Bristol Somali Media Group

Many words cannot fill a pitcher

 

King of the Endz

A poem based on research and conversations with former drug dealers. 

My mum says I am a dealer

My boys say I am the man

Mum says I am a disgrace

Boys say I am the boss

My mum says study

But my teacher knows I am not going anywhere.

My mum shouts change

But what other choices are there?

 

There’s high youth unemployment the BBC says

But I am fine

Jobcentres got jobs I hear

But I am not an employee

I can get an apprenticeship they say

But I am making dough with my skills

Schools the way forward I am told

But it’s where dreams are buried

The streets are rough they say

But they’re paved with gold.

 

Broken families are to blame the men in suits say

But mine never existed

Families should live together we are told

But mine is on road

Strong families are loving it is claimed

Mine is a source of payment

Family is love

Mine is for protection.

 

War on drugs they promise

War on themselves

Better education they say

Same shit teaching

Better jobs for the educated

More money for me.

Cops promise they’ll catch me some day

Good luck I say

I am causing misery they plead

Who cares for me I ask

We’ll lock you up and throw away the key they smile

I need a holiday sometimes I think.

 

We have no snitches in my family

They know the punishments severe

When I walk they see me

When I talk they hear me

I pay and I punish

I protect and I destroy

I am the BIG man

The king of the Endz.

 

Liban Obsiye

libanbakaa@hotmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somali businesses must respond to the recession effectively or close

Walking through my favourite street in East Bristol, I came across a shop that is boarded up its windows. Only a few months a go it was a booming clothes shop which specialised in traditional Somali female clothing and toiletries, but today, along with the restaurant next door and three other shops on the other side of the road, they are all vacant. Without doubt they all are victims of the deepest and longest recession the developed world has seen since the global depression of the early 20^th century, but to what extent did these former business owners play a part in their own downfall?

The above appears to be a very cruel question but it is one that is extremely necessary when it comes to assessing Somali business failures in Europe and North America. Most business owners on the verge of collapse or those that have already been unfortunate say exactly the same thing: we are victims of circumstances and we did all we could to survive before the collapse. They support this argument by pointing to the existing low consumer confidence and resulting poor spending in the shops as well as high unemployment figures and the present and future job losses in both the private and public sector. It would seem from this that as a result of unforeseen circumstances their business prospects were doomed and there was absolutely nothing they could have done about it. This is totally untrue for most of them.

Recessions spare no one and only the cash rich who like to sit on their money survive generally but very few Somalis or ethnic small business owners fall in to this category. Somali business leaders are notoriously brilliant at negotiating with customers and other Somali business owners, but they are absolutely poor at negotiating with their landlords and suppliers who are not of the same nationality. In a time of recession, especially one as deep as this, it is important to retain your customers by cutting the cost of your service or products and the easiest way to do this is to negotiate the two most costly things in business: the rent and the cost of supplies.

Most landlords and suppliers are reasonable and if they are approached by a business in difficulty most would consider revising their costs, but most Somali business owners either do not negotiate or if they do are unreasonable in their offers. Because they also run and manage a business, both suppliers and landlords would prefer to keep their customers happy and on board but if they are not approached by struggling businesses owners how will they know what they need to survive? Equally, if Somali business owners negotiate aggressively and with no consideration for the losses the supplier or landlord will incur as a result, how will they expect both of these groups to be sympathetic towards them?

Too many Somali business owners are either too afraid or proud to admit that they are in trouble and re-negotiate important things like rent and their purchasing costs which could potentially save them and their livelihood from totally collapsing. If they take the initiative, summon the courage to admit they are in trouble and be reasonable in and during negotiations, they may just survive the recession. Their survival is almost guaranteed if they negotiate well as they will be able to retain their customers and secure their loyalty for the future as well as lower the cost of running their businesses.

