The Beehive pub on St.John's Hill were getting into the Christmas spirit. Image: Jennifer Ebert

Local traders on St.Johns Hill, Wandsworth, came together yesterday to celebrate the festive season and provide shoppers with a Christmas extravaganza.

The event offered lots of fun activities and festive treats for all the family, including a Santa’s grotto and traditional favourites such as Christmas pudding, roasted chestnuts and minced pies.

Dog owners were able to rendezvous with their pets for free canine treats and fund-raising for the Battersea Dogs Home, at Out of the Blue bar-restaurant. Shoppers got into the party spirit with free hair-dos and mini-makeovers, spray tans and for the kids, some face painting. In the evening music echoed along the pavements, including a live band, gospel choir and carol singers.

Cllrs Thom and McCausland with the team from St John's House. Image: Emma Jane Clark

According to the Federation of Small Businesses, there has been a dramatic increase in the amount of calls to their legal advice line. “Their members are concerned about how to hold on to jobs; small businesses are usually the last to make employees redundant.” It didn’t damper anyone’s Christmas spirit as music played out along the brightly lit street.

The dress sale at Ellie & Charlotte was a huge success that saw glamorous party pieces fly off the racks. A selection of stalls and several shops also hosted a one-day sale. While many traders were offering the chance for you to taste their own recipe of mulled wines and a variety of savory snacks, they also invited people to create their own favourite blend whilst visiting the shops, stores, bars and restaurants taking part in this special Christmas celebration.

Rick, owner of the BeeHive pub, where there was a raffle with fantastic prizes, including a helicopter flying lesson and live music said: “It’s great to see the street looking so Christmassy and having a drink and a laugh with the other traders – good to see lots of people enjoying St John’s Hill and next year this event will be even bigger.”

Sweet shop specialists, Lollipop were giving away mulled cider and special Christmas cupcakes to guests, whilst Fish Club started the fun with a Santa Sprint which saw many people join in with the community fun. Deli Boutique presented a “Taste of Christmas” theme, dishing out home made smoked salmon, foie gras and truffles and Christmas hampers.

Young people at St John's House (Bar and Restaurant) making wreaths and festive garlands. Image: Emma Jane Clark

“It’s really nice to see people coming together, in one place, at one time to celebrate Christmas,” said local residents.

As many small businesses continue to face financial ruin in the current economic crisis. It would seem that this community of local traders are pulling out all the stops to attract consumers, provide a good shopping experience and continue to flourish in such hard times.

The event was organised by the Trader’s Association of St John’s Hill and supported by the Clapham Junction Town Centre Partnership and the local Police force.

Director-General of Security and Counter-Terrorism Charles Farr visited a Somali community centre in Tottenham to talk about the public safety of Britain.

According to Farr, who was appointed Director General for Security and Counter-Terrorism by the Home Office in 2007: “Our job is to ensure your safety, by reducing the threat of terrorism”.

Joined by his colleague, Sabin Khan, who is a community advisor, specialising in Muslim communities, Mr. Farr engaged with a Somali audience explaining  his responsibilities with the Home Office.

“I am responsible for advising the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, on the security of our country”,  he said.

The Home Office and Interior Ministry deal with a number of issues in ensuring the stability of Britain. “We sort out visas, immigration, crime, policing, and counter terrorism” explained Farr.

Kadija Hamdun Said, one of the organisers of the event, expressed her concerns with policing matters.

She said: “By law, the police can stop and search anyone. Somalis see this procedure as a negative. They get offended when they are stopped and searched by police. We have to acknowledge that there is a law in this country and this is not our country so we have to respect the law. The issue is to comply instead of being arrested.”

Organiser Kadija Hamdun Said and journalist Ridwaan Haji. Image: Mohamed Ali

Farr and his colleague Khan, explained what needs to be done about terrorism, while not targeting Muslim people.

“Counter-terrorism is empowering Muslim women and youth.We want to prevent people from being dragged into terrorism. You can help us prevent this. Not by contacting authorities, but by challenging their views and dissuading them”, Farr said.

Animosity towards Muslims reached at all time high after terrorist attacks in London and across the world.  However Farr defends the religion by saying: “There is nothing Islamic about terrorism, so we should not call it war on terror, or Islamic terrorism. I do sympathise with you highly.”

