Issue 21: 31 October 2022

SOAS SPIRIT

Global Majority

Decolonial struggles, inter-cultural dialogue, and social justice are all issues that have long been the common calling of Soasians, and what has brought ambitious free thinking students ooding through its doors from around the world. Yet many students say that the classroom has not ful lled the promise that drew them in, whilst others still condemn SOAS as a colonial institute. Education at SOAS and beyond is fall ing short. On the week of Monday 12 October many students found their calling more directly addressed in an alternative education space on campus: PRALER.

PRALER (planet repairs action learning educational revolution) is a student and alumni led group addressing

societal issues practically rather than in the abstract. ey hold that the purpose of universities is to be in service of communities and the global majority. Raising the question of what do students really want from their studies, and what is the role of universities for glocal communities? In response, their declaration asserts ‘our peoples rights to an education capable of defending the best interests of our communities, especially a just peace.’

Led by this vision, the group transformed a square of campus from an otherwise unused patch of grass into a vibrant space where banners, student paintings, and informa tive expos, awssembled animated voices in communal learning. ey created a space that for one week materialized their vision of education, inaugurating it ‘Walter Rodney Freedom Square’. It centered community needs and voices as

their drivers of learning, hosting conversations, brainstorms, panels, lectures and zoom calls with students, speakers, com munities, and indigenous peoples around the world. Over a week of Black History month and across Indigenous Peoples resistance days, the group addresses the needs of these mar ginalized communities.

It became a space committed to emancipatory education where the abstract meets action and the ivory tower sits at street level. Law students could study property law in the classroom and then go downstairs to attend a zoom call with indigenous communities about their legal battles to retain land. For many this kind of ‘action learning’ was a revela tion. ‘It shows you how your degree can actually be useful, it’s great’. One passing lecturer said enthusiastically ‘before

Daphne Saunders, BA Global Liberal Arts

‘What do students really want from their studies, and what is the role of universities for glocal communities’

Praler outside SOAS (Credits: Daphne Saunders)

Contents Letter from the Editor

What’s life in Wartime Ukraine really like? pg 13

Priced out of Being Alive: Young Renters in Britain pg 14

What’s life in Wartime Ukraine really like? pg 13

Priced out of Being Alive: Young Renters in Britain pg 14

Proudly Muslim and Black Report 2022 pg 14

Rosemary and Garlic Roast Potatoes pg 17

A Conversation with Dr Wayne Dooling pg 18

The Troubles of Ye: Kanye West’s ‘White Lives Matter’ Controversy at Paris Fashion Week pg 20

Dear Spirit Readers,

As we start the new academic year, the Spirit will seek not only to maintain our presence on campus, but will actively look to increase our in uence as a political and social actor. e media landscape in Britain is rapidly moving in a direction which starkly opposes the open minded, progressive, and justice orientated vision that the vast majority of students hold dear. To combat this rightward shi , students and like-minded allies need to form a network of independent media bodies that can combat the narratives pushed by legacy media, free from fear or favour, I’m determined to see the Spirit become one of these bodies. Building on previous campaigns like “Justice for Cleaners “, and Global majority, the Spirit will seek to work with and not against other progressive bodies on campus. Whilst the Spirit undoubtably takes

a progressive approach to our Journalism, our SOAS, National, and International news sections will always seek to remain impartial and report the day’s news in a manner which is both factful and informative. In this regard, we actively welcome contributions from those whose views may di er from the SOAS mainstream, and hope that we can play a part in the maintenance of a vibrant and varied political culture on campus. With the creation of a new Senior Editorial team led by our Man aging Editor, Executive Digital Editor, Creative Director, and myself, the Spirit aims to be bolder in our ambition, partnering with sister papers around the country, and working with like minded external bodies.

Centrally, the heart of the paper will always be you, our readers. As aforementioned, e Spirit has no external nancial backers, and no secret motives, and no vested interests, we have been, remain, and will continue to be a paper both ran by and in service to the students of SOAS.

Toby Oliver-Clarke Editor in Chief, the SOAS Spirit

Your SOAS Spirit Team

Amelia Casey-Rerhaye • Managing Editor • 681085

Toby Oliver Clarke • Editor-in-Chief • 686196

Millie Glaister • Executive Digital Editor • 668292

Sanna Hamid • Creative Director • 680367

Eleanora Catenaro • SOAS News Editor • 670940

Madihah Najeeb • National News Editor • 670968

Viandito Pasaribu • International News Editor • 679304

Naeema Mahmood • Co Opinion Editor • 686194

Emily Holdcro • Co Opinion Editor • 672228

Naaz Hussein • Features Editor • 681486

Anisah Mahamoud • Culture Editor • 688334

Hala Haidar • Sport & Societies Editor • 691541

Unzeela Manzoor • Contributing Designer • 692007

Lulu Goad • Contributing Designer • 685698

Our Athletes are Ready to Start Again pg 22

Lulu Goad• Senior Sub Editor • 685698

Eman Baasti • Sub Editor • 679630

Clayton Barrington-Russell • Sub Editor • 679437

Danyal Sabir • Sub Editor • 678361

Sophia- Fai Roche • Digital reporter • 6859991

Olivia Vallada • Digital reporter • 693931

Mahek Orora • Digital reporter • 672337

Unzeela Manzoor • Digital reporter • 692007

Toby Oliver -Clarke • Editor-in-Chief

Amelia Casey-Rerhaye• Managing Editor

Senior Editorial Team (Millie, Sanna, Toby, Amelia) from left

SOAS News News

Continued from page 1

Yet the question of what a university is supposed to look like remains very much contested. Wedged between the towering, opaque and heavily-guarded uni versity buildings, Praler’s colorful marquees and expos perfectly illustrate the contrasting visions. Yes, they are very di erent, but must they be opposed?

One organizer answered that ‘all knowledge has the right to coexist’. Yet the University of London’s manage ment does not seem to agree, instead they used security guards to threaten immediate eviction. It is hard to see the need for hostility when PRALER could be in synergy with even those students who seek to use the university in a more traditional sense. So who is the university defending and is collaborative coexistence possible?

Addressing those students who would rather keep their head down and study, one organizer said ‘If that’s what you want to do, do your thing, but there are alternatives.’ Crucially it is these alternatives that those struggling to nd meaning in their course are desperate for. Whilst others feel totally alienated from the educa tion system as a whole and demand ‘cognitive justice’, that legitimizes non-eurocentric and practical ways of learning.

ere are also many that are not only desperate for more meaningful education generally but enraged by their unmet expectations of Soas speci cally. ‘It actu ally hurts. ere’s a level of violence to what SOAS does.’

To these students the institute’s decolonial promise is criminal because it is pro ting from verbally upholding glocal communities whilst in practice working to their detriment. If the university wants to be serious about its 2017 decolonising vision which promises to embed a decolonial approach in its ‘contribution as a public uni versity in the service of the wider world.’, then it might collaborate with student initiatives to do just that.

An Ensemble of Halves

Lilli Hill, BA Music and World Philosophies

In front of me a santur is placed, and I am asked to make a sound. I’m not quite sure what I’m doing or how much pres sure to apply to the mezrabs (sticks used for playing), but I am assured that there is no rush; when someone is practising it is their turn. I try and I do, quiet and meek, but I create a sound nonetheless. Slowly, we make our way round the class and each person inherits the space, with us holding a continued hush in the process. In just one class, I am shown through example the expertise and value within my depart ment. Sadly, like many areas of SOAS, this value is something waning away as a prolonged impact of the pandemic.

By the start of the 2022 academic year, the BA Music programme had been scrapped, along with 60 other pro grammes and 247 modules. SOAS in its transformation plans said that this was its only option to ensure high-quality learning and teaching. In the two weeks that I have been a student here, my experience has been re ective of this highquality goal, but I am le with questioning what the cost to the university is, and will continue to be.

SOAS heralds itself as a one-of-a-kind university, with one of ve national research libraries in the UK and teaching a breadth of languages that is not o ered anywhere else. is is something in decline: we’ve lost language modules and the ability to take a course with

the language centre for free, not to mention £6.5 million worth of sta . Most disheartening of all, the single honours BA Africa and Black Diaspora studies programme has been scrapped, undermining the very name ‘School of Oriental and African Studies’.

Ultimately, this comes down to an issue of funding leaving

Whilst PRALER’s week-long residency has expired, the group and its concept of action learning will not. Neither will the shortcomings about the nature of edu cation it has shined a light on. e bene ts, and some may say, imperative of ‘action learning’ that they claim, leads us to consider the wide potential for institutional izing the concepts it uses.

One PRALER statement that might be cause for common-ground is, ‘We cannot have education that is training desk-killers’ Once upon a time this is exactly the alumnae that SOAS trained and sent around the world, today we must all make sure the university is empowering a very di erent alumnae to uphold glocal needs as PRALER demands. e group’s methods and vision of education may evoke varied opinions, but its goals do not.

the question, what is Director Adam Habib doing about this?

e seemingly obvious response would be to take on more students, especially international students who pay higher fees. In its magnitude, UCL takes on roughly 23,000 international students a year (54% of its total cohort), and with each of them paying on average £22,150 this brings in an eye-watering £514 million to the University each year.

In comparison, SOAS’s 1,362 international students make up only 26% of the intake, and even accounting for home students, it would take SOAS seven years to make what UCL makes each year from its international students alone.

So, why not increase the student population by accept ing more foreign students? is would rstly pose a physical challenge considering that SOAS sold one of its few buildings during the pandemic for a £9 million booster, and secondly an institutional challenge with Habib’s reluctance to take on more internationals. Habib claims that international fees are skewed and unjust, and should instead work on a sliding scale re ective of countries’ incomes. A noble and respect able aim, yet unlikely to bring the nancial boost that the university needs.

Another solution could be something that Habib has advocated for: systemic and institutional change. We cannot hide away from the problem that is facing us, and despite his actions to generate a cash surplus of £11 million in 2021, this is small change in the long run. In fact, the university has been reported as being “structurally unpro table”, suggest ing that the system that requires change is within univer sity walls.

And sadly, this may be due to the fractured foundations that SOAS was founded upon: to be an extension of the Brit ish colonial state. Over a hundred years on, SOAS maintains this legacy by animating one of Habib’s fears - that we are draining countries of their own promising young minds by creating a place of study here in the centre of London, instead of creating places of learning in the countries themselves.

News Editors: Eleanora Catenaro, Madihah Najeeb, Viandito Pasaribu

‘ e single honours BA Africa and Black Diaspora studies programme has been scrapped, undermining the very name ‘School of Oriental and African Studies’

What do students really want from their studies, and what is the role of universities for glocal communities

SOAS : A Censored Campus

Sam Landis, BA Social Anthropology & International Relations

Since the onset of term on 26 September, SOAS manage ment, under the direction of Adam Habib, has suppressed freedoms of expression, assembly and protest guaranteed to students and workers. e authoritative tactics adopted this year follow i those taken during of the 2021/22 academic year, which saw decades of iconic artwork on the walls of our student union painted over, our main building shuttered in the midst of a peaceful and contained student occupa tion, and the hiring of thirty private baili s to forcefully and violently evict occupiers. Despite SOAS capitalising on its history of student activism, protest, and political culture, , management has made it clear that legitimate action focused on bettering the conditions of students and workers will not be tolerated.

is year began with three days of planned strike action from UNISON, the largest trade union in the United King dom which represents cleaners, registration workers, IT workers, and others at SOAS. In the face of rampant in ation, the lowest measure for which is 9.8%, UNISON has asked for a 2% pay rise above in ation (an estimated 11.8% total rise) but were o ered an inadequate 3% pay rise below in ation (a 3% total rise) - e ectively a pay cut. In protest, UNISON voted to strike, the rst two days of which fell on the begin ning of SOAS welcome week. Keeping with tradition, UNISON planned to set up a picket line at the university to encourage students and sta to stand in solidarity with work ers, and raise awareness about the situation. Picket lines are essential tools for striking union members to give visibility to their struggle, and are used to place pressure on the institu tions denying them fair pay and adequate treatment. SOAS UNISON was shocked to receive an email from COO Khadir Meer days before the planned strike action, stating that

picket lines would not be allowed on the main SOAS campus due to fears of ‘harassment and intimidation’. Shunned to the front gates, SOAS hired a barrage of over ten private security guards to prohibit students and sta from constructing a picket line on campus, ensuring strike action would remain on the sidelines.