Most successful businesses have an excellent relationship and continuous dialogue with their bank managers who now provide them with business advice, coaching as well as lend them money when needed. Most Somali business leaders have extremely poor relationships with their banks and some do not even have a business account as they use their own private accounts to store their businesses money. This is not only a very costly childish mistake, but it also dents the credibility of the business owners in the eyes of the banks they need support from. With a simple business account and on going relationship between them and their bankers, Somali businesses will not only get the advice they need but they can build a credit history which would further free capital for them to spend on their businesses in the future. This could also help to lower the cost of borrowing and accessing credit in times of business difficulty. Most banks today have Shariah compliant lending and there is no excuse for Somali businesses to be failing because of a lack of capital if they simply use the services of their banks properly and utilise the free support and advice they offer.

Many Somali businesses have shareholders because of the alternative means through which they raise the initial capital to start the businesses and although consisting mostly of family and friends, they can be useful. Many shareholders have experience of business and further capital they can inject into the business if and when needed. However, it is crucial that there is communication between them and the business manager as if there is not trust will break down and the resulting disputes will be the nail in the coffin, and usually it is, for the concerned business.

All businesses are suffering as a result of the recession, but Somali businesses seem to be failing like sandcastles in heavy rain and winds. For some they fail having tried everything to survive, but for the vast majority they let themselves down by ignoring or forgetting business basics such as negotiation and honesty. The fact is all businesses at some point face great hardship, but what differentiates those that survive from those that collapse is simply the ability to negotiate and communicate with key stakeholders who also have an interest in the businesses survival.

 

Liban Obsiye

libanbakaa@hotmail.com

Taking all the houses and jobs: why is it hard for refugees to access public services in the UK?

Many refugees do not know where to start when accessing public services which they are by law entitled to… The term “hard to reach” has become popular in public service circles and it is generally used as an excuse when public bodies fail to achieve their set goals… The hard to reach label is nothing more than an excuse, but an admission that centralisation has failed those it was supposed to help. As such excuses, neglect and the constant promise of learning from mistakes cannot form the basis of credible public policy. The other excuse [the well rehearsed myth]  of community division within the refugee groups which many local authorities like to hide behind is now also dead as many of the community organisations are represented by larger umbrella bodies such as the Bristol Somali Forum in the case of the Somali community in Bristol. 

(BSMG) Liban Obsiye – If one pays any attention to the right wing press in the UK, and many millions do every week, they would be forgiven for believing that refugees and new economic migrant community groups get all the best housing and jobs, and are directly responsible for reducing the wages of the indigenous population [British citizens], whoever these are.  Many of the political rights already felt this way from the beginning but the global financial crisis and the relatively high unemployment in the UK in all sectors, has entrenched this view in many. Some even go as far as suggesting that refugees know that even if they do not work in Britain is a benefit haven where they can enjoy a life they could not have dreamt of in their own countries. However, despite this image of the savvy immigrants and refugees who only come to the UK to take jobs and benefits and mass produce children to increase their State handouts, the reality is many of them do not know where to start when accessing public services which they are by law entitled to.

WHY?

Public services are services provided by the government to its citizens either through direct provision or through a contracted third party. The general idea is that these public services, which include education and healthcare among others, should be available to all who qualify for it and should be free and easy to access at the point of need – although some are charged for services if they are able to pay for it. Refugees who successfully claim asylum in the UK are the focus of this article as it is their stories that are most disheartening.

“Having been granted refugee status in the UK I was sleeping [staying] with many different friends as I was homeless and I worked for below the minimum wage for at least a year after been recognised  as a refugee here despite having the right to housing support and benefits,” said a refugee who did not want to be identified. “I struggled with speaking English and did not know where to go and who to see until my solicitor one day asked for my new address and when I told him I was homeless he immediately told me how to access housing and that the council had a duty to house me and to advice me.”  Another [refugee] informed me that having been severely beaten and attacked by a racist mob on his way back from work he went home to self medicate because he did not know if he had the right to free medical care.

