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Received wisdom suggests that asylum-seekers come to the UK because of the generosity of the welfare state and the ease of finding work in the growing informal labour market, because the UK has no identity cards, and because of a fairly poor record on sending home unsuccessful asylum applicants. Based on interviews with 87 asylum-seekers from Afghanistan, Colombia, Kosovo and Somalia, this paper suggests that the realities of asylum-seeking are quite different. Few of the respondents arrived with much knowledge of the UK, and their knowledge was limited to general impressions of the country; they knew little about asylum policy and practice. There are five main reasons why they knew so little: many had not chosen their own destination; surprisingly few had family or friends already in the UK; in some cases they had been provided with false or misleading information; many had departed their country of origin in a rush; and most were relatively poorly educated. Why they ended up in the UK was often linked to the role of smugglers, who often chose the final destination. In light of these findings, we question both the efficacy and the fairness of current UK asylum policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how members of the Arabic-speaking diaspora in Britain use and interpret Al-Jazeera in comparison with the BBC and CNN. Based on findings from a survey and from household and focus-group interviews, the paper attempts to explain why Arabic-speaking viewers turned to Al-Jazeera after 11 September, and why that channel was deemed more credible and ‘balanced’ than either the BBC or CNN. The article also considers, more generally, the role of Arab satellite TV in diverse cultures of the Arabic diaspora. It examines the claim that Al Jazeera is fanning the flames of extremism among its audiences, and argues that such claims are overstated and unfounded, not least due to the active nature of audiences in consuming news. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper considers the implications of 11 September 2001 and its mediation in UK and Arab/Muslim news media for the ways Palestinians in Britain, as an ethno-national minority and diaspora, think through questions of identity and difference, exclusion and inclusion, memory and belonging. Despite great differences in the socio-economic, religious/secular and educational backgrounds of my informants, one over-arching discourse dominates their interpretation of the attacks, as well as understandings of their causes and consequences—the historical and ongoing conflict between Palestinians and Israelis. This constitutes a meta-narrative and ethical-political framework through which mediations of September 11 are interpreted. This meta-narrative also happens to be the dominant ethical-political framework of Arab news media, Al-Jazeera especially. This article explores how an apparent consensus was formed between the Arab/Muslim media and its Palestinian diaspora audience about the root problem of conflicts between the Western and Arab/Muslim worlds. Tackling the root problem effectively through political action is also perceived to hold the key to a solution and to greater prospects of future security and peace. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the responses of a small sample of self-identified British Muslims from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and age groups to the reporting of the events of 11 September 2001. Detailed semi-structured interviews, supplemented by e-mailed responses to a related questionnaire, revealed varied terrestrial and satellite viewing patterns. There were distinct perceptions of Eurocentric and US bias in the Western media, and this corresponded with an increased consumption of alternative news sources after the events of 11 September. 24-hour rolling news programmes were criticised for failing to provide in-depth analysis of world events and the motives for the attacks, and for failing to attach equal significance to other ‘ground zeros’. There was a shared sense of grief in response to the events of September 11 but also a profound belief that negative stereotyping, derogatory use of language and sensationalism in the early stages after the attacks contributed significantly to the noted increase in anti-Muslim attacks and resulted in infringements upon civil liberties. The representation of Islam as ‘violent’ and as abusive to women was a commonly expressed concern. Many felt that the ‘clash of civilisations’ hypothesis was perpetuated by the media. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnic media are playing an increasingly important role in the exercise of full citizenship. But globalisation and new technologies affect citizenship in many ways. In this context, the migrants, thanks to their media especially, actively contribute to the reinterpretation of the notion and practices of citizenship. This paper is based on two comparative research studies on the Turkish-language media and the Muslim media in Britain and France. It tries to show how the ethnic media have brought new opportunities of citizenry to minority groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the creation of alternative diasporic public spheres in Britain by South Asian settlers: one produced through the entertainment industry--commercial film and other media--that satirises the parochialism and conservatism of the South Asian immigrant generation and highlights cultural hybridity and cosmopolitanism, intergenerational conflict, family politics, inter-ethnic or -racial marriages, and excesses of consumption. The other is a conflictual diasporic Muslim public sphere dominated by Muslim male community leaders, which has had to respond to international political crises such as the Rushdie affair, the Gulf War or, more recently, September 11, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the confrontation between India and Pakistan over Kashmir. Seen from an indigenous British perspective, the messages emanating from these two diasporic discourses, publicised in both Western and South Asian media (cable TV and foreign newspapers in Urdu or local ones in English) are opposed, and create ambivalent stereotyped images of 'Muslims' and 'Asians'. While a Pakistani transnational identity is mostly submerged beneath these other identities, it is in fact critical to understanding the conflicting pressures to which young Pakistanis, and women in particular, are subjected in Britain, and the clash between alienation and popular cultural 'fun' marking Muslim Pakistani internal politics. These have led to the pluralisation of the diasporic public sphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