Within the rst few days of welcome week, the private security hired to contain the picket line informed students that they were not allowed to hang or distribute yers on

entering, and recording their faces with ashing body cam eras. e in ux of funding directed towards private security both this year and last year, speaks to the larger nancial priorities of SOAS management, which also spent copious amounts of money to remodel our campus while denying workers’ a pay increase to combat the cost of living crisis . is remodelling removed a number of bulletin boards on campus previously used by sta , students and societies to hang yers, replacing them with charmless SOAS murals. Additionally, management installed an enormous SOAS banner on the side of the Paul Webley Wing where students used to project lms. e main building was also still under construction once welcome week began, leaving many unaware how to nd the temporary entrance — a side-door tucked in a corner along a driveway. e irony of pushing picket lines o campus to minimise disruption while no one knew how to enter the main building on the rst day of school is not lost.

university property — undermining their ability to engage others in conversations surrounding industrial action and the negligence of management — and partook in several e orts to threaten and intimidate students. One individual help ing with UNISON’s strike organisation was told they would be “broken in half”, similarly , when a group of students moved to the main campus area to resist the suppression of UNISON’s picket, students were swarmed by eight private security guards who physically tried to restrain them from

While things have calmed down a bit since the rst two weeks of the academic year, e orts to censor students are ongoing, including the threatened removal of the Global Majority tents set up for a “liberating education” week during 10-14 October. It’s safe to say that once another strike is announced, tensions will are again. As the year progresses, we must recognise that management’s tactics are concerted and led by a man who had dedicated his career to undermin ing student resistance. As the administration continues to ood your email with surveys about how SOAS cares about student voice, and creates new salaried positions designed to ensure students feel heard and valued, remember what’s happening on the ground. SOAS is becoming a censored campus, we must unite in resistance against our authoritarian management.

Despite SOAS capitalising on the lengthy history of student activism, protest and decolonial sentiment at the university to market itself, management has made clear that legitimate action focused on bettering the conditions of students and workers will not be tolerated.

Student occupiers hold a rally in the face of eviction, March 2022 (Credits Sam Landis)

Management Balance the Books whilst Sta Pay the Price

Ciaran Hay, Political Economy of Development Msc

Sitting down with Consuelo Moreno it becomes immediately apparent that the SOAS cleaners, security, library assistants and other sta are facing pay and working conditions that are unsustainable. Moreno is one of the leading gures in the workers union ‘SOAS Justice 4 Workers’, and is explaining some of the challenges that the sta have endured. ere has reportedly been a historic stand-o between the sta and the SOAS Administration stretching back 16 years; in recent months, these tensions have been exacerbated due to the cost of living crisis. e SOAS support workers were recently o ered an inconsequential 3% pay rise. In the face of soaring in ation rates this would amount to a real-terms pay cut. In light of this development, ‘SOAS Unison’ organized a co-ordinated action during ‘Welcome Week’ calling on the SOAS Administration (and all universities) to o er ‘decent’ pay to its workers. is was supported by the on campus trade union ‘SOAS Justice 4 Workers’.

While pay was the headline demand for the protests wit nessed in the last week of September, other grievances were also being highlighted by the co-ordinated direct action. Fol lowing an alleged gross mismanagement of human resources during the covid pandemic, the plight of the sta deterio rated signi cantly. It has been claimed that the SOAS admin istration has laid o 41% of the support sta in an attempt to reduce a substantial de cit. Reportedly, the cleaning sta were reduced from 52 people before the pandemic to just 21. is has forced the remaining sta to pick up the workload le by their ousted former colleagues, which continues to

increase as a result of a larger cohort of incoming

students. e sta claim they are experiencing regular bouts of sickness from the additional stress. is is leading to further pressure on an already depleted workforce.

e sta have also highlighted their systematic exclusion from the workplace. A number of the team members are not uent in English and despite an agreement made four years ago for english lessons to be included in paid working hours, the sta are yet to receive this provision. e sta have been o ered English lessons that they are invited to attend in their free time as an alternative which fall outside of work ing hours. As a result, they o en clash with the additional employment commitments that a number of team members are currently undertaking which is a result of the real-terms pay cut that has been in icted upon the sta e failure of the university to facilitate su cient language training has supposedly been compounded by the migration of the email system from Gmail to Outlook. Sta are now unable to trans late their emails as they did before, creating further barriers to workplace participation. e introduction of provisions for o cial communication in multiple languages is a conces sion being asked of a university that claims on its website to ‘provide bespoke language training for diverse organizations’.

When approached for comment on the recent protests on campus the SOAS Press O ce stated that they ‘are disap pointed that Unison decided to take strike action’ although ‘they recognise the right of unison members to take strike action’. e SOAS Press O ce also claimed that the admin istration is ‘supporting an open and constructive dialogue with UCU/Unison on improving pay and pensions in an

a ordable way’. Our sources claim that the Unions have still not received a response to the demands laid out for fair pay in the aforementioned protests. Furthermore, we have been informed to expect further strike action in the future if a set tlement is not met with the university administration.

Pay disputes and the ‘cost of living crisis’ have been a recurring issue throughout the summer of 2022. is issue has a ected workers across industries but has had a dispro portionate e ect on migrant workers and others facing bar riers to workplace participation. is includes a signi cant number of people within the SOAS sta . Moreno revealed that conditions were similar for the sta at other Universities. However, they made it clear that they expected SOAS Uni versity to be a leader and lay out a foundation of respectful working conditions for other institutions to follow. Moreno also spoke of the solidarity movements now forming between sta at a number of institutions which are rapidly growing in strength and numbers.

When Moreno was asked about the ways in which students sympathetic with the strikes could show their support, they made it apparent that questioning the reputa tion of SOAS within public discourse and social media has been a method historically used by the student body. e importance of not crossing the picket line and support ing the organization of trade union activity on campus was also highlighted. However, a large proportion of students approached o -the-record were unaware of the reasons for the strike action. As SOAS helpfully proclaimed in one of their most recent promotional videos, ‘we can only tackle the world’s problems when we come together’.

Picture of Unison Picket Line 26th September 2022 (Credit: Twitter User @jess_walsh)

National News

We must never accept this as normal : The killing of Chris Kaba

In the campaign led by Kaba’s cousin, Je erson Bosela, the family have stated new demands for the Independent O ce for Police Conduct (IOPC) including wanting answers surrounding whether the o cers knew it was Kaba inside the vehicle and con rmation that the o cer who shot him will be interviewed without delay. In addition, they have stated they expect a charging decision within weeks, not months. Speak ing on the investigation, Bosela has said, ‘An urgent decision on criminal charges is critical for this family and many others to have faith in the system that is supposed to bring them justice’.

Emily Holdcroft, BA Social Anthroplogy

On Monday 5th September 2022, Chris Kaba was shot and killed by a MET police o cer , only known as NX121. Just 24 years old, Kaba leaves behind a pregnant ancee, the grief for his unjust death felt widely across his family, community and beyond.

e MET police claim the car was linked to a rearms incident that had happened the previous day, and thus o c ers were instructed to follow the registered vehicle when coming across it. Since the shooting, it has been con rmed there was no rearm found in the vehicle and that Chris Kaba was never a suspect. Although many media outlets falsely reported a ‘high speed police chase’, the latest statement read at the opening of the inquest into Kaba’s death contradicts these claims. e statement read ‘ e o cers did not activate their lights or sirens while following the vehicle. e inten tion was to use a ‘enforced stop extraction’ on the Audi.’ is suggests Kaba was not even aware that he was being followed by police until ‘contact was made’ with o cers in a marked ARV.

ere has been no speci cation on what occurred between this interaction and the decision to re a single shot through the front windscreen of the vehicle. He was pronounced

dead, from a wound to his head, at 12.16am on Tuesday 6th September 2022. A er nally being able to view the body camera footage, Kaba’s family and those waiting for justice have many unanswered questions, but for the time being have stepped back from the public light to be able to deal with the mental weight of the ongoing investigation.

A er protests and outrage from the families and those supporting their ght for justice, the o cer that killed Kaba was suspended but has not yet been charged, with the MET police stating there will be a six to nine month wait for the investigation to be completed. e family highlighted how it took over a week for just the results of the forensic examina tion of the car to reach them. With the police policing them selves , Kaba’s family have well-founded anxieties around whether the full truth will be revealed. A er the shooting of Azelle Rodney in 2005, the MET review of its use of the ‘hard stop’ tactic, involving the interception of vehicles in confrontation of the suspect,stated that the practice should be brought to an end , yet a er the inquest into Mark Duggan’s killing, it was highlighted that this recommendation had never been followed. e same method of a forcible stop was used on Kaba.

As Kaba’s family and many others have spoken about, the actions of the MET in using such fatal violence against an unarmed man; in addition to their deeply unsatisfactory reaction a er the killing, only highlights further the continu ing institutionally embedded racism. Kaba is one of the many young black men to lose their life at the hands of the police, others including Dalian Atkinson, Rashan Charles, Edson Da Costa, Darren Cumberbatch, Shane Bryant, Nuno Cardoso and Kevin Clarke. All these men died in contact or custody with the police in the last ve years, yet the o cer who was charged with Atkinson’s murder in 2021 was the rst o cer to be convicted with manslaughter as the result of police contact in more than 30 years. Bosela’s worries surrounding the integrity of legal processes, speaks to the reality of justice o en never served in BIPOC communities; as made starkly visible in the lack of justice for the previously named victims. In addition, heavily racialised databases such as the ‘gangs matrix’, containing data of black children as young as twelve, as well as the recently revealed strip-search of child Q, bring to light the ever increasing brutality of policing systems that seep into every aspect of life, particularly for Black com munities.

Many on social media have also drawn a stark compari son between the instant arrest of those speaking, or simply showing, anti-monarchist sentiment publicly. In a similar time period, Maringela, a 22 year old woman was arrested for holding a sign reading ‘Fuck imperialism, Abolish Monar chy’, yet no-one has been arrested for shooting Kaba. e drastically contrasted prioritising of action by the police only speaks further to a system that works to perpetuate neocolonial control as highlighted by critiques from community resistance groups Copwatch and Forever Family. As many have voiced online, the heckling of King Charles holds more value, and incites a stronger reaction, than the state killing of a Black man in the UK today.

While Kaba’s family continue the wait for justice, they con tinue to organise and campaign with the wider community through conferences, sharing information, petitions to pres sure action and providing spaces to remember and honour Chris Kaba. Bosela’s words aptly summarise the devastating gravity of Kaba’s death, ‘How can a young man, sitting in a car, unarmed, be shot in the head by police in London in 2022? (…) We must never accept this as normal.’

Credit: Misan Harriman

The Summer of Strikes Continues

Archie Thomas, BA Politics and International Relations

roughout this summer, the UK was hit by a wave of industrial action in what has been termed the ‘Summer of Strikes’. With many disputes still unresolved, strikes are set to continue well into the autumn.

Over the summer, national rail strikes from unions RMT (National Union of Rail, Maritime, and Transport Workers) and ASLEF (Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen), brought the biggest national rail strike since 1989. e CWU (Communication Workers Union) organised industrial action from BT and Royal Mail workers. Other industries a ected by the Summer of Strikes included the aviation, maritime, and legal sectors.

is wave of strikes falls upon a backdrop of rapidly rising in ation and stagnant wages. e consumer price

is ‘Summer of Strikes’ has been all the more notable considering that trade union restrictions in the UK are among the strictest in Europe.

index, a measure of the cost of goods and services commonly bought by households, recorded a massive 9.9% increase in prices in the twelve months to August this year. Meanwhile, workers have seen less than 1% median income growth in thirteen years from 2008 to 2021. While above average in a tion has hit many countries this year, its e ect is particularly notable in the UK. TUC (Trades Union Congress) analysis of OECD gures found that real terms wages are forecast to shrink by 6.2% in the next two years, by far the worst outlook among G7 nations.For many , this is the reality of the ‘cost of living crisis’ and is the primary cause of this wave of strikes.

e strikes that garnered the most attention this summer were the series of national rail strikes. Facing job losses and swathing cuts to pay , union members voted overwhelmingly for industrial action. . RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said, ‘Railway workers have been treated appallingly, and despite our best e orts in negotiations, the rail industry with the support of the government has failed to take their con cerns seriously’. e now former Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said, ‘It is incredibly disappointing the RMT have decided to take action that could drive passengers away [...] We once again want to urge the unions to come to talks with the rail industry so we can work together.’

