BritCits

Friday links

Surinder Singh and family unity.

http://www.jcwi.org.uk/blog/2013/04/19/surinder-singh-and-family-unity

In her reckless pursuit of lower immigration to the UK, Theresa May put UK citizens and settled people in a far less privileged position than EU nationals living in the UK. The rule changes Ms May implemented last year also meant that UK citizens living in other EU countries had more rights than if they lived in the UK. But thanks to a certain Mr Singh, they not only have more rights elsewhere in Europe, but they can bring them back to the UK under certain conditions. On the blogs and in the facebook groups of people affected by the family immigration rules, Surinder Singh has become a buzz word.

Two pieces to follow -

Facebook support group for those considering this route : https://www.facebook.com/groups/477537505627291/

'Journey to Dublin' : http://www.scribd.com/doc/133697288/Journey-to-Dublin
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Effect of detention on children.

http://www.freemovement.org.uk/2013/04/19/effect-of-detention-on-children/

Immigration detention dehumanises not only the detainee but also every person who deals with it. It is a poison that infects us all. The professionals who deal with detainees and their families develop coping mechanisms. We convince ourselves that detention is necessary, that there is no alternative, that it is an inevitable part of the process, that the individuals affected deserve it, that they will get over it, that they are not like us and don’t feel family separation and deprivation of liberty in the same way that we would, that the kids are adaptable little things and won’t really notice. Most of all, we learn to dissociate. The effect of unknowably long immigration detention at the whim of unknown bureaucrats is simply too awful to contemplate for more than a short time.

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Locals fight to halt mum and daughter deportation.

http://www.stirlingobserver.co.uk/stirling-news/2013/04/17/locals-fight-to-halt-mum-and-daughter-deportation-51226-33184693

Outraged parents have started a campaign to stop a seven-year-old Braehead girl and her mum being deported 7500 miles away to South America.

Millie Canales, who has lived in Scotland since she was a baby, faces being sent to Chile to live – even though she speaks no Spanish.

But parents at Braehead Primary School, where Millie is a pupil, have set up a Facebook page calling for a UK Border Agency U-turn. It has attracted more than 1100 names in the first day alone.
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Campaign for Luqman Onikosi.

http://www.campaignforluqman.org.uk/

We are campaigning to ensure that Luqman Onikosi is granted leave to remain in the UK on medical grounds, so that he can access the treatment he needs to stay alive.

Over 1500 people have so far signed the petition to support Luqman's need to stay in the UK on medical grounds, and we know that there will be thousands of others who want to support Luqman. Please help us spread the word.

http://britcits.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/luqman%20onikosi
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Website helps London mothers return to work.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-22126540
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Via Facebook :

Hello Everyone. For those in exile or doing the Singh route and wanting to make friends in their new community, this website could be really useful. The main purpose of the website is to offer free accommodation to travellers in the homes of local people, but I should stress that rather than being purely a way of saving money, the main focus is about cultural exchange, making friends and building communities. I haven't used the website for a while and it's not as user friendly as when I first used it (could be that Im having problems adapting rather than the fault of the site itself) If you have any questions let me know.

www.couchsurfing.org
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The Scream.

http://iadnes.blogspot.co.uk/2013/04/the-scream.html

2013 is the 150th anniversary of Edvard Munch's birth, a number of cultural events with focus on his work has been arranged this year. As one of events, Scandinavian Tourist Broad asked a group of folk-art makers in the town of Nishi-aizu in Fukushima (Japan) to produce traditional dolls based on Munch's Scream as a reconstruction support.
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La Nahuaterique: A village in limbo.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-22206085

There are not many villages that are neither in one country nor another, but La Nahuaterique was one, until the border between El Salvador and Honduras was settled in 1992. But while it is now in Honduras on paper, the reality is rather different.

Marcos Argueta climbs to the highest point in the village. "Over there is El Salvador," he says, gesturing to a hazy blue volcano in the distance. "And over there, where the cornfields are, is Honduras."