More than a quarter of a million people left Ireland for Britain in the 1940s and 1950s. The literature on the Irish experience in Britain reveals high levels of social deprivation and poor health, some of which has been attributed to prejudice and discrimination, the legacy of a colonial relationship. Other commentators have suggested the more interwoven complexities for Irish migrants in Britain of maintaining an authentic identity. In this paper we explore the myth of return, encompassing notions of identity and settlement for this cohort of Irish people, now in the latter part of their lives. They discuss complex, conflicting attitudes to 'home' and belonging. We used focus groups and semi-structured in-depth interviews to explore their reasons for, and experience of, migration and their attitudes to the possibility of return. Many of the informants, particularly single men, detailed their lives as exiles, unable to return to Ireland and poorly connected to British life. They describe a state of disconnection to both worlds. Others have been able to obtain, over time, a relatively contented existence in the UK. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Religious affiliation is hypothesised to be an important determinant of earnings and employment. The aim of this paper is to establish whether religious divisions have a greater impact on employment and earnings than being a member of a particular ethnic group. Using conventional ethnic group classifications fails to identify differences within nationalities. Notable differences exist between Indian Sikhs and Hindus, as well as between Muslims and the other religious groups. However, after controlling for religion, substantial ethnic labour market disadvantage is still apparent. Over and above religious differences, there is a significant employment penalty to British- and foreign-born, non-white males and an earnings penalty to foreign-born non-white males. This provides some evidence for the assimilation of non-white male earnings towards those for whites, but indicates no such assimilation in ethnic unemployment rates. For females, there is no employment penalty to non-whites, but a significant earnings penalty to those not fluent in English, once religious affiliation has been accounted for. Finally, this study finds evidence of a substantial disadvantage to Muslims, relative to all other non-whites. Approximately half of this can be explained by poorer characteristics; the residual is a pure Islamic penalty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The New Deal for Young People is central to the British Government's labour market policy and their programme of welfare reform. Previous initiatives which were aimed at tackling youth unemployment failed to cater for the needs of one of the most disadvantaged populations in Britain: minority ethnic youth. This paper reports upon research conducted in Oldham (North-West of England), and examines the experiences of 75 young people, mainly from minority ethnic communities. This qualitative longitudinal study of New Deal participants explores the extent to which the New Deal meets their needs and expectations. We find that, despite the evidence of negative views towards training schemes in the past, the experiences of minority ethnic young people in Oldham have been encouraging and seem to match those of white people, both in Oldham and elsewhere. In particular, benefits in relation to employability were recognised by many young people. Participants perceived increased levels of confidence and the development of new skills. However, those avoiding or dropping out of the New Deal are much more critical, and there is a danger that the New Deal is helping only those young people who are best able to help themselves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bedrock assumptions about the benefits of recruiting more ethnic minority police officers and enhancing cultural diversity training for police are critically evaluated by black and Asian police officers in Britain. Neither policy finds favour among groups which articulate a previously concealed interpretation of such aims: that their value lies in presenting an outward image of action rather than furthering the public good. The research reported in this paper – the first to have gained the cooperation of British police services – involved unstructured interviews with officers from African Caribbean and South Asian backgrounds. The interviews took place in the 18 months following the publication of the Macpherson Report in February 1999 and reflected some of the policy recommendations made by the report, which was based on the inquiry into the death of Stephen Lawrence. Interviewees analyse the two central policy directives advanced by both the Macpherson Report and the Scarman Report, which had been published 18 years before. Both policies concern the enhancement of cultural diversity as a way of combating racism. Cynically regarded in some quarters as 'window dressing', the policies are not seen as helpful, nor even harmless, but as pernicious in that they contrive to give the appearance of progress, while actually achieving little. Interviews were subject to strict confidentiality and conducted in circumstances of the officers' choice in the effort to minimise any inhibitions about expressing views candidly. The officers' perspective is revealed by extensive use of verbatim quotations which drive the narrative of the article. They indicate how far the viewpoints of ethnic minority officers contrast with official policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article takes its data from one of two sets of communities studied as part of a British ESRC project into discursive constructions of identity. In this paper we argue three interrelated points. Firstly, we show the ways in which different elicitation formats of interviewee responses foreground variable aspects in people's identification. Secondly, we show how similar elicitation methods produced different criss-crossings of identification which render summary generalisations about identities in these communities problematic. Thirdly, we highlight the fluid and often paradoxical nature of multiple identifications across the different layers with which people choose to engage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How far have ethnic minorities participated in the British electoral process in the last two decades? In this paper their comparative registration and turn-out levels as well as their voting patterns are examined. In addition, the responses of the political parties to the participation of ethnic minorities in politics and the representation of ethnic minorities at national and local levels of the British political system are presented. It is clear from the evidence that we have a long way to go to reflect multi-ethnic Britain in the House of Commons and in other political institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]