Category features

Interview with Jill Evans MEP

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First appeared on alt.cardiff on Friday 11 November 2011.

Jill with Cymdeithas supporters

Politicians normally try and hide their law breaking from the public, but Jill Evans Member of the European Parliament (MEP) announced hers publicly when she stopped paying her TV licence in protest against cuts to the only Welsh language television channel, S4C.

“I’m standing side by side with the other people, the other 99 or a hundred, who’ve been refusing to pay their license fees,“ says Jill, outside court where she is appearing for the refusal. “I also feel that I’m doing it on behalf of the people who are not in the position themselves to take that sort of action because of their own circumstances.” She is adamant that this is her duty as a politician.

After a long wait a nervous looking Jill is called into courtroom two of Pontypridd Magistrates Court, joined by around 30 supporters. A large group are from Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society), here as a thank you for her support. The youngest supporter, who stays outside the courtroom, is a shy young girl in traditional Welsh dress.

Jill was still a student at Aberystwyth University when the original campaign to establish a Welsh language television channel took place. This also included the tactic of refusing to pay TV licences. “At that time students didn’t have televisions”, says Jill. “Thousands of people refused to pay, I remember the time very well.”

Although this is her first criminal offence, Jill has been an activist for many years and has campaigned with groups including Shelter and Greenpeace. She is currently chair of CND Cymru and took part in a blockade of Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston with them in 2010.

It was when Jill got to university that she became involved in party politics and joined Plaid Cymru. She says this helped her combine her interests, “for me the whole language movement, the peace movement, the environmental movement, all the things that I’ve been involved in all came together.” She is now President of the party.

A day in court

Outside the court there is a murmur that proceedings will not be in Welsh, something a large group of Welsh language activists is bound to take seriously. But in the end they are translated into English, through headphones, to those who can’t speak Welsh.

Representing herself, dressed in a smart suit, Jill pleads guilty and gives a heartfelt speech explaining why she stopped paying. “This is an opportunity to show your support by not placing a fine,” she tells the magistrate. However, she is told that although her guilty plea was taken into account she will be fined £500 plus legal costs. Cries of “disgrace” come from supporters and one person shouts “stand up for the language and democracy”.

Back outside the court Jill looks relieved but resolute for the future. “I was given quite a heavy fine”, she says, “but of course when I begun this campaign, when I started this action I knew what the consequences would be. It was something I expected.”

But from now on Jill will be paying her television licence, along with other Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg campaigners, after an agreement was made between S4C and the BBC which guarantees funding for S4C until 2017. The focus is now a call for the devolution of broadcasting control to Wales, something Jill is also backing.

Language and identity

Jill sees S4C’s security as crucial to the survival of the Welsh language. “I live in the Rhondda and so many young children now go to Welsh language schools who come from non Welsh speaking homes. It’s so important that when they go home from school they hear the language at home.”

Born in the Rhondda in 1959, Jill also learnt Welsh as a second language and says a S4C is important for older people too. “It became such a symbol that it wasn’t just a TV channel. It’s been a real symbol of the whole campaign for the welsh language and its recognised as that around Europe as well.”

As an MEP since 1999 Jill also works to improve the status of Welsh across Europe. “It doesn’t yet have equality”, she explains, “but it is seen as a model by other minority languages as a very successful campaign.”

Jill’s approach to language is linked to her identity as a Welsh person but she doesn’t see that as exclusive. “I come from a family which has a very strong Welsh identity but I’m the only one who speaks Welsh. It’s not essential for being Welsh but I know that most people see the language as something that belongs to all of us whether we speak it or not and its something that has to be protected.”

Newport bites the foodie apple

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First appeared on alt.cardiff on Tuesday 18 October 2011

Newport may not have an obvious foodie focus but organisers of the first Newport Food Festival, from 28 to 29 October 2011, are hoping to change that.

Newport Food Festival will include local produce

 Demonstrating Newport’s culinary diversity, the festival will feature celebrity chefs including Stephen Terry and Norman Musa, as well as local talent.

The focus is Saturday October 29 with producer stalls, free chef demonstrations and live music.

Anna Redman is the owner of Ristorante Vittorio, which will be taking part in the chef demonstration.  She says Newport has more individuality than other cities, “It’s not overloaded with chains; there are still many independent, family run businesses.”

Newport City Council and Newport Unlimited, who are running the festival, want to build the reputation of the city as a food destination.

Siop y Bobl: Cardiff’s People’s Supermarket

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First appeared on alt.cardiff on Tuesday 11 October 2011.

