhui Jiang, BA Social Anthropology
‘Still Life’ is the first exhibition post-Lockdown that Gagosian London, a contemporary art gallery, presented mid-June. Piero Golia choreographed a set of sculptors of ‘happening’. The concept of time was materialised in the gallery space by events of biological and physical occurrences, repetitions of a rhythmic rotation, and an instance of extreme weather. In a time where ‘stuckness’ seems to
Art is happening everywhere (Credit: @tarangdave)
be the normality, ‘motion’ became a permanent state in ‘Still Life’. Walking through all the spatially separate rooms, audiences found themselves standing solely with the ‘living’ sculptor. Art gallery experiences have become less of a shared or social experience due to Covid-19. ‘It is very different now, we wouldn't have an opening party,’ the curator of ‘Still Life’ said. In the virtual tour ‘The Museum of the World’, exhibits are immediately available to visitors. Instead of walking through the British Museum building, the experience of discovery is no longer under constant surveillance and observation from museum staff
and the architecture of the building itself. Museums, in their virtual presentation, have become less of an institutional ‘observer’ and visitors have regained a sense of agency. Nevertheless, the digital museum experience has lost historical and social elements in this transition to the virtual work, and there is no longer the ability to connect artwork to the museum space it occupies. Digital museums show more of an adherence to the display value. Museums and galleries have a challenge to not only make the collection spaces accessible, but to also transcend the institutional spaces as a mere space of display.
Why has one actor’s death dominated Indian media this year? Anneka Shah, BA Chinese (Modern and Classical)
Sushant Singh Rajput at promotions for the biopic ‘M.S Dhoni: The Untold Story’ (Credit: Bollywood Hungama)
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India is facing not only the devastating impacts of Covid-19, but is also experiencing turmoil in relations with China, and outrage continues in response to ongoing issues of rape and sexual assault that threaten the security of its citizens. Yet, one story that continues to dominate the media in India, and WhatsApp groups of Indians living abroad, is the ever developing ‘investigation’ into the death of Sushant Singh Rajput in June 2020. It has reached such a level of intensity that Bollywood producers are filing a lawsuit against the media on the nature of their reporting. Sushant Singh Rajput was a TV star turned film actor who died by suicide on 14 June 2020 at the age of 34. His death shocked Bollywood fans and reminded many of the hard realities in the industry. Initially, issues of nepotism were blamed for a decline in his mental health. However, news coverage quickly moved from debates around mental health to accusations projected at individuals for the death of Rajput. Many Bollywood actors received threats and were blamed for his death on social media. The media-led murder investigation specifically targeted Rajput’s girlfriend, Rhea Chakraborty. So why is this story still so prominent months after the event? Is the demonisation of Rajput’s girlfriend, portraying her as someone who led him to his death, a cruel replacement
for the exaggerated drama of films and TV that have been missing because of the pandemic? Or, is this the government’s way to distract the public from difficulties the country is facing in regards to unemployment, unprecedented case numbers of Covid-19, and the largest recession on record? It seems that the people are truly over-invested in this story and in Bollywood as an industry. The Economic Times has reported on multiple Facebook groups created by Indian nationals searching for answers related to Rajput’s death. Their investigation found that ‘a mere search for “Sushant” on CrowdTangle [a site for analysing social media trends] reveals over 500 million interactions since June 15, with over 870,000 public posts.’ These Facebook groups are one element that continue to fuel the media coverage and add to the story and this, in turn, distracts public attention away from the country’s other pressing issues. Whilst some people have started to speak out on the issues embodied by Bollywood, more must be done to tackle the long-lasting problems of nepotism, sexism, and mental health, which many are happy to ignore for a two-hour escape to the cinema. Indians across the world must push back on how the media shapes realities, and reclaim ways of addressing issues that impact communities.