Khan, who also works with  the Home Office stated: “I am the open door for Muslim people to access the Home Office.”

Muslims in Britain have been wrongly portrayed in the media after 9/11, Khan explained. “The media questions our identity and our allegiances, but we must stand up against them.”

“This government and any future government should enable you to live the kind of life you want, and to improve security and our way of life. This is fundamental in democracy” said Farr.

Cult leader Jim Jones committed suicide alongside 918 of his followers in 1978. Image: PBS

It took just four days for Londoner Ian Haworth to be brainwashed into joining a cult and he warns that it can happen to anyone, not just those living alone in big cities like London, as commonly thought.

“It’s a myth that only vulnerable people are at risk. Cults can target practically anyone,” says the 62-year-old communications consultant, who defines a cult as, “a group that removes free will in recruiting people.”

In 1978, while living in Toronto, Haworth was recruited by therapy group PSI Mind development Institute after taking part in a street survey. Answering a member’s questions prompted him to enroll on a four-day programme with the group to quit smoking.

“On Thursday I was bored to tears by the whole affair but by Sunday I was completely brainwashed, gave them all my money, handed in my notice at work and was prepared to dedicate my life to the group.”

Many cults target a person via their interests, goals or fears and those enlisted alongside Haworth included a congressman who had signed up to improve his communication skills and a nurse who wanted to help her patients.

Once members were recruited, group leaders used a number of techniques to make them susceptible to brainwashing, such as starvation and sleep deprivation. Another key technique often used by cults is that of ‘love bombing’, where an artificial sense of unconditional love is created, only to be taken away if someone questions the group or disobeys orders.

Hawarth admits that as a member he tried to recruit others into the cult, “we were also told to target those middle class and upwards and to stay away from ‘space cadets’ meaning anyone who was odd in any way or had a peculiar hairstyle. They said they wanted motherhood and apple pie.”

However, media attention around the cult, and in particular, an expose for the Toronto Star by Londoner Sidney Katz, made Haworth realise that he had been brainwashed.

“I hadn’t yet been programmed against the media so I was open to that suggestion,” says Haworth. “Sidney helped me out tremendously and gave me access to all of his research. That’s when I discovered that the truth was much worse than what was written in that article.”

The US Jonestown disaster two months later, which saw 918 cult members commit suicide, prompted Haworth to raise awareness about the issue and get involved with Canadian organisations helping cult victims.

“Just looking at those poor families lying face down in the mud, I thought: ‘That could have been me’. There was such a media frenzy at the time so I stood up and told my story.”

Concerned that no one was doing the same in the UK, he returned to London to set up the Cult Information Centre (CIC), which provides help for cult victims and pushes the problem into the media agenda by giving interviews and liaising with the press.

However, the risk of being sued by cults who have financial and legal backing has had a chilling effect on the media, which often does not have the funds to defend libel cases.

“I’ve given some major stories involving really heavy duty stuff and it never goes to print because the journalists are too scared. Unfortunately, it sends out a message to these groups that what they’re doing to the media does work.”

Haworth’s work as director of the CIC has made him a target of animosity for the groups that he raises concerns about and he has been sued several times.

“I’ve been bankrupted as a result of libel action but people have also phoned me and told me that my end is near,” he says. “Others have published material to try and smear me, for example, by equating my work with that of the Nazis.”

Although the CIC receives thousands of calls a year from those recruited by cults or their loved ones asking for help, Haworth points out that it is equally important to warn society about the risks that such groups pose to ordinary members of the public.

“The problem is growing – it has to be – because each cult is recruiting people who go out to recruit more people and solicit funds. The only thing that will offset this is awareness through the media.”

Trafalgar Square saw a feast of Biblical proportions yesterday as over 5000 Londoners gathered for a free dinner made from fresh produce, that was previously destined for landfills.

Tristram Stuart, organiser of Feeding the 5000, planned the event to highlight the growing problem of food wastage. He said: “Instead of doing an angry protest, we decided to have a free lunch to show people just how much food is being wasted in Britain. All of the food being served today is perfectly fine but would have ended up in the bin just because it’s not the right shape or has a mark on it.”

