2003
Some stories
Call for greater ethnic minority and immigrant participation in Irish politics
A new report from the Africa Solidarity Centre in Dublin highlights the exclusion of immigrants and ethnic minorities from Irish political parties.
9 December 2003 (195 words)
Close surveillance of Campsfield protest
On Saturday 29 November, over 200 people from all over the country gathered for a demonstration outside Campsfield House Immigration Detention Centre, the scene of frequent protests, hunger strikes and a riot, to mark its 10th anniversary.
3 December 2003 (519 words)
Rising deaths as a result of racial violence
Research by the Institute of Race Relations shows that since the beginning of 1999, at least thirty-five murders with a racial element were committed in England, Wales and Scotland. This figure, when compared with the four years 1994 - 1998, when thirteen murders with a racial element were committed, shows an alarming rise. For, the rate of such murders has more than doubled.
3 December 2003 (572 words)
Step up in family visitor visa denial
Citizens Advice is asking government ministers to review the rising rate of family visitor visa application refusals so as to ensure that injustice is not being done to members of the UK's Black and Minority Ethnic communities.
27 November 2003 (322 words)
It's official: media coverage of asylum is distorted and unfair
Research commissioned by Article 19, a group that campaigns for free expression, has found that the British media's coverage of asylum seekers and refugees is characterised by stereotyping, exaggeration and inaccurate language.
19 November 2003 (1321 words)
Black and Minority Ethnic teachers miss out on performance pay rises
Is there discrimination against Black and Minority Ethnic teachers in performance-related pay?
17 November 2003 (487 words)
Custody death at Heathrow airport
Paul Yorke, a 38-year-old mixed-race man, died after being arrested by police officers at Terminal Two of Heathrow airport on 2 November.
13 November 2003 (199 words)
Indefinite detention without trial upheld
On 28 October 2003, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) upheld the detention of ten men detained without trial or charge under the Anti Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001 (ATCSA).
4 November 2003 (1118 words)
Australia must release the names of the 353 dead!
On 19 October 2001, 146 children, 142 women and 65 men lost their lives when the small, grossly-overloaded Indonesian fishing boat, in which they were travelling, capsized and sank as they sought to flee persecution in their homelands and rebuild their lives in Australia.
30 October 2003 (395 words)
Black people face double discrimination
A two-year independent research project into the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has found that while black defendants appear to be more harshly treated than their white counterparts in the criminal justice system, prosecutors are too willing to drop 'race charges'.
27 October 2003 (1042 words)
Discrimination against Somalis in housing
A new report into the needs and experiences of the Somali community and its access to housing in Britain has found that Somalis are often discriminated against and do not receive good levels of service provision.
23 October 2003 (314 words)
Forced deportation of Roma
A well-respected Roma political organiser and twenty-five other Czech Roma are to be deported to the Czech Republic on 25 October, despite the fact that by next May the Czech Republic will be part of the European Union.
21 October 2003 (218 words)
England's 'ghetto' schools
An analysis by researchers at Bristol University has found that secondary schools in Oldham, Blackburn, Bradford, Birmingham and Luton have the highest levels of segregation between pupils of different ethnic groups.
12 October 2003 (458 words)
School exclusions increase again
New figures from the Department for Education and Skills show that Black Caribbean children are still three times more likely than White children to be permanently excluded from school in England. The overall number of exclusions has also increased for the second year running.
12 October 2003 (340 words)
Roger Sylvester - police condemned for black death
It has taken the Sylvester family four years to get an inquest into Roger's death. A verdict of unlawful killing has been returned. But the last successful prosecution of a police officer involved in a black death was in 1971, despite numerous inquest verdicts of unlawful killing since then.
9 October 2003 (2400 words)
Canary Islands tragedy: did the RAF put border security before human safety?
An official inquiry was prompted in Spain after twenty-one migrants, trying to cross from the North African coast to the Canary Islands, drowned in two separate incidents in June. Their boats capsized after being intercepted by Spanish patrols. But now questions are being asked about the role of British planes deployed in the region as part of the multinational 'Operation Ulysses'.
2 October 2003 (1929 words)
Research finds racism against overseas teachers
New research into the training of overseas teachers reports that they are often unprepared for the racism they face and that school staff do not do enough to counter pupil prejudice and develop an equality ethos within schools.
30 September 2003 (536 words)
Freedom Rides Again
Once again people are riding in buses across America to protest against a lack of civil rights. This time it is migrant workers drawing attention to their lack of security and freedom in the US.
25 September 2003 (428 words)
Reviewing anti-terrorist laws
The Campaign Against Criminalising Communities (CAMPACC) has recently submitted evidence to the Privy Council which is reviewing the Anti-Terrorism Crime and Security Act 2001.
11 September 2003 (115 words)
Destitute Iranian dies after suicide protest at refugee charity
Yet another asylum seeker has taken his own life after suffering misery at the hands of the British asylum system. Israfil Shiri had been thrown out of his Salford council flat and been denied benefits, under the government's tough new rules. He set himself alight last week in the offices of Refugee Action in Manchester and died later in hospital.
4 September 2003 (735 words)