(I was tasked with writing extensive copy for the Irwin Mitchell website)
Combining Commitment with Sensitivity
At Irwin Mitchell, we understand how deeply an amputation can affect all aspects of your life. Our specialist team of solicitors draws on years of experience in helping people get through what is often a hugely traumatic time. We do not stop at claiming compensation but make certain you are able to adjust to new circumstances following the loss of a limb.
We strive to win the best outcome for all our clients and are sure to use all the resources at our disposal to fight for your corner. We are well known for our understanding of the problems and potential pit-falls that can face you and your family due to amputation. Furthermore, we know what positive actions to take to help you reach physical, psychological and financial wellbeing.
Our lawyers have won the reputation of offering top-level professionalism and expertise, combined with commitment and sensitivity.
We always aim to make you our number one.
We Aim to Offer Full Satisfaction
It can be difficult to know where to turn when a loved one suffers an amputation. It can be a confusing and frustrating time. It is a time when much will have to be rearranged, from transport to home to activities. There is a chance that the amputee will have to change their job.
There is also the potential need for:
Rehabilitation or retraining
Adaptations to your property
Specialist equipment
Care support and assistance
Private medical treatment and therapy
Extensive prosthesis
Our experienced team of specialist amputation claim lawyers offers advice that is second to none. It is important to note that we also fight to secure compensation claims to fund you while your main claim is being worked on.
We pride ourselves on finding the delicate balance between a careful handling of a traumatic situation with a proactive philosophy that helps sort the various practicalities that arise after amputation.
We focus on a multi-tiered approach, providing legal advice, support and guidance to get you through a difficult situation.
Our Reputation
Irwin Mitchell is one of the largest, experienced and most reputable personal injury firms in the UK.
Our membership of the Limb Loss Legal Panel means our solicitors have leading experience in working on behalf of people who have suffered amputations.
We can boast some of the country’s most experienced and best personal injury lawyers.
Our world-class service was rewarded in 2008, 2009 and 2010 with Rehabilitation First Awards.
Our Aim
Fundamentally, our commitment is to reaching the best outcome for your amputation injury claim.
We also have the further ambition of campaigning for improvements in health and safety, so accidents and injury are less likely. With leading organisations, we seek to improve the quality of life of those who have suffered amputation.
For regular updates and to find out more, follow our amputee Twitter account:
http://twitter.com/IMAmputeeInjury
Tuesday, 25 June 2013
A Sit-In at Sofar Sounds
(for the Urban Outfitters blog)
We were lucky enough to get entry to last week’s awesomely intimate Sofar Sounds gig. Bottle of red in hand, we joined the 60 or so other guests sitting on the floor.
For anyone not familiar with Sofar, they are an international movement who create pop up gigs in people’s living rooms. The vibe is relaxed and the talent phenomenal. All the organisers ask is that guests don’t speak during performances and, if they like the music, they spread the word about the artists.
So, first on was the folksy sweetness of Maria Byrne & The Broken String. Think The Byrds, Woodstock and Joni Mitchell. Very catchy, very folksy, very sweet, it’ll make you want to jump in a VW campervan and head to the country.
Then to To Kill a King. These guys are the real deal: thoughtful lyrics, punchy choruses and simply stunning songs held together by multi-layered harmonies. Ones to watch!
Jay Brown was up next, just her guitar and a cellist to support her powerful voice. And she’s got a gorgeous voice, I tell you.. Check it out for yourself – the gal’s got soul!
The barmy brilliance of Peter and Kerry wrapped the evening up for us. They started working together ‘as an impulsive side project’ after becoming close friends. Now it seems they haven’t looked back. There was a real unpredictable edge to their set, after not having had the chance to practice the stripped down sound necessary for somebody’s living room!
So Sofar did it for us. It’s so refreshing to see a gig right up close to the band, where there’s no room for pretense or posers, where respect is mutual and talent rules. These artists are quality. And at a gig like Sofar, it really is all about the music.
We were lucky enough to get entry to last week’s awesomely intimate Sofar Sounds gig. Bottle of red in hand, we joined the 60 or so other guests sitting on the floor.
For anyone not familiar with Sofar, they are an international movement who create pop up gigs in people’s living rooms. The vibe is relaxed and the talent phenomenal. All the organisers ask is that guests don’t speak during performances and, if they like the music, they spread the word about the artists.
So, first on was the folksy sweetness of Maria Byrne & The Broken String. Think The Byrds, Woodstock and Joni Mitchell. Very catchy, very folksy, very sweet, it’ll make you want to jump in a VW campervan and head to the country.
Then to To Kill a King. These guys are the real deal: thoughtful lyrics, punchy choruses and simply stunning songs held together by multi-layered harmonies. Ones to watch!
Jay Brown was up next, just her guitar and a cellist to support her powerful voice. And she’s got a gorgeous voice, I tell you.. Check it out for yourself – the gal’s got soul!
The barmy brilliance of Peter and Kerry wrapped the evening up for us. They started working together ‘as an impulsive side project’ after becoming close friends. Now it seems they haven’t looked back. There was a real unpredictable edge to their set, after not having had the chance to practice the stripped down sound necessary for somebody’s living room!
So Sofar did it for us. It’s so refreshing to see a gig right up close to the band, where there’s no room for pretense or posers, where respect is mutual and talent rules. These artists are quality. And at a gig like Sofar, it really is all about the music.
Dirty Burger
(for the Urban Outfitters blog)
Down an unassuming backstreet in Kentish Town, you’ll find a car-park with what looks like a small, roofed corrugated iron structure in the corner. If you didn’t know any better, you might take it for being a place to store the bins for the restaurant round the front. But if you venture inside, you’ll find what could be a café location for a film about 50’s biker gangs.
Tarmac floor and simple fittings, Dirty Burger is a quick-stop to chow down a gorgeous, gooey, greasy cheeseburger – the only main on the lunchtime menu.
As is often the case in establishments that focus on just the one dish, Dirty’s is flippin’ amazing! Teamed with crinkle cut or onion fries and a soda, shake, beer or bottomless coffee and you’ve got yourself a mean feed that sneers at airs and graces and leers at the niceties of a ‘pleasant sit-down meal’.
A Rebel with a Cause, Dirty’s unabashed menu is filling a hole for London’s burger lovers. If it were a human, it’d definitely have greasy hair and an unstoppable swagger. A bit like that Jax from Sons of Anarchy, only tastier and with less mental turmoil. Sloppy, filthy, smutty, slutty, this is the real deal.
Down an unassuming backstreet in Kentish Town, you’ll find a car-park with what looks like a small, roofed corrugated iron structure in the corner. If you didn’t know any better, you might take it for being a place to store the bins for the restaurant round the front. But if you venture inside, you’ll find what could be a café location for a film about 50’s biker gangs.
Tarmac floor and simple fittings, Dirty Burger is a quick-stop to chow down a gorgeous, gooey, greasy cheeseburger – the only main on the lunchtime menu.
As is often the case in establishments that focus on just the one dish, Dirty’s is flippin’ amazing! Teamed with crinkle cut or onion fries and a soda, shake, beer or bottomless coffee and you’ve got yourself a mean feed that sneers at airs and graces and leers at the niceties of a ‘pleasant sit-down meal’.
A Rebel with a Cause, Dirty’s unabashed menu is filling a hole for London’s burger lovers. If it were a human, it’d definitely have greasy hair and an unstoppable swagger. A bit like that Jax from Sons of Anarchy, only tastier and with less mental turmoil. Sloppy, filthy, smutty, slutty, this is the real deal.
Thursday, 6 October 2011
David Cameron bares teeth over Economy
His speech, delivered at the Conservative annual conference, was peppered with WWII rhetoric and imagery, as should be hoped for at a time when, as Vince Cable alluded, our country is facing the economic equivalent of that opening scene from Saving Private Ryan.
With gutsy gusts, he winded that we must not be “paralysed by gloom and fear” but find that “spirit of Britain” that will help us run up those bleak shores of job cuts, face the hissing barrels of pension losses and chuck grenades of Big Society in the face of depressing market figures.
I can just see him now – a Lurpak man dressed in combat fatigues – hulking a fatally wounded Nick Clegg toward the promised land of financial stability as George Osborne provides covering fire from, heck, an ivory tower.
The metaphor he chose was more prosaic (and less fun to picture). Likening the economy to building a house, he said: “the most important part is the part you can’t see – the foundations that make it stable. Slowly, but surely, we’re laying the foundations for a better future.” He continued with another metaphor – damn, I love these visualisation aids: “Remember, it is not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog. Overcoming challenges, confounding the sceptics, this is what we do.
It was all delivered with boyish optimism and a sense that, if we’re prepared to suffer, we can make it all ok.
And the boy’s got teeth. Teeth, perhaps unlike the traditional bulldog, but of a flabby beagle raised on a sunny Home Counties estate with, most likely, peacocks and daisies to growl at. He briefly flashed these teeth at critics of his planning reforms: “To those who oppose everything we’re doing, my message is this: Take your arguments down to the Job Centre. We’ve got to get Britain back to work.”
Easy to say, Dave, but you try telling that to the face of a BAE Systems worker, or a Bombardier engineer who’s about to lose his job, or a group of nurses about to lose theirs. Yep, we need to get back to work but the public needs more answers as to how. Woof!
Tuesday, 20 September 2011
Blood Chocolates - Modern Slavery in the Cocoa Industry
Many of the workers in the cocoa producing supply line in West Africa are children. Many of them are thought to have been trafficked against their will from Mali and other African nations and then forced to work in difficult conditions for no pay.
Leading chocolate makers in the West signed the protocol. And yet, a decade down the line, little, if anything has changed.
CNN have campaigned for awareness and forced pressure on the chocolate industry through their Freedom Project to end modern day slavery. Their reports yesterday were damning.
Chris Bayer from Tulane University spent five years in the Ivory Coast and Ghana, countries where the issue is at its most concentrated. He said: “Unfortunately, over the last ten years we have seen very little implementation of the actual commitments. Industry did not live up to the Harkin-Engel protocol. The issues are systemic.”
And Stop the Traffik, the global coalition that aims to bring an end to human trafficking, says that, although the chocolate industry has gained more than £600bn over the past decade, the combined investment from it into the improvement of working conditions in West Africa has been a paltry 0.075% of this.
The facts are difficult to establish, as there is no legal regulator that monitors the entire chocolate supply line and the western companies are not legally obliged to follow through on the promises they made in the Harkin-Engel protocol.
For instance, the International Cocoa Initiative, set up by the protocol to address the issue, appeared sanguine, stating that: “Governments of cocoa producing countries, members of the supply chain and the ICI itself are actively working to improve the livelihoods of cocoa growers.”
Whatever the facts, maybe it’s worth taking a bit of time while you’re chewing your Mars, your Nestle, your Cadbury, Hershey or Ferrero, to think about where it came from. As Chris Bayer said: “We have this disparity between incredible poverty and suffering and yet indulgence and decadence on the other hand.”
Sunday, 18 September 2011
Dale Farm Evictions- Tomorrow is the Travellers' D-Day
It’s a moral dilemma of life-changing consequences, a choice between respecting fringe lifestyles and the need for all to uphold the law. The depth of the decision has seized the media and gouged a gaping divide in opinion. Tomorrow, the travellers’ community of Dale Farm will face the bulldozers as eviction day finally hits.
The majority of the site has no planning permission and is situated on greenbelt land. This, on the surface, suggests the situation is a no brainer and, as the law exists for the greater good, the families should cut their losses and leave.