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3 NOVEMBER 2020
Sport & Societies
https://soasspirit.co.uk/category/societiesandsport/ Sport & Societies Editor: Artemis Sianni-Wedderburn
A Duty of Care worth 6Mbps Artemis Sianni-Wedderburn, BA Politics and Arabic Sport: a heavily polarised topic - motivating, thrilling and disappointing people like no other. Partially due to it being a communitybased activity, creating a social base, partially because it is a way to identify with something bigger than yourself. The primary goal is enjoyment of participants, and in higher circles, spectators. Esports, specifically Riot Games’ online battleground ‘League of Legends’ (LoL) is no different. LoL has grown exponentially since its development in 2009, with a tenfold increase in membership from 2011 to 2020 (11.5M to 115M respectfully). With 75M available in prize money, LoL is no stranger to competition, and arguably has all the features - including physical exertion - of a traditional sport. Much like conventional sports, it offers opportunities (the story of HuanFeng, abandoned age 12 and now playing in China’s highest leagues is one of a myriad of examples). However, the gap between developed and developing countries, seen through the availability of a 4G LTE connection, is blatantly
prominent when it comes to esports; a stable connection for a set period of time, and a LoL compatible device is required to play. This gap was catalysed during Covid-19, as more turned to online play. The relationship between connectivity and the development gap, and therefore esports and their possible subsidisation is an alternative proposal, and one that has potential to be sustainable in the long term. Much like a soccer player has a playing field and cleats, a LoL competitor has a connection of 6Mbps and a LoL compatible device. Due to the outdoor and adaptable nature of soccer, it doesn’t majorly depend on resources that are income and availability based. The rapid digitalisation of the West and East Asia, shown through accessibility to the internet allows for a predisposition to esports; South Korea consistently ranks first for 4G LTE penetration, with 97.5% of the population connected as of 2019. The fact that South Korea alone has the second highest number of LoL players by regional server globally - at 23.5% (2017), after Western Europe (24.9%, 2017) - is made possible through the strength of this connection. Countries have changed more in terms of the
internet than anything else, as jobs, schools, and even social events (the SOAS Freshers' Fayre, for example) are online, meaning that access to knowledge and equal opportunity is too. Impoverished children are more likely to have difficulty engaging and connecting to online lessons than those in households with greater earnings, furthering existing educational inequality. If sports are online too, they lose a fundamental social base. Coronavirus digitised the job sector with the alternative being furlough or unemployment, growing the gap between wealthy and poor nationally. Accessibility to internet connection and compatible devices may help breach it. A data-based approach can be used, sampling esports pioneer, South Korea. As of 2019, 50% of its population has completed some form of tertiary education, demonstrating the correlation between connectivity, education and LoL players. The most fruitful result would be to have 100% 4G LTE connectivity, with roughly 60% of the population in tertiary education - the remaining 40% does not need tertiary education to access their job market. From this, an equation is devised, by dividing the 4G LTE connection rate by the percentage of tertiary educated citizens, showing progress against this 'ultimate goal'. In this case, the percentage would be 1.67 (100/60 = 1.67). South Korea ranks (97.5/50 = 1.95),
whereas Ireland is much further away from the ultimate, as (63.7/16.3 = 3.91). Ireland is one of the countries that is still struggling to provide nationwide internet. These two drastically different numbers are representative of the ability to provide the internet, and partially, livelihood and opportunity to its citizens. However, states such as Iraq are outliers, with the 2003 war devastating livelihoods and homes. Iraq has 59.7% 4G LTE connectivity (2019), and tertiary education data is not available. When rebuilding, there are more pressing needs - specifically healthcare, housing and education. The future is digital, yet it is difficult to adapt without education. Some solutions exist: foreign intervention in the form of a state loan, or contracting the private sector. Either way, a state like Iraq does not have the resources available to fund a nationwide project such as this - nor the willpower. The UN's Sustainable Development Goal #7 puts forward 'Digital Health', where ‘digital technologies can transform the way health data are collected and used’. If connectivity becomes necessary to the point where health is dependent on it, the investment will need to be made. Whereas it is not part of the state's duty of care to provide entertainment in the form of esports, it is the right of the population to be given the tools to prepare for an opportune life.