Londoners queued in the snow for hot vegetable curry served with bread and fruit smoothies freshly pressed by bicycle-powered smoothie-makers. Volunteers were busy handing out bags of surplus fruit, vegetables and herbs, while school chilren collected trays loaded with produce to distribute.

According to organisers, UK Households waste 25 per cent of all the food they buy and up to 40 per cent of fruit and vegetables are binned before even reaching the shops, simply because they do not match the supermarkets’ strict cosmetic standards.

Katherine Lewis, 59, who stocked up on knobbly carrots and misshapen potatoes, said: “I can’t believe that all of this food would have been thrown away. It’s shameful. I dread to think what it looks like behind supermarket bins. It’s made me think about the food that I throw out and I’ll definitely be more careful from now on.”

Any food leftover from the event was collected by the charity FareShare to be delivered to homeless shelters.

Stuart explained: “The point we’re trying to make is that there is an easy solution to the global food waste problem and that is eating and enjoying food, valuing it and recognising that it is too good to waste.”

Honey Traps are becoming popular for people who hope to catch out their cheating spouses. Image: Jason Angle

Stepping into a packed trendy London bar, a petite blonde dressed in a sophisticated little black dress and ridiculously high heels sets her sights on a businessman enjoying a drink with friends.

Gliding towards her prey, she purred: “Do you fancy buying a lady a drink?” as she stood beside him for a few tantalising seconds. He turned to talk to her and she flirted back, telling him immediately that she was a businesswomen looking for some fun.

No, this wasn’t your usual boy meets girl situation. Parisa Noyes, 26 is a honey trap girl on a mission and this is no ordinary meeting. She was hired by a young woman desperate to catch-out her cheating fiancé before she set foot down the aisle.

A honey trap is an investigation that involves someone being paid to observe or flirt with the person in question to detect signs of infidelity.

Infidelity and adultery are reportedly the most common cause of break ups. According to the electronic article, “Adultery: Statistics on Cheating Spouses,” published by Eagle’s Nest Publications, “60-70 percent of adultery victims are women” while “30-40 percent of adultery victims are men.”Adultery is one of the top reasons people file for divorce.”With modern technology creating readily available sex partners, it doesn’t seem like this trend will slow any time soon. And with such figures, the honey trap business is booming.”

“There was the one guy we followed after his wife contacted us, worried that her husband was cheating on her. He finished work at 6 0’clock and told his wife he was going to the pub with work colleagues. We caught him chatting up a woman in a bar and offering to take her back to a fancy Mayfair hotel. We filmed it, wrote the report and sent the tape back to his wife. The rest is history,” recalls Noyes.

“Clients want an answer and our aim is to get that for them. But before we start a case, we make sure that clients realise just what they’re getting into and are able to prepare themselves for the worst possible outcome. We make sure we stress this as much as possible to them before we begin.”

Surprisingly, it is not just women who approach honey-trappers. “Men also hire us to spy on unsuspecting women.”

“Honey-trap cases may seem simple from the outside but they often require heaps of planning and can involve anything from hiding in the trash to approaching subjects in trendy bars,” says Noyes.

“For every honey trap there are at least two or three other members of staff present,” she said. “We can hear their conversation through a wire and use body language signals to communicate with each other. We also have ‘get out clauses’ if things get a little too close for comfort. For example, if a man attempts to touch or kiss one of the girls, they say they need to dash off, or they ask for a mobile number.”

Infidelity sets off painful emotions from the cheated on person. But adultery  is a part of society. In some cultures, the punishment for adultery results in the death penalty. And some penalties are as brutal as stoning the guilty person to death.

“We believe we are doing our clients a major favour. If their partner is found guilty of infidelity, they have the chance to escape an untrustworthy, false relationship and move on with their lives before the pain becomes unbearable,” claims Noyes.

One benefit of Noyes’s line of work – no man has ever done the dirty on her. “They wouldn’t dare.”

A gay pride demonstrator is holding a rainbow flag, sign of the LGBT movement. Image: Greenmelinda

London Voices tries not only to look at stories that have been completely ignored by the media, but also takes a closer look at news stories and digs deeper. While national newspapers have been full of stories about homophobia in London, we investigated whether there is a connection between the high homophobic crime reports and the Asian population in East London.