However, complications arise when more facts become clear. The travellers own the land and many have planted roots there. Some children, who go to school in the area, have never known another home. Furthermore, it is alleged that the land was formerly a scrap yard and Basildon Council itself was responsible for concreting over it.
The Guardian reports that Ray Bocking, who sold the acreage to the Gypsy community a decade ago, said it was the local council who laid rough tracks leading to the farm and dumped hardcore onto the site. Bocking told The Guardian that, “Dale Farm was a swamp and a breaker’s yard for years. It was a rubbish ground. I really don’t know why they are throwing away £18m.”
From this perspective, it is easy to see how many are calling for compassion, especially when we learn that some of the residents are elderly or infirmed and have no housing sorted. Add to this the fact that Basildon Council have recently passed permission for 70 houses to be built on greenbelt land and the situation, it could be argued, starts to look like prejudice.
Under the Caravan Sites Act 1968, councils were obliged to provide allowances for up to 15 caravans at a time but this law became obsolete with the introduction of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. The Commission for Racial Equality believes this has led to there being a deficit of sites to accommodate all travellers and, therefore, their way of life will inevitably become compromised.
But my two pence is this: nobody should be allowed to think that laws don’t apply to them and, frankly, the travelling community should have showed more respect for the local authority all those years ago by only living and building on areas they were given permission to occupy. Before they sent their children to local schools and before some became too weak to move on, they should have established what exactly they would be certain to get away with, rather than settling down and hoping for the best. Their claims of discrimination and racism seem self pitying and hypocritical. The country needs its greenbelt and, to me, it’s reverse discrimination if the majority are not allowed to build on it but a certain small community who keep themselves to themselves are given an allowance.
Nobody, except fascists and Daily Mail readers, revels in hatred and intolerance and, as such, it can be difficult for modern people to criticise minority groups. But the travellers’ claims of racism from Basildon Council should fall of deaf ears. It is one law for all, not one law for some and different laws for others, no matter how different those others may be.
Tuesday, 19 October 2010
Tanzania Business Times Correspondence-08
Still guessing? Last week, UN scientists told the world that the “cattle plague”, or rinderpest as it is more formally known, has been eradicated. In Africa, where the disease has been all too visible in the memories of many living today, there must surely be a huge sigh of relief.
After all, we are talking about the virus that ravaged chunks of continents, decimating cattle populations to such a severe extent that one could walk through the bush for miles, stumbling across nothing but the fetid remains of once strong herds.
The then British colonial administrator to northern Nigeria, F.J.D. Lugard, wrote in 1893 that: “never before in the memory of man, or by the voice of tradition, have the cattle died in such numbers.” A Masai is recorded with speaking a poetic observation: the corpses of cattle and people were “so many and so close that the vultures had forgotten to fly.”
In the African rinderpest pandemic of the nineteenth century, it is estimated that as much as one third of the human population in Ethiopia died due to starvation caused by dying cattle. And in the early 1980s, rinderpest was back. The losses to livestock herds in Nigeria alone totalled an incredible US$2billion.
Michael Baron of the Instutute for Animal Health (IAH) said: “there has never been such an important and devastating disease as rinderpest in livestock.”
Yep, rinderpest has been a miniature monster in its more than one and a half millennia of recorded history; a microscopic scourge that has scythed its way through cloven hoofed animals like an insatiable sidekick to the Grim Reaper himself.
According to the IAE, the rinderpest virus belongs to a group that contains the measles virus. It not only affects (or should that be affected?) cattle and buffalo but also grows in animals such as giraffe, eland, wildebeest, kudu and various antelopes. It is “one of the oldest and most devastating diseases of cattle, buffalo and other bovines.” The mortality rate is cited as being 80 to 90%.
In 1950, the Inter-Africa Bureau of Epizootic Diseases was formed with the intention of eradicating rinderpest from the continent and in the 1960s a programme called JP15 attempted to vaccinate all cattle in participating countries.
It nearly worked: by 1979, only one of the countries involved – Sudan – reported any cases of the disease.
But the 1980s saw an infamous pandemic that killed millions of cattle.
The Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme (GREP) was initiated that decade. According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the UN: “in close association with the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), GREP was conceived as an international co-ordination mechanism to promote the global eradication of rinderpest and verification of freedom from rinderpest, while providing technical guidance to achieve these goals.
Scientists at the IAH at Pirbright, UK, with support from the UK’s Department for International Development, helped to develop a simple test, similar to a pregnancy test, to discover if cattle were infected. The idea was the kit could be used by local people with very little formal training, giving results in minutes. Any infected cattle would then be destroyed, helping curb the virus’ spread.
Dr John Anderson from the IAH said: “For too long people have been involved in controlling diseases and not actually dreaming that it’s possible to eradicate a disease from the world. And with rinderpest we did.”
The OIE is expected to issue a formal announcement on the eradication next year. They have to first check that the disease is not still lying in some outback pocket. If it clarifies success, rinderpest will become the first animal disease ever to be eliminated by humans and only the second disease in history, after smallpox in 1979.
Jacques Diouf, of the FAO, said: “The extraordinary success of this programme would not have been possible without the united efforts and determined commitments of the governments of all affected and exposed countries, without the African Union’s Inter-African Bureau on Animal Resources and the responsible regional organisations, without the donor agencies committed to this endeavour.” He added, with empowering optimism: “Together we have defeated rinderpest. Together we are stronger. Together we will defeat hunger.”
Tuesday, 28 September 2010
Tanzania Business Times Correspondence-07
The trip got me thinking about great African religious icons – who they have been and what they have preached.
But I quickly realised that, apart from the renowned Archbishop Desmond Tutu, I really know pathetically little about any African religious leader. It’s not something we’re taught in schools here and I’ve never, until now, been in a position where knowing about them was important.
I’ve just spent time on the internet, frantically trying to find some kind of information about this. Now, as it’s getting late, I’ve settled for writing a little about Tutu and a little more about a figure described as ‘an eminent hero of traditional Sufi Islam’, a man born on the coast of Somalia who went on to propagate the spread of Islam throughout East Africa.
Shaykh Uways bin Muhammad, known as Shehu Awesu in Kiswahili, was born in 1847 into humble origins. As a young boy dedicated to his studies, he was taken to Baghdad by his teacher, who noticed an unusual piety in the child. This journey represented the incubation of his greatness: he studied under the best masters, made pilgrimages to Medina and Mecca and allegedly received an ijazah – a Muslim certificate to show one has been authorised by an authority to impart certain Islamic knowledge.
After his 1883 return to his homeland, it didn’t take long for his reputation as being an Islamic expert to spread. He became leader of the Qadiriyya (one of the oldest Sufi orders in Sunni Islam) in southern Somalia and began missionary work in East Africa.
Invited by the Sultan of Oman, the then ruler of Zanzibar, Shehu Awesu made many visits to Zanzibar and initiated many disciples into the order there. These were the disciples who spread the Qadiriyya, now the largest brotherhood in Tanzania, as far inland as the Congo. It sounds as though this man was a catalyst for Islam in Tanzania.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu is more world renowned. The Nobel Peace Prize laureate spearheaded the fight against apartheid in South Africa and since then has continued working for peace and justice with characteristic energy and charisma.
He was the first black South African to do many things: in 1975 he became the first black Dean of St Mary’s cathedral in Johannesburg, in 1978 he was made the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches and in 1986 became the first black Archbishop of Cape Town. In the 1994 all-race election, Tutu coined the term ‘Rainbow Nation’ and introduced Nelson Mandela as president – a moment he describes as: “One of the greatest in my life.”
In 2003, the African Leadership Institute (AfLI) was established with ‘The Arch’, as Tutu is affectionately known, as patron. President Kikwete is currently working alongside AfLI to develop a new project – the Young African Leaders Awards and Conference. The AfLI website says the goal of the project is to ‘highlight the amazing achievements of Africa’s young leaders which go unnoticed in a continent mired by negative publicity’, thus creating role models.
So, these last few paragraphs have been a history lesson for me and maybe for you too. Why am I writing them? Well, Tanzania impresses me for its peaceful cohabitation of varied religions. It’s a commendably progressive attitude in a world where religion frequently causes segregation and even war. Only a few days ago, a pastor in the USA was threatening to burn copies of the Koran on the anniversary of September 11, due to his dangerous belief that Islam is a “false religion” and is “of the devil”. He wanted retribution for the September 11 attacks and made the mistake of thinking that Islam was to blame for them.
Tanzania is, thankfully, largely free of such nonsense. Religions are a faith, an expression of life – not a divider. It is warming to see.
It seems apt to end with some of Tutu’s words: “In God’s family, there are no outsiders, no enemies. Black and white, rich and poor, gay and straight, Jew and Arab, Muslim and Christian, Hindu and Buddhist, Hutu and Tutsi, Pakistani and Indian – all belong. When we start to live as brothers and sisters and to recognise out interdependence, we become fully human.”
I would like to hear any comments or suggestions, particularly regarding African religious leaders. If you would like to share, please email at mikeedmondstone@hotmail.com.
Sunday, 19 September 2010
Tanzania Business Times Correspondence-06
The website itself acts as a rallying call, a cry from those who have signed, aimed at political leaders across the globe. Using the internet’s power of cutting across time zones and bringing the world together, the campaign has encouraged a metaphorical linking of hands from varied walks of society: A-list celebrities, politicians, the regular public and so on.
The campaign, according to its website, is hoping that: “Together we can call on world leaders to make education a reality for 782million children by 2015.” Shakira, the pop diva whose ‘Waka Waka’ song made this World Cup even more memorable, gave her word to the cause: “Education is the one deal that we have to invest in”.
Some statistics give the opinion weight: 1. A child who goes to school will earn an extra 10% for every year of schooling they complete. 2. Children who complete primary education are less than half as likely to be infected with HIV compared to those who haven’t attended school.
The second of UN’s Millennium Development Goals highlights the importance of universal completion of primary school education. Their website proudly says that in 2002, Tanzania made primary school education free of charge and that: “Almost overnight, an estimated 1.6million children enrolled in school and by 2003, 3.1 million additional children were attending primary education.” Since that landmark year when primary schools no longer turned the poorest away, school attendance has ballooned from 59% to today’s figure of 95.4%. Tanzania’s success has been held up as a model to which other developing nations must aspire.
But, as with so many success stories, there’s a flipside. The school system in Tanzania, it has been reported, cannot take the strain of the increasingly huge number of pupils. For reasons similar to those explaining why the road infrastructure in downtown Dar es Salaam causes ‘foleni sana’, the schools are getting swamped. There is simply not enough school to go round.
It is not uncommon in Tanzania to have classrooms with more than 80 pupils squeezed in, many of whom suffer a shortage of books and other essential facilities. The number of teachers is also in relatively short supply. I remember having a conversation with an American Peace Corps volunteer who was explaining how, in the region where he was working, many new schools had been built and, although the young children in the area were given new opportunities of attending the schools, the education they would receive there would be highly questionable.
He told me that only one or two teachers would be in charge of hundreds of pupils. Due to the huge difficulties involved in getting the children to sit still and pay attention, the teachers would opt for another method: taking them to the school’s fields where they would till the soil and farm the crops – the same activities they would be doing had they not gone to school at all.
Another fact puts the UN’s positive statistics into a different light – that, although the school fees are technically free, there are many overheads not taken into account that parents must pay for. These can include uniforms, transport to school and even, it has been reported, the use of the toilets.