Anti-vaxxer and on-court diva: is Novak Djokovic still a role model? Katherine Brown, MA Chinese Studies
Novak Djokovic landed himself in hot water at the 2020 US Open earlier this year, after accidentally hitting a line judge in a fit of rage with a tennis ball. The furious reaction from the six-time world champion arose after he had lost a point to opponent Pablo Carreño Busta. Djokovic was then disqualified and made to relinquish the $250,000 would-be earnings that is awarded to players who reach the quarter finals.
Most tennis commentators, including former British number one Tim Henman, were in unanimous agreement that the decision to disqualify Djokovic from the tournament was the right one rather than a call to reprieve. Djokovic later issued a statement of regret on Instagram, but was earlier reported to have argued with the umpire to continue the match. According to New York Times tennis writer, Ben Rothenberg, Djokovic is claimed to have said ‘She doesn’t have to go to the hospital for this. You're going to choose a default
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in this situation? My career, grand slam, centre stage?’. Perhaps even more shocking than the act of aggression itself was the torrent of death threats and abuse that the line judge received from Djokovic’s fans, whom he had to ask to lay off. But by flouting responsibility and refusing to apologise appropriately, his role model status is certainly questionable. The men’s tennis world number one is no stranger to controversy; earlier this year, the star, who has been extremely vocal about his anti-vaccination stance, was also caught on camera partying in a packed Serbian nightclub during lockdown. He later became one of four tennis players who tested positive for COVID-19. As the world’s top ranked tennis player, and a role model for younger contestants, it is questionable whether Djokovic’s behaviour is indicative of his ‘poor judgement’, or a byproduct of sheer arrogance and entitlement. Accidental or not, Djokovic’s actions and subsequent response were
Djokovic tends to the line judge after hitting her in the throat (Credit: EPA)
problematic. He poses a stark contrast to rivals Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, who both portray a gentlemanly and respectful demeanour, making them fan favourites internationally. Djokovic, however, remains a divisive figure. This was highlighted when Nick Kyrgios, another tennis player known for his on-court antics, made a tonguein-cheek jibe at Djokovic about how he was supposedly relieved easily. So far, Djokovic has managed to overcome any controversy he has faced. He will go down in history as one of the most consistently talented players of all time, but his irresponsible attitude especially towards vaccination, in the time of COVID, is concerning. Considering Djokovic’s influence and platform as a celebrity and sports
personality, it is possible to ask if sports federations can intervene in regulating what players can and cannot say off the court, especially if it is a potential threat to the public. But it is difficult to know how many people are going to refuse the coronavirus vaccine, when it is ready, simply because of what a tennis player has said. Maintaining a calm demeanour and professional sportsmanship on the court is a huge responsibility, especially for those at the top of the field. Failing to live up to the expectations of the public and the sporting world can damage their image - and therefore career, irreparably. Returning to live sports after a global pandemic no doubt comes with health and safety precautions, but correcting oncourt violence should not be one of them.
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Sport & Societies
3 NOVEMBER 2020
The best societies to join this year! MENA Society Our society has, for the past few years, come in and out of existence and hasn’t had the strongest foundations. However, as of 2019 a team of students decided we wanted to make a properly functioning society that would represent the MENA in SOAS and give students from across the region – and equally across the globe – a chance to celebrate and learn about Middle Eastern and North African heritage and culture. Last year was all about having as much fun with the society as possible and really making a name for ourselves, and we were successful in this mission (given what little time we had on campus). We had amazing events that became extremely popular: the year kicked off with a
POC Drama This society was founded on the principle that non-white peoples should have a space outside of the whitewashed mainstream in which we can create and share art and, in turn, share both our common and unique experiences of racial injustice and difference. We create theatre about us that serves us, rather than any voyeuristic white audience. Collaborating on theatre in the age of
Decolonising our Minds
meet and greet - rivalling all meet and greets - that ended up becoming an amazing party in the JCR, with MENA and non-MENA students alike, tying in to our society goal of raising awareness and sharing the rich tapestry of the MENA region. Our final big event was culture night, that we just fortunately managed to squeeze in before the combined tornado of strikes and COVID-19. This year we want to replicate the diversity of events that we had last year (even if it is online for term one) and broaden our horizons as a society. This means hosting informative and hard-hitting events - we have some very interesting and innovative events and experiences coming up soon that will reveal a whole new side to the SOAS MENA society! Feel free to follow us on Instagram (@soasmena) for updates!