So, first let’s have a look at the general statistics: Reports of homophobic crime have risen by nearly a fifth in one year, Metropolitan Police statistics reveal. Last year, 1,008 offences were recorded. In the 12 months to September this year, the number went up to 1,192 homophobic incidents. Whereas most of them are minor offences, homophobia can also lead to murder.

Three teenagers attacked a gay man at Trafalgar Square in September. Ian Baynham died from his injuries three weeks later. It was the third homophobic murder in London this year.

In the last couple of months, homophobia in London has been very high on the media agenda. The national press analysed Nick Griffin’s BBC appearance, debated the latest police figures and pointed their finger towards Daily Mail columnist Jan Moir, who was accused of homophobia after she wrote a controversial article about the death of Boyzone singer Stephen Gately. Meanwhile, people were asking questions in forums and Facebook group discussions that journalists did not dare to raise: Does London’s Asian population have a problem when it comes to homosexuality?

Some of the stories in the media seem to paint a picture that there really is a problem with the Asian community. The case of Oliver Hemsley was widely reported in the media last year. The 20-year-old was left paralysed after a knife attack by a Bengali gang in August 2008 in East London.

Protesters oppose homophobia. Image: Scroniser

Other examples can also be found via social networking. The Facebook group ‘East London Homophobia’ has an incident log, where the majority of the gays and lesbians posting describe how they got attacked by Asian youths. Noah Crutchfield, for example, reported that he has been verbally abused by a group of Asian men in March when walking with his partner through Brick Lane. Martyn, who asked to not have his surname published, told us how he and his friends were attacked by 10 to 12 Asian boys close to where Hemsley got stabbed.

“In East London, I do feel comfortable saying that this is a problem that stems from the Bengali community,” says Martyn. “By all means, not the whole community, but there is a small part, who believe that homosexuality does not deserve any respect.”

Is this a story that the media missed? London Voices got curious and called up local councils, but they only told us to talk to the police. They, in return refused to give a statement. Local MPs ignored all attempts to speak to them and even Stonewall, a well known lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) organisation, was not interested in answering any questions.

Others, who tried, did not have any luck. The online platform Homovision.tv contacted the Hackney and Tower Hamlets councils, the Metropolitan Police, the East London Mosque and the Mayor of London’s office. “Not one of these organisation’s press offices provided any spokesperson to discuss these issues, despite HOMOVISION contacting them over a course of three weeks”, says an article on the website.

The only option for us to get any hard data was to send a Freedom of Information (FOI) Request to the Metropolitan Police. We asked for a breakdown of the number of homophobic crimes and homophobic crime prosecutions in London by ethnic origins of the defendants from September 2005 to September this year. After one month we finally got a list of numbers of people proceeded against for homophobic hate crime within the years we required. The ethnic appearances were broken down into white (Irish and British), mixed (white and Asian, white and Black African and white and Black Caribbean), black (African and Caribbean) and Asian (Bangladeshi, Indian, Pakistani and Chinese).

With around 10 per cent of homophobic hate crime perpetrators being Asian, there does not seem to be a problem with this ethnic minority. But, since more than half of them come from Bangladesh, the FOI data seems to suggest that there might be issues within this community. It still does not seem to be a big deal, considering the small number.

In 2007, 15 people with a Bangladeshi background were charged with homophobic hate crimes in London. That only makes up five per cent of the overall figure. With nearly 58 per cent of White British people being charged with homophobic hate crimes, the Bengali offenders get lost in these numbers.

Galop, London’s LGBT community safety charity, did an independent research and came to the same result. “There is no evidence that indicates a higher number of non-white groups in perpetrating crimes,” says Galop’s Information Officer Peter Kelley.

Problem solved? No, not really. What people don’t always take into account is the proportion of population. In order to get a clearer and more realistic picture of the relative likelyhood of different communities to commit homophobic crime, we need some research that looks at the relative size of different communities.

Kelley points out that 80 per cent of the perpetrators of homophobic hate crime are young men from poor and socially excluded communities. “In East London there have been recently issues with young Bangladeshi men targeting gay venues,” he says. “And that is one of the most deprived areas in London.”

Indeed, the East London borough Newham, where one third of the population is Asian, has a 190 per cent increase in homophobic crimes, the basic Metropolitan police figures reveal.