Add these points to the barriers emphasized by the Tanzania Education Network, including children not being able to pay attention due to empty stomachs; forced marriages and early pregnancies; and a limited access for children with special needs and it seems that the success story the UN uses on their Millennium Development Goals website doesn’t say the whole story. Perhaps these points shall be raised at their summit, to be held in New York next week.
Although Tanzania is on the right track, it needs to play catch up with itself. It has succeeded in getting the youngest generation to go to school but it must now catch up with providing the necessary facilities for a decent education.
It was a courageous and ambitious move to make primary school education both free and compulsory. The masses of children, burning with desire to be educated, now have chances that wouldn’t have existed to them a decade ago. These are the children who will grow up to lead this nation further in its rapid evolution. They must be prepared for it.
Sunday, 12 September 2010
Tanzania Business Times correspondence-05
I don’t like the word ‘charity’. It implies too large a gap between giver and receiver to imply any kind of human touch. It also connotes, to me, a certain sort of smugness in some donors that soils the sound of the word for others. Furthermore, it’s far too frequently borne from guilt, rather than genuine care. At Christmas time in the UK – ‘time for giving’ - we’re bombarded by charity adverts, all competing for our attention, that show pitiful pictures of miserable poverty, accentuated by a token soundtrack of invariably over-sentimental cry-time music. We’re emotionally blackmailed into giving to all sorts of sources that we don’t take time to fully understand.
Of course, this is a good thing. Charity is a good thing. It helps people. But that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy the emotional coercion. There is even a saying over here: “As cold as charity,” to convey something being very, extremely, cold. No, I don’t like the word ‘charity’. I prefer the word ‘help.’ ‘Helping’ sounds, well, helpful. It sounds bright, optimistic and useful, probably something done with a smile on the face. Like helping a friend to paint their house. Or helping an infirmed person with the shopping and cleaning. Or even helping a village from the ravages of drought by helping provide education and resources to think ahead and combat the problem.
Yes I know- this is petty quibbling over semantics: the ‘help’ from the common person would generally be financial help that is taken and used by an organisation that specialises in helping, i.e. a charity.
So what am I getting at?
George W Bush, during the Air Force One flight he took to Africa back in February 2008, said in passing to Sir Bob Geldof (former rockstar and long-time Africa campaigner and philanthropist), that westerners should: “Stop coming to Africa feeling guilty. Come with love and feeling confident about the future.”
After all, there’s plenty to be confident about. Firstly there is a huge potential workforce in the continent that is hoping for direction, and work. It seems fair to say that many Africans would throw themselves into a task with vigour. They want to work, many of them, to improve their livelihoods and help them and their family reach the next level.
Secondly, Africa has gigantic expanses of arable land. In a funny sort of irony, it’s more than feasible that Africa- the continent that for so long has been associated with starvation-
shall one day be the single major contributor to feeding the world.
And thirdly, Africa looks to become a principal centre for opportunity. It is growing faster than the rest of the world. The Mckinsey Global Institute records that real GDP for Africa rose 4.9% per year from 2000 to 2008 – more than twice its pace during the 1980s and 1990s.
Simply because of its status as a developing nation, there are so many windows of opportunity left to open.
I recognised it immediately on arriving in Tanzania. Sir Bob Geldof, who is infinitely more influential than me, has realised it for many years and he is now using his contacts, knowledge, energy and passion to do something positive about it.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Geldof is preparing a private equity fund to invest in Africa. Figures vary from £650million ($997million) to £1billion ($1.53billion), but whatever the amount, the man is aiming to secure large amounts of money to pump into African markets.
‘8 Mile,’ as the endeavour is to be known, (named after the distance between Africa and Europe, as taken across the Straight of Gibraltar) already has finalised pledges of £32.5million ($49.8million) from the African Development Bank and the same figure from the International Finance Corporation.
The money will be invested in chunks of between £10million ($15.3million) and £50million ($76.7million), in agriculture, telecommunications and finance.
Geldof said: “Africa is the last great investment opportunity left… Where is your money safest? Africa – that’s the truth. The fundamentals are staring you in the face. Infrastructure, mobile phones, consumer goods, it’s all growth.”
A stirring statistic that Bush Jr cited on the same Africa trip in 2008 was that Africa accounts for only 1.2% of World Trade. A 1% increase in World Trade from the continent is equivalent to FIVE TIMES the amount of aid it currently receives.
Geldof said earlier this year: “Poverty can be alleviated through aid, but will only be eliminated through trade, investment and growth.”
Surely Africa doesn’t want to be a charity case. Surely nobody wants people to feel guilt over them. And I believe it won’t be long before the fruits of investment burst across the last Wild Continent, spreading their sweetness throughout that Elysian land.
Of course, this is a good thing. Charity is a good thing. It helps people. But that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy the emotional coercion. There is even a saying over here: “As cold as charity,” to convey something being very, extremely, cold. No, I don’t like the word ‘charity’. I prefer the word ‘help.’ ‘Helping’ sounds, well, helpful. It sounds bright, optimistic and useful, probably something done with a smile on the face. Like helping a friend to paint their house. Or helping an infirmed person with the shopping and cleaning. Or even helping a village from the ravages of drought by helping provide education and resources to think ahead and combat the problem.
Yes I know- this is petty quibbling over semantics: the ‘help’ from the common person would generally be financial help that is taken and used by an organisation that specialises in helping, i.e. a charity.
So what am I getting at?
George W Bush, during the Air Force One flight he took to Africa back in February 2008, said in passing to Sir Bob Geldof (former rockstar and long-time Africa campaigner and philanthropist), that westerners should: “Stop coming to Africa feeling guilty. Come with love and feeling confident about the future.”
After all, there’s plenty to be confident about. Firstly there is a huge potential workforce in the continent that is hoping for direction, and work. It seems fair to say that many Africans would throw themselves into a task with vigour. They want to work, many of them, to improve their livelihoods and help them and their family reach the next level.
Secondly, Africa has gigantic expanses of arable land. In a funny sort of irony, it’s more than feasible that Africa- the continent that for so long has been associated with starvation-
And thirdly, Africa looks to become a principal centre for opportunity. It is growing faster than the rest of the world. The Mckinsey Global Institute records that real GDP for Africa rose 4.9% per year from 2000 to 2008 – more than twice its pace during the 1980s and 1990s.
Simply because of its status as a developing nation, there are so many windows of opportunity left to open.
I recognised it immediately on arriving in Tanzania. Sir Bob Geldof, who is infinitely more influential than me, has realised it for many years and he is now using his contacts, knowledge, energy and passion to do something positive about it.
Earlier this week, it was reported that Geldof is preparing a private equity fund to invest in Africa. Figures vary from £650million ($997million) to £1billion ($1.53billion), but whatever the amount, the man is aiming to secure large amounts of money to pump into African markets.
‘8 Mile,’ as the endeavour is to be known, (named after the distance between Africa and Europe, as taken across the Straight of Gibraltar) already has finalised pledges of £32.5million ($49.8million) from the African Development Bank and the same figure from the International Finance Corporation.
The money will be invested in chunks of between £10million ($15.3million) and £50million ($76.7million), in agriculture, telecommunications and finance.
Geldof said: “Africa is the last great investment opportunity left… Where is your money safest? Africa – that’s the truth. The fundamentals are staring you in the face. Infrastructure, mobile phones, consumer goods, it’s all growth.”
A stirring statistic that Bush Jr cited on the same Africa trip in 2008 was that Africa accounts for only 1.2% of World Trade. A 1% increase in World Trade from the continent is equivalent to FIVE TIMES the amount of aid it currently receives.
Geldof said earlier this year: “Poverty can be alleviated through aid, but will only be eliminated through trade, investment and growth.”
Surely Africa doesn’t want to be a charity case. Surely nobody wants people to feel guilt over them. And I believe it won’t be long before the fruits of investment burst across the last Wild Continent, spreading their sweetness throughout that Elysian land.
Tanzania Business Times Correspondence-04
It looks as though there might finally be some good news for animals threatened with extinction. Through work that could easily have been fished out of a science fiction novel, clever people working in a laboratory based in the Northern suburbs of USA’s San Diego have good reason to believe that the day when animals are genetically reproduced from frozen skin cells is not far off.
San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation has been collecting DNA samples from rare animals since 1972, in the hope that, one day, the tiny frozen flakes could help towards protecting species on the brink of extinction. Back then nobody knew what use the cells could have – the conservationists just had the belief that, one day, science would progress to a level that would allow people to use them for something productive.
And now, after a major break-though in stem-cell technology, it looks as though that day is on the horizon.
The laboratory appearing to be spearheading the revolutionary technology is called The Scripps Research Institute. They describe themselves as a non-profit research organisation that has stood at the forefront of basic biomedical science since its conception, three decades ago.
Now, I’m certainly no scientist - let’s be clear on that - but allow me to explain the science behind this striking development as I understand it: The intelligent bunch of experts at Scripps have taken samples of the frozen skin cells and somehow turned them into a culture of cells known as ‘induced pluripotent stem’ (IPS) cells.
According to WordNet, a lexical database of English, developed by Princeton University, a stem-cell is: ‘An undifferentiated cell whose daughter cells may differentiate into other cells.’ In other words, it is a cell that has no particular function on its own but can become any other cell.
So, these IPS cells theoretically have the ability to become egg and sperm cells. These, as we all know, can be fused to form an embryo and Hey Presto! Bam! Life!
Keep the embryo in conditions suitable for growth and a baby rhinoceros, or a cheetah cub, or a silver-maned drill monkey, as the case may be, could be on its way to help beef up diminishing populations.
The current revolution that is getting the scientific community so excited has been the creation of IPS cells for this silver-maned drill monkey. It is the most endangered of all Africa’s monkeys and earlier this year, stem cells from this primate morphed into brain cells, giving the whole theory a big basis for belief.
The implications of all this are far reaching and have understandably made conservationists delighted. With the ever-onward march of science, moving determined through uncharted territory, it may well only be a matter of time, possibly not many years, before species on the edge of extinction (of which more than 350 mammals alone are indigenous to Africa) are given new life. Threatened animals, such as the common hippopotamus, the rhino and our closest genetic relative - the chimpanzee – face the possibility of having their gene-pools enhanced by scientific meddling.
There are some animals, such as the northern white rhino, originally a free roamer in sub-Saharan countries like Tanzania, which currently number less than ten in the world. Due to poaching, this rhino is now extinct in the wild. There are only eight kept in captivity – the sad remains of a species that could once stand alone in the open savannah and graze without fear.
The stem-cell technology that is being pioneered in Scripps’ research facility is laying the foundations for hope, that one day our ancestors may be able to view these unarguably magnificent creatures in their own natural environment. We can only hope. Good luck to the scientists! And good work!
San Diego Zoo’s Institute for Conservation has been collecting DNA samples from rare animals since 1972, in the hope that, one day, the tiny frozen flakes could help towards protecting species on the brink of extinction. Back then nobody knew what use the cells could have – the conservationists just had the belief that, one day, science would progress to a level that would allow people to use them for something productive.
And now, after a major break-though in stem-cell technology, it looks as though that day is on the horizon.
The laboratory appearing to be spearheading the revolutionary technology is called The Scripps Research Institute. They describe themselves as a non-profit research organisation that has stood at the forefront of basic biomedical science since its conception, three decades ago.