Siop y Bobl beat Blasus (Delicious) and Broccoli to name the shop based on the London People’s Supermarket featured in a Channel 4 documentary.

Deri Reed, the Ethical Chef, was inspired by the volunteer run supermarket and wanted to try it in Cardiff. The project now has support from the Wales Co-operative Centre and over 300 people interested.

“There’s no doubt that the current food system needs improving,” saysGwion Thorpe, project leader. “Despite the growth of farmers’ markets, box schemes and community food enterprises in Cardiff, the big multiples continue to dominate.”

He says Siop y Bobl will give people more choice; “Ultimately it’s a People’s Supermarket to meet the needs of its members and the local community.”

Organisers are looking for more people to get involved. Get in touch on Facebook and Twitter.

Under The Radar: Achub S4C

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First appeared in Red Pepper – Oct/Nov 2011

Amy Hall talks to the activists fighting to save the only Welsh language television channel.

The creation of a Welsh language television channel has been on of the major achievements in the campaign for the protection of the Welsh language over the past 40 years. S4C or Sianel Pedwar Cymru (Channel 4 Wales) was eventually established after a long campaign with Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg (the Welsh Language Society) – often the younger and more radical side of Welsh language activism – at the forefront. Before S4C was established, Welsh language television was catered for by BBC Wales, but the programmes were sporadic and generally on the fringes of the schedule.

The solution for many came during discussions over a new fourth channel in the UK  in the late 1970s. Both the Conservatives and Labour promised a fourth channel in the UK in the late 1970s. Both the Conservatives and Labour promised a fourth channel broadcast in Wales and dedicated to the Welsh language. But when the Conservatives were elected in 1979 they changed their minds, outraging campaigners, many of whom refused to pay TV licences.

Often engaged in direct action scaling and sometimes deliberately damaging television masts; a number of campaigners went to prison. Former MP Gwynfor Evans threatened to go on hunger strike in 1980 f the decision wasn’t reversed. In 1982 it was, and Welsh language campaigners won their own television channel: S4C.

One of the aims of S4C was to reflect the variety of Welsh culture and experiences in a channel relevant to the people of Wales. In reality coverage hasn’t always lived up to the aspirations of campaigners, focusing on a fairly narrow range of Welsh life. As well as providing Welsh language news and sports coverage, entertainment and children’s programmes, it features offerings like Fferm  Ffactor: an ‘X Factor‘ for farming with one unlucky person eliminated each episode in the battle for Farmer of the Year.

Bilingualism in Wales has grown rapidly in recent years with approximately 22 per cent of the population now speaking Welsh. Yet just as the Welsh language audience is growing the channel for Welsh speakers is being threatened. Current government proposals will sift funding from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport to the BBC, which campaigners fear will threaten S4C as the BBC suffers cuts of its own and has to look at its priorities.

Heledd Melangell Williams is a student from Nant Peris who has been heavily involved in recent campaigning around S4C: “The most frustrating thing for me is that thee was such a big and succesful campaign to get S4C and so many people went to prison, then they can just take it all away – I’m shocked people can do that.”

She is clear that the BBC will not prioritise Welsh language television: “If the BBC had to make a choice between funding an episode of Doctor Who and funding a Welsh language music programme then it would be Doctor Who. A minority language can’t compete with those viewing figures.”

The threat to S4C has led Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg to start a new campaign in its defence. Its first protest, in Cardiff, attracted over 2,000 people. Other actions have included two protesters climbing a television relay building near Caernarfon, a camp outside the BBC in Bangor and occupations of BBC offices in Cardiff and Carmarthen. Some people are also refusing to pay their TV licenses in an echo of the past campaign.

The first court cases have now taken place as people return to direct action. Cymdeithas activist Jamie Bevan is refusing to pay his court fine or stick to the limits of  curfew imposed on him for breaking into Conservative MP Jonathan Evan’s office. He argues that Welsh judges would send a clear message to London by not imposing penalties on Welsh language activists. He now faces a custodial sentence. There have also been arrests after Cymdeithas activists painted ‘Achub S4C’ (Save S4C) on BBC buildings in London.

Heledd Williams explains why young people like her care so much about the channel: “My generation has grown up with Welsh being around as a normal language, in school and on the television, and we want to show that there is a place for it in the modern world.”

The channel has been criticised for recent low viewing figures and a lack of willingness to work with new talent, but Williams says what it needs is a new direction, not a slashing of funding: “Since this campaign has been going it has raised awareness about S4C and the viewing figures have gone up slightly. They are also producing more imaginative programming.”

Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg says it will keep battling until S4C is truly secure and independent. With more than 60 towns and cities currently bidding to host the UK’s first local television services, Cymdeithas also wants provision for Welsh language broadcasting to be written into the licences in Welsh speaking areas from the beginning.

Campaigners argue that the threat to S4C shows that Westminster is not interested in protecting the language. They are calling for the devolution of Welsh broadcasting to Wales to allow Welsh speakers to control their own television channel and develop S4C into a broadcaster that represents the diversity of Wales’ rapidly growing number of Welsh speakers.

This article was written a while ago but to get the latest on the campaign go to the Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg website in English and Welsh.

To buy this issue of the magazine or subscribe to Red Pepper go to their website here.

Upfront: Black History Month

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First appeared in Buzz magazine – October 2011.

October is Black History Month, and in Wales, all manner of events, exhibitions and discussions have been organised to celebrate and recognise the history of black people in Wales – which is said to date back to the 16th century – as well as the invaluable impact they have had in Welsh society throughout culture and industry.

Education is a big theme of the month-long programme of events which starts with the Centre For Lifelong Learning’s first instalment of its history course Black History: The International Struggle for Freedom on Tues 4 and Butetown History And Arts Centre hosting a history workshop Black History And The Concept of Development on Thurs 13 and 20.

Fri 14 Oct sees the All Wales African Community Centre deliver their Black History Month seminar Understanding Black History: Community Cohesion and Engaging With People of African Caribbean Heritage In Wales. The event will take place at the Senedd in Cardiff Bay.

The arts also play a big part in the month’s celebrations, and in Llanelli, where friend of the South Wales miners, singer, civil rights campaigner and thorn in the side of the US authorities, Paul Robeson, will have his story told in a play called Call Mr Robeson: A Life With Songs at the Theatre Eli on Weds 5.

Radio Cardiff host a special gig at the Coal Exchange, Cardiff Bay on Thurs 6 with reggae stars Tarrus Riley and Janet Kaye performing. In the capital’s oath Library, the book launch of Kiskadee Girl by Maggie Harris – which is her memoir about growing up in Guyana – will take place on Mon 24.

In Swansea, the National Waterfront Museum hosts a free Black History Celebration Day on Sat 15 with at, crafts and performances from around the world. On Sat 29, the Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff Bay, hosts the free grand finale event set to include a broad and diverse range of entertainers, performers and workshops.

When town meets gown, communities can flourish

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First appeared on The Guardian Mortar Board blog on 19 September 2011

Students are an important part of any town, bringing skills and enthusiasm, says Amy Hall

Anyone who has lived in a university town or city will have heard – or maybe uttered themselves – “bloody students“, when being kept awake at night by midweek celebrations, or tripping over rubbish strewn across the pavement.

But there are many people around the UK who will be looking forward to the return of the students to their towns and cities as many community groups and projects get a boost in active members.

Bath Student Community Allotments was borne out of frustration from a group of students on long waiting lists for allotments. They wanted productive gardens but were only around for three years. Starting up in a space at the back of a pub, the group now has use of a plot at Bath City Farm. Members teamed up with the Growing Together project to match students and local residents with unused gardens, increasing their productivity and the relationship between students and other Bath residents.

Local campaign groups can also benefit from students, who often bring with them experience of activism in a student setting. As local anti-cuts groups spring up across the UK, many are taking advantage of their local student populations to strengthen their campaigns, and building on the popularity of campaigns around student fees and cuts to education.

One of these is the anti-cuts network based in Newcastle upon Tyne, which started meeting in January as a coalition between students and other members of the community. It has organised protests against tax havens and a day-long anti-cuts gathering with discussions and skill sharing workshops.

Many societies based in universities, and specifically for students, put a big emphasis on helping people in their local communities. The Cardiff University Student action for refugees (Star) group runs English conversation sessions at a weekly drop-in for refugees and asylum seekers, which in turn helps others to participate more fully in their local community.

Students are also big charity fundraisers, often through Raising and giving (Rag), making thousands of pounds for local, national and international charities. Bristol University’s Rag society has raised more than £40,000 for local charities, including a grant to a community group for yoga and meditation classes for children with severe learning difficulties and paying for a Wii fit for the residents of a retirement home. They raise money through events like ‘jailbreaks’ where teams have 36 hours to get as far away as they can without paying for public transport, bar crawls and a yearly street procession.