“It would be really harsh and unfair to describe all Asian people in London a certain way,” says David L.*, who has been verbally abused by an Asian group. But he agrees with Kelley that poverty among Asian communities might be a factor for homophobia. No proper school education, unemployment and no prospects can be quite depressing, he continues.

After 9/11 the term Islamophobia became a big issue. David L. thinks that Muslims often have to deal with the stereotype of being a terrorist and therefore get angry at society. He says: “When they feel put upon and when they feel victimised, the easiest thing to do for them is to lash out at someone else.”

Mohammed Ali, who works for a Bengali community Trust in East London, has not heard of any homophobic attacks by his community in his borough. “But, because we don’t know of any incidents, it doesn’t mean there are no tensions,” he intervenes. Ali cannot imagine poverty being a reason for homophobia, but believes the community is frightened of homosexuals, because they know so little about them.  “Homosexuality is not discussed among Bangladeshis, because there is a religious barrier. And because people don’t talk about it, they do not understand it.” He continues saying that if people understand, “they will be more tolerant”.

Religion seems to be a major factor when it comes to homophobia among the Asian community. A young Bengali Muslim, who did not want to give his name, states: “Personally I do not have a problem with homosexuals, but I do not agree with it. I believe, the only true relationship can be between man and woman. This is what my religion teaches me.”

A Centre for Social Cohesion (CSC) report revealed that 25 per cent of Muslim students do not respect gays, whereas only 4 per cent of non-Muslims do not tolerate homosexuality.

Kelley points out that in some mosques, people preach hate and intolerance. David L. says: “Some of the things that are being preached in some of the mosques probably are not as liberal and does encourage homophobia and discrimination.” In fact, as the CSC report mentions, a speaker at the Queen Mary College, part of London University, encouraged Muslim students two years ago to disrespect gays because “Allah hates” homosexuality.

Islam teaches Muslims to treat everyone equally. Image: DMahendra

But Shahadat Hossain, a young Bengali Muslim, insists that his religion does not discriminate anyone. “Islam says that you should not mistreat anyone in any way, no matter what colour or race they are or where they are from. That includes homosexuals,” he says.

So, it is very hard to believe that there really is a problem among the Bengali community with homophobia. If this were an issue, wouldn’t it be in the media? Wouldn’t the police and the councils do something? Does nobody want to talk about it, as this is such a sensitive issue? Are they scared to be labelled racist or homophobic?

“If there is a particular area where there is a particular problem with a community, then more work has to be done with those communities,” Kelley says. “It is wrong for a council to ignore homophobia, because it might find it uncomfortable that these perpetrators are young Bangladeshi men.”

Mohammed Ali is looking for a lead from his council to deal with this problem, if there really is one. “We, in the community, can only do something, if they bring it up,” he says.

Maybe it is not such a big deal at all. Are gays and lesbians just a bit paranoid? Or racist? There have been cases reported to Galop where Muslim gay men weren’t let into a gay bar, because they were Muslims. Kelley says: “I guess some people in the LGBT community really are racist.” It goes two ways. Both communities face day-to-day discrimination and get angry at society. He goes on, arguing that while “people from other minority communities can be intolerant” to gays and lesbians, some people from the LGBT community might blame the Asian community for most of the homophobic hate crimes.

The collected data shows that within the Asian community, Bangladeshis seem to be the most aggressive when it comes to homophobia. The charged Bengali perpetrators in London still just take up five per cent of all homophobic culprits. But even if this is a very small number, it is still a problem certain boroughs in London have to tackle.

*Name changed

Last month,  LADPP (Latin American Disabled People’s Project) celebrated 19 years of community work. In the occasion, big changes  were announced to tackle the economic crisis.

London Voices presents the last  article of the special  report on Latin American London.

Edinson is busy serving food and drinks, but he doesn’t waste an opportunity to chat. “Mucho gusto”, he says, introducing himself with a friendly smile and starts to tell me why he left Ecuador 14 years ago.  Language aside, it is difficult to understand Edinson, but while people rush around to keep the party going, he seems to have all the time to talk.

“I live here with my mum, my sister and my brother, and they look after me. I was living in Madrid before, but I am in London for 12 years now. In Ecuador, I had five accidents. I spent a year in hospital when I was younger. And now I can’t work, but I am learning English. I have been going to classes for nine months, and it is good, I enjoy it very much.”