Now, I’m certainly no scientist - let’s be clear on that - but allow me to explain the science behind this striking development as I understand it: The intelligent bunch of experts at Scripps have taken samples of the frozen skin cells and somehow turned them into a culture of cells known as ‘induced pluripotent stem’ (IPS) cells.
According to WordNet, a lexical database of English, developed by Princeton University, a stem-cell is: ‘An undifferentiated cell whose daughter cells may differentiate into other cells.’ In other words, it is a cell that has no particular function on its own but can become any other cell.
So, these IPS cells theoretically have the ability to become egg and sperm cells. These, as we all know, can be fused to form an embryo and Hey Presto! Bam! Life!
Keep the embryo in conditions suitable for growth and a baby rhinoceros, or a cheetah cub, or a silver-maned drill monkey, as the case may be, could be on its way to help beef up diminishing populations.
The current revolution that is getting the scientific community so excited has been the creation of IPS cells for this silver-maned drill monkey. It is the most endangered of all Africa’s monkeys and earlier this year, stem cells from this primate morphed into brain cells, giving the whole theory a big basis for belief.
The implications of all this are far reaching and have understandably made conservationists delighted. With the ever-onward march of science, moving determined through uncharted territory, it may well only be a matter of time, possibly not many years, before species on the edge of extinction (of which more than 350 mammals alone are indigenous to Africa) are given new life. Threatened animals, such as the common hippopotamus, the rhino and our closest genetic relative - the chimpanzee – face the possibility of having their gene-pools enhanced by scientific meddling.
There are some animals, such as the northern white rhino, originally a free roamer in sub-Saharan countries like Tanzania, which currently number less than ten in the world. Due to poaching, this rhino is now extinct in the wild. There are only eight kept in captivity – the sad remains of a species that could once stand alone in the open savannah and graze without fear.
The stem-cell technology that is being pioneered in Scripps’ research facility is laying the foundations for hope, that one day our ancestors may be able to view these unarguably magnificent creatures in their own natural environment. We can only hope. Good luck to the scientists! And good work!
Monday, 30 August 2010
Tanzania Business Times Correspondence-03
Keeping a Free-Press Free - Essential for a Democracy
Tanzania is lucky to have a free press. This means that, provided I adhere to the national laws, I may write what I like here without needing to fear for the security of any employee in this newspaper. These laws include bans on writing anything that infringes libel, copyright and defamation, or anything that incites violence or illegal hatred (such as racism).
The benefits of this free press are huge. It enables a society to hear the truth of a situation, allowing the public to form their own opinions about the important issues affecting them, such as who to vote for in an election. It is one of the basic fundamentals of a functioning democracy.
Here in the UK, the press is referred to as the ‘Fourth Estate’, after the traditional three estates in British parliament-namely the Lords Spiritual, Lords Temporal and the Commons. The earliest known use of this term was by a man called Burke in 1787, recorded in Thomas Carlyle’s book On Heroes and Hero Worship: “Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but in the Reporters’ Gallery, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.”
The press is the ‘eyes and ears of the people’ and also frequently their voice. The peoples’ voice is the most important voice in a democracy. ‘Democracy’ itself comes from the ancient Greek ‘demos’, meaning ‘people’ and ‘kratos’, power. Democracy is a power from the people.
The South African government, lead by President Jacob Zuma, clearly don’t agree about the importance of the peoples’ voice. They are proposing a bill that would dramatically restrict press freedom in their country.
The Protection of Information Bill, currently being debated in South African parliament, would give power for government officials to classify any public or commercial data as official and private, on the murkily defined grounds of ‘national interest’, without having to give an explanation as to why.
In the words of Xavier Vidal-Folch, president of the World Editors Forum: “Such powers could be used to outlaw coverage of such issues as public law enforcement and judicial matters, with political appointees having the final say over which information should be classified.”
There would be no ability for journalists in South Africa to report on any classified information that could be of public interest. If they were caught disclosing this information, they may face severe penalties.
This would represent a backward step for a nation that is self-consciously trying to push itself onto the podium of the developed world and would mark a blow against the millions of internationally minded, modern thinkers from the country.
To compound the issue, the African National Congress are also proposing substituting the current, self-regulating press complaints authority with a Media Appeals Tribunal, created by the government, that would be in a position to act without the neutrality and effectiveness of the current system.
South African writers, many of them used to having civil liberties shackled in the past, are not taking the proposal lying down. A journalist in a respected South African national daily has written that the proposals are advocating, “Just another form of censorship”. A group of the country’s top authors have issued a joint statement against the bill.
Part of this reads: “If the work and freedom of the writer are in jeopardy, the freedom of every reader in South Africa is in danger.” It continues that their protest is: “An action undertaken by South Africans for all South Africans, committing ourselves to our demand for a free country, freedom of thought expressed, freedom of dialogue, and freedom from fear of the truth about ourselves, all South Africans.”
Yes, Tanzania is lucky to have a free press, where these freedoms are tolerated. It should not be taken for granted and the right to expression should be nurtured and encouraged in further generations. The continent may look up to its most southerly neighbour in many regards-the economy and industry for instance-but this proposed bill is one that no nation, with a value on the people’s voice, should contemplate passing.
Tanzania is lucky to have a free press. This means that, provided I adhere to the national laws, I may write what I like here without needing to fear for the security of any employee in this newspaper. These laws include bans on writing anything that infringes libel, copyright and defamation, or anything that incites violence or illegal hatred (such as racism).
The benefits of this free press are huge. It enables a society to hear the truth of a situation, allowing the public to form their own opinions about the important issues affecting them, such as who to vote for in an election. It is one of the basic fundamentals of a functioning democracy.
Here in the UK, the press is referred to as the ‘Fourth Estate’, after the traditional three estates in British parliament-namely the Lords Spiritual, Lords Temporal and the Commons. The earliest known use of this term was by a man called Burke in 1787, recorded in Thomas Carlyle’s book On Heroes and Hero Worship: “Burke said there were Three Estates in Parliament; but in the Reporters’ Gallery, there sat a Fourth Estate more important far than they all.”
The press is the ‘eyes and ears of the people’ and also frequently their voice. The peoples’ voice is the most important voice in a democracy. ‘Democracy’ itself comes from the ancient Greek ‘demos’, meaning ‘people’ and ‘kratos’, power. Democracy is a power from the people.
The South African government, lead by President Jacob Zuma, clearly don’t agree about the importance of the peoples’ voice. They are proposing a bill that would dramatically restrict press freedom in their country.
The Protection of Information Bill, currently being debated in South African parliament, would give power for government officials to classify any public or commercial data as official and private, on the murkily defined grounds of ‘national interest’, without having to give an explanation as to why.
In the words of Xavier Vidal-Folch, president of the World Editors Forum: “Such powers could be used to outlaw coverage of such issues as public law enforcement and judicial matters, with political appointees having the final say over which information should be classified.”
There would be no ability for journalists in South Africa to report on any classified information that could be of public interest. If they were caught disclosing this information, they may face severe penalties.
This would represent a backward step for a nation that is self-consciously trying to push itself onto the podium of the developed world and would mark a blow against the millions of internationally minded, modern thinkers from the country.
To compound the issue, the African National Congress are also proposing substituting the current, self-regulating press complaints authority with a Media Appeals Tribunal, created by the government, that would be in a position to act without the neutrality and effectiveness of the current system.
South African writers, many of them used to having civil liberties shackled in the past, are not taking the proposal lying down. A journalist in a respected South African national daily has written that the proposals are advocating, “Just another form of censorship”. A group of the country’s top authors have issued a joint statement against the bill.
Part of this reads: “If the work and freedom of the writer are in jeopardy, the freedom of every reader in South Africa is in danger.” It continues that their protest is: “An action undertaken by South Africans for all South Africans, committing ourselves to our demand for a free country, freedom of thought expressed, freedom of dialogue, and freedom from fear of the truth about ourselves, all South Africans.”
Yes, Tanzania is lucky to have a free press, where these freedoms are tolerated. It should not be taken for granted and the right to expression should be nurtured and encouraged in further generations. The continent may look up to its most southerly neighbour in many regards-the economy and industry for instance-but this proposed bill is one that no nation, with a value on the people’s voice, should contemplate passing.
Wednesday, 18 August 2010
Tanzania Business Times Correspondence-02
A highway through the Serengeti- a ridiculous road to take.
It can be difficult, as an outsider, to give opinions on how Tanzania can help itself. Tanzanians are rightly proud of their nation and the independence they struggled for and it’s understandable when they chose to stick by a major decision in the face of outside disagreement. The country, like a child stepping into adulthood, wishes to assert its own ideas and stick by them in a bid to be able to stand without support. There is also the fear a white outsider, such as myself, feels for being compared to an arrogant colonial when imposing personal ideas. After all, surely a Tanzanian would know what is best for his own country?
But when I recently read about the government’s plans to build a road through the natural magic that is the Serengeti, I couldn’t help but feel horror and disgust on a scale that begged to be made known.
Not only would the road, I was shocked to learn, cut directly through the centre of the park but it would sever the route of the world famous wildebeest migration.
I’ve heard the arguments for the construction: it will open up the districts of Monduli, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Musoma Rural and increase the trade, commerce and quality human of life in those areas. According to President Kikwete, the project is of high economic importance to the nation.
So, Mr President, is the ecosystem that you’re planning to dissect. Tourism accounts for around a quarter of the nation’s GDP and it is precisely the untamed wilderness that brings the tourists in. It’s safe to say that foreigners won’t visit if the ecosystem they’ve dreamed about for so long is brutally sliced by raging cars and trucks.
The Frankfurt Zoological Society reports that recent calculations have shown that, if the wildebeest were to be cut off from their only permanent water source, the Mara River, as would happen if the road were built, the population would decline from 1.3 million animals to around 200,000. This would be the end of the Great Serengeti Migration.
There are other options for where the road can be built. Prof. Anthony Sinclair from the Department of Zoology at the University of Columbia is considered a world authority on the ecology of the Serengeti. After researching, he’s concluded, along with many other foreigners and Tanzanians alike, that directing the road to the South of the park would not only protect the park but would be more economically rational, as more people would be served by the road, such as those in the town of Mwanza.
According to the Frankfurt Zoological Society, this alternative route has already been surveyed by the government and would connect five times as many people as the Northern route, while still achieving the planned end of connecting particular regional centres.
Perhaps in Tanzania the wildlife is taken for granted. For instance, elephants are frequently seen as a pest by farmers. This is understandable. But it cannot be emphasised enough how foreigners like me see the Serengeti. We’ve seen documentaries about it from a young age. It appears as a distant, unreal land from a dream planet untainted by humans. It is also what many first think of when they think of Africa, as if the entire continent was lucky enough to be like it.
The entire continent is not like it. In fact it is the only place in the world like it. It is incredibly special and doesn’t take the brains of an archbishop to realise there’s a duty to preserve it.
I’ve read a Tanzanian journalist who suggests that the building of the road is simply a political ploy from the CCM. It was first coined around election time in 2005 and now, with fresh elections on the horizon, the idea is resurfacing. Indeed, the government has been dismissive in the face of huge international criticism. In loyalty to her political party, Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Shamsa Mwangunga, defended the road on the grounds that the party must follow through on a campaign promise.
That’s a weak excuse when alternatives are viable.
She also claimed that: “Those criticising the road construction know nothing about what we’ve got planned…We’re all keen to preserve our natural resources”. Really? Prove it then! Words are easy but you’ll be judged on actions alone. If the many critics know “nothing” about it, why don’t you inform them!