Despite multiple rounds of negotiations, the outlook for a negotiated solution is not hopeful. As recently as 12 Octo ber, Lynch claimed that talks had yet to tackle the issue of pay, with this, further strikes will likely be called well into the autumn.

e outlook is similarly bleak in the dispute between CWU workers and Royal Mail. Royal Mail announced on 14 October that they would be cutting 10,000 jobs by next August, 6,000 of which will come from redundancies. e company claims this is a ‘direct impact of eight days of industrial action’, increasing projected yearly losses to £350m. CWU workers have been striking over pay since the summer , conditions, and what the CWU General Secretary Dave Ward has described as Royal Mail turning ‘into a gig economy style parcel courier’. e union described the job cut announce ment as an ‘intimidation tactic’ and stated that Royal Mail’s losses were ‘the result of gross mismanagement and a failed business agenda’. e CWU will continue as planned with the nineteen days of industrial action, which started early in October and is due to include disruption over the ‘Black Friday’ period.

is ‘Summer of Strikes’ has been all the more notable considering that trade union restrictions in the UK are among the strictest in Europe. Despite this, former Prime Minister Liz Truss had pledged to go further by introducing

minimum service levels on critical national infrastruc tures, such as rail, energy, post, and education. She had also pledged to increase ballot thresholds from 40% to 50% of employees. e former PM insisted that there is a need fo r ‘decisive action to limit trade unions’ ability to paralyse our economy’. Lynch has described this move as ‘the biggest attack on trade union and civil rights since labour unions were legalised in 1871’ and claimed it would ‘make e ective trade union ism illegal in Britain’. e Labour Party said the proposed restrictions would only ‘exacerbate and escalate divisions’, and do nothing to tackle the cost of living crisis.

Industrial disputes and strike action this summer received the public attention in decades. Despite the increase in disruption, public opinion has remained favourable towards unions and striking workers. Whilst some limited settle ments have been achieved through strike action ( like barris ters who have received a 15% pay increase , disputes over rail

and mail, among others, seem far from resolved. With these disputes still ongoing , and the rapidly darkening economic picture , strikes will surely continue well into the autumn.

Railway workers have been treated appallingly… the government has failed to take their concerns seriously

Jeremy Corbyn and UniteTheUnion members at a protest (Credit Marsha Thompson)

Succession in a time of Crisis

Merve Demirci, BA History

Following the forced closure of food banks , halting of pro tests , and the cancellation of medical appointments , sup port for the monarchy is on the wane. e aforementioned services were all suspended in the wake of the Queen’s death and subsequent funeral , a move which angered many, and led to the resurfacing of the monarchies unsavoury past.

e closure of food banks during the bank holiday had an even greater impact this year than on previous occasions. According to the Independent Food Aid Network, 95% of organisations reporting an increased need for their services due to the cost-of-living crisis. Despite the outrage seen online, some held di ering views such as a Twitter user who commented: ‘Food banks that open on Monday will open on Tuesday. Why exactly is that a scandal?’

On the contrary, international views were also critical of the closure of food banks. ‘I heard that the monarchs take an oath to serve with wisdom and mercy, and I don’t know how merciful it is to have people beg for bread.’ voiced an Ameri can tourist in a brief interview.

Nationwide anger grew from the cancellation of health care appointments on the day of the Queen’s funeral. e backlog facing covid hit NHS system meant some patients had to wait almost 2 years for their surgery or treatments. Although urgent appointments continued, NHS sta mem bers were reportedly verbally abused because of the cancel lations, with much of growing public resentment being directed at them. National Rail strikes on the other hand,

were halted in respect for the Queen’s funeral. While some

argued that it was a political strategy to gain more support within the country, others expressed their anger over the government funding millions of taxpayers money to the funeral whilst ignoring rail workers just weeks prior. SOAS student Abimbole, who is studying Arabic and Development, expressed that ‘ e loss of taxpayer money is more contro versial here.’

e impact of closures has allowed many to re ect on the monarchy’s controversial past. Abimbole also expressed the thoughts of many ethnic groups within Britain commenting: “Being a black person, I don’t really have a personal con nection.”

Brexit uni ed the country’s desire for self reliance , and at times of self support, the closure of social safety networks and institutes by the governing powers has led to a greater feeling of isolation within the public. At the very least, these were a reminder that the issues this government faces persist long a er the end of mourning period, and will most likely continue in the future, all while the backlash is most notice ably being felt by the monarchy.

What we could have expected from Liz Truss

Sanna Hamid, BA History and International Relations

On September 6 2022, Liz Truss was announced as the UK’s next conservative prime minister. In the run up for the top job in Westminster, her slogan was ‘trusted to deliver’ but recently , the word trusted would not describe the general feeling towards her government and its and economic poli cies in particular. So, what is to be expected under a Truss administration?

e answer is not entirely clear. Her economic philosophy known as ‘Trussonomics’, includes tax cuts aimed at gear ing Britain into higher growth as well as plans to make the City ‘the most competitive place for nancial services in the world.’ Initially, her ‘plan for growth’ included a package of £45bn tax cuts for the highest tax payers, funded by public borrowing. e plans were announced on September 23 by the ex Chancellor of the exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng .

Trying to implement these in a cost of living crisis, and at a time of global in ationary pressure, led to the policies being ill received by the general public . Governor of the Bank of England Andrew Bailey, increased interest rates by 0.5% in response and UK government bonds came under pressure. In an economic climate of in ation, stagnating wages and rising interest rates, the policy did not sit well with markets, MPs or members of the public. Even those set to bene t from the higher tax rate cut, remarked that that tax cuts were ‘unasked for’ and ‘inappropriate’ in a cost of living crisis. Mark Carney,

the former Bank of England Governor said ‘doubling down on inequality was surprising.’ e partial U-turn on the mini budget saw the pound regain credibility on the international stage, but whether Truss’s credibility does so, remains in question.

Kwarteng was sacked on October 14 a er the pair’s cher ished plans to bring down corporation tax and to axe the higher rate were retracted in the face of backlash from wider society. Truss staked much of her campaign on cutting cor poration tax. Her pledge to freeze UK corporation tax at 19% instead of increasing it to 25% as planned by former chancel lor Rishi Sunak was also reversed. Pressure is being piled on her to resign by business gures and at least three Tory MPs publicly, a er the U-turns announced in mid October have damaged her credibility.

What remains of the mini budget is government support to households over energy bills, national insurance cuts and permanent stamp duty cuts. Keeping the UK safe throughout a tough winter has remained somewhat on the agenda as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt settles into his new role as Chancel lor . With energy bills looking to rise to £6500, the Tory gov ernments original energy price guarantees for this winter and the winter of 2023 would cap domestic households energy bills at £2500. Continuing with the U-turn pattern, Hunt has announced that the government is cutting back to save bil lions of pounds with the price guarantee for households only remaining universal until April.

As part of a wider package of energy supply reforms, Truss vowed to li the fracking ban of 2019 in hopes that it would

reduce the UKs reliance on imported gas. is decision has been described as a ‘political gamble,’ that risks further angering Tory MPs and voters who hold concerns over whether fracking shale gas can actually produce su cient gas without causing earth tremors.

Truss claims that the plans for high growth are what the next generation deserve. In terms of plans for the educa tion system, she has said, ‘ rough a laser-like focus on improving maths and literacy standards we will make a real di erence to children’s lives and by giving families greater choice and exibility when it comes to childcare we will also save them money.’ e university sector body has claimed that in ation has cut the value of tuition fees by a third and demanded urgent action to support institutions that were being ‘squeezed hard’. Universities are already facing disputes over sta pay and pensions, Steve West (head of Universi ties UK), said leaders who are willing to secure a sustainable model for funding higher education were needed but the government did not immediately comment in response.

Although Truss told Keir Starmer she will ‘absolutely’ not be making cuts in public spending to balance the books, a er Jeremy Hunt became chancellor, central parts of her agenda have changed. He told the BBC that she has changed ‘the way we’re going to get there,’ but not the ‘destination.’ Labour claims the spending squeeze will represent a return of ‘austerity’, as public services are struggling to deal with backlogs caused by Covid-19, in ation and an ageing popula tion. e Labour leader sent an email around, ‘Changing the Chancellor doesn’t undo the damage made in Downing

e impact of closures has allowed many to re ect on the monarchy’s controversial past.

Trussell Trust food banks see rise in demand (SWNS)

King Charles III gloomy expression to the arrival of Queen Elizabeth II co n to the Palace of Westminster, 14 September 2022 London (AFP)

8 months into War, Russian Invasion in Disarray

In the 8 months since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the con ict has shi ed in tone and material reality.

e rst months were chawracterised by a defence on the part of the outnumbered and supposedly outgunned Ukrainian Armed Forces against concerted Russian e orts to seize the capital of Kyiv and to push past the eastern frontline around the Dnipró river. e surprise success of Ukrainian forces and the poor planning and execution of the Russian o ensives, particularly against Kyiv, led to the Ukrainian recapture and stabilisation of their northern border and the slow liberation of Russian occupied territory in the regions of Chernihiv, Kharkiv and the suburbs of Kyiv.

ese Ukrainian counter o ensives led to the discovery of the brutal reality of Russian occupation. A Human Rights Watch report in April documented looting, summary execu tions, and sexual violence against Ukrainian civilians, includ ing children. A report by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine published on 23 Septem ber, con rmed those early ndings and found similar war crimes across 30 occupied settlements and received ‘consist ent accounts of ill-treatment and torture, which were carried out during unlawful con nement,’ according to Erik Mose, the head of the UN’s investigation team. Of particular note is the situation in the liberated settlements of Buch, Hostomel and Borodianka, which were occupied by Russian Armed Forces for about a month. Ukrainian and UN investigations found dozens of mass graves where civilians had been tor tured, and buried. e UN investigation also documented a wide range of sexual violence against Ukrainian civilians, with Mose stating that ‘the age of victims of sexual and gendered-based violence ranged from 4 to 82 years.’

Ukraine’s steady consolidation of territory and materiel would have been unlikely without the large supply of arms and military equipment Ukraine has received from NATO and European countries. According to a brief for MPs by Claire Mills, as of the 14 October the UK has committed £2.3

billion in military assistance since February, along with a long-term training program for the Ukrainian armed forces to potentially train up to 10,000 soldiers over 4 months. e EU has also provided £2.5 billion worth of military aid to Ukraine and is working on a similar training program. e US has provided approximately £16.8 billion in military assistance since February 2022 and authorised the transfer of US-origin equipment from 14 NATO allies and US partners. Of particular note among all of this military assistance is the provision of various long-range artillery and rocket systems, which have allowed Ukraine to target and destroy Rus sian supply lines, logistics and military infrastructure well behind the frontlines. In the intervening months, Ukrainian forces rearmed with the weapons sent to them from NATO and other partner nations and have steadily degraded the Russian armed forces ability to maintain a coherent defence against small probing attacks and incursions throughout the summer, while preparing for a major counter-o ensive.

roughout the war, the Russian military has responded to strategic and tactical defeats with missile and artillery strikes against civilian population centres in addition to war crimes on the ground.

On 29 August the Ukrainian Armed Forces and govern ment announced the start of their long awaited countero ensive along the Dnipró river. Ukrainian forces had fended o Russian attacks in the southern part of the frontline,

and in the ensuing two weeks of heavy ghting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that Ukrainian troops had retaken more than 6,000 square kilometres from Russian control since the start of the o ensive including sev eral key cities in the Kharkiv region. As the counter-o ensive progressed into October, Ukrainian forces continued to gain ground and liberate new villages across the east and south of the front, along with eliminating or forcing the surrender of several small pockets of encircled Russian forces.

roughout the war, the Russian military has responded to strategic and tactical defeats with missile and artillery strikes against civilian population centres, in addition to war crimes on the ground. e most recent strikes took place through the week of 10 October a er the Kerch land bridge connecting occupied Crimea to the Russian main land was bombed in an event disputed by both the Russian and Ukrainian governments. Directed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Russian cruise missiles were launched against cities from Kyiv to Lviv, Ternopil and Zhytomyr in western Ukraine, well away from the frontlines. Accord ing to Ukrainian o cials at least 11 people were killed and many more injured, alarmingly , the strikes also suspended Ukrainian energy exports to Europe.

Zelenskyy has renewed his calls for Western powers to provide additional air defence, and countering repower in order to protect Ukrainian civilians from Russian attacks.

Map of Ukrainian occupied territories and o ensives as of 13 October 2022.

(Credit: Institute for the Study of War)

Neel Sengupta, Msc Labour, Activism& Dev

Pakistan Faces Worst Flooding in over a Decade

Wasim, BA Politics

One-third of Pakistan is underwater. As of June 2022, Paki stan has been enduring severe monsoon weather which saw area-weighted rainfall 67 percent above normal levels in that month alone. Up until August 27th , rainfall was 2.9 times the thirty year average for the region . Severe ooding and landslides resulted from this, having detrimental e ects on infrastructure, property, and human life. e Pakistani gov ernment has designated 72 areas as ‘calamity a ected.’ Given the current rainfall, these gures are still uctuating, and more districts are anticipated to be declared calamities.