COVID-19 has been difficult to say the least. We're managing by staying in touch with each other as much as possible (through video calls and the like), trips to see live, sociallydistanced theatre, and by regular meetings with our Play Book Club! We're constantly planning for the time when we will be able to rehearse and perform again so watch this space! Follow us @pocdramasoas for more updates! The SOAS Crest, representing one of the fundamental values of the institution (Credit: SOAS)
Decolonising Our Minds is a student-led campaign that seeks to challenge the legacies of colonialism and racism both within and outside the university; this is done particularly by tackling structural inequalities within the institution and engaging with communities around London and the UK. Fundamentally, we hope to re-imagine
Women’s Rugby
A controversial subject is always party to stereotypes; rugby is no exception. Some are good, and some are bad. Being completely honest, I can tell you that most are bad and it is a shame. SOAS rugby teams are somewhat peculiar in their uniqueness; the large melange of backgrounds and cultures are shared thanks to rugby, specifically SOAS rugby. Fortunately, through hard work and an open attitude, the Warriors do not reflect those stereotypes. Our team is not focused on being overly successful or a meritocracy, nor are we the most competitive or efficient team on the pitch. SOAS rugby is more than that. This year, we are running two separate, gender-based teams. We believe that we are different from traditional rugby, as our two teams are training, learning and developing new skills as a whole together. To us, rugby is more than a team, it is about experienced teammates training new ones, and the mutual support we are able to create. Most of all, it is about having fun! Playing rugby at SOAS has taught us how to put aside our differences; our team contributes to the empowerment of
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the university and its role within its immediate surroundings and the world at large, which the current moment of crisis in higher education demonstrates the need for more than ever. Some questions we want to explore are: What does decolonisation look like to you?; Can the university truly be decolonised?;
women, through learning a new sport and being able to train with men. The happy product of this is playing as a mixed team occasionally; as of last year, the men’s team helped members of the women’s team by sharing experience and training skills. It is a shame that rugby has a bad reputation and a stigma around it. As a woman, I often think about the journey that rugby was for me and my teammates, who turned into friends and then eventually family. These are people you can count on, on and off the pitch. Having a teammate in rugby is different from other sports, due to the need for rucking. The concept of teammates in rugby is the essence of the sport - where to catch, where to position yourself, how you can protect them and in turn feel protected. The most important thing in rugby, and especially rugby played in the midst of a global pandemic, is the safety of the players. To keep our players safe, the committee wrote a risk assessment form and is following a very strict code for training. This includes sanitising balls every fifteen minutes, and registering players on our track and trace form.
What purpose does the university serve, and for whom? The campaign is looking for new members and ideas, so please reach out through decolonisingourminds@gmail.com or @decolonisingourminds on Instagram or Facebook for more information and how you can get involved!
Another challenge that sprouted from the pandemic is the lack of a Freshers Fayre. We faced massive issues regarding recruitment this year, as we were not allowed to advertise any events in person affiliated with SOAS rugby. However, we persevered, and hit a good number of recruits, who are already playing! A lot of people joined as beginners - they are my favourites; entering the team with no experience, and feeling nervous to go to their first training. The result of this, however, was finding teammates, people that care for them, and forming a rugby family. As we are SOAS, we come from all around the world. We have different languages, different traditions, cultures and religions, but we are a big united family - on and off the pitch. We wish students a very good start to the year in these extraordinary circumstances. If we have inspired you, and if you ever want to give rugby a try, please do feel free to contact us and take part in the big family that forms SOAS rugby.
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Sport & Societies
3 NOVEMBER 2020
Join your student-run newspaper! Interested in journalism, writing, design, or photography? Want to gain valuable experience to pursue a career in the media or publishing? Want to express your opinions? Email spirit@soas.ac.uk to find out about your student-run newspaper! The SOAS Spirit is your independent student-run newspaper; an on campus presence since 1936. We publish monthly throughout the term. We have opportunities to join our team as a writer, photographer, and much more
: @soasspirit
SOAS SPIRIT