These stories are not the exception, but the norm within refugee communities and what makes these stories tragic is that they could easily be avoided through the provision of information and advice to those that need it. Many statutory service providers in the UK would argue that they provide their information in multiple languages and translation services are available, but [the question is:] how many refugees can read and where do they find these leaflets even if they can?

Most refugees are fearful of official authority as many have suffered under their own governments’ hands and the idea of approaching local authorities just simply does not appeal to them. Despite having the right to reside in the UK and access full state public services, many shy away from it because they still believe that they are not entitled to it and if they seek it they may be discovered and sent back home. Furthermore, as many were professionals in their own countries, there is a sense of shyness and a need not to be a burden to their host state that directly stops them from claiming the public services they are entitled to. As ludicrous as all this may sound to some, it is a true reflection of the barriers to accessing public services for refugees in the UK.

What is the solution?

At present too many refugees and members of new migrant communities fall through the net as a result of poor information provision and service delivery. The main reason for this is that funding for support for these vulnerable new groups, is heavily centralised and administered mostly by local authorities who have very little connections with these groups and as a result are unable to reach them in a meaningful way which alleviates some of their hardship and poverty. In most cities, areas with the highest concentrations of multiple deprivation are those where the majority of refugee and migrant communities reside and the continuation of the poverty and its extension into the next generation within theses communities is a clear indication that centralisation does not work. Rather than tackle the poverty of these new communities and directly address their service needs, many rightly feel that, centralisation and top down bureaucracy administered by local authority officers who have no links to and little knowledge of their communities, has entrenched the existing poverty among their people.

Most refugees find out about public services and their rights through their community members and very rarely approach statutory bodies for advice, yet the funding for these services and where they exist lies with those the potential service users seldom approach. This does not make any sense.

Refugees and new migrant groups are among the most vulnerable as they have little access to information and support. The most effective and efficient way of reaching them and providing them with the services they are entitled to is through the use of Refugee Community Groups  that they trust and who have experience and expertise in working with these groups. “The fact is that in most sensitive areas of public services, centralisation is a waste of money because the providers do not know the culture of the community and no one would approach them for support,” said a local community volunteer. “Where local government outsources, the funding is not merely enough to cover even half of what they want you to achieve and this has given us the impression in the past that they were and still are setting us up to fail.”

“A great deal of money is wasted on experts and interpreting and translation costs. Would this not be reduced and more money be available for front line services if those that know the community best were properly funded? Is it no logical?” asked a Somali charity adviser. If it is so logical than why do local authorities not see this? “If we succeed, many Council employees will not be able to pay their mortgages in the nicer parts of the city,” he replies.

From our sources there is a clear mistrust between local authorities and the Refugee Community Groups and this only harms those for which the services are intended.

The term “hard to reach” has become popular in public service circles and it is generally used as an excuse when public bodies fail to achieve their set goals. Instead of seeing the centralisation, heavy top down and non responsive and engaging bureaucracy as the cause of policy failure, local authorities prefer to blame those they have failed to engage with. This is then usually followed by a pointless equality impact assessment which generally neglects the main reasons for the authority’s failures. “This is the cycle that embeds poverty in refugee and new migrant communities and creates the jobs in community cohesion and poverty reduction,” a charity chairman informs us. The hard to reach label is nothing more than an excuse, but an admission that centralisation has failed those it was supposed to help. As such excuses, neglect and the constant promise of learning from mistakes cannot form the basis of credible public policy. The other excuse [the well rehearsed myth] of community division within the refugee groups which many feel local authorities like to hide behind is now also dead as many of the community organisations are represented by larger umbrella bodies such as the Bristol Somali Forum in the case of the Somali community in Bristol. 

Although under this new Conservative led coalition government supporting refugees and new migrants is not going to be a popular policy agenda, local authorities must realise that the social and economic inclusion of these groups is fundamental to community cohesion, law and order and the future prosperity of the city. Good local authorities will realise that even if for Mr. Cameron’s multiculturalism is dead, it is their duty under the Human rights act 1998 to not infringe on the rights of those they are in place to serve and this does include refugee and migrant groups regardless of whether they are worthy or not in the eyes of the right wing press.