Pakistan’s Balochistan and Sindh provinces, which are in the south and center, have been especially a ected. As of 27 August, Balochistan has experienced 5.1 times its 30-year normal rainfall, while Sindh had recorded 5.7 times its aver age. Balochistan, Sindh, and south Punjab saw hill torrents, and most of Sindh’s districts were submerged with water, leading to mass destruction.

e Pakistani government calculates that 33 million of the country’s residents are impacted by the rains, oods, and a ere ects like landslides. Additionally impacted or in danger are the more than 421,000 refugees who reside in calamity-declared districts. About 6.4 million people were anticipated to be in need of assistance as of 27 August. e National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) reported that between 14 June and 27 August, at least 1,033 people died and 1,527 were injured, with the number of casualties rising as the rainy season continued. More than 662,000 homes have sustained partial damage, compared to roughly 287,000 total losses. More than 719,000 livestock, a vital source of nutrition and livelihood for many families, have perished, with 69 percent of them dying in Balochistan and 28 percent in Punjab. 2 million acres of orchards and crops have also been impacted.

Infrastructure damage has had a signi cant negative impact and has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis. People’s ability to ee to safer locations has been hampered by damage to roughly 3,500 km of roads and 149 bridges, which has also

e Pakistani government

Credit Macropakistan.com

jeopardized the distribution of help to those in need. e incapacity of the current infrastructure to handle the tremen dous volume of water has further ampli ed ash oods and rain-induced landslides. Major dam reservoirs are rapidly ll ing or already over owing, creating a signi cant risk to resi dents nearby and further downstream. Many rivers, including the Indus River, which runs the whole length of Pakistan, are at high ood warning levels and/or have exceeded their banks. ere have also been reports of internet disruptions, with the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority attributing extensive internet cuts in central and northern Pakistan on 19 August to ber optic network technical issues brought on by the intense rain and ooding.

Despite having a very low carbon footprint, Pakistan is one of the ten nations that are most vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, according to Climate Watch and the Global Climate Risk Index 2021.“My ask is very simple. It is that climate-a ected countries whose carbon footprint is less than 1% of global GHG emissions should not be having to bear the burden of other people’s contribu tions,” Senator Sherry Rehman,

Pakistan’s minister for climate change said in an interview. “Here we are a icted with an event catastrophe that nobody has seen before in living memory and we are bearing the burden of it pretty much on our own with some help from friends.” She has repeatedly stressed that the most signi cant factor contributing to the crisis is climate change.

According to data recorded and released by the NDMA, the 2010 oods, which a ected 10 million people, this year’s oods hit more than 30 million people. Livestock damage in 2010 amounted to $0.27 million, whereas it has cost nearly $0.7 million currently and is likely to rise. In certain loca tions, 45% of crops had been lost, including the cotton crop, which is a major source of Pakistan’s GDP, as opposed to 11% in 2010. is has devastating economic reparations for the country, with climate change expected to only worsen over time. Even while national e orts to assist those impacted are already underway, international cooperation is essential to e ectively handle the e ects of the continuing rains and oods.

Despite having a very low carbon footprint, Pakistan is one of the ten nations that are most vulnerable to extreme weather conditions, according to Climate Watch and the Global Climate Risk Index 2021.

Mahina

Credit ABC News

calculates that 33 million of the country’s residents are impacted by the rains, oods, and a ere ects like landslides.

Kabul : Hazara Community Su ers Attacks on Schools

Bombs placed in cars parked outside the girl’s school exploded (Credit: Kiana Hayeri / New York Times)

In recent years, the Dasht - e Barchi neighbourhood of Kabul has witnessed some of the region’s most destructive attacks. In May of 2021, an attack on an all-girls school led to the deaths of ninety people, most of the students. ese attacks con rmed fears that the American troop withdrawal would leave Afghan women, and the political and social gains they made, particularly vulnerable to the Taliban’s onslaught.

e neighbourhood had already been deemed vulnerable to ISKP (Islamic State-Khorasan Province) armed attacks before the Taliban takeover, but its residents now fear the worst under the current regime. e settlement in western Kabul is mostly home to ethnic Hazaras, a marginalised population within Afghanistan. A long history of persecu tion, including a genocidal campaign during a religious war from 1891-93, laid the foundations of the remaining Hazara communities within Afghanistan. e majority of Hazaras follow the Shi’a school of Islam and thus constitute a religious minority in a country where the majority practise Sunni Islam.

A report by the Minority Rights Group shone a light on the systematic discrimination, targeted violence and enforced displacement, which has led the Hazara to lose much of their population. Islamic State loyalists (previously claimed by the Taliban and now the ISKP) have primarily targeted the Dasht-e-Barchi neighbourhood’s education centres, mosques,

hospitals and businesses. Taliban authorities who took over Kabul in August, have stated that they would increase protection for Shia mosques and other facilities. However, the Taliban have a long history of committing serious abuses against Hazaras. According to Human Rights Watch, Taliban o cials have singled out Hazara journalists for arbitrary detention, and elsewhere the community has had to endure forced evictions.

ese attacks con rmed fears that the American troop withdrawal would leave Afghan women particularly vulnerable to the Taliban’s onslaught.

governance and policy-making.

ese attacks showcase how Afghan nationalism, in both its presidential and Islamic forms, fails to equally protect both secular citizens and followers of Islam. e contradic tions of Afghan nationalism are most evident in its targeting of vulnerable groups, particularly the Hazara community and its women, students and young girls. It is evident from these attacks that Sunni militants target Hazara community cen tres and educational establishments as a means of imposing a regime of domination. is domination serves to crudely portray the Sunni militants as powerful and militaristic by nature, whilst rendering the Hazara students as victims of a traumatic attack.

For the Hazara community in Kabul, and most impor tantly for young girls pursuing their education, an embold ened hard-line Islamist government threatens to eradicate years of social gains and hard-fought freedoms. As noted by the O ce of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), both the previous presiden tial republic and the current Taliban regime have deliber ately sidelined the Hazara regime in relation to matters of

Hazara women, and Afghan women more generally, are not by any means passive, although the o cial regime attempts to characterise the community as so. Since the Tali ban took power in August, Afghan women have been at the forefront of resistance against government oppression. ey have held peaceful protests ghting for their basic rights, chanting “Bread, Work, Freedom”. In these protests, women have demanded the right to safe education and the reopening of girls’ secondary schools. ey have demanded the right to social and political participation in society, o en at great personal risk. e bravery of Hazara women, particularly at a time of immense grief, continues to be a source of inspiration for many like-minded people around the world

Marie Vandermeulen, BA International Relations and Law

Opinion editors: Emily Holdcroft and Naeema Mahmood

The West’s Hypocrcisy Regarding the Iranian Protest

Ul-Hasan BA History and

Manzoor BA Politics and International Relations

Hiba: It would seem evident that, given the circumstances of her killing, and Iranian laws that violate UN human rights rules, there should be a focus on condemning and holding the Iranian regime responsible?

e news outlets did rst focus on the barbaric means used by the Iranian government to enforce its ‘rules,’ espe cially because the protests triggered by this event resulted in greater violence by the police against peaceful protestors. Various videos circulated on social media depicting the nature of the protest in which Iranian women and girls took to the streets in solidarity with Maha, resulting in widespread international support. Other than these marches and a few news pieces, little international governmental action has been taken against the Iranian regime.

e protests in Iran were taking place before international coverage. However, due to the in uence of social media, news of Maha’s death and the protests in Iran reached the international community faster. Iranian women living across the world are sharing stories and experiences of their sisters living in Iran. is is due to the Iranian censorship of social media that came about a er videos circled of women cut ting their hair, and burning pieces of fabric during protests. University students and girls have also been at the forefront of the protest despite knowing the risks they are taking for opposing the government.

For Iranian women, this dress code is a prevalent part of their daily lives. ey live in fear of being taken into custody by the Morality police and having a similarly unfortunate fate as Maha, like many others who have been subjected to the police’s violence. ey should, like all women around the world, be able to have the freedom to dress how they want. Whether that means wearing a hijab and dressing modestly or not. Women should be able to do either of these things without fear that they will be discriminated against, mocked or subjected to violence. Every individual has the right and

a symbol of ‘rebellion’, which is both moving and powerful. With Oscar-winning actresses joining in on the initiative, this trend has made headlines and, subsequently, so has its cause. While it is pertinent to draw as much attention as we can to the matter, it is important to gauge our own positionality before we partake in acts of solidarity.

What is absurd is that these activists reign from Europe, particularly France and Israel.

e policies of both countries are rooted in islamophobia and target Muslim Women who wear the Hijab. is adds a layer of hypocrisy and performative-ness to the act. What doubles down on this is the ‘minute of silence’ observed by French MPs in the national assembly in remembrance of the Iranians who lost their lives. As if it was not the same MPs who passed the law banning the Hijab in schools in the French assembly last year.

e protests in Iran are for liberty and choice. at choice extends to women who do not want to wear the Hijab. Empty shows of support from nations and, activists who are robbing Muslim women of the same choice in their own backyards, does nothing for the movement. Instead, it takes space away from the voices that should be at the forefront. e international community must play an important role in advancing the Iranian revolution rather than hijacking it.

freedom to dress how they see t without anyone else impos ing their opinion.

Unzeela: Recently, there have been international waves of solidarity starting to pour in. Videos of women from around the world chopping their hair have been surfacing on social media. is was meant to be a means of ‘reclamation’ and

e international community must play an important role in advancing the Iranian revolution rather than hijacking it.

Hiba

Unzeela

Credit: A protester holds a portrait of Mahsa Amini- Ozan Köse/AFP/Getty Images (October 2022)

What’s life in Wartime Ukraine really like?

Josephine Aitken, BA Social Anthropology

When we hear the word ‘war’ we try to draw on our preexisting knowledge of it, usually of the World Wars we learnt of in school, or con icts in ‘developing’ countries. From media consumption, the image we construct of Ukraine prior is of a relatively unstable country, despite the fact that many lived a great life before the war. ey lived in a free country, full of highly skilled and professional people, with an abundance of beautiful architecture and nature. Ukraine is the largest country in Europe by landmass, and in relation to its vastness, now, in wartime, the West of Ukraine doesn’t live as the East does. ough they still live in uncertainty, attacks in the West are far less frequent, and safety is more assured. Today, throughout Ukraine everyone continues living their life to a varying degree of normality.

I stayed in Odessa for 24 days this September. Whilst it may not be is not on the frontline, Odesa is more frequently under attack than regions in the West of Ukraine. You could o en hear sirens, meaning that Russia had just launched a missile or a rocket into the region. However, most people have become desensitised to these sirens, and the majority don’t go to bomb shelters when they hear them. Ukrainians would comfort me by saying that the Odessa region is larger than the whole country of Moldova and that the likelihood of getting hit by a car is higher than being struck by a rocket. However, you wouldn’t be hit by a car while sitting in your own apartment. I realised that it is impossible to live in a high state of fear for an extended period of time and that

the human organism will eventually adapt to a high-stress environment.

I remember a conversation, very casual in tone, about the possibility of a nuclear attack. If there would be a nuclear bomb strike, this ‘nuclear mushroom’ will be seen by most of Ukraine. If you can cover the entirety of this ‘mushroom’ with your thumb, you will be okay. But equally, if you hold your thumb to the sky and are unable to cover it, it means bad things for you. Again, it was mostly the laidback deliv ery of this subject which surprised me, the logical thinking around something which inspires such dread and fear.

Restaurants, bars, and salons all work as usual, yet nothing is quite the same. Supermarkets must shut when there is an air raid alert, and you can not buy alcohol anywhere past 8 pm. ere is a curfew from 11pm-5am when you cannot be in the streets. is curfew is to protect the Ukrainian people, as Russian spies could be more easily identi ed a er the curfew was imposed. ese hours are a time for Ukrainian forces to nd and destroy enemy military groups, without the possibility of harming civilians.

Now, you will nd fewer people on the streets, but mostly fewer women. In pre-War Ukraine I had hung out in groups of all genders, now it was most o en myself as the only girl. Many women ed the war, but for men, this is almost impos sible as the country needs people to ensure the economy con tinues – and in case they need more soldiers to be dra ed. While all in Ukraine respect and rely on Ukrainian soldiers, everyone reacts di erently. It is quite understandable that

Democrats don’t deserve our vote

Travelling back home to America during the summer typi cally warrants endless conversations about politics. Growing up in a strongly Democratic household, I was encouraged to engage with current a airs from a young age — and having returned from my rst year of university abroad, friends and family were eager to hear my opinions about Biden, abor tion, student loan debt and the like. Unfortunately, they were shocked to hear my latest take: for the time being, I’m abstaining from voting.

