Britain complains about “illegal immigration” but its own policy – like the policy in other European Union countries – is to put a squeeze on legal routes to entry. For example, the UK’s refusal rate for Syrian visa applications has more than doubled from less than 30 per cent before the conflict started to more…
The third in an occasional series about TV and radio programmes about migrants and migration in Britain. In Lenny Henry: Commonwealth Kid the British comedian says “The Commonwealth made me who I am”. That’s a bit far-fetched, I thought – and then realised that it was because of the existence of the post-colonial “club” of…
Bilal Fawaz is a champion in the ring “but I need that one thing that will unlock everything,” he told Migrant Voice, “that thing that allows you to live as a normal person.” He represented England as a boxer but he's not allowed to stay here. That's why his biggest fight is not against adversaries…
Despite the regular vilification of migrants in the British media, Laura Timm is unafraid to embrace the label. “I’m happy to say I’m a migrant," says the 32-year-old Estonian who moved to London eight years ago. "It comes from inner confidence, because I know that I’m here to add value … personally and in the…
Migration characterises the life and identity of Giovanna in several different ways: she comes from a migrant family, is a migrant herself, and migration has always been her field of work. “I think I ended up working in the migration field because of my personal background in some way. I was interested in it”, says…
In the second of Migrant Voice's occasional series in which migrants and those interested in migration issues comment on TV and radio programmes about migrants, Anne Stoltenberg looks at the BBC2 crime drama, Collateral. At first glance, Collateral is not about immigration. It's a BBC2 crime drama starring Carey Mulligan as the detective Kip Glaspie.…
This article is the first of an occasional series by Migrant Voice in which migrants and those interested in migration issues comment on TV and radio programmes about migrants. The set-up is simple: What happens to four unemployed Brits when an immigrant millionaire becomes their boss? It seems like a positive approach.…
Dear colleagues, Migrant Voice is conducting a small research into what migrants and refugees bring with them when they leave home and why. Part of the research will also support a BBC programme. To take part, please answer the following questions: What was the most important item you took with you when you left your…
The Claim is a play about an interview that will affect the rest of your life. It could even lead to your death. “If they don't believe you, they will send you back – meaning, sending you back to your grave.” The speaker is Yami, whose recollection of the Home Office's “substantive interview” for…
In 2018 the expensive top-of-the-market Marlborough School of English and Culture, part of a 170-year-old institution founded for the sons of the clergy, will offer its first Al-Rashid Scholarships. Al-Rashid? Who's he, and how did he leave his mark in the high downland and wide valleys that the English county of Wiltshire describes as "quintessentially…
.jpg)