The simple fact is that many of the most vulnerable in society fall through the cracks because of poor public service provision and delivery. This creates greater poverty, isolation and withdrawal from society for many groups and this is not only dangerous but a clear breach of their Human Rights. Many local authorities speak of human rights and partnerships as if both are going out of fashion or as if to even utter these words after a certain time would be tantamount to treason. However, if they were serious about both they would work more closely with Refugee Community Groups and fund them properly to do the job effectively. If these refugee organisations succeed the only real consequence will be that local authorities will be seen as more innovative, inclusive and truly committed to helping their most vulnerable groups.

Liban Obsiye 

libanbakaa@hotmail.com

What does the European Court of Human Rights Judgement mean for the Somali people?

(BSMG) Liban Obsiye and Yusuf Salah — The ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that allowed two prolific serious Somali criminals to remain in the UK for fear of the breach of their Article 3 rights if sent back to war-torn Mogadishu was predictable. This overturned the British Asylum and Immigration  Tribunals decision that although a return to Mogadishu would and could expose deportees to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment as well as persecution, those with connections to the powerful people in Mogadishu might be able to live there safely. Despite the tough on foreign criminal’s stance the British government has adopted, the reality is that their policies are always subject to a compatibility test with European Union law of which the European Convention on Human Rights 1998 is one of. It is so important that if any member States policies do not comply they can be expelled from the Union after a period of financial penalization.

Article 3 is one of the most important and politically divisive rights afforded to citizens of European Union member States and those that live within their territories. It prohibits torture and it states that: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” To cement its importance, it is a right which can not be withdrawn regardless of how abhorrent one’s actions may be and one which imposes both a negative and positive duty on the member States.  Negative in that they are not allowed to do any of the prohibited activities under the Article to those who live in their territory or assist those who do it and positive in that they must prevent it, where possible, from happening.

Article 3 features heavily in most asylum and deportation cases because many violations of it may occur as a result of deportation. Article 3 has allowed internationally known political refugees such as the Sikh separatist leader Chahal who was wanted by his native India for stirring up supposed tension back home to remain in the UK. Despite the right wing media’s outrage at the judgment, the reality was always that both of the Somali criminals, Abdisamad Adow Sufi, 24 and Elmi, 42, were never going to be sent back to Somalia because it is not safe to send them back and there is no functioning government from which the UK authorities could have sought assurances in the receiving State for the Court to even have considered the issue seriously. Even if the case is, as the British government has argued, that the two men are a continuing danger to the public because of the seriousness of the crimes they have committed in the past, it is up to them to find a way of managing them and containing the risk they pose to the public as sending them back to Somalia is a clear breach of their human rights.

To give an indication of the seriousness of their crimes and perhaps to shed light on why the British government considered both these men dangerous, it is important to look at the crimes they committed since living in the UK. According to British newspaper reports, Elmi was convicted of supplying class A drugs cocaine and heroin as well as robbery and Sufi of burglary and threats to kill. 

The legal victory for the two Somali men has set a precedent for the European Members States Courts to adopt and implement when faced with the potential deportation of criminals from failed or failing States. It has also given hope to many Somali prisoners who having completed their criminal sentences are awaiting deportation to Somalia. Furthermore, it has without doubt stirred up right wing British hatred for the European Union which they feel through its many institutions is undermining British sovereignty and national security. The resentment of the judgment was such that all the main right leaning media sources presented it as their main story and the Conservative Prime Minister is still in theory committed to opting out of the European Convention on Human Rights 1998 in favour of a new watered down British Bill of Rights which would have allowed him to send back dangerous foreign criminals like Sufi and Elmi to where they had originally come from. However, this would be utterly pointless as if the Bill of Rights falls short of offering the same guarantees and protection as the instrument it is replacing it will also fall foul of European Union law and the British government would have to once again amend it or face financial penalization or expulsion from the Union.