I don’t blame them for their distaste — Democrats have undertaken a systematic operation aimed at hypnotising the American populace into believing that voting for them is the only way to secure gains for working people, resist rightwing extremism, ght for women’s rights, and solve climate change. What’s missing from their stump speech is that, in recent years, voting Democrat has done little to drastically change the material conditions of struggling Americans, and that the Democratic Party themselves have been complicit in, and actively caused, many of the issues that will supposedly be xed if you “Vote Blue No Matter Who”.

e origins of two-party rule in America are steeped in classism, racism, sexism, xenophobia, and every other form of bigotry imaginable. Since the founding of American “democracy”, the main objective has been the construction of a capitalist system built to ensure society’s wealthiest can accumulate unlimited capital while impetuously exploiting workers — paying them pennies while they earn millions, and violently suppressing organising movements and strike action. Internationally, the ruling parties in America have barrels of blood on their hands, instigating countless colonial

missions that sought to expand the in uence and power of the U.S. at the expense of innocent peoples’ safety, culture, and livelihood. Today, these foundations are evident.

While Democrats have rebranded into an accepting and progressive party which raises rainbow ags and elects Black presidents — rightfully bashing Republicans as corporate overlords and racist pigs, but with little acknowledgement of their own wrongdoings — Democratic leadership continues to be dominated by the super-rich, engages in violent impe rial pursuits, and o ers temporary reforms which serve as band-aids to the structural degradation of America’s politi cal, infrastructural, and economic decay. Millions are denied access to education, housing, healthcare, childcare, trans portation, food, and clean water due to their socioeconomic standing, and no solutions have been o ered by Democrats to radically improve these conditions. eir agenda may be better than that of the Republican Party, but the Democratic policy platform is rampant with broken promises, misleading truths, and blatant hypocrisy which will achieve far short of what is necessary.

A er nearly 16 months of campaigning on the ambitious “Build Back Better” platform, Joe Biden and Democratic leadership have delivered much less than expected. While increasing our military budget to $773 billion per year and sending upwards of $15.8 billion of military aid to Ukraine, plans for free community college, a $15 federal minimum wage, and the forgiveness of all student debt have been for gotten. is military expansion comes when national crises, like undrinkable water in Jackson, Mississippi and the devas tating Hurricane Fiona in Puerto Rico, have received minus cule amounts of federal funding to ameliorate themselves. And, while Biden’s opinions on marijuana, abortion and LGBTQ+ rights seem to have improved, we must remember

many don’t desire to ght and possibly lay down their life when only eight months ago, the question would never have even been posed to them.

Sentiment towards Russia in Ukraine was never very positive, but since this February, it has severely and irrecover ably deteriorated. Despite this, they are not afraid of Rus sia’s mobilisation, they feel supported by the Western world, con dent in their army and in their nationwide determina tion to win. e audacity of enforcing Russian ‘citizenship’ upon Ukrainians in annexed regions has, of course, provoked national rage. Although many who work in the public sector are forced to verbally adhere to this, the unanimous knowl edge of true citizenship can always be heard behind words. Despite the hardships they experience now, Ukrainians have bright hopes for the future of their country.

Of course, everyone thinks of the end. Many constantly check the news throughout the day, sometimes within the same hour. e people in my surroundings knew that Liz Truss became the new PM of the UK before I did because her stance on Ukraine could be imperative to the future outcome of the con ict. Everyone in Ukraine agrees that these eight months of war seem like years, their old lives seem so distant to them. Many have le their country to start a new life in safety, but many also remain in bordering countries, waiting. e desire for the end is felt by all, but it is felt by Ukrainians more powerfully than any other European could cognitively understand.

how his violent political legacy — namely his 1996 crime bill which sent thousands of Black people to prison on drug charges, multiple votes pro hibiting rape and incest victims to receive federally funded abortions, and decades of opposition to gay marriage — have led us to where we are today.

e typical response I receive from those questioning my decision to abstain usually rests on the cornerstone of white liberal logic — How could you not vote a er Trump? e “lesser of two evils” debate has been at the forefront of recent Democratic elections, and although a vote for Democrats will likely ensure more short-term gains, for me, it comes down to one question: do they deserve their power? A party which sustains supremacy by lying to the public and mobi lising voters based on a platform that o ers false hope and maliciously harvests trust from society’s most oppressed; a party which may be less rhetorically obvious about their bigotry but holds strikingly similar ideologies to conserva tives on immigration, war, and the economy; and a party which suppresses Democratic candidates ghting for free healthcare, education and childcare – and which has made it nearly impossible for Green Party candidates to qualify for and retain ballot access – does not deserve my sup port. As the upcoming midterm elections approach, I’m not optimistic that my abstention will solve the current state of American politics – that seems like something only revolu tion can accomplish. But it’s time to stop blindly supporting entities which, a er the manufacturing crisis, beg us for our votes and donations in order to dig themselves out of their own grave.

Sam Landis, BA Social Anthropology and International Relations

Priced out of Being Alive : Young Renters in Britain

Ianto Gri n, BA in Music and Anthropology

I’m sitting, holding my keys in my hand, they are a comfort that I haven’t felt in weeks. A blue fob, a traditional-looking bronze, a silver ridged one. e satisfying clink, the added weight to my keychain, which has been so disturbingly light: I could almost cry at how a ected I am by these three small objects. e relief that they’re here, in my hand, that they open the door to my at, where I live. It’s such an unbearably simple thing to be relieved about.

at relief also has considerable limits. It’s hard to put a price on security, but I’m going to anyway.

£39,000.

According to Shelter’s criteria for ‘a ordability’ – which is that yearly rent should be no more than 35% of household income – our situation is una ordable. Our rent is around 62% of what we ‘earn’ as students, of what our governments give us to survive. Added to this, energy bills for the next year are set to average at £3,549, decreasing our le over earnings to 32%. at leaves roughly twenty grand, for four people, for twelve months, less than half of what Wise.com calculates as our average living expenses. Price caps on bills favour families and businesses – the classic subjects of Tory sympathy – and there are no caps on rent. (!!!!?????)

is ‘crisis’ is robbing us, young people, of life. All throughout this summer, a friend of mine spent the rst three waking hours of every day on Spare Room. She wouldn’t eat, drink or go to the bathroom until she’d answered every new ad. She wasn’t alone. e frenzy for housing has become all-consuming; it’s another brick in the wall of pathological anxiety being built around the under35s, an anxiety which makes ‘normality’ unliveable.

It’s disabusing us of the crazy notion that we have a right to our youth, and this is seriously fucking dangerous. Youth is about questioning, criticising, shouting down authority

– even if you’re wrong. It’s about being pig-headed and indignant, and refusing to just accept what you’re told. It’s about having fun and being frivolous. I realise this is basically a punk analysis of what youth should be, and many will disa gree with it on moral, cultural, religious, and other grounds, but bear with me.

Punk came to popularity under Margaret atcher for a reason, and that reason was the economic oppression of the working class. A quick round-up of her greatest hits:

Rapid de-industrialisation of the British economy, starting in 1979.

Introducing ‘Right-to-buy’ in 1980, radically undermining the provision of a ordable social housing in the UK.

Poll or Council Tax, unveiled in 1990. is changed the way tax on housing was calculated from the market value of the property to the number of people living there.

And, a little bonus, halting the provision of free milk to primary school children in 1971 when she was Education Secretary.

in 2022, I and several close friends have faced homelessness, been homeless. is was in large part thanks to the prec edent set by policy like the standardisation of the Assured Shorthold Tenancy – which gives landlords the power to evict without a reason – in 1997. atcherism isn’t rearing its disgusting head (although Johnson and Truss have given it a lovely makeover), it never le

What do we do then? It’s easy to feel helpless when you nd yourself o ering more than you can a ord in rent, to a landlord you’ve never even spoken to, mediated by an estate agent who openly admits that they’d rather be somewhere else (yes, that has happened to me). But a disa ected youth also has great potential to be a militant one. We need to be punk about it; we need to stand up against capitalism, conformity, and blind consumerism. Our citizenship is worth more than our ‘contribution’ to society, and we need to make the institutions above us pay. We need to shout, we need to swear, we need to steal, we need to piss o the politicians, we need to squat every fucking building from Croydon to Barnet, Uxbridge to Upminster.

Is it so surprising that a disa ected youth turned to a sub culture which championed their right to be pissed o ? Well, the latest Tory administrations, driven by fanatic, draconian Conservativism under Johnson and now Truss, are facilitat ing the growth of a new disa ected youth. In the UK in 2021, the Private Rented Sector was estimated to be worth £1.338 trillion (propertymark.co.uk) thanks to the Buy-to-Let mortgage, introduced in 1996 under New Labour. In the UK

More than this though, we need to get organised. Our power may be in our passion, but without direction it’s just going to be misspent. We need a movement that is both huge and local, that spans and connects communities. So join communities, make them. Get involved in one of the organisations at SOAS – Justice 4 Workers, SOAS Solidarity, London Strike Solidarity (for details on any of these, hit me up via my student email). Find out what’s happening around where you live – how are people already resisting? Build networks with your mates, go to protests together, read radi cal literature together. Try to diversify your networks – only by working intersectionally can we create change that is more than just reformist. Be in communion with the older genera tions, many of them face far greater insecurity than we do –they may be in need of help, they may have untold wisdom to help guide our struggle.

Most of all, don’t lose hope in y/our own situation. Hope lessness is defeat, and community is hope.

It’s disabusing us of the crazy notion that we have the right to our youth, and this seriously f**king dangerous

Credits: Biography

NEOM: The Future of Saudi Arabia?

Saudi Arabia has recently released concept art for their new mega-project NEOM: e Line. At rst glance, it appears to be an architectural masterpiece. From a topo graphical glance, it looks like a 170km pencil, stretching across the Saudi Desert. However, this vanity project may bring ruin to the country.

‘’ is is a much-needed investment into Saudi’s bleak economic forecast; poor innovation and, graduate employ ment rates have resulted in a drastically underdeveloped private sector.’’

NEOM (as a whole) is a $1 trillion giga-project designed to reinvigorate the Saudi private economy and pave the way for a post-oil future. e project has wide-ranging goals, from the establishment of a sea-born industrial zone, ski resorts, ports along the dead sea and, even 16,000 acres of genetically altered agriculture in the heart of the Saudi desert. e newest addition ( e Line) is an accompanying $500bn consolidated city built with disruptive technologies. New concept art paints an interesting picture; a long, narrow city footprint (see above) that stretches from Egypt to Jordan (nearly 170km) across the desert of Saudi. e cherry on top of this major investment is e Line, acting as a honey trap to investors, tourists and businesses alike. By demonstrating the liberalisation of previously strict laws regulating everything from the private to the public, hopes are to establish longterm business interests in the country, outlasting global oil demand.

is is a much-needed investment into Saudi’s bleak eco nomic forecast; poor innovation and graduate employment

rates have resulted in a drastically underdeveloped private sector. With oil revenue accounting for 87% of Saudi state revenue, global attempts to transition to a post-oil future rep resent a signi cant threat to the nation’s future. is Project is part of ‘Vision 2050’ and aims to transition the country into a world-leading technological and manufacturing centre. is

project has massive promise, with goals to create a regional trade hub, alongside world-class productivity, arti cial intel ligence and fully automated robotic labs.

To this point, the entirety of NEOM will be beyond Saudi jurisdiction in attempts to draw foreign talent to create a world-leading tertiary hub. is attempt to secure Saudi regional and global relevance is the brainchild of Mohammad bin Salman (MBS), the new Crown Prince of the Country, who represents massive reform within the Kingdom. From curtailing of religious police to the partial li ing of draconian Women’s rights laws, the young Crown Prince represents the most signi cant state-led reform of the country in living memory. Indeed, both reforms and the mega project can be seen collectively as an enticement to foreign businesses and workers to move to Saudi Arabia.

However, MBS’s program is fraught with complications, even before construction. ree men have recently been put to death following their refusal to leave their homes to make way for the project, accentuating the Kingdom’s already tenu ous human rights record. e assassination of journalist and, dissenter, Jamal Khashoggi, is still fresh in everyone’s mind. As such, NEOM: e Line’s plan to make use of disruptive technology also represents a distinct threat; the use of espio nage and, surveillance will be easier than ever in this hightech city. Delivery of the project will also present signi cant complications; other mega projects within the kingdom have failed spectacularly, and, the Crown Prince’s unrealistic expectations (such as robot servants, ying cars and, report edly even a fake moon) will also represent hindrance. ere is no turning back from this either, the Crown Prince’s recent consolidation of power has resulted in total control of the project and, the partial sale of ARAMCO, Saudi’s state-owned oil producer alongside emptying of their co ers to fund the project will cripple the country in the event of the project’s failure.

e Project and the Kingdom’s future are now linked; both the reward and failure of the project will a ect Saudi citizens for generations to come. e promises made of the project are vast, but delivery will almost certainly be wrought with delays, setbacks and, even broken promises. Its major aim, to draw transnational corporations into the company (along with their workforce) will all hinge on the success of this pro ject. However, if successful the move will drastically alter the composition of the global technological elite from traditional research-heavy countries and will shi global focus in the direction of the Middle East.