In a country where money and power are such obviously desired attributes, I myself am very sceptical of the government’s motives. Until they prove otherwise, I’ll remain that way.
(For more information on the planned highway, visit the Frankfurt Zoology Institute’s website at www.zgf.de)
It can be difficult, as an outsider, to give opinions on how Tanzania can help itself. Tanzanians are rightly proud of their nation and the independence they struggled for and it’s understandable when they chose to stick by a major decision in the face of outside disagreement. The country, like a child stepping into adulthood, wishes to assert its own ideas and stick by them in a bid to be able to stand without support. There is also the fear a white outsider, such as myself, feels for being compared to an arrogant colonial when imposing personal ideas. After all, surely a Tanzanian would know what is best for his own country?
But when I recently read about the government’s plans to build a road through the natural magic that is the Serengeti, I couldn’t help but feel horror and disgust on a scale that begged to be made known.
Not only would the road, I was shocked to learn, cut directly through the centre of the park but it would sever the route of the world famous wildebeest migration.
I’ve heard the arguments for the construction: it will open up the districts of Monduli, Ngorongoro, Serengeti and Musoma Rural and increase the trade, commerce and quality human of life in those areas. According to President Kikwete, the project is of high economic importance to the nation.
So, Mr President, is the ecosystem that you’re planning to dissect. Tourism accounts for around a quarter of the nation’s GDP and it is precisely the untamed wilderness that brings the tourists in. It’s safe to say that foreigners won’t visit if the ecosystem they’ve dreamed about for so long is brutally sliced by raging cars and trucks.
The Frankfurt Zoological Society reports that recent calculations have shown that, if the wildebeest were to be cut off from their only permanent water source, the Mara River, as would happen if the road were built, the population would decline from 1.3 million animals to around 200,000. This would be the end of the Great Serengeti Migration.
There are other options for where the road can be built. Prof. Anthony Sinclair from the Department of Zoology at the University of Columbia is considered a world authority on the ecology of the Serengeti. After researching, he’s concluded, along with many other foreigners and Tanzanians alike, that directing the road to the South of the park would not only protect the park but would be more economically rational, as more people would be served by the road, such as those in the town of Mwanza.
According to the Frankfurt Zoological Society, this alternative route has already been surveyed by the government and would connect five times as many people as the Northern route, while still achieving the planned end of connecting particular regional centres.
Perhaps in Tanzania the wildlife is taken for granted. For instance, elephants are frequently seen as a pest by farmers. This is understandable. But it cannot be emphasised enough how foreigners like me see the Serengeti. We’ve seen documentaries about it from a young age. It appears as a distant, unreal land from a dream planet untainted by humans. It is also what many first think of when they think of Africa, as if the entire continent was lucky enough to be like it.
The entire continent is not like it. In fact it is the only place in the world like it. It is incredibly special and doesn’t take the brains of an archbishop to realise there’s a duty to preserve it.
I’ve read a Tanzanian journalist who suggests that the building of the road is simply a political ploy from the CCM. It was first coined around election time in 2005 and now, with fresh elections on the horizon, the idea is resurfacing. Indeed, the government has been dismissive in the face of huge international criticism. In loyalty to her political party, Minister for Natural Resources and Tourism, Shamsa Mwangunga, defended the road on the grounds that the party must follow through on a campaign promise.
That’s a weak excuse when alternatives are viable.
She also claimed that: “Those criticising the road construction know nothing about what we’ve got planned…We’re all keen to preserve our natural resources”. Really? Prove it then! Words are easy but you’ll be judged on actions alone. If the many critics know “nothing” about it, why don’t you inform them!
In a country where money and power are such obviously desired attributes, I myself am very sceptical of the government’s motives. Until they prove otherwise, I’ll remain that way.
(For more information on the planned highway, visit the Frankfurt Zoology Institute’s website at www.zgf.de)
Tanzania Business Times Correspondence-01
The British Lifestyle Partly Responsible for Levels of Breast Cancer?
A newspaper clipping caught my eye as I rode the underground system in London a couple of days ago. It was stark and somewhat surprising, given the level of healthcare and education over here. ‘UK breast cancer rate much higher than East Africa,’ ran the splash at the foot of the front page.
The article went on to give the statistics: 19.3 women were listed as having the disease out of every 100,000 in the East African countries of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, whereas a whopping 87.9 ladies out of the same number in the UK have been diagnosed.
The journalist himself seemed shocked by the findings and, as I looked around the carriage, it was quite clear that the story had absorbed the attentions of a few of my fellow travellers, eyes glued as they were to the story.
It was a surprise finding.
Accuse us foreigners of snobbery and conceit if you wish – after all, our surprise is a reflection of a deep-seated opinion that Africa is a continent plagued by disease, whereas us lot, with our sanitary regulations and plethora of world-class hospitals, have a certain amount of extra control over our health.
Indeed, the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has advised not to take the findings at face value, as British doctors, the reader was informed, have access to better diagnostic techniques and ladies in the UK were more likely to visit the doctor for regular check-ups.
But there was a deeper, more revealing observation behind the findings. The truth, the article went on to suggest, is that so many British women and men have such horrendously unhealthy lifestyles that we bring the cancers upon ourselves.
The British lifestyle, especially in larger towns and cities, revolves around working hard and then letting off steam after a difficult day or week at the job. Letting off steam is notoriously a civil affair in continental countries such as Italy and France: people may go to a coffee shop or have a large and healthy meal with family and friends. In Britain, however, it’s more usual to head to the pub, get a few drinks down your neck and then eat a fattening takeaway from a fast-food outlet. Lack of exercise is also a factor in the unhealthy culture over here.
Tanzania is blessed with some of the best food in the world. I see the nation as a giant shamba that produces huge amounts of juicy, sweet, crunchy and colourful fruit and veg, all grown without the ‘aid’ of chemicals. People in the developed world pay up to twice the amount for ‘organic’ food like this - food that is natural, offered by Mother Earth with as little human meddling as possible – as this kind of food is recognised to be far better for your health than the pesticide-ridden, watery rubbish that we are used to.
A Tanzanian friend, born and brought up in Katesh, recently visited the USA with her American husband. It was the first time she’d left the country. Indeed, when she arrived in Dar es Salaam from the village only ten months ago, it was her first time in the city.
She told me she enjoyed herself but one of the major impressions she had in the nation was the awful quality of the food. Tomatoes had no flavour, mangoes were too small and some of the meat even made her feel ill. She was also surprised and disgusted by the number of obese people – nearly one in three, she said, were ridiculously, unattractively fat.
It comes back to the lifestyle. They say, “You are what you eat”. And the chemical food in the developed world is making people sick. My advice: stick to the basics. No food is more exotic than the huge variety offered by the earth. This is the food that will keep you healthy, happy and ultimately live a longer life. Karibu!
A newspaper clipping caught my eye as I rode the underground system in London a couple of days ago. It was stark and somewhat surprising, given the level of healthcare and education over here. ‘UK breast cancer rate much higher than East Africa,’ ran the splash at the foot of the front page.
The article went on to give the statistics: 19.3 women were listed as having the disease out of every 100,000 in the East African countries of Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, whereas a whopping 87.9 ladies out of the same number in the UK have been diagnosed.
The journalist himself seemed shocked by the findings and, as I looked around the carriage, it was quite clear that the story had absorbed the attentions of a few of my fellow travellers, eyes glued as they were to the story.
It was a surprise finding.
Accuse us foreigners of snobbery and conceit if you wish – after all, our surprise is a reflection of a deep-seated opinion that Africa is a continent plagued by disease, whereas us lot, with our sanitary regulations and plethora of world-class hospitals, have a certain amount of extra control over our health.
Indeed, the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) has advised not to take the findings at face value, as British doctors, the reader was informed, have access to better diagnostic techniques and ladies in the UK were more likely to visit the doctor for regular check-ups.
But there was a deeper, more revealing observation behind the findings. The truth, the article went on to suggest, is that so many British women and men have such horrendously unhealthy lifestyles that we bring the cancers upon ourselves.
The British lifestyle, especially in larger towns and cities, revolves around working hard and then letting off steam after a difficult day or week at the job. Letting off steam is notoriously a civil affair in continental countries such as Italy and France: people may go to a coffee shop or have a large and healthy meal with family and friends. In Britain, however, it’s more usual to head to the pub, get a few drinks down your neck and then eat a fattening takeaway from a fast-food outlet. Lack of exercise is also a factor in the unhealthy culture over here.
Tanzania is blessed with some of the best food in the world. I see the nation as a giant shamba that produces huge amounts of juicy, sweet, crunchy and colourful fruit and veg, all grown without the ‘aid’ of chemicals. People in the developed world pay up to twice the amount for ‘organic’ food like this - food that is natural, offered by Mother Earth with as little human meddling as possible – as this kind of food is recognised to be far better for your health than the pesticide-ridden, watery rubbish that we are used to.
A Tanzanian friend, born and brought up in Katesh, recently visited the USA with her American husband. It was the first time she’d left the country. Indeed, when she arrived in Dar es Salaam from the village only ten months ago, it was her first time in the city.
She told me she enjoyed herself but one of the major impressions she had in the nation was the awful quality of the food. Tomatoes had no flavour, mangoes were too small and some of the meat even made her feel ill. She was also surprised and disgusted by the number of obese people – nearly one in three, she said, were ridiculously, unattractively fat.
It comes back to the lifestyle. They say, “You are what you eat”. And the chemical food in the developed world is making people sick. My advice: stick to the basics. No food is more exotic than the huge variety offered by the earth. This is the food that will keep you healthy, happy and ultimately live a longer life. Karibu!
Wednesday, 12 August 2009
Rise of the Machines
The reviews of the forth film in the Terminator series, Terminator Salvation, were frequently scathing and opened up many questions as to the technology of the machines (who builds the machines and why can’t their weapons be more hardcore?), but what kind of cyborg technology is actually available?
Surely by now we are close to inventing robotic eyes that can see in the dark and mechanical legs that can run super fast? If I wanted to shed this mortal shell and climb into something a bit more, well, futuristic, what could I hope to get for my pains?
A “cyborg” is a cybernetic organism, or any organism that contains technology to replace or enhance part of the natural body. This theoretically entails that wearing contact lenses or wearing a hearing-aid makes one a cyborg, but a more accurate definition would be an animal who has bionics or robotics implanted into their body.
With troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the need for prosthetic limbs has increased massively in recent years. Prostheses technology is now capable of allowing somebody with no arm or leg to control an artificial limb with their thought alone. The replacement limbs not only look relatively natural but allow them do many of the simple tasks previously unavailable to them as a result of the amputation.
The C-Leg, developed by prostheses pioneers Otto Bock Healthcare, is an example of a neurally-controlled artificial limb. Its multiple sensors receive signals 50 times a second that are processed into a determination of where the amputee wishes to move their limb. A microprocessor then sends the signals to a hydraulic cylinder that can rotate and extend the knee accordingly. The revolutionary technology essentially guesses your next move and adjusts accordingly. It stiffens to support you if you seem like you will trip or stumble and relaxes to a natural gait while walking. It enables the amputee to change speed and tackle hills without any awkward jerks.
The iLimb is a prosthetic hand that reads electronic muscle signals generated in the remaining muscles of the amputee’s arm and moves accordingly. Each finger moves independently and has a high degree of sensitivity. Scottish manufacturer, Touch Bionics, explain: The “built in stall detection tells each individual finger when it has sufficient grip on an object and, therefore, when to stop powering”. The technology is a huge leap from that which proceeded. Never before have amputees had the option of such a visually realistic prosthetic with such a degree of manual dexterity.