Having changed a very important discretionary aspect of European Union member’s immigration policy, what does the judgement of the European Court of Human Rights mean for the Somali people living in Europe now or wishing to seek asylum in the future?

The Daily Mails coverage of the judgement attracted 338 comments from its online readers and not one had a good thing to say about the Somali people. Reading the comments one would be forgiven for believing that every Somali British person living in the UK was guilty by association even if they did not know the two former dangerous criminals. The Mail newspaper and it’s online edition are among the most read in the UK and according to Press Gazzette, a highly reputable journalism profession magazine, they are the only media sources to have continually grown and sustained their readership in the last seven months despite the difficulties in the print media industry. In the Mail Online website that attracted nearly 2.5 million readers in July alone, there is a picture of Somalis that appear to be burning, looting and waving make shift weapons in the air. This picture clearly gives the reader a stereotypical image of Somalis as been violent, lawless and having no respect for life and property. This image speaks more than all the words that are written in the article as it can, in the eyes of the reader, justify the discrimination and stigma the Somali people living in Europe are currently facing and could face in the long-term as a result of the judgement.

“The Somali community are the real new victims of the right wing press,” said one community leader. “We have no defence and they are free to portray us through the use of poor evidence and extreme individual case studies, as lazy, ungrateful and disloyal benefit spongers. This destroys the image of the community in the eyes of their counterparts and harms even the future prospects of the hard working young Somali British people growing up today.”

“Again, the Somali community is seen to be changing a very sensitive British public policy not being or as parliamentarians but through crime and default,” added a community worker. “It would have been better for the Somali community if those two and all the other prisoners awaiting deportation were sent back because at least then I won’t have to be made to feel guilty by a narrow-minded hateful press.”

As well as the stigma and the verbal and written national attack on the community by the right wing press, the European Court of Human Rights judgement will make entering the European Union very difficult for Somali refugees and visitors in the future.

“The reality is that if it is hard to send a certain group of people back to their place of origin due to some important reason, the likelihood is that the Home Office will make it tougher for them to enter in the first place,” said a local immigration and Human Rights lawyer. “As a result of this judgement, many genuine refugees who have never met the two former criminals will be affected by their court decision. At a time when there is very little help in the form of free legal advice which all those who qualify for should have a right to in a democratic State like the UK, life will be very hard for those who are lucky enough to make it to a European State to seek asylum.”

While the judgement in the case of Sufi and Elmi may have been a success for them and for the cause of Human Rights in Europe it will inevitably further entrench the stigmatisation the Somali community faces in the UK and wider Europe. The judgement was also very narrow and not a total victory for all Somali prisoners in that it prohibited deportation  to Mogadishu and not the more peaceful parts of Somalia and the self declared independent State of Somaliland where there is peace and a functioning government. As a result, criminals from these areas will properly not be as lucky as Sufi and Elmi and be sent back upon completing their sentences in British prisons.  The community’s anger with the two former criminals is understandable as the majority law abiding members of the Somali community are working tirelessly to integrate and contribute to their new adopted home countries. However, if they do not assist their more deviant and wayward members to rehabilitate, they will always be guilty by association in the eyes of the right wing press here in the UK and in wider Europe.

Liban Obsiye —  libanbakaa@hotmail.com  and Yusuf Salah – ylucknow@hotmail.com

Both writers live in Bristol, UK and work within the third sector as advisers and community advocates.

Every school can be a good school

(BSMG) Liban Obsiye — In a country that spends billions of pounds on education every year and where expenditure on education has been steadily rising since 1997, it is very sad to see that many parents still feel that there are some bad schools that they should not send their children to. This year while many more children were accepted in to their first choice secondary schools, the numbers that were not still remains significant in many parts of the country. Many parents are now in the process of appealing the decisions by the Local Authorities or Academies which they hope to send their children to but given the fact that most of these are oversubscribed; there is a very slim chance that they will succeed.