Angus Robins, MSC Politics of the Middle East

Credits: An artist rendering of the mirrored parallel buildings, Image : Neom

is is a much-needed investment into Saudi’s bleak economic forecast; poor innovation and graduate employment rates have resulted in a drastically underdeveloped private sector.

FEATURES EDITOR: Naaz Hussein

Proudly Muslim & Black Report

Sanna Hamid, BA History and International Relations

Recently, the Muslim Council of Britain and Everyday Muslim Archive launched a report detailing the experiences of African and Caribbean Muslims in the UK. For over three years, alongside several other partner organisations, includ ing SOAS, they have brought together academics, industry professionals and everyday people to explore this intersection of identities. For too long, Black Muslims, who make up 10% of British Muslims, have had their achievements and chal lenges side-lined, not really making it to mainstream media. e underlying issue being that Black Muslims face a combi nation of racism and Islamophobia, within Muslim commu nities and wider society. e aim of this report is to highlight the experiences of Black Muslims and bridge the gap between the communities.

When I was at the launch event for the report, at a trendy apartment block in Battersea, I was greeted warmly by one of the aunties featured in the report as soon as I entered the room. An impressive number of people have been involved in the creation of the report, including Lord Simon Wooley, who travelled for two hours from Cambridge to London to talk for 10 minutes! In his brief re ection with the audience, he mentioned the thing that stood out to him was the optimism of the contributors.

As the evening went on, the oor opened up for questions, and people from the audience started sharing personal sto ries. As they connected over shared experiences, the celebra tory tone started shi ing to one of expressing dissatisfaction with the status quo. A comment was made by a panellist that there were “not enough Asians in the audience” for his liking. ere were a few, but you could count them on one hand. I felt slightly uncomfortable for a second, but I quickly brushed the feeling because I knew he was right. Largely, the target audience for the report is British Muslims, of which the majority are South Asian. I wanted to ask, ‘But what are the solutions?!’ Yet for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to. So, I went home and read the hard copy gi ed to me. A few things stood out to me. Firstly, the impact of hostile immigra tion policy on Black Muslims. ere were anonymous cases of people arriving on temporary visas, getting married and

having children in the UK, to then be deported. ere are growing concerns that the 2014 Immigration Act will enable what happened with the Windrush generation to happen again. With British citizenship itself being something to ght for, discrimination in other areas is not surprising.

Colourism in Arab and Asian communities has meant that it is not uncommon for Black Muslims to face racism in Islamic educational institutions. is means Black children face racism at every angle of the educational development, from within religious madrassas as well as British schools. In North London, the Nana Asmou supplementary school is an example of what is being done to combat this structural

UK problem. Across the pond in Toronto, a young Somali healthcare professional shared similar stories of racism in the workplace on the ‘Digital Sisterhood’ podcast. Instances of being assumed to be a cleaner or not being trusted to carry out tasks she was quali ed to do were commonplace.

For a while now, the media industry has struggled with diversity in the newsroom. Amandla omspson Johnson shared his experiences being one of the only Black journal ists working for the Islam channel. Even though the channel’s largest audience was in Nigeria, there were few stories about Africa. He took the opportunity to pitch original content and from then on he has been writing without placing Europe at the centre. Visibility in the media for Black Muslims is one of the recommendations made at the end of the report.

miseducation. Soukenya Osei-Bonsu, the founder of the Black Muslim Forum, believes that education is ‘the preven tion and cure’. She is passionate about restoring the histori cal dignity of Black children, whose histories are so o en reduced to conquest and enslavement. For religious institu tions, proactively engaging with members of the Afro-Car ibbean community for leadership opportunities, curriculum development and general vacancies is cited as a key takeaway.

Pregnancy mortality rates in the UK are ve times higher amongst Black women than white women. ese shock ing stats were unpicked by six Black British Muslim women reporting on how the intersectionality of their faith and race created a unique discrimination. Insensitivity to pri vacy, dismissal of symptoms and delaying of treatment are common within all their stories. Interestingly it is not just a

e report has been described as ‘just the beginning’ of e orts to dismantle anti-blackness, create e ective policy change and develop a more equitable Muslim community. Many contributors quoted the verse from the Quran, ‘O mankind! We created you from a single pair of male and female, and made you into nations and tribes that you may know each other. e most honoured of you in the sight of God is he who is most righteous amongst you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted with all things.’ 49:47. Just in time for Black History month in the UK, you can have a look at the full report too by searching for the ‘Proudly Muslim and Black’ report from the Muslim Council of Brit ain’s website.

e report has been described as ‘just the beginning’ of e orts to dismantle anti-blackness, create e ective policy change, and develop a more equitable Muslim community.

Launch event for PMB report (Credits: Muslim Council of Britain)

From Braids to the Afro - An Evolution of Black Hair Care and Styles

From African tribal hairstyles to dreadlocks and the afro, Black hair has played a signi cant role in the history of the Black race. African societies in the past styled their hair for reasons other than fashion. A person’s haircut might reveal a lot about their identity. Within some cultures, the power of the individual is believed to reside in the hair and that their highest body part gave them a direct line to the deity. For instance, in Yoruba culture, people would braid their hair to communicate with the gods.

In order to understand the signi cance of hair within African culture, we must start from the beginning. Shav ing o the captives’ hair was one of the rst things the slave dealers did during the trans-Atlantic slave trade, their link to their civilisations severed by such a dehumanising act. Losing access to the herbal remedies, oils, and combs from their own country a er their hair grew back, people made do with what they had available: kerosene, butter, bacon grease, and corn meal were used as conditioners, as well as carding tools made of sheep’s wool and combs.

As a result of colourism, which was prevalent at the time, enslaved Black people and contemporary African Americans were misled into believing the good hair/bad hair frenzy. A notorious statement made by Willie Lynch, a slave owner in the Caribbean islands, predicted that if slaves were divided at the time based on colour, they would be divided for years. His declaration gave rise to two types of slaves: the house slave and the eld slave. e former was a mixed-race slave with fairer skin and “smoother” hair, whereas the latter had darker skin and kinkier hair. In order to t in with society, once emancipated, Black people had to use products to pro duce an image akin to European silky hair.

A prominent gure within the Black hair community is Madam CJ Walker. By developing a line of wildly pro t able hair care and beauty products speci cally for African

Americans, Madam C. J. Walker rose to prominence as one of the most successful African American businesswomen of the early 20th century. In the 1890s, Walker started having hair problems and began combining remedies from wher neighbourhood drugstore. She received her education at Poro College, a school dedicated to educating African American women about Black hair. Walker subsequently served as a sales representative for Annie Turnbo Malone, who estab lished Poro College. She established her own business in 1906, selling hair products door-to-door throughout the South utilising the “Walker Method.” Walker was report edly the rst female African American millionaire when she died in 1919. She is now being commemorated with her own Barbie doll as part of their ‘Inspiring Women’ line.

getting harder and harder to ignore how type 4 hair, notably 4C, which has the tightest curl pattern, is being le behind in the natural hair world. Texturism is currently thriving despite all progress made in the community to appreciate the intrica cies and varieties of black, natural hair. 4C hair tends to only be liked and valued when it mimics other textures. No matter how hard people with 4C hair try, drowning their natural hair with products, they will never be able to achieve type 3 curls. e area where many Black women with type 4 hair previ ously sought assistance has become so dominated by type 3 hair that it has actually turned them o e looser your curl pattern , the larger your following. Type 4 hair is being pushed to the outside of the natural hair region by plainly vis ible texture-ism. With the rise of social media, commentary from anyone is easily accessible and those with type 4 hair are o en shamed for relaxing or straightening their hair by the natural hair community. is nexus should be eliminated. Black women have the right to express their hair in whatever form whether that be: protective styles such as braids, wigs, and weaves, or straightening their hair. Hair is personal.

Black women should not be expected to change their hair in order to t into whatever societal gap or bracket is desired; this goes against the basic tenet of the campaign for natural hair. It is the responsibility of the natural hair community to create room for type 4C hair, which is manipulation free and ourishing in the very environment that was created for it.

During the civil rights era, the Black Power movement of the 1960s and 1970s sought to alter how the Black commu nity saw itself and their impact on society. e natural afro evolved into a well-liked declaration of strength, pride, and resistance. Some people believed that embracing their natural texture was a method of regaining their roots, feeling that straightening their hair symbolised a history of forced assimi lation. e haircut, popularised by legendary Black activists, intellectuals, and artists like Angela Y. Davis, represented the never-ending struggle against racism.

Fast-forward to current society, the natural hair movement has seen a boom with the entire industry worth $1.6 billion. As a result of the pandemic, many people saw this opportu nity to learn about their hair and reconnect with their roots. However, despite the experimenting and TikTok lessons, it is

e rst step to appreciating type 4 texture in all its kinky, coily splendour is acceptance, by elevating the voices of persons with type 4C hair in order to genuinely educate and express the beauty of the hair type.

Credits Mattel Inc.

Anisah Mahamoud, BA International Relations

Black women should not be expected to change their hair in order to t into whatever societal gap or bracket is desired; this goes against the basic tenet of the campaign for natural hair.

Rosemary and Garlic Roast Potatoes

Amelia Casey - Rerhaye, BA Arabic

I think it is safe to say that autumn has hit us. is is the best time of the year in my opinion, with the most heart-warming and cosy foods. And what doesn’t scream golden leaves and crisp cold nights like some roasted veg?

With this whole cost of living crisis and skyrocketing energy bills, the oven has turned into the demon of the household along with the hot water tank. So, when you turn it on for this recipe, make sure you have some other things to go in as well. Maybe some broccoli or cauli ower, a couple of sausages? A few beetroots, which are very cheap in Lidl I must say.

is recipe is one of the epics. Everyone who’s anyone should know how to make a banging roast potato. For those

Italian uncle, a genius in the kitchen. I was told not once, but twice, that these were the best potatoes some of my friends had ever tasted. No more needs to be said.

Ingredients:

5 Potatoes (Maris Piper are the best for roasting)

2.5-3 tbsp of Olive oil (for the potatoes)

5- 6 cloves of garlic

6-7 sprigs of rosemary

3-4 tbsp of olive oil (for the drizzle)

A pinch of sea salt akes.

Method:

First things rst, mince the garlic and rosemary, and then mix it in with the 3-4 tbsp of olive oil and set aside to marinade.

Scrub your potatoes and chop them through the middle so that you have the two pointy ends as your halves (NOT lengthways so that the halves are atter).

depending on the size of the potatoes.

While the potatoes are boiling put the olive oil onto your baking sheet and place in the oven to warm up at fan 180 degrees. Place them cut side down on the baking tray and put them in the oven.

A er 20 minutes, take the potatoes out of the oven. With the bottom of a glass, crush each potato down so that it is squished almost at.

Brush or drizzle on the garlic and rosemary mixture, making sure to coat each potato thoroughly (in between the gaps of the hassle

of you who have yet to learn: I’m here to help. is particular way to roast tatties was shown to me by my

Par boil (meaning boil them a little in some salty water), until a knife goes into them like butter. is should take around 10-15 minutes, maybe more

Black History (Month) Year: A Conversation with Dr. Wayne Dooling

Naaz Hussein, BA Politics and International Relations

Black History Month was initiated in 1969 in the United States, permeating into a yearly tradition to celebrate black achievement and recognise the systemic oppression faced by Black individuals in day-to-day life. Coming from a culture where things are o en swept under the carpet, the conversa tion of oppression being one, moving to England has allowed me to understand the celebration of such months to a fuller degree. e protests on the streets, petitions to sign, books to read, people to speak to, learn, learn, and learn. In order to further my knowledge of Black History Month and its multi faceted nature. is week I interviewed Dr Wayne Dooling, the chair of the African Studies department.

What does Black History Month mean to you?

Dr Dooling had a very simple response and one that I could not contest, “I am ambivalent towards Black History

Month because every month is Black History Month.” Dooling continues to discuss that the recognition of Black History Month is now nationally present, signifying the inter est in African history and a shi towards a structural change. However, he explains to me that his ambivalence towards the celebration of the month stems from his view on the very nature of Black History Month, “ e concept itself comes with some problems. ere is a chance people will forget about Black History Month. It is not a project, it’s cyclical, a

constant struggle, but it’s not mentioned every day, and that needs to change”. When asked about what other problems are faced due to Black History Month, he states “ ey are ghet toizing it” he explains that mass corporations and companies have begun to treat the historic month as if it was Christmas, latching their corporate greed onto the stories of Black indi viduals that deserve to be heard. Creating this distinction and capitalizing o a month of pride only causes Black History to be perceived as the ‘other’ when in reality it is the ‘us’.

leaving a gap of information in young minds when under standing the history of minorities in this country.