Any machine needs power. A mechanical heart is available, but currently only for patients with very particular characteristics: they must be older than 18 and suffer from heart failure so severe that, despite the height of medical care, they are expected to die within 30 days. The AbioCor artificial heart is the first self-contained and implantable artificial heart that can keep people functional. The patient would not need tubes protruding through the skin and would not be bedridden. Only a small battery pack, worn on a belt, is needed to keep the AbioCor pumping. The first one was implanted in July 2001 and the patient lived for an extra 151 days. The second patient was given less than 20% chance of surviving 30 days before the operation, but lived for 512 days after receiving the new heart.
There is technology available, pioneered by a team from the University of Southern California, that restores some vision to those with certain forms of blindness but it is currently reliant on the user wearing large dark glasses that house a small camera. To simplify, the camera sends information to a retinal implant via electrodes. The message is received by the brain allowing the user to make out dots of light and dark equal to the number of electrodes. The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System has so far been successful in clinical trials using 16 electrodes and it is currently being tested with 60.
The Boston Retinal Implant Project has an even more remarkable mission statement. Their aim is to develop an implantable prosthesis to restore vision to patients with certain forms of blindness. Their website claims that they have already created an “ultra thin (several times thinner than a human hair), flexible, wireless micro-electronic device” which houses a chip that will control delivery of electrical pulses to the retina. They have performed hours long electrical stimulation studies in humans and are waiting for authorisation to fix long-term implants into patients. If successful, sufferers of certain forms of blindness will face having their vision restored with technology that will not be visible on their body.
Most of the body can, amazingly, now be exchanged for an artificial counterpart. Artificial livers, new skin grown from stem cells, pneumatic muscles and bionic lungs and stomachs are already a commercial reality and, as ever, the technology is getting better rapidly. Maybe our kids and grandchildren will save money to buy eyes that can zoom and see in the dark, or lungs that can deal with having water inside them. Watch out John Connor- the machines may be coming!
References:
C Leg: http://www.ottobockus.com/cps/rde/xchg/ob_us_en/hs.xsl/17084.html
iLimb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMFrL7xt7kI
AbioCor: http://www.abiomed.com/products/heart_replacement.cfm
BRIP: http://www.bostonretinalimplant.org/
Surely by now we are close to inventing robotic eyes that can see in the dark and mechanical legs that can run super fast? If I wanted to shed this mortal shell and climb into something a bit more, well, futuristic, what could I hope to get for my pains?
A “cyborg” is a cybernetic organism, or any organism that contains technology to replace or enhance part of the natural body. This theoretically entails that wearing contact lenses or wearing a hearing-aid makes one a cyborg, but a more accurate definition would be an animal who has bionics or robotics implanted into their body.
With troops deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan, the need for prosthetic limbs has increased massively in recent years. Prostheses technology is now capable of allowing somebody with no arm or leg to control an artificial limb with their thought alone. The replacement limbs not only look relatively natural but allow them do many of the simple tasks previously unavailable to them as a result of the amputation.
The C-Leg, developed by prostheses pioneers Otto Bock Healthcare, is an example of a neurally-controlled artificial limb. Its multiple sensors receive signals 50 times a second that are processed into a determination of where the amputee wishes to move their limb. A microprocessor then sends the signals to a hydraulic cylinder that can rotate and extend the knee accordingly. The revolutionary technology essentially guesses your next move and adjusts accordingly. It stiffens to support you if you seem like you will trip or stumble and relaxes to a natural gait while walking. It enables the amputee to change speed and tackle hills without any awkward jerks.
The iLimb is a prosthetic hand that reads electronic muscle signals generated in the remaining muscles of the amputee’s arm and moves accordingly. Each finger moves independently and has a high degree of sensitivity. Scottish manufacturer, Touch Bionics, explain: The “built in stall detection tells each individual finger when it has sufficient grip on an object and, therefore, when to stop powering”. The technology is a huge leap from that which proceeded. Never before have amputees had the option of such a visually realistic prosthetic with such a degree of manual dexterity.
Any machine needs power. A mechanical heart is available, but currently only for patients with very particular characteristics: they must be older than 18 and suffer from heart failure so severe that, despite the height of medical care, they are expected to die within 30 days. The AbioCor artificial heart is the first self-contained and implantable artificial heart that can keep people functional. The patient would not need tubes protruding through the skin and would not be bedridden. Only a small battery pack, worn on a belt, is needed to keep the AbioCor pumping. The first one was implanted in July 2001 and the patient lived for an extra 151 days. The second patient was given less than 20% chance of surviving 30 days before the operation, but lived for 512 days after receiving the new heart.
There is technology available, pioneered by a team from the University of Southern California, that restores some vision to those with certain forms of blindness but it is currently reliant on the user wearing large dark glasses that house a small camera. To simplify, the camera sends information to a retinal implant via electrodes. The message is received by the brain allowing the user to make out dots of light and dark equal to the number of electrodes. The Argus II Retinal Prosthesis System has so far been successful in clinical trials using 16 electrodes and it is currently being tested with 60.
The Boston Retinal Implant Project has an even more remarkable mission statement. Their aim is to develop an implantable prosthesis to restore vision to patients with certain forms of blindness. Their website claims that they have already created an “ultra thin (several times thinner than a human hair), flexible, wireless micro-electronic device” which houses a chip that will control delivery of electrical pulses to the retina. They have performed hours long electrical stimulation studies in humans and are waiting for authorisation to fix long-term implants into patients. If successful, sufferers of certain forms of blindness will face having their vision restored with technology that will not be visible on their body.
Most of the body can, amazingly, now be exchanged for an artificial counterpart. Artificial livers, new skin grown from stem cells, pneumatic muscles and bionic lungs and stomachs are already a commercial reality and, as ever, the technology is getting better rapidly. Maybe our kids and grandchildren will save money to buy eyes that can zoom and see in the dark, or lungs that can deal with having water inside them. Watch out John Connor- the machines may be coming!
References:
C Leg: http://www.ottobockus.com/cps/rde/xchg/ob_us_en/hs.xsl/17084.html
iLimb: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMFrL7xt7kI
AbioCor: http://www.abiomed.com/products/heart_replacement.cfm
BRIP: http://www.bostonretinalimplant.org/
Testing Times for the Printed Page
It is a question that has been mulled by many; sitting in the office while scrolling down www.whatevernews.co.uk, or riding the underground with a LondonLitelyinteresting, or flipping through that glossy mag, or even curled comfortably, captured by the words on paper pages being turned by calm fingers. It is a question laced with ominous undertones. Is the internet going to destroy print?
Jeff Jarvis, journalist and blogger, certainly thinks so. He wrote on www.buzzmachine.com, his controversial blog, that books, “Are frozen in time without the means of being corrected or updated.” He continued his diatribe: “They are expensive. They can’t afford to serve the real mass of niches. They aren’t searchable [or] linkable. They carry no conversation.” A pertinent point: “They try to teach readers but don’t teach authors.”
In Fast Company, a glossy business magazine, Jarvis makes a point that rings loudly at this time when Whos Jack has recently made the move to print: “Is our conversation better for being on this slick paper? No it’s not because only two of us are in it when we know that the collective wisdom of the people holding this page is greater than our own. We should be having this conversation together.”
Although holding weight, I think his arguments miss some points. Apart from economical / ecological issues, I see no problem with print being “frozen in time”. In fact I consider it a benefit. Opinions and ideas change over time and one can gain a deeper understanding of an author by how they evolve. If the articles are deleted from the internet due to vanity or politics, the reader will be denied this.
Saying books “Carry no conversation” is like saying watching sport carries no conversation. Neither offer a chance of audience reciprocation but they do offer something to think about, put faith in and, indeed, have a conversation about. Viewers absorb both sport and text and, if they are interested in what they are watching or reading, they will want to talk to others about the subject. Authors’ opinions offer something to think about and it only shows a lack of maturity in the reader if they accept what is written without question.
But is print currently in decline?
A survey from the National Endowment for the Arts, in the USA, had a shock effect back in 2004 when they published results claiming that, “Literary reading is in dramatic decline with fewer than half of American adults reading literature.” The survey also found that there had been a fall in literature readers of 10 per cent between 1982 and 2002. The then NEA chairman, Dana Gioia, mongered some fear with the stark claim that the findings, “Document a national crisis”.
Could this represent an international trend and does it signify an ailing print industry? Apparently not. A Publishers Weekly article documented that commercial publishers worldwide published 39 per cent more books in 2007 than 2006. Elementary economics suggests this is responding to a higher demand. Furthermore, according to UNESCO, new titles published in the UK had risen by 28 per cent in 2005-06 (although in the ‘States they had indeed dropped by 18 per cent). The UK now leads the world in number of books published per annum.
Electronic book readers and ebooks have proven themselves to be popular, with over 30 000 readers and more than 100 000 ebooks being sold by Waterstones bookstore since the store first stocked the range in September of last year. The Amazon Kindle, an ebook reader sold exclusively on www.amazon.com, apparently sold out within five and a half hours when it was released in the USA in November 2007. The device shows pages from books and newspapers, which are purchased and downloaded. Now in its third generation, the gadget has proven to be immensely popular. Sites such as www.gutenberg.org allow users to download from a selection of more than 100 000 ebooks, with over 30 000 of them for no charge.
But these stats don’t imply that a majority will forget about paper books altogether. A spokesman for Waterstones bookstore was vague about whether the company felt the ebook to be a real threat to the traditional book: “Books as we know them have been around for hundreds of years and we expect them to be around for many more to come. Ebooks offer another way to enjoy them and we anticipate that books in both print and electronic form can look forward to a long future.”
Jeff Jarvis, journalist and blogger, certainly thinks so. He wrote on www.buzzmachine.com, his controversial blog, that books, “Are frozen in time without the means of being corrected or updated.” He continued his diatribe: “They are expensive. They can’t afford to serve the real mass of niches. They aren’t searchable [or] linkable. They carry no conversation.” A pertinent point: “They try to teach readers but don’t teach authors.”
In Fast Company, a glossy business magazine, Jarvis makes a point that rings loudly at this time when Whos Jack has recently made the move to print: “Is our conversation better for being on this slick paper? No it’s not because only two of us are in it when we know that the collective wisdom of the people holding this page is greater than our own. We should be having this conversation together.”
Although holding weight, I think his arguments miss some points. Apart from economical / ecological issues, I see no problem with print being “frozen in time”. In fact I consider it a benefit. Opinions and ideas change over time and one can gain a deeper understanding of an author by how they evolve. If the articles are deleted from the internet due to vanity or politics, the reader will be denied this.
Saying books “Carry no conversation” is like saying watching sport carries no conversation. Neither offer a chance of audience reciprocation but they do offer something to think about, put faith in and, indeed, have a conversation about. Viewers absorb both sport and text and, if they are interested in what they are watching or reading, they will want to talk to others about the subject. Authors’ opinions offer something to think about and it only shows a lack of maturity in the reader if they accept what is written without question.
But is print currently in decline?
A survey from the National Endowment for the Arts, in the USA, had a shock effect back in 2004 when they published results claiming that, “Literary reading is in dramatic decline with fewer than half of American adults reading literature.” The survey also found that there had been a fall in literature readers of 10 per cent between 1982 and 2002. The then NEA chairman, Dana Gioia, mongered some fear with the stark claim that the findings, “Document a national crisis”.