At a time of unprecedented public sector budget cuts it is only natural for parents to be worried about their family’s futures and considering that a good education is seen by many of them as the key to their children’s future success, it is understandable that they want to appeal in order to get their children admission to the schools that they feel will best support them and provide them with the best possible education.

Parents now have access to a great amount of data about individual schools in their areas and are easily able to compare their strengths and weaknesses. Since the introduction of school league tables schools have been in competition to attract the brightest and best students to bolster their academic standings. This inevitably created winners and losers in the schools admissions process which today has resulted in some schools been oversubscribed whilst others struggle to remain open. 

This market orientated school system is now to be further entrenched as the new Coalition government is urging local authority run schools to become academies in order to be independent of the bureaucratic management style and leadership of the local authorities. Schools are been tempted away from local authority control with the promise of greater freedom to manage their own affairs in all areas from recruitment of staff and their pay to the curriculum they teach. In addition the Conservative education minister, Michael Gove, has announced that he wants schools to focus on the key subjects which they will be judged on in the league tables in the future which are mathematics, English, sciences, languages and humanities and this has made parents more anxious about getting admissions to a “traditionally good” school as one parent put it that excels in the traditional subjects.

“Government schools struggle to attract good teachers to their schools. In fact my daughter has had more supply teachers in some subjects than she can remember.” One parent said. “If people can get their children to these good schools than they have a better chance of getting the good teachers to teach the key subjects.”

What is evident is that many parents have bought into this good school/bad school nonsense and that those on the right of the political spectrum have succeeded in convincing parents that they have a choice to what they deem to be a good education. However, with very few places at these so called good, well performing schools, what are the majority of the parents whose children did not get admission to these do?

Well they can go home and weep and resign themselves to the misguided belief that their children will not do well as a result of their schools or do something so that they support their children to succeed. Parents too often forget that they are the primary educators and that schools are nothing more than mere buildings with teachers in them. Many good local schools are been dragged into a competition that would not even be necessary if parents, students and schools worked together.

Many parents complain about poor school leadership and the current coalition government has promised to tackle this by allowing parents to set up their own schools if necessary. However, while good school leadership is crucial, the head teachers should not be treated like private sector Chief Executives whose duty it is to bring lucrative returns on investor’s investments. Rather they should be seen as the face of the school leadership but parents should be working with the schools in the background to create a learning environment that develops future leaders that local communities can be proud of.

The neoliberal education policies that threaten many schools are not new. In fact all Political Party’s today can be blamed for continuing and endorsing them since their inception. However, what it is not made clear is where the consumer, formerly parents, are suddenly going to find all these amazing successful schools where they have a choice of sending their children to. Will they appear from thin air? I doubt it.

The simple fact is that there are some struggling schools in our communities that we must work hard to improve collectively. With cuts to teaching and extracurricular support for students with special educational needs, it is fundamental that schools, parents and community groups work together to build trust and inspire students to achieve their full potential in these most difficult of times. Many community groups complain that some narrow minded school leaders operate in a hierarchical way that portrays community groups as a threat rather than a support mechanism. However, if this is the case, these school leaders may find that while they are in their offices trying to work out which part of their pyramid of hierarchy community groups fit in, their schools may be earmarked for closure.

Good inclusive school leadership, coupled with parental and community engagement, will inevitably result in successful local schools that communities can be proud of and rely on. Parents should not dessert local schools in times of difficulty and school leaders should not shut out external support service providers. The reality is that the majority of students are not going to get into these so called good schools because they are oversubscribed. However, what needs to be emphasised is that there are no bad schools. Schools are merely buildings. The interaction that takes place within them between all stakeholders is what makes some schools more successful than others.
 
Liban Obsiye libanbakaa@hotmail.com