Nevertheless, Dooling notes that SOAS’s approach is dif ferent, “I think virtually all that we do here at SOAS is Black

History Month, as far as Black history goes, we engage with it every day during the academic year”. Dooling,

alongside Professor Ida Hadjivayanis, was integral to the re-establishment of the BA Africa and Black Diaspora stud ies. “ is is a step in the right direction,” he says, the relaunch of this course encompasses the appreciation of African culture and history, placing Africa at the centre rather than a case study to discuss; “We wanted to give people taking the course an appreciation of the diversity of African language and cultural diversity.”

Dr Dooling sees many ways in which the nation can further recognise the upheaval faced by Black individuals in the country. His primary notion is to integrate the study of African history into school curriculums; “In this case, you could say Black History Month has almost failed us due to this not being changed, the education system must make African history integral to the general history curriculum as at the moment it is entirely peripheral.” Moreover, he explains that the average young person leaves high school with little to no knowledge of Africa as well as South Asia and East Asia,

We are lucky to be attending one of the most diverse uni versities in the world. e resources we have at our ngertips are abundant. Use them. Take this time to educate yourself on African History and the Black experience in the UK. What does Black History Month mean to you? What does it mean to SOAS? What does it mean to this country?

If you or anyone you know feels as if they are being treated di erently due to the colour of their skin, please contact antiracism@soas.ac.uk. And remember, words of hate are not tolerated here at SOAS.

“Everyone who’s anyone should know how to make a banging roast potato”

Credits: Amelia Casey-Rerhaye

A discussion with Dr.Dooling: Education and action does not end in October.

Culture

The Tate Modern’s Hyundai Commission: Cecilia Vicuña’s

Amelia Casey-Rerhaye, BA Arabic

e thing I love most about the annual Turbine Hall instal lation is the curious wonder you feel as you rst walk into the enormous space. e knowledge that something grandiose and immense lies just beyond those glass doors thrills me every time. Chilian artist and poet Cecilia Vicuña responded ingen iously to the task she was given. e Brain Forest Quipu will be hanging in the Turbine Hall of the Tate Modern from the 11th October 2022 till 16th April 2023. It consists of two 27-metre mobile-like structures strung from the ceiling at either end of the hall. Each one is adorned with natural and found materials, interwoven and knotted, that reach down to the ground.

Two, pale, ghost-like sculptures are brought alive by the accompanying sounds and song playing from speakers within the structures themselves and under the main bridge. Using the ancient Andean tradition of the Quipu and her other signature styles, Vicuña has created a sacred space of mourn ing for the loss of the rainforests and indigenous lands of South America. e white materials provide a shock factor as they match the colour of draught bleached trees and animal bones. Yet, their skeletal presence does not make the space uninvit ing; contrastingly, its gentle movement and the so sounds intermitted with long silences allow for a space of contempla tion and re ection.

e interwoven bone-white materials of the Brain Forest Quipu are made up of unspun wool, rope, and other natural materials. Attached to these are objects from the banks of the

river ames, collected by local Latinx groups in London. In the press conference, Vicuña described her perception of

objects as constantly in a precarious state of change. Her col lection of found items entangled with an ancient tradition of storytelling forms deep connections between past and future, space, and time. Vicuña writes “ e Earth is a brain forest, and the quipu embraces all its interconnections.”

e installation is multi-layered, with a soundscape labelled the ‘Sound Quipu’: eight hours of sound and silence directed by Colombian composer Ricardo Gallo. e noises range from indigenous music and natural sounds to compositional silences. Together, with the imposing structures of the Brain Forest, the sounds seem to embody the life and breath of the maltreated Earth we live on.

e third and nal layer of the installation is the ‘Digital Quipu’. With screens set up around the space, videos are shown of indigenous people ghting for the land around them. e activists and land protectors of these videos give context to the exhibit. One short lm from e Village República shows a young woman describing the destruction wrought by outsiders on their home – “we will take care of the land ourselves” she

Cecilia Vicuña has lived a life brimming with passion and art, as a founding member of Artists for Democracy during the military coup in Chile she lived in exile in London in the 70s. When I asked her what she thought the younger genera tion could or should take away from the exhibit, she went back to the origins of the design. In her approach to the vast and seemingly cold space, she explained, she tried to imagine what could provide a warmer atmosphere to the space. To make it an area of ease and comfort she placed two sculptures in it, one as the mother and the other as the child. Focusing on inter generational love, she opens the space up for warmth, she told me. We live in a society that has stripped us of our communal nature, love for ourselves, our bodies, and our health. As she spoke, the passion built behind her eyes whilst she stated that it is this intergenerational love that will change the world. It cannot be done by just the young, nor only the elders, but together we can reconstruct and save the world.

As I wandered out to the sunny banks of the river, I dri ed between the long owing wool and netting of the Brain Forest Quipu and gazed up at the suspended feathers and shells above me. e Quipu is an old tradition for storytelling and commu nicating that was once almost destroyed by colonial invaders, “Quipus were burnt, but the quipu did not die,” Vicuña wrote. inking of this, I couldn’t help but be hopeful for our Earth.

declared simply. ese videos are also accessible online, creat ing a virtual audience, and using the Quipu for its purpose of drawing people, and space, together.

Chilian artist poet Cecilia Vicuña responded ingeniously to the task she was given.

Hyundai Commission: Cecilia Vicuña: Brain Forest Quipu Installation

CULTURE EDITOR: Anisah Mahamoud

The Troubles of Ye: Kanye West’s ‘White Lives Matter’

Tahera Islam BA/BSc Social Sciences, Humanities

It is no surprise that Kanye West, despite being con sidered one of the best-selling male artists, producers, and entrepreneurs today, is also known for his reputation for controversial actions and crazy statements. From West interrupting Taylor Swi in the infamous 2009 VMA speech to his unsuccessful attempt to run for president, it is safe to say that his outspoken views have been a frequent source of controversy. Most recently, during Paris Fashion Week, when YEEZY SEASON 9 was set to make its surprise debut, it also revealed West’s latest controversial political stunt. is featured models on the runway and Kanye himself wearing a t-shirt with the bold statement ‘White Lives Matter,’ alongside right-wing commentator Candace Owens.

Owens, known for her pro-Trump activism and criticism of the Black Lives Matter movement and the Democratic Party, can be seen as no surprise for wearing a ‘White Lives Matter’ t-shirt. Undeniably making the event a striking highlight for Paris Fashion Week Spring/Summer 2023. is action faced backlash and many people immediately took to social media calling out West for his problematic state ment as an o ence, a motto negating the importance of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. Amongst the crowd was Vogue’s fashion editor and stylist, Gabriella Karefa-Johnson. She took to Instagram to condemn his harmful message, describing the stunt as ‘indefensible behaviour.’ She said, ‘he was trying to illustrate a dystopian world when whiteness might become extinct or at least would be enough in danger to demand defence.’ Furthermore, she states that there is no excuse, there is no art here. I do think if you asked Kanye,

West took to his Instagram page of 18 million followers to attack and ridicule the editor. In a since-deleted Instagram post, West responded to the Vogue editor’s comments by sharing photos of the journalist and mocking her appear ance captioning, ‘this is not a fashion person You speak on Ye Ima speak on you Ask Trevor Noah.’ He then took to another post in a mocking tone, speci cally targeting Karefa Johnson’s Timberland boots, which he stated Vogue’s Editorin-Chief Anna Wintour dislikes.

A er West called out Karefa-Johnson for her criticism,

many celebrities came to her defence including Gigi Hadid. Under one of his posts, she commented, directing at West, ‘You wish u had a percentage of her intellect. You have no idea haha…If there’s actually a point to any of your s**t she might be the only person that could save u. As if the “honour” of being invited to your show should keep someone from giving their opinion ..? Lol. You’re a bully and a joke.’ Alongside Gigi Hadid was Hailey Bieber who also expressed her support for Karefa Johnson. However, it is unsurprising that West didn’t let their support slide lightly, as West issued another one of his Instagram tirades targeting Gigi and Hailey. He referred to Gigi in his post as a ‘privileged Karen.’ While Hailey never actively named Kanye in her post, the rapper took o ence over her support of Gabriella and called her out in an Instagram post of an old article from 2016 about Hailey and Drake on a date. Under the post, the caption was directed at her husband, Justin Bieber, ‘Get your girl before I get mad. You spose to be my friend right.’

Vogue also shared its defence for its global fashion editor-at-large and in a statement issued on Twitter, they stated, ‘...She was personally targeted and bullied. It is unac ceptable. Now more than ever, voices like hers are needed and in a private meeting with Ye today she once again spoke her truth in a way she felt best, on her terms.’

While Paris Fashion Week was lled with momentous moments from Bella Hadid’s incredible spray-on dress at the Coperni show to the Balenciaga mud pit runway, the overall impression taken away from Ye’s show was de nitely a negative one.

When YEEZY SEASON 9 was set to make its surprise debut, it also revealed West’s latest controversial political stunt.

The SOAS Spirit Film Review – Spooky Edition

Toby Oliver Clarke, BA History

With the days getting shorter, nights longer, and cu ng season truly upon us, it’s high time that the Spirit released our spooky lm recommendations for Halloween and beyond. Featuring an outlandish Gen Z horror - comedy, a murderous maiden, and an allegory of feminist resistance, the following lms are guaranteed to keep you entertained throughout the next few months (cuddling buddy not included).

As a movie fan with a guilty pleasure for o eat comedyhorrors, “Bodies Bodies Bodies” is a lm that lls me with both glee and dread. e movie follows a privileged group of teens attending a weekend “hurricane party”. When the jock of the group David is found dead with a gash across his throat, a frenzied hunt for the mystery killer ensues. What follows is a series of events which are somehow both come dic and relatable. e group laughably attempt to solve the murder through the medium of Tik Tok, all whilst insulting each other’s podcasts, dealing with fractured relationships, and the societal judgment that can come with same-sex partnerships. Whilst ‘Bodies Bodies Bodies’ may not be the most polished lm on this list, it certainly is a lm which is

designed to both entertain and intrigue, with a few laughs guaranteed along the way. And hey, even if it fails to do the above, you might just pick up some social media stalking skills on the ride.

Second on our list is “Pearl”, a psychological horror directed by industry veteran Ti West, and written by artist and writer Mia Goth. e lms follow the life of its namesake, a young German immigrant living in rural Texas alongside her husband, her father - who has long been paralyzed - and her overbearing mother, Ruth, a woman keen on asserting her place as the matriarch of the family. As the lm progresses, we witness the idyllic life that Pearl’s family built descend into depravity. Long deprived of life’s vices, Pearl seeks out that which had been missing from her life so long, scene by scene she embraces the hedonistic thrill of sexual exploration, substance abuse, and ultimately murder. A lm that stays with the audience long a er its closing credits, Pearl is a movie riddled with intricacies. Whilst Pearl is ultimately cast as the movie’s villain, the audience can’t help but sympathise with her. Su ocated by her mother and denied the joys so easily granted to the men around her, the lm feels somewhat like a vengeance tour, a useful reminder that what goes around will always, eventually, come around.

e nal lm on this list is Don’t Worry Darling. Star ring Harry Styles (in his rst leading role in a major motion picture), and horror industry favourite Florence Pugh, the lm charts the life of the a uent young couple as they move to the new 1950s-esque company town “Victory”. e men of the Victory are all employed by the town’s namesake com pany, whilst the women are encouraged to stay out of their husband’s business and stay away from the ominously anony mous “Headquarters”. Alice (played by Pugh), delves deeper and deeper into the activities of Victory, and soon discovers that the company is far from the benevolent giant which it appears. As she becomes woke to the evil being perpetuated by Victory, the other women of the town join Alice in her quest for autonomy and justice and seek vengeance upon the men who have long played the twin roles of husband and captor. Ultimately, “Don’t Worry Darling” is a lesson to all, the oppression of women results in the oppression of all.

All of the lms listed above are now available for viewing in all major motion cinemas.

A Mirror Through Which We Might See: A Review of Netflix’s “Dahmer”.

Toby Oliver Clarke, BA History

Our ever-ravenous appetite for the taboo has le us in a world which is both lamentable and sadly predictable. A desire to feed the depravity within all of us has generated a whole new industry within the media – True Crime. It’s a genre of television which is akin to purgatory (the space which many believe lies between heaven and hell), the viewer has their cravings for the depraved met, whilst feel ing equally repulsed by the unnatural evil with which they are confronted. In this regard, producers are pushing media which feeds these twin urges, o en as divisive as they are entertaining, these shows are designed to fuel the clickbait culture in which we now live. One key tenet of these shows, is the in iction of violence upon bodies belonging to Queer and Black communities, in this regard, Ryan Murphy’s ‘Dahmer’ is no exception.