Edinson (right) welcomes everybody to the party. Image: Giovana Zilli

The community hall in Kennington, South London, quickly becomes crowded, the music louder and suddenly, everybody stops to sing “Happy Birthday”. Nineteen years ago, a group set up a charity in London to help Portuguese and Spanish speaking disabled people, who face an extra challenge: to speak English.

Today, the Latin American Disabled People’s Project (LADPP) is celebrating with more than 700 members and 40 volunteers. Project Manager Jhon Jairo Marulanda explains the charity’s upcoming change of name and structure:

“It is more difficult to find sponsors when we have a project so specific. The big companies want to sponsor charities that help the community as a whole, not only a small group. Based on that, we have been expanding our services to the friends and family of the disabled, and to any person who speaks Spanish or Portuguese, and needs our help”.

The LADPP “trust” status is going to be changed to “company limited by guarantee” (not limited company), which means that the board will have bigger protection against liability.

Marulanda clarifies: “We change the name and the legal status. But the organisation will carry on being a charity, offering the same service it has been doing so far. We are going to make more contacts with other charities, not only with the ones who work with the disabled. The project is going to reach more people in the community, so we need to change the name to Latin American People’s Project, LAPP.”

After the changes are approved by the assembly, the party goes on in a typical Latin American fashion throughout the Saturday afternoon.  The vibrant colours and electric atmosphere leave little doubt:  it is a proper fiesta, where music and dance range from Colombian traditional cumbia and Mexican mariachi to Brazilian samba and capoeira (People don’t need to be asked twice to abandon their seats and quickly improvise a ballroom).

Mexican mariachi were also present. Image: Giovana Zilli

However, Edinson doesn’t have time to dance. He is busy fetching drinks for the ones less able to walk. Although he is not physically disabled, he seems to be aware of limitations: “I have a problem in my head, you know… I can’t even get married because of that”.

In the refectory, Colombian Francisco Dimate, who volunteers as a health interpreter, fill the plates while he speaks to me: “I come here because I believe it is important to help the community”. As well as Francisco, the artist Rachel Bate decided to join the LADPP to help out with fundraising, artistic workshops and “a little bit of everything”, as she puts it.

“I used to study Spanish some time ago, so I wanted to practice it but also to help people. The LADPP is one of the few charities where people speak Spanish all the time. In the future, I want to look for a job in the charity sector,” says Rachel, who is in her early twenties. “Charities are struggling with the economic crises, but at the same time, people are volunteering more because they don’t have a job after finishing uni.”

Delia Bonilla had different motivations for joining the group of volunteers, though. Divorced and with four children, she decided to move from Ecuador to Spain almost two decades ago, in search of better job opportunities. She had to provide for the children, one of them disabled, who had stayed in Ecuador with relatives. Some years after her departure, they all moved to Spain:

“I lived in Spain for five years before coming to the UK, and there, the social services didn’t help me to cope with my disabled daughter, I didn’t have any help at all. So I came to the UK, where we have much more support. I have been living here for 13 years now”.

Delia runs a knitting and crochet workshop every Monday, but as well as being a volunteer, she also attends English classes offered by the charity. “LADPP helps us with paper work that sometimes can be quite difficult to understand, especially if you struggle with the language.  They help us in many ways. They give us psychological and moral support,” she says, showing me a couple of colourful hand bags, knitted from plastic bags.

Walter Caradi represents the charity's directive board. Image: Giovana Zilli

LADPP provides advice on legal and health issues, job seeking, organising English, IT, arts and crafts lessons, and also opportunities to meet other people. From walks in the park to trips to other parts of England, the charity works hard to break the isolation in which most of its members live.

With Delia organising woolly baby jumpers and hens made of crochet, and Edinson enjoying helping the community, a short woman comes in my direction, just as I am ready to leave. Marta introduces herself as a volunteer for another organisation that helps Hispanic communities around the world.

The Spanish charity El Teléfono de la Esperanza (The Telephone of Hope) opened its London office last year. Marta is keen on telling me about their services, gives me the phone number of the project coordinator and insists that I call.

Suddenly,I remember another big number I came across a couple of days before. As Marta stares at me, barely blinking her eyes, I try to make sense of the figure published by the Charity Commission: there are 159,600 main charities in England and Wales.