It’s not just from the goodness of their hearts that many students get involved with community projects; they are also facing an increasingly competitive jobs market and anything they can do to stand out from other graduates will be an advantage.

Students can bring life to their neighbourhoods and engage with their local communities. They also help the local economy as consumers and a workforce.

Relying on students can be frustrating for groups and projects which need commitment all year round, but when students and non-students work together it can benefit the whole community as different schedules and experiences complement each other.

As an example of the ‘big society’, when both sides of the town and gown divide work together towards community cohesion, life becomes a little easier for everyone.

Vote for David Cameron? Keep working

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First appeared in The Guardian on 15 September 2011

Government plans to end the six-week school holidays could backfire

Do women want shorter school holidays? Downing Street advisers believe ending the six-week summer break could be one way to stop female voters deserting David Cameron. But what about all those female voters who happen to be teachers?

The UK school holidays are already among the shortest in Europe, over 70% of teachers in primary schools are women, and many of those are parents. “If individual schools have different holiday patterns, there is no guarantee that the teacher’s summer holiday dates will be the same as their child’s,” says Christine Blower, General Secretary of the National Union of Teachers. “Teachers would be unable to take time off to look after their own children.”

Although there are concerns that long holidays put pressure on families, she argues that reversing cuts to youth services would win more support. So there.

Corruption: The Planet’s Most Talked About Issue

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First appeared on Ctrl.Alt.Shift on Monday April 18 2011.

Corrupt governments, institutions and businesses make people angry and are often a major catalyst in getting them to take action. We are continually being told to behave ourselves and follow the rules, but when the people in power don’t do the same it can seem unfair.

Concerns about corruption around the world are reflected in a recent poll commissioned by the BBC, which states that corruption is the world’s most talked about issue. The World Speaks poll asked over 13, 000 people across 26 countries what issues they had been talking about most, and what were the problems they faced which they saw as most important.

While corruption was the most talked about issue, the people polled saw the most serious challenge facing them as extreme poverty. Corruption was the second most important challenge facing people. This was especially clear in countries including Brazil, Egypt, Colombia and Kenya.

The issue of corruption was one of the biggest triggers for the recent uprisings in Egypt, with the former president Hosni Mubarak being detained over corruption charges last week.

In Colombia corruption is often associated with widespread abuses of human rights, and journalists and lawyers who try to defend human rights are frequently stigmatised, threatened or murdered.

The world is facing uncertain and tough times economically, and climate change seems to be taking a back seat, despite the threat being as real as ever and a massive contributor to global poverty. According the World Speaks poll, public concern about the issue has lowered significantly in major industrialised nations since 2009, partly due to the disastrous Copenhagen summit in 2009.

Apathy towards climate change could also be because people in industrialised countries are not as yet affected by it, unlike people in developing countries. However, in emerging economies like Brazil and India people now see climate change as a serious problem, with deforestation, pollution and natural disasters being among the symptoms.

Unsurprisingly, the most discussed issue in Britain was the state of the global economy, with the perceived seriousness of this problem increasing significantly since 2009, as unemployment and public sector cuts begin to bite hard.

Public services are also a concern in Mexico, the only country to rank education as the most talked about issue. Although Mexico has almost achieved universal primary education, the education system has been described as corrupt, with only 45% of Mexicans finishing secondary school.

GlobeScan Research Director Sam Mountford said: “We shouldn’t be surprised that people are venting their frustration about a problem that often stops governments getting to grips with the raft of other serious challenges that they are now seen to be facing.”

People are feeling stretched in all directions and more clear links need to be made between issues. Corruption and climate change will increase poverty, as will unemployment. Educational problems are often symptoms of poverty and corruption. Working across areas of expertise and in solidarity with people across the globe will be the best way to combat these multiple issues: it seems the world is getting smaller, and more people than ever are opening their eyes to what’s happening to their planet.

Paving The Way For People With Disabilities In Lebanon

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First appeared on Ctrl.Alt.Shift on March 22 2011

The Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union’s mission is to promote dignity through equal opportunities and ensure the social and economic integration of people with disabilities in Lebanon. Amy Hall finds out more, and looks at one particularly inspiring case study; the story of 19 year old Naghem Hasha…

People are only ‘disabled’ because they are in situations that make it harder for them to do things than ‘able bodied people’. Lack of facilities, discrimination and little of understanding mean that people can miss out on education, employment and face social exclusion.