Accordingly, the series opens with Dahmer on the hunt for vulnerable men of colour, a scene which becomes uncomfortably familiar as the series progresses. Tracey Edwards (the only known survivor of Dahmer), is lured back to Dahmer’s apartment on the premise of partaking in a paid photoshoot. In the hours that follow, Edwards is spiked and bound by Dahmer, with the scene culminating in Edwards’s dramatic escape from the apartment. Whilst the scenes that play out are certainly those of terror, there’s a romanticism to them which attracts and repulses the viewer in equal measure. e low lighting, heavy breathing, and innate attractiveness of both actors creates a scene which is evidently aiming for arousal as much as it is horror. How ever, the feeling evoked by the scene is not one of arousal,

nor one of horror, rather the scene leaves the viewer feel ing distinctly uneasy. e contrast between Dahmer and Edwards is one key factor in the creation of this unease, Dahmer is presented as being both dogged in his deter mination, and uneasy in his sense of self, whilst Edwards come across as self-con dent, sexually assured, and desir able – a prize which Dahmer must ultimately catch. is all amounts to an evil which is omnipresent throughout much of Murphy’s extensive body of work, the fetishization of Black bodies. Edwards is seen not so much as a victim of sexual violence, but as a wild animal in need of taming, with handcu s, chemical bounding, and a chase through the night, the scene feels like the high point of a wildlife documentary, the dramatic climax of a chase between a lion and his prey.

Murphy does attempt to highlight the failings of those who allowed Dahmer to carry out his murderous spree. Episode one ends with the arrest of Dahmer, and the accompanying screams of Glenda Cleveland, a neighbour of Dahmer’s who had repeatedly reported him to the police and grew increasingly frustrated at the inertia of the local police department. e scene ends with Cleveland’s shouts of “You did nothing,” a timely reminder that both then and now, crimes committed upon marginalised communities are seen as second rate by police departments both home and abroad.

Similarly, episode two covers the kidnap and murder of James Doxtator, a 14-year-old sex worker of Native Ameri can descent. Like Edwards, Doxtator initially escapes the con nes of Dahmer’s apartment, only to be met by two dubious and cynical police o cers. Spiked, bleeding and unable to speak, it’s clear that the o cers view Doxtator as

being just another victim of a culture which had ravaged gay communities of colour throughout the 80s. A scram bling Dahmer manages to convince the o cers that he and Doxtator were simply a pair of young lovers who had overestimated their own capacity to drink. Assured by the promises of an overbearing and manipulative Dahmer, the o cers leave Doxtator to the mercy of his captor, a move which would ultimately result in his death. Whilst these two scenes do go some way to highlighting the treatment of Queer communities of colour by the police, it’s a move which feels hollow when viewed in the context of the whole series. Rather than acting as the focal point of the series, Murphy’s activism feels empty, the mandatory bone thrown to Hollywood’s super cially woke elite.

In spite of this criticism, the audience should look closer to home when searching for the feeling of unease that “Dahmer” generates. e anxiety which the audience experiences, is felt not out of a sense of remoteness or sepa ration from the events portrayed in the series, but rather, a sense that the plot laid in Dahmer is one which hits a little too close to home. Increasingly our society feeds o of the in iction of violence on communities of colour, the tape of the George Floyd’s murder garnered over 100 million views online, and the assault of Chris Rock at this year’s Oscars was the most watched award ceremony clip of all time. is leaves the audience with an uneasy conclusion: Dahmer’s desire to fetishize Black bodies doesn’t so much li up the carpet on the racialized violence, as much as it holds up a mirror to reveal the hidden Dahmer which lives in all of us.

Dahmer is now showing exclusively on Net ix.

SPORTS AND SOCIETIES EDITOR: Hala Haidar

Sports & Societies

Reflections on the Spirit as a Society

Millie Glaister, BA Politics and International Relations

In setting out to write this article, and re ect on the Spirit as a society, I went back and looked through as many of the old issues as I could nd. While the Spirit has maintained a presence on campus since 1936, the digital collections only hark back to 2010 (though this still seems a world away).

ere have been many signi cant changes over the Spirit’s tenure: the design of the paper, the structure of the society; at times it was published in a magazine format - there was even an insert, e Global Spirit, for a while. Despite all these changes, the core values of the Spirit have remained consistent, and I see them re ected in the work we are doing today.

I have the privilege of serving as the Executive Digital Editor of the Spirit this year; a new role focusing on the online presence of the paper which brings with it so much opportunity for growth. Having spent the past few months thinking extensively about the future of the Spirit, this article has given me an opportunity to look back and draw

inspiration from our predecessors in print. I have chosen three quotes from previous Letters from the Editor, which I nd to encompass the ethos of our society, and what I hope to build on for our future:

Jon Pillay, December 2012: “ e one thing that will never change about the Spirit is the fact that this is your paper, a paper produced by you, but also a paper produced for you.”

Ali Mitib, October 2017: “We aim to hold those in posi tions of power accountable and produce content which students will nd informative, thought provoking and entertaining.”

Malia Shoaib, November 2020: [on the decolonisation of 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.”

Having been invigorated by the rich history of student journalism at SOAS, and brimming with ideas for future endeavours, I feel assured of my belief in what we are doing. e most important thing for me is creating an accessi ble point of information for everyone in our community; especially one that is not tied to the institution or limited in what we can share with our readers. Truly, this retrospec tion has a rmed that the Spirit is nothing without each and every person in our community, and that together we are able to create a space where people can feel represented and

Our Athletes Are Ready to Start Again!

Eleonora Catenaro, BA Social Anthropology and Arabic

e density and crowdedness under the tent of the Fresh ers’ Fayre marquee re ected the excitement of all sports and societies’ committees during what feels like the rst actual post-COVID year. If you were brave enough to reach the end of the maze without getting lost among the wide array of societies at SOAS, you must have found yourself in front of the tables of numerous sports teams behind which many athletes were enthusiastically ready to sign up as many people as possible. Some might have attempted to draw you in with Snickers and Mars bars, others with bananas and apples, or even by directly throwing a ball at your face. Many take this for granted, but the amount of work behind keeping a sports team alive and running is far from little. To begin with, the patience of the sports teams’ commit tee members should be prized, as it is an essential element when chasing a er the SU for not responding to emails, not

booking pitches for games, and not registering teams for championships. Omar Jahangir Khan, president of the SOAS Men’s Football Team, expressed his frustration as his team was among the SOAS sports teams that were incorrectly reg istered in the leagues for London universities. Other teams incorrectly registered were SOAS Men’s and Women’s Rugby, Women’s Football, and Cricket. is led to their relegation to the lowest division—which is frustrating considering how well the SOAS Men’s Football Team performed last year. Despite what Khan called a “rough start of the year”, he and the other committee members are still very excited to make this year as enjoyable as possible for everyone who joined the team.

e new SU Sports O cer in charge this year is making all the committees very hopeful that this year, the running of sports and societies will be smoother than it was in the past. Mukund Adamson, SOAS Men’s Rugby’s Social Secretary, believes that sports at SOAS will “make a resurgence” this year given that they are more accessible with no COVIDrelated restrictions.

Despite the support from the SU, SOAS Volleyball had a slightly frustrating start to the year too. Due to an adminis trative problem at the school where they train, training only began two weeks a er the agreed-upon date. Marco Iazzetta, the team’s Secretary, shared some of his concerns when he mentioned the games they’ll have this month and the limited time they have to prepare for them. However, he is very excited about the talented new athletes that have joined the team. Iazzetta also expressed his appreciation towards the

SU because they are now able to o er three di culty levels— beginner, intermediate, and advanced—, allowing everyone to come and play to the intensity they desire.

Competitions will start soon for both SOAS Volleyball and Football Teams; as for the SOAS Table Tennis Society, they began competing in the second week of October. ey have had a terri c start to the year, beating the Queen Mary Table Tennis Society 15-2. e team was established in 2020 how ever for COVID reasons, it was only able to set o this year, and what a start it has been. ey are also looking to set up a women’s table tennis team, so stay tuned if you’re interested! Another society which only recently got o the ground is the SOAS Running Society, whose central focus as of now is not necessarily competition. e president, Oscar Sta pleton, shares that the society aims to “provide a space for de-stressing and making friends”. e society organizes social runs that start from SOAS if anyone is interested. However, they’re still looking to participate in competitions around London, including cross-country races that will take place in the month of October and beyond. Stapleton is looking forward to seeing this freshly started society grow within the next year given the positive outcome so far. Hopefully, this frustrating start to the year will be forgotten later when, with the new SU team already in place, all will run more smoothly. We wish both old and new teams the best of luck in all future competitions!

Consider getting in touch with any member of our team; there is a place for everyone at the Spirit

Sports at SOAS will make a resurgence this year.

Editor’s pick:

A Better Alternative for International Football

James Ethan Byrne, BA Global Development Studies & Economics

FIFA’s scandals have been widely publicised. But, even if you’re unaware of the fraud and money laundering of 2015 within the organisation, you are likely to have heard about at least one of the controversies surrounding this year’s World Cup in Qatar.

It would be an understatement to say that the 2022 Qatar FIFA World Cup hasn’t met universal approval. Clearly, in an organisation of this magnitude and in uence—football has over 3.5 billion estimated fans—cracks will form, and it makes the beautiful game an ugly business.

Out of these murky shadows, the Confederation of Inde pendent Football Associations (CONIFA) has gained some traction, even though many devoted football fans may have never heard of it before. is is to be expected. As a nonpro t organisation formed nearly a decade ago in 2013, cur rently representing 55 regional, ethnic and de-facto national teams, it’s mostly only known to those involved.

Despite representing over 700 million people through their members across the globe, their vision is simple. Let people play football. In fact, watching an organised game will surprise and possibly confuse most, with possible matches including Yorkshire vs. Kiribati or Matabeleland FC vs. the Australian First Nations.

FIFA is such a large organisation with such a massive cultural and economic in uence that corruption will take hold of it no matter what. In 2006, it was reported that bribery had been commonplace for decades, with the former chair of the FA, Lord Triesman, describing their behaviour as being “like a ma a family”.

Between 1989 and 1999, 175 bribes worth over $100 million

were paid to senior o cials to persuade their decisions over marketing contracts. During the 2000s, FIFA made bidding nations agree to tax exemptions, special laws and limitations to workers’ rights for both them and corporate sponsors for the duration of tournaments.

In 2011, during internal elections, the heads of the Bahamas and Surinamese football associations said that they were both paid $40,000 in cash to vote for presidential candidate Mohamed bin Hammam. He was involved in the Qatari bid for the 2022 World Cup.

At this time, FIFA’s secretary general, Jérôme Valcke, had allegedly said that Qatar had bought the 2022 World Cup. Both he and Qatar denied this, with Valcke suggesting that they had “used [their] nancial muscle to lobby for support”.

Qatar has also been criticised by the Carbon Market Watch (CMW) regarding their claims of a ‘carbon neutral’ tourna ment. CMW reports suggest emissions will be 8 times greater than the Qatari analysis.

World Cup chief Nasser Al Khater recently gave rm reas surances that gay fans will be welcome to display a ection and rainbow ags and that everybody will feel safe. But many during the build-up to the tournament have viewed FIFA authorities as seeming disinterested in safeguarding the rights of those in the LGBT+ community who might be attending the 2022 World Cup.

CONIFA isn’t riddled with as many problems as FIFA. ere are no pro t motives, transparency issues, nor is there any jostling for power—the size and vision of the organisation simply do not hold space for corruption to become embed ded or for monetary pro t to undermine the game.

e most recent CONIFA World Cup in 2018 was held in London, with venues including a local football ground in Bromley, amongst other small clubs. ere are no corporate

sponsors, and teams must raise the required funds to travel to matches. A crucial aspect of this World Cup is that the competing teams are simply unable to compete in the FIFA tournament, which can be down to their relative size and funding, but it’s usually an issue of politics.

e CONIFA World Cup is a tournament for places and people with little to no political representation, such as Tibet, having been repressed by China for decades. Northern Cyprus, South Ossetia, and Kurdistan are examples of nations with no o cial recognition by the UN and therefore, FIFA. e teams of Matabeleland, Kárpátalja, Punjab, and Romani people all represent minority ethnic groups. Also, teams from small regions like Sicily, Cornwall, and Hawaii are included in the tournament.

e event allows these teams to not only play but also cel ebrate their culture and identity without the fear of repres sion, dismissal, or prejudice. is may be the only time when a group of people can proudly y their ags and sing their national anthems whilst cheering on a team representing them in an o cial competition.

Watching a match between any of these nations, you can see and feel that there’s more than football happening on the pitch. e rich cultural traditions of these groups, many of which will never be known to most people, are put on full display.

Ultimately, CONIFA’s vision of an ethical football association creates an environment akin to a local Sunday league game: there’s little to no sponsorship or real money in it; no one needs to bribe the organisers to keep their job, and there’s no underlying resentment from anyone.

It’s football, and that’s all people want.

Fifa’s ‘Cup of Life’ (credit: Fauzan Sari)