Migrants escaping dire poverty find cold comfort in neighbouring South Africa, writes Olivia Ward.
June 2010's Issue
Kicking out asylum seekers and ‘illegal’ immigrants is a political trump card in the rich West – particularly when there’s an election around the corner. Every cut-out custodian of democracy wants to talk tough when it comes to these ‘undesirables’. The argument is that they have no genuine claim to be in a foreign land and face no threat back home. The New Internationalist tracks down individuals who have been returned to their countries, and lets them speak for themselves. These are not the stories of spongers and scoundrels, as the rightwing press would have us believe, but of a gross betrayal of human rights and of persecution and desperation that no courtroom could foretell.
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Featured in issue 433
A different goal
As the World Cup kicks off, Gouri Sharmalooks at why South Africa certainly isn’t a land of dreams for youngsters crossing the border from Zimbabwe, and considers what can be done to help them.
- Gouri Sharma
- 11 Jun 2010
- 0
Gaza: invisible no longer
Israel’s recent outrage may prove a step too far, argues Richard Swift.
- Richard Swift
- 9 Jun 2010
- 0
Baghdad: Paradise Lost
When a house on Princesses Street was bombed on 4 April, the legacy of poet Jabra Ibrahim Jabra was also destroyed, reveals Felicity Arbuthnot.
- Felicity Arbuthnot
- 8 Jun 2010
- 0
The great cover-up
A Peruvian journalist was recently jailed in a court case already abandoned by the claimant. So why did Alejandro Carrascal Carrasco end up behind bars? Roxana Olivera digs a little deeper.
- Roxana Olivera
- 8 Jun 2010
- 0
An alternative life
Exactly a year ago, an eco-community took up residence on a derelict plot of land in London. Ever the grumpy pessimist, Jack Laurenson didn’t give it much chance of success, but soon discovered he would have to eat his words.
- Jack Laurenson
- 8 Jun 2010
- 0
Deported – what happened next?
Politicians taking a tough stand on immigration want to keep us in the dark – but Dinyar Godrej explains why we have to hear the stories of those turned away at our borders.
- Dinyar Godrej
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
Inequality costs the earth
Greater equality, both between and within nations, would be better for us all - as well as for the planet. Bob Hughes considers the facts.
- Bob Hughes
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
Professional hazard: murder
Investigating the truth can be deadly for Russia’s journalists, as Tina Burrett discovers.
- Tina Burrett
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
Summit different: report from Cochabamba
After Copenhagen’s dismal failure, social movements from all over the world gathered in Bolivia – here’s what happened.
- Ben Powless, Alice Cutler, Bertrand Russell and Yasmine Brien
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
Mean machine
Danny Dorling explains how class divisions reinforce social inequality and lower the level of public debate.
- Danny Dorling
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
New Zealand does the right thing
International efforts to protect the rights of the world’s aboriginal communities gain strength.
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
'I was in an art class'
Even the young are not exempt: a Costa Rican schoolgirl recalls the day Canadian immigration officers arrested her.
- Ian Fitzpatrick
- 1 Jun 2010
- 1
Moving on from hate
Prominent Australian barrister Julian Burnside explains how the government has moved the asylum system in a fairer direction – and how public attitudes are softening. Interview by Alasdair Soussi.
- Alasdair Soussi
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
Hands off our mother!
Unproven scientific ‘fixes’ for global warming are a major threat to the planet
- Jim Thomas
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
The Story of Stuff
Thanks to the combination of specialization and production chains that span the globe, we consumers rarely get to see the whole picture. This book joins the dots, showing the impacts of resource extraction on local communities and the environment, making the link between games consoles, civil war, rape and rainforest destruction.
- Phil England
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
Handle with care
Returning to Cairo after some time away, Maria Golia is waylaid in the labyrinth of a cargo warehouse.
- Maria Golia
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
Lakshmi Mittal
‘Son of the desert’ turned son of steel, Lakshmi Mittal is laughing all the way to the bank
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
Burundian peace worker Pascaline Nsekera
Working for peace: Burundian Pascaline Nsekera helps refugees in Canada, her adopted country.
- Janet Nicol
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
The man in the newspaper
John ‘Bosco’ Nyombi sought sanctuary in the West from persecution in Uganda – only to spend eight years struggling for his rights.
- Dinyar Godrej
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
Flight and detention
John ‘Bosco’ Nyombiwas removed from Britain to months of fear and persecution as a gay man in Uganda. Eventually, a British judge ruled his removal illegal and ordered that he be brought back. He tells Dinyar Godrej about his journey.
- John Nyombi
- 1 Jun 2010
- 0
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