This is especially a problem in Lebanon where Christian Aid partner, the Lebanese Physically Handicapped Union(LPHU), calculate 7% of the population have some kind of disability. Poverty can take many forms, and although in Lebanon things like life expectancy are high, many people are locked in poverty by laws and structural inequality. People with disabilities are often marginalised from public life.

Naghem Hasha is a 19 year old student and wheelchair user who is determined to prove negative perceptions wrong. Tabitha Ross, Christian Aid’s Middle East Communications officer, spoke to her on a recent trip to Lebanon.

“People look at you and treat you differently,” says Naghem. “If I cared what others say, I wouldn’t even leave my room. I can prove that I am more than my chair. It doesn’t matter what others say and think – what matters is what you say and think of yourself.”

It is partly this determination, and help from LPHU, which means that Naghem is now the first wheelchair user at her university. Young wheelchair users in Naghem’s home region of the Bekaa do not usually have the chance to study at local universities, but LPHU raised awareness at the university about inclusion and accessibility and Naghem now studies Business there.

“My friends from school who had disabilities did not go to university, even though I went to school in Beirut,” explains Naghem. “Some of them didn’t go because they had to live at home and they couldn’t find a course in their area; some had difficulties in getting accepted, or there was no disability access in the university. Some didn’t want to enter a world in which they would be different.”

However, Naghem has had no problems with discrimination at university and says she is treated like anyone else. She is cautiously hopeful about the future: “There’s still lots of barriers here to doing what you want. As much as I can, I liberate myself from my situation, so we’ll see what I am able to achieve.”

The Director of her university, Saad Hamzi, thinks Naghem’s future is bright. “She’s open and loves people and they love her back. She’s very active and has been getting good grades, especially in maths.”

It also seems Naghem’s pioneering spirit has paved the way for more local wheelchair users to be able to attend university. “Naghem has really opened the way for others, says Saad Hamzi. “She’s encouraged us to accept others like her case, or even more complicated cases.”

LPHU’s mission is ‘to promote dignity through equal opportunities and ensure the social and economic integration of people with disabilities’ – and it seems that for Naghem, they are well on the way to doing that.

Egypt’s Child Workers

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First appeared on Ctrl.Alt.Shift on March 22 2011

In the midst of the recent revolution in Egypt, Amy Hall takes a look at the on-ground rehabilitation work with Egypt’s next generation…

Egypt has become famous for its recent revolution, toppling one of the world’s longest serving presidents, Hosni Mubarak. Protesters were unhappy about their standard of living, the lack of accountability and transparency in society, and high levels of corruption.

Despite its high profile as a tourist destination, 20% of people in Egypt live below the poverty line and there are 2.7million child workers. Tabitha Ross, Christian Aid Communications Officer for the Middle East, visited Egypt last year and spoke to some of these children, working in limestone quarries.

13 year old Haytham Abdulazuz works at a quarry full time: “I didn’t like school because the teacher hit me and was always unpleasant to me. It’s better to work here and have some income for me and my family.”

Mina Said, now 15, left school at 13 but is now back in education thanks to help from Wadi el Nil, a Christian Aid partner organisation Christian Aid supports Wadi el Nil to train and empower adult quarry workers to claim their rights, such as the right to education for their children.

Mina said he suffered no violence at his previous school but the low quality of teaching meant he felt he was better off earning money for the family. “The subjects were difficult and there was not enough time and the teachers didn’t explain clearly so I felt lost.”

Mina now says he enjoys school and wants to stay in education; “If you don’t finish school, the only place for you is the quarry, and many men die there.”

Mina was keen to go back to school, partly after he broke his arm in an accident at the quarry where his family had to pay two thirds of the medical costs. However, he says he was nervous: “Sometimes they won’t take boys back if they’ve missed too much, but Wadi el Nil arranged with the school for us to go back, and made sure we could catch up by providing special classes. I really enjoy it with my friends, about 10 of us, who all came from the quarries.”

16 year old Issa Khalef Hana works in the quarry part time and goes to school hoping that his opportunities will increase if he finishes his education. He also says the owner of the quarry where he works treats his workers a lot better than others as he “covers the electric cables and doesn’t fire you if you have to take some days off, or have an accident.”

As Egypt works to build a more positive future it is hoped that less children like Issa and Haytham will have to risk their lives working in quarries and more, like Mina, will be able to go to school. This is the generation that will want a better Egypt for themselves and their families so their children won’t be spending their childhoods in quarries – and Christian Aid and Ctrl.Alt.Shift will be behind them all the way.