In the beginning of that afternoon, Walter Caradi, president of LADPP’s directive board, said to the assembly: “The future is uncertain, because the economic crisis is hitting our organisation hard.” Marulanda agrees: “Broadening our services to all the community also gives us the opportunity to compete in the market for money.”

While their words echo in my mind, Marta waves me goodbye. Edinson is by the door, taking a well deserved break. He smiles and gives me a thumbs up, before disappearing in the middle of the crowd again.

Somali women with “class, poise, and real beauty”. Image: Mohamed Liban

One of the first of its kind. Miss Somali UK organiser Mohamed Liban and winner Amina Ibrahim share their thoughts and experiences on the innovative event.

Miss Somali UK took place in Hammersmith, West London in October this year, promoting affirmative role models for Somalis living in Britain.

“It may be argued that it was more of a role model pageant”, says organiser Mohamed Liban, as an alternative to semi-naked women strutting across a stage, showcasing Somali customs, culture and community.

After graduating from Westminster University with a degree in Business, Liban wasted no time in pursuing his vision of success.  His wish to have his own ‘organisation within the next 3 to 5 years’ was granted with the conception of Miss Somali UK.

The Mr and Miss East Africa 2008 event, which became a voice for unprivileged children in East Africa, inspired Liban and his partner to construct a positive image for the Somali community. “The idea behind Miss Somali UK 2009 was to change the perceived negative image and stigma of the Somali community in an informing and creative way”, says Liban.

Events that bring Somalis together are not so common in Britain, and hardly anything is done to reform the community, which is still invisible in Britain.

“Now we intend to build bridges with other communities, to embrace the Somali culture and to celebrate Somali talent and achievement. In addition creating awareness of the social and cultural aspects of the country as well as the unique beauty of Somali people”.

Joined by Somalis all over Britain, and members of the wider community, the organisers of the event put on quite a show, exceeding expectations of many; especially for the younger Somali generation, who are deprived of Somali role models.

The event itself focused on Somali women with “class, poise, and real beauty”. Five contestants made it to the final, and had to demonstrate why they should be crowned Miss Somali UK.

The process involved the contestants designing and creating an outfit that represents the Somali tradition and its people, and taking the multi-cultural audience through their experience. “The more creative, the more informing and inspiring meant the most points awarded by the judges”, explains Liban.

An enthusiastic Amina Ibrahim was crowned Miss Somali UK after her stunning performance wooed the judges. Being easy on the eyes, combined with her outstanding personality surely made it hard for her not to come first. “I didn’t think I was going to win”, says Amina, still caught up in the moment. “I was so overwhelmed and shocked”, she adds.

Amina Ibrahim, winner of Miss Somali UK. Image: Mohamed Liban

Her traditional Dirac dress spoke for itself which was customised to show her integration with western society and proved to be a hit for her. In terms of what the Somali community is lacking, she stated that: “Somali people find it hard to let people take leadership and happy for each other. If we can’t respect each other, how can we expect a British person to respect us”?

The 21-year-old full time sales consultant from East London took part in the event as she wanted to change the perception of  being Somali. “Just because you see stories of pirates on the news doesn’t mean we are all the same”.

After successfully promoting and marketing the event for almost a year, Liban explains the journey: “It has been a very long year, a great struggle. There were many barriers and challenges, but we understood where people were coming from as the understanding of beauty pageants, is females in bikinis”.

Setback after setback, Liban and his team remained level headed by showing great determination“. There were many promises that people did not fulfil, many cancellations, a lot of disappointments, a lot of sleepless nights, but that did not stop us”.

With the unpredicted success of Miss Somali UK, the bar has been raised enormously. “Now we have many contacts, many supporters, a logo that is recognised, a brand that people can relate to, with more contestants and yes this will include a Mr Somali UK 2010, we will try and get more role models as guests including the likes of Somali news presenter Rageh Omaar and athlete Mo Farah, a bigger venue, and much more”.

The Home Office estimated the number of undocumented workers in Britain to be 430,000 in 2005. Image: Giovana Zilli

The majority of the one million Latin Americans who are believed to reside in the UK work in London, many of them without proper documentation. Increasingly tougher immigration laws and the economic crisis have made life difficult for the “invisibles”, as they are called.

