Turkish Forum

Tag: Immigration

  • DARK FAMILY SECRETS OF BNP LEADER NICK GRIFFIN

    DARK FAMILY SECRETS OF BNP LEADER NICK GRIFFIN

    By David Jarvis

    SURPRISE: The 1871 Census has Griffin’s great-grandfather George as a hawker living in a van
    SURPRISE: The 1871 Census has Griffin’s great-grandfather George as a hawker living in a van

    BNP leader Nick Griffin, who last week branded gypsies “anti social and criminal”, can trace his roots to travellers hawking cheap goods from a horse and cart.

    The controversial MEP’s great-grandfather George Griffin roamed from town to town in a horse-drawn caravan with his wife Esther and their children, selling china and crockery.

    Census reports show he spent years living the gypsy life, never settling in one place because as an impoverished traveller he was on the margins of society and never fully accepted anywhere.

    Last week Griffin, 50, who condemned attacks on Romanian gypsies in Northern Ireland, said: “We have to bear in mind that the gypsy community is notorious for its extremely high rate of criminality and antisocial behaviour.

    “Everyone in Romania and eastern Europe knows this and it is one reason why their governments are so keen to encourage them to come over here.”

    Yet between 1868 and 1874 records show his great-grandfather represented just such a minority. He travelled in one caravan with his  while his business partner, Mary Ann Hollis, travelled in another.

    George habitually lied about his age, describing himself as 25 in the 1871 Census, 41 a decade later, 47 in the 1891 Census and 58 in 1901. He plied his precarious trade in Devon and Cornwall and could often be found parked outside the London Inn pub in Liskeard.

    The 1871 Census shows the caravans were parked next to the Cornish pub, noting: “Six persons not in houses”. In the column marked “Houses” it reports them as living in vans.

    While George lived with Esther, 22, and his 10-month-old son George Junior in one, Mary Ann Hollis, 37, was in the second with George’s three-year-old daughter Mary Ann Griffi n and a William Huxham, 16.

    He is described as a servant but probably earned his keep selling wares. In the Census column marked “Rank, profession or occupation” George is a “licensed hawker dealing in china and crockery ware”.

    His lifestyle would not have fitted with the intolerant views of Mr Griffin and the British National Party which does not accept black people as members.

    “Griffin has called for an immediate halt to immigration, and voluntary resettlement of immigrants legally living in Britain.

    When told this week of Mr Griffin’s heritage, shocked BNP deputy leader Simon Darby said: “That will please him.” Genealogy expert Nick Barratt added: “George Griffin travelled around, scratching a living. His group will have roamed from street to street like ragtag travellers trying to survive on their wits and selling their wares.

    “And it is highly likely he spent many more years living the life of a traveller before he married.

    “Today we would call his group travellers and just like today they would have been marginalised on the edge of society and seen as outsiders.

    “They will have been treated with a degree of suspicion and as a minority.”

    Source:  www.express.co.uk, June 21, 2009

  • Royal College of Midwives attacks BNP maternity claims

    Royal College of Midwives attacks BNP maternity claims

    rcmThe Royal College of Midwives has hit out at claims by the BNP that it blames immigration for increased pressure on maternity services.

    An article on the BNP website said: ‘According to a survey by the Royal College of Midwives issued in 2008, the quality of NHS care has plummeted because ministers failed to predict a massive rise in the birth rate among immigrant mothers.’

    According to the article, ‘several maternity wards at NHS hospitals in areas which serve largely white areas of the country, have been forced to shut their doors for months at a time because staff were needed elsewhere to deliver babies from foreign-born mothers in immigrant-dense areas.’

    But the RCM denied that it considered immigration to be a problem.

    General secretary Cathy Warwick pointed out that many midwives were born outside of the UK and without them, NHS maternity care would be ‘on its knees’.

    Instead, Ms Warwick said the pressure on maternity units was caused by increasing fertility rates in older women.

    Ms Warwick said: ‘We have seen an almost 50 percent rise in the fertility rate for women aged 40 or over, for example, and these women place more demands on the service than younger women. ‘Every year, the amount of medical intervention in maternity care increases and the number of babies delivered by caesarean section rises, both of which place extra demands on those providing maternity care.

    ‘The growing complexity and quality of maternity care are therefore the main reasons why pressures on the service are growing.

    ‘Thankfully, all mainstream parties recognise this and there is cross-party support for more resources for maternity care to deliver the first-class service we all want. That is the approach that responsible political parties should be taking, not scapegoating foreign-born mothers for a failure to invest in more midwives and better facilities and choice for all women.’

    Source:  www.nursingtimes.net, 17 June, 2009

  • Can Turkey do it alone?

    Can Turkey do it alone?

    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey can weather the economic storm without IMF assistance, but analysts see red flags ahead.

    by Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times — 11/06/09

    Stalled talks with the IMF raise concerns about Turkey's once mushrooming economy. [Getty Images]
    Stalled talks with the IMF raise concerns about Turkey's once mushrooming economy. Getty Images
    Despite several tries, the government has been unable to strike a deal with the IMF since May 2008.

    Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan staunchly opposes IMF demands that will tighten up the budget and make it more transparent, as well as decrease public employment and limit political influence over the economy.

    “If they bring us an IMF deal in line with Turkey’s interests, then we will sign it. … They want us to make the Revenue Administration an autonomous institution. That is not possible,” Erdogan told the daily Sabah.

    Though sceptics warn prolonged negotiations could turn off foreign investors, Erdogan has been defiant, saying Turkey can revive its economy with domestic resources.

    Due to a wave of foreign direct investment, the EU candidate’s economy mushroomed from 2002 to 2006 at an annual rate of 6%, slowing to about 4.5% the following year.

    Despite the slowdown, Turkey, a country of more than 70 million people, ranked among the 20 wealthiest countries in the world in 2008.

    The impact of the global financial crisis, however, rocked Turkey. Unemployment rose to a historic 16% last February, and exports declined nearly 40% in May as compared to last year’s figure.

    Economists warn that Turkey’s economy may contract further, estimating a deflation of 5.1% in 2009.

    Some analysts see the IMF as a port for Turkey in the economic storm. If Erdogan and the IMF can reach common ground, the IMF is expected to pump between $10 billion and $20 billion into the economy.

    However, an agreement also means restructuring that economy, which may be painful for small enterprises and trade unions.

    Fears of an IMF “bitter pill” have divided business associations. The influential Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen’s Association (TUSIAD) — as well as the banking sector — have called for an urgent IMF deal.

    Exporters, on the other hand, fear the consequences of a bailout.

    “We may need fresh cash from the IMF, but this is a serious issue and should not be done haphazardly,” said Mehmet Buyukeksi, chairman of the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM).

    In lieu of IMF assistance, Turkey proposed an incentive package last week, which aims to generate 500,000 jobs, as well as support investments in the country’s poorer regions, and give major tax-cuts to investors.

    It’s not clear whether this package alone can cure Turkey’s ailing economy. Young Businessmen’s Confederation of Turkey President Hazim Sesli welcomed the stimulus package, but said he sees red flags down the road if an IMF agreement remains elusive.

    “With the new stimulus package, a positive climate emerged in domestic markets. We are now looking forward to having an agreement with IMF soon, to expand this positive climate to international markets,” said Sesli.

    “After 14 months of long talks between the government and IMF, now it is necessary to successfully conclude these negotiations as soon as possible.”

    This content was commissioned for SETimes.com
    Source:  www.setimes.com, 11/06/2009
  • Academics balk at ‘spying’ on students to nail migrant scams

    Academics balk at ‘spying’ on students to nail migrant scams

    Polly Curtis, education editor

    guardian.co.uk, The Guardian, Monday November 10 2008

    Universities are being asked to set up surveillance units to monitor the movements of international students in a government-led crackdown on bogus student immigration scams, academics say. New rules to force universities to report overseas students who miss too many lectures to immigration officers will harm the academic-student relationship because lecturers are being asked to act in a “police-like” manner, according to a group of 200 academics and activists opposing the moves.

    A letter to the Guardian, organised by Ian Grigg-Spall, academic chair of the National Critical Lawyers Group and signed by leading academic lawyers, the head of the lecturers’ union and Tony Benn, claims that the rules could breach the European convention on human rights, which guarantees the individual’s right to privacy. “This police-like surveillance is not the function of universities and alters the educational relationship between students and their teachers in a very harmful manner,” it says. “University staff are there to help the students develop intellectually and not to be a means of sanctioning these students.”

    The rules will require all universities to obtain a licence to admit students from outside the EU. They will then have to sponsor students, who will be required to have their fingerprints taken and be issued with ID cards. Lecturers will have to report any student who misses 10 or more lectures or seminars. Students will also have to prove they have funds to cover fees plus £800 a month for the duration of their courses. Universities have separately raised concerns that the system of registering overseas students, which is planned to take place at six centres around the country, will struggle to cope.

    About 350,000 overseas students attend British universities every year. Universities are heavily dependent on the £2.5bn a year they pay in fees.

    Almost 300 bogus colleges have been uncovered in the past three years, many involved in immigration scams.

    Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, said: “We have grave concerns that new rules on monitoring foreign students have been pulled together without any consultation with the people who would implement them. We do not believe it is appropriate or effective to task colleges and universities with the policing of immigration.”

    A Home Office spokesman said: “Those who come to Britain must play by the rules and benefit the country. This new route for students will ensure we know exactly who is coming here to study and stamp out bogus colleges who facilitate the lawbreakers.

    “International students contribute £2.5bn to the UK economy in tuition fees alone. The student tier of the points system means Britain can continue to recruit good students from outside Europe.”

    Source: www.guardian.co.uk, November 10 2008