Could this represent an international trend and does it signify an ailing print industry? Apparently not. A Publishers Weekly article documented that commercial publishers worldwide published 39 per cent more books in 2007 than 2006. Elementary economics suggests this is responding to a higher demand. Furthermore, according to UNESCO, new titles published in the UK had risen by 28 per cent in 2005-06 (although in the ‘States they had indeed dropped by 18 per cent). The UK now leads the world in number of books published per annum.
Electronic book readers and ebooks have proven themselves to be popular, with over 30 000 readers and more than 100 000 ebooks being sold by Waterstones bookstore since the store first stocked the range in September of last year. The Amazon Kindle, an ebook reader sold exclusively on www.amazon.com, apparently sold out within five and a half hours when it was released in the USA in November 2007. The device shows pages from books and newspapers, which are purchased and downloaded. Now in its third generation, the gadget has proven to be immensely popular. Sites such as www.gutenberg.org allow users to download from a selection of more than 100 000 ebooks, with over 30 000 of them for no charge.
But these stats don’t imply that a majority will forget about paper books altogether. A spokesman for Waterstones bookstore was vague about whether the company felt the ebook to be a real threat to the traditional book: “Books as we know them have been around for hundreds of years and we expect them to be around for many more to come. Ebooks offer another way to enjoy them and we anticipate that books in both print and electronic form can look forward to a long future.”
Wednesday, 3 June 2009
Squatall Street
Got a job? Lucky you. But is it a good one, or one of those tedious ones that don't take you anywhere useful? A means to pay the bills and nothing more? One where you gain no social life, your boss treats you like a lab rat, you travel an hour and half to get to and from the restaurant / bar / office / salon that swallows half your life and gives you nothing back... I mean, do you resent your working days and think you should be spending your time doing more personally fulfilling stuff? You know, like hanging out with new people and strumming a guitar and that.
If this sounds like you, then you are one of many who sound like they should sort it out and get involved with squatting.
Ah, squats- the world of the grimy floor and the Eternal Laze. Where everyone is high while the atmosphere is low. Or it's buzzing with speed junkies listening to hardcore who keep borrowing your laptop and forgetting to give it back. Is that a familiar impression?
It's probably not and maybe you feel patronised but reading such nonsense. But in case you don't already know- it isn't like that. Rather, it doesn't have to be like that. I've just had a refreshing cuppa from a nice clean electric kettle that sits on a tidy work surface in a hygenic kitchen with a working fridge and cooker and everything and the kitchen is next to two smart and spacious bedrooms with another down the hall, just next to the flushing toilet that has a bathroom next door. And it's all behind a secured locked door in the fine location of Bethnal Green. And it's all free. So there.
Whether you already know it or not, squatting can be an ideal solution. And you get to learn stuff about fuse boxes and plumbing that, if you're a guy makes you look like a real guy and if you're a lady makes you look feckin' hardcore cool. Knowing your DIY is well attractive to the opposite sex. It's a fact and I read it.
There are loads of squats in London. In fact the capitol is a haven for them due to the many "emptys" and the relatively relaxed laws about inhabiting them that date back hundreds of years. In the eyes of the law, there is no difference between some people who have made an empty property their home and a tenant who refuses to pay the rent. A landlord must go through a legal procedure which may take some weeks before forcing anybody out of their building. The law was made to prevent landlords from bashing the door down and getting the heavies involved to move on problem tenants.
Back in January there was that £30m mansion squat on Park Lane. It made the national press and also probably made a lot of people very jealous. In the 70s heyday of squatting there were roads blocked at either end by buses and every house was a squat. St Agnes Place in Kennington was a street first squatted in 1969 that managed to stay fortified until 2005.
Cotall Street, just south of Mile End and next to the canal, has a block of flats that look out across a spacious park to the rigid, linear form of Canary Wharf. Every flat in the block of 97 has now been squatted by English, Hungarian, Polish, South African, Spanish etc men, women, kids, babies and dogs and cats. Some people have been there since the end of last year.
Andreas, a resident on Cotall Street said: "There were just a few of us to begin with. A group of about 10 needed a place to go after being evicted from another place. We opened three of the empties. There were still a lot of tenants here then but they all moved out over the weeks."
The reason the whole block had been made empty is the Olympics. The area has been swept up in the gentrification push that is aiming towards hundreds of plush new homes. Tower Hamlets council is moving on residents in the blocks that they plan to knock down. To deter squatters, the council smash many of the empties up.
Frank has been on the estate since January. He said: "Loads of the flats had been totally gutted- the electricity cables ripped out, doors ripped off their hinges and windows smashed, the plumbing all pulled apart and the toilets hammered into pieces. Some of the flats were a real project to get sorted, but it's been fun because everybody here mucks in and helps each other out. A couple of days working on a place and it becomes totally hospitable."
The majority of the flats on Squatall Street have fridges and cookers but if they don't , the residents just go to their neighbours. Most of them cook and eat with friends from other flats.
Frank said: "The vibe here is really friendly. Pretty much everyone gets on well. We're having more and more communal barbeques and we're starting to screen films in the communal flat. Now that the weather's picking up people hang out on the roof, just sharing stories and learning from each other."
Natalya from Hungary stays in a ground floor flat with Tractor, her rottweiler puppy. She came to London last year but didn't know what she was going to do once she arrived.
"I knew a couple of people here before I came but I lost my phone and their numbers before flying. I didn't have a place to stay but wasn't too worried about it. I know other people who had managed to do the same thing. I just wanted to be in London and thought I'd figure out the details as I went along. On the 'plane I started talking to the girl next to me. She asked me what I was going to do in London and when I told her she immediately said, "Well you can stay with me." It was so sweet of her! We became good friends and I ended up staying at her squat for weeks. Then we were all evicted and came here and we still live together. The very first person I spoke to on arriving in London and we still live together over a year later!"
It does not look as if the Cotall Street squatters will be moved out anytime soon. There is a block currently being built across the canal and the council are not planning to knock down the squatted flats until construction is complete. Judging by the rate of progress on the building work that won't be until around the winter.
And when the council do start proceedings to get the flats empty again they are going to be in for an absolute nightmare. Each flat will have to be dealt with individually. The process of issuing eviction, going to court and finalising a date to get people out of a home takes time. Sometimes it takes a few weeks and with 97 flats to deal with, the courts are going to be very busy.
Frank said: "We are prepared to put up a fight, should we need to. Hopefully most of us will have a new place sorted for when we have to leave here, but if we don't then we're gong to do our best to buy us some time. It's never fun being homeless, especially if it's wintertime
The East End is peppered with empties. Walk five minutes from Squattal Street towards Langdon Park and you will find whole blocks of empties. They are probably going to get opened into squats soon because many squatters are being evicted from the Ocean Estate in Stepney. If you open one and it is not in the best condition then take your pick and simply open another.
It's quite straight forward to make an empty your home. Once you've found a place that looks abandoned (i.e. it's got boarded up windows, cobwebs over the door, no furniture inside etc) just find a way in. Sometimes a window can be forced open. If the doors and windows are boarded up you may need to get physical with a crowbar and bolt cutters. Make sure you don't get caught though- you could get done for burglary or criminal damage.
Once inside, make sure the place is secure so no unwanted company can join you. Hang your Section 6 on the door to show you're clued up with the law and then sit on the floor and eat some fish and chips. Lovely.
Furthur info. about squatting can be found at the Advisory Service for Squatters on the Whitechapel Road. They are on 020 3216 0099.
If this sounds like you, then you are one of many who sound like they should sort it out and get involved with squatting.
Ah, squats- the world of the grimy floor and the Eternal Laze. Where everyone is high while the atmosphere is low. Or it's buzzing with speed junkies listening to hardcore who keep borrowing your laptop and forgetting to give it back. Is that a familiar impression?
It's probably not and maybe you feel patronised but reading such nonsense. But in case you don't already know- it isn't like that. Rather, it doesn't have to be like that. I've just had a refreshing cuppa from a nice clean electric kettle that sits on a tidy work surface in a hygenic kitchen with a working fridge and cooker and everything and the kitchen is next to two smart and spacious bedrooms with another down the hall, just next to the flushing toilet that has a bathroom next door. And it's all behind a secured locked door in the fine location of Bethnal Green. And it's all free. So there.
Whether you already know it or not, squatting can be an ideal solution. And you get to learn stuff about fuse boxes and plumbing that, if you're a guy makes you look like a real guy and if you're a lady makes you look feckin' hardcore cool. Knowing your DIY is well attractive to the opposite sex. It's a fact and I read it.
There are loads of squats in London. In fact the capitol is a haven for them due to the many "emptys" and the relatively relaxed laws about inhabiting them that date back hundreds of years. In the eyes of the law, there is no difference between some people who have made an empty property their home and a tenant who refuses to pay the rent. A landlord must go through a legal procedure which may take some weeks before forcing anybody out of their building. The law was made to prevent landlords from bashing the door down and getting the heavies involved to move on problem tenants.
Back in January there was that £30m mansion squat on Park Lane. It made the national press and also probably made a lot of people very jealous. In the 70s heyday of squatting there were roads blocked at either end by buses and every house was a squat. St Agnes Place in Kennington was a street first squatted in 1969 that managed to stay fortified until 2005.
Cotall Street, just south of Mile End and next to the canal, has a block of flats that look out across a spacious park to the rigid, linear form of Canary Wharf. Every flat in the block of 97 has now been squatted by English, Hungarian, Polish, South African, Spanish etc men, women, kids, babies and dogs and cats. Some people have been there since the end of last year.
Andreas, a resident on Cotall Street said: "There were just a few of us to begin with. A group of about 10 needed a place to go after being evicted from another place. We opened three of the empties. There were still a lot of tenants here then but they all moved out over the weeks."
The reason the whole block had been made empty is the Olympics. The area has been swept up in the gentrification push that is aiming towards hundreds of plush new homes. Tower Hamlets council is moving on residents in the blocks that they plan to knock down. To deter squatters, the council smash many of the empties up.
Frank has been on the estate since January. He said: "Loads of the flats had been totally gutted- the electricity cables ripped out, doors ripped off their hinges and windows smashed, the plumbing all pulled apart and the toilets hammered into pieces. Some of the flats were a real project to get sorted, but it's been fun because everybody here mucks in and helps each other out. A couple of days working on a place and it becomes totally hospitable."
The majority of the flats on Squatall Street have fridges and cookers but if they don't , the residents just go to their neighbours. Most of them cook and eat with friends from other flats.
Frank said: "The vibe here is really friendly. Pretty much everyone gets on well. We're having more and more communal barbeques and we're starting to screen films in the communal flat. Now that the weather's picking up people hang out on the roof, just sharing stories and learning from each other."
Natalya from Hungary stays in a ground floor flat with Tractor, her rottweiler puppy. She came to London last year but didn't know what she was going to do once she arrived.
"I knew a couple of people here before I came but I lost my phone and their numbers before flying. I didn't have a place to stay but wasn't too worried about it. I know other people who had managed to do the same thing. I just wanted to be in London and thought I'd figure out the details as I went along. On the 'plane I started talking to the girl next to me. She asked me what I was going to do in London and when I told her she immediately said, "Well you can stay with me." It was so sweet of her! We became good friends and I ended up staying at her squat for weeks. Then we were all evicted and came here and we still live together. The very first person I spoke to on arriving in London and we still live together over a year later!"
It does not look as if the Cotall Street squatters will be moved out anytime soon. There is a block currently being built across the canal and the council are not planning to knock down the squatted flats until construction is complete. Judging by the rate of progress on the building work that won't be until around the winter.
And when the council do start proceedings to get the flats empty again they are going to be in for an absolute nightmare. Each flat will have to be dealt with individually. The process of issuing eviction, going to court and finalising a date to get people out of a home takes time. Sometimes it takes a few weeks and with 97 flats to deal with, the courts are going to be very busy.
Frank said: "We are prepared to put up a fight, should we need to. Hopefully most of us will have a new place sorted for when we have to leave here, but if we don't then we're gong to do our best to buy us some time. It's never fun being homeless, especially if it's wintertime
The East End is peppered with empties. Walk five minutes from Squattal Street towards Langdon Park and you will find whole blocks of empties. They are probably going to get opened into squats soon because many squatters are being evicted from the Ocean Estate in Stepney. If you open one and it is not in the best condition then take your pick and simply open another.
It's quite straight forward to make an empty your home. Once you've found a place that looks abandoned (i.e. it's got boarded up windows, cobwebs over the door, no furniture inside etc) just find a way in. Sometimes a window can be forced open. If the doors and windows are boarded up you may need to get physical with a crowbar and bolt cutters. Make sure you don't get caught though- you could get done for burglary or criminal damage.
Once inside, make sure the place is secure so no unwanted company can join you. Hang your Section 6 on the door to show you're clued up with the law and then sit on the floor and eat some fish and chips. Lovely.
Furthur info. about squatting can be found at the Advisory Service for Squatters on the Whitechapel Road. They are on 020 3216 0099.
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Bleech
Bleech claim they were “formed from a packet of pro-plus pills”.
Well, like the caffeine pick-me-ups, they ain’t sweet and, however much they make you sweat, you are bound to want more of them.
The young East London based three-piece are composed of sisters Jen (guitar and vox) and Katherine O’Neill (bass and BVs) and pounding drummer Mat Bick, a friend from school.
They have been likened to The Subways and have the energy and backing vocals to match, but the riffs are more crunching and Jen’s voice has a kind of sweet but sassy swagger reminiscent of Elastica’s Justine Frischmann.
They played the fantastic monthly F.L.U. night in Camden’s Proud bar on March 19 and their uncompromised grungy ‘90s set, coupled with front girl Jen’s stunning disregard for glamour caught the trendy tight-jeaned, coiffed crowd off guard.
She hid behind a long mess of brown tangles and gave her all to the mic as Katherine, the yin of Jen’s hair‘s yang- short, styled and blonde- interspersed her backing vocals with violent flicks of her torso.
They are fast and they are strong. And they have a packed next few weeks, including five London gigs in four London nights between March 26 and 29.
They are also releasing their debut single “Is It True That Boys Don’t Cry” through Ban*Jam, with a launch at The Monarch in Camden on April 14.
Steve Lamacq hailed them as his Unsigned Band of the Week and XFMs John Kennedy claimed: “You are about to witness Rock History in the making!”
Their simplicity and power did it for me- get yer jeans on and give them a go.
Homelessness Pt.2
My experience of living on the street for only a week was an easy one. I was well fed, clean and I got enough sleep. But I wanted to find out why some people find themselves unable to get out of their situation and onto some kind of ladder of progress. In an East London park I found some answers. By no means are they representative of many homeless people: they do not touch on mental health problems, issues with language and immigration or any other reasons over what they are. But this is what I got from a couple of hours talking.
There was Buzz, 37, Chalky, 41, and Quicksand, 26, and me with them sharing a mid-afternoon drink.
Not undercover this time, my cards were on the table and they knew my agenda. To get to know these homeless folk and learn why they are still on the streets when the city’s facilities appear so accommodating. I had found through sleeping rough that the longest a healthy and ambitious person should be on the streets of London for is only about 25 days.
Buzz, Chalky and “Quicks” did not look healthy and if they had much ambition they must have been keeping it private. “We are not well, you might say,” said Chalky, before closing the sentence with his’ “Heheheh!”. “We drink, it’s what we do, our thing you might say.”
Chalky, the most articulate and open of the three, gave his story with little prompting. “I’ve a missus and my three girls living over in Shepherd’s Bush. I still see ‘em every couple of weeks or so. We all get on fine, you know, but it’s best not to see too much of each other. It’s the fuckin’ booze- I say things I’ll regret.”
He told me how he used to be a successful amateur boxer in his early twenties. He trained in one of the East End’s famous gyms, Repton, and was about to turn pro when he had a motorbike accident and shattered his left leg. He started drinking and the rest is a hazy plummeting of fights, hangovers, social security cheques and booze-numbed regret.
“I won’t be getting off the streets any time soon. I’ve been trying on and off for seven years, but I’m the bars of my own cage. I won’t allow myself to get out of this situation ‘cos I keep fuckin’ up and drinking away my chances. I don’t last in a hostel for long before they chuck me out.”
He keeps himself reasonably hygienic, using the drop-in centres like the Whitechapel Mission on Whitechapel Road to shower, shave and brush up. Many of the centres hand out free clothing on a daily basis and have washing machines.
“The cold and wet nights are obviously a pain, but you get kinda used to them. Sometimes I get to kip on the sofa in a mate’s house, but mostly I bed down in my sleeping bag. I stay up on Kingsland Road most nights.”
Quicksand’s drinking mates nicknamed him because of his stark self-destructive streak. They say he will keep sinking down until he kills himself. Defensive and confrontational, he kept smirking and then looking nervously at Chalky and Buzz for help whenever I asked him a question.
“’Cos I ain’t got no home, do I,” he said when I asked why he is on the streets. After some pushing, he conceded: “I can’t really be bothered with them hostels. The people there tell you you’ve gotta have your lights out at a certain time, not shout about. It’s like prison or something.” It is clear he is the kind of person who does not know how to compromise. When being tried for ABH in 2001, he called the judge a, “Fucking dingbat” in the courtroom. No doubt that extended his 100 day prison sentence.
Buzz, like Chalky and Quicksand, likes a drink. But he is trying to keep a lid on it and, counter-intuitively, that is why he chooses not to stay in a hostel. “Too much temptation,” he says. And to be fair he kept sober in the park, drinking only one can of Strongbow. “I also don’t claim benefits. I know what I’ll spend the money on if I do. I just get by, surviving rough and trying not to drink. I also volunteer at a couple of the day centres. I like to keep busy.”
Chalky, buoyant, Quicks, nervous, Buzz, sober and I drunk our cider and talked sport a while. Chalky closed the get together: “Right ho, we better go. Gotta see a man about a dog. You know. Heheheh!”
There was Buzz, 37, Chalky, 41, and Quicksand, 26, and me with them sharing a mid-afternoon drink.
Not undercover this time, my cards were on the table and they knew my agenda. To get to know these homeless folk and learn why they are still on the streets when the city’s facilities appear so accommodating. I had found through sleeping rough that the longest a healthy and ambitious person should be on the streets of London for is only about 25 days.
Buzz, Chalky and “Quicks” did not look healthy and if they had much ambition they must have been keeping it private. “We are not well, you might say,” said Chalky, before closing the sentence with his’ “Heheheh!”. “We drink, it’s what we do, our thing you might say.”
Chalky, the most articulate and open of the three, gave his story with little prompting. “I’ve a missus and my three girls living over in Shepherd’s Bush. I still see ‘em every couple of weeks or so. We all get on fine, you know, but it’s best not to see too much of each other. It’s the fuckin’ booze- I say things I’ll regret.”
He told me how he used to be a successful amateur boxer in his early twenties. He trained in one of the East End’s famous gyms, Repton, and was about to turn pro when he had a motorbike accident and shattered his left leg. He started drinking and the rest is a hazy plummeting of fights, hangovers, social security cheques and booze-numbed regret.
“I won’t be getting off the streets any time soon. I’ve been trying on and off for seven years, but I’m the bars of my own cage. I won’t allow myself to get out of this situation ‘cos I keep fuckin’ up and drinking away my chances. I don’t last in a hostel for long before they chuck me out.”
He keeps himself reasonably hygienic, using the drop-in centres like the Whitechapel Mission on Whitechapel Road to shower, shave and brush up. Many of the centres hand out free clothing on a daily basis and have washing machines.
“The cold and wet nights are obviously a pain, but you get kinda used to them. Sometimes I get to kip on the sofa in a mate’s house, but mostly I bed down in my sleeping bag. I stay up on Kingsland Road most nights.”
Quicksand’s drinking mates nicknamed him because of his stark self-destructive streak. They say he will keep sinking down until he kills himself. Defensive and confrontational, he kept smirking and then looking nervously at Chalky and Buzz for help whenever I asked him a question.
“’Cos I ain’t got no home, do I,” he said when I asked why he is on the streets. After some pushing, he conceded: “I can’t really be bothered with them hostels. The people there tell you you’ve gotta have your lights out at a certain time, not shout about. It’s like prison or something.” It is clear he is the kind of person who does not know how to compromise. When being tried for ABH in 2001, he called the judge a, “Fucking dingbat” in the courtroom. No doubt that extended his 100 day prison sentence.
Buzz, like Chalky and Quicksand, likes a drink. But he is trying to keep a lid on it and, counter-intuitively, that is why he chooses not to stay in a hostel. “Too much temptation,” he says. And to be fair he kept sober in the park, drinking only one can of Strongbow. “I also don’t claim benefits. I know what I’ll spend the money on if I do. I just get by, surviving rough and trying not to drink. I also volunteer at a couple of the day centres. I like to keep busy.”
Chalky, buoyant, Quicks, nervous, Buzz, sober and I drunk our cider and talked sport a while. Chalky closed the get together: “Right ho, we better go. Gotta see a man about a dog. You know. Heheheh!”
Monday, 18 May 2009
Garage Living
Further effects of the credit crunch- a couple from Kent have been living in a garage since they both lost their jobs in April.
Paula Lacey and Michael Ward were forced to move out of their house when it was repossessed after they became unable to afford the mortgage payments.
The new home has no running water or electricity but the relatively secure roof over their head costs £10 per week.
They claimed they had “nowhere to go” and now use shower and toilet facilities at the local swimming centre.
Mrs Lacey said: “If we’ve got the money we go to a local pub we know that do really nice meals for £1.50.
Their local authority, Swale Borough Council, said in a statement: “We advised them how to make an application for homelessness and will now look more closely at their application.
We will weigh up the information provided and will decide in due course if the council has a duty to house them permanently.”
The landlord of the garage has issued them with a notice to quit but has also tried to help the couple find somewhere better to live.
He said: “I didn’t know it [the credit crunch] could narrow to this but I think there are probably people all over the UK living like it.”
Paula Lacey and Michael Ward were forced to move out of their house when it was repossessed after they became unable to afford the mortgage payments.
The new home has no running water or electricity but the relatively secure roof over their head costs £10 per week.
They claimed they had “nowhere to go” and now use shower and toilet facilities at the local swimming centre.
Mrs Lacey said: “If we’ve got the money we go to a local pub we know that do really nice meals for £1.50.
Their local authority, Swale Borough Council, said in a statement: “We advised them how to make an application for homelessness and will now look more closely at their application.
We will weigh up the information provided and will decide in due course if the council has a duty to house them permanently.”
The landlord of the garage has issued them with a notice to quit but has also tried to help the couple find somewhere better to live.
He said: “I didn’t know it [the credit crunch] could narrow to this but I think there are probably people all over the UK living like it.”
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