London Voices speaks to an undocumented worker who is feeling the pinch, as part of a special report on Latin American London.

When talking about the challenges of living in London as an undocumented worker, Isabel Jimenez* seems to hold back tears. After five years of struggling with underpaid jobs, she wants to leave the city for good.

But Jimenez, who is in her mid- twenties, is determined to stay in the UK in order to give her son the opportunities he would not have in the country of his birth. She will fly home to Venezuela to marry her ex- partner and father of her child, a Venezuelan with British citizenship, so that she and her son can return to London as British citizens.

“The truth is that for (my son) this has been very good,” she said, in the small bedroom of a North London house where she lives with eight other people. Her 10-year-old son sits quietly in a corner playing video games. “He speaks two languages, goes to a good school, and his stay here is much better than in Venezuela; there is a lot more safety.”

A law bans foreign citizens from marrying British citizens in the UK unless engaged in their home countries, which is why Jimenez will briefly go back to Venezuela, the country she had left in the first place because of her frail financial situation.

After voting against Hugo Chavez in a 2004 public referendum to decide whether the president would continue his term, Jimenez and her partner struggled to make ends meet because the votes were made public.

“The father of the child worked in a bakery… the bakery closed down and he was left without work,” she said. “We started to despair. Just because we had voted against Chavez there was no work. Where you would go they would check your national identity number and it was registered that you had voted against him…

“Our situation in Venezuela was bad. As we had a child, everything was becoming very intense…we could not even pay for food.”

Her partner moved to the UK to study and obtained British citizenship. Jimenez followed him with her son and a cousin, arriving in London in September of 2004 on a tourist visa.

She tried to apply for a student visa, which would allow her to work 20 hours a week. But a couple of days after her arrival, the law changed.

“They changed the law, saying that someone with a tourist visa would not be allowed to change to a student visa. When I applied, they automatically responded saying: ‘No’, and said I had to return to Venezuela to apply there. They sent me a letter saying I had 25 days to leave the country, but I moved out of my house, and that was it.”

Without a visa that would allow her to legally work in Britain, Jimenez borrowed a friend’s documents. She made her living by working under someone else’s name for cleaning companies in hotels, casinos and even in a court- room.

Many undocumented immigrants borrow documents to work. Image: Jayne and Darren Langland

But fear of deportation, the struggle with learning a new language, and knowing the risk of not being paid by managers who would find out about her immigration status were all part of Jimenez’s routine.

“When a person knows you are illegal in the country, if he wants, he won’t pay you,” she said. “They put you to work hard and they can pay you what they want.”

Isabel Jimenez worked her way up to supervisor of a cleaning company in a court- room. She was responsible for making sure that everything was clean by eight in the morning, including the prisoner cell. But the daily rush of lawyers, convicted felons and police would often be overwhelming.

“A lot of police and immigration officers would be present because there were all types of people; people who murdered, or who were undocumented,” she said. “And that created fear that they would catch me, that they would ask me for my documents. They did not have anything to do with me, because I was working for a private company, but I felt scared.”

‘The Venezuelan who wants to come to England now is crazy’

The economic crisis has changed the landscape for undocumented workers in the UK. Companies have been cutting back on staff, making work exhausting. In Jimenez’s current job cleaning hotel rooms, there used to be 30 workers, now they are cutting back to 15.

“They are making you work harder than you worked before for the same pay,” she said.

Some of Jimenez’s Venezuelan friends have wanted to experience life  in London, but she advises them not to come. Helping out with accommodation is not an option for Jimenez, who lives in a small double- bedroom with her son and nowadays it is harder to borrow documents because of tougher immigration laws.

“If I lend you my documents, for example, and you are caught working with them, I will be arrested and you will be arrested. I am not going to live in a cell for you,” she said.

Jimenez knows many Latin Americans who are suffering as much as she is and are ready to return to their home countries.

“At least all of the undocumented people I know are working hard now so they can go,” she said. “Because of the current situation here… everything is rising, in rent, in food, and the salary is the same. They raise your salary by  five pence an hour, but what is five pence per hour when I am paying 600 pounds in rent?”

Having to work from three in the morning until late evening every day and still struggling to pay the rent throughout the years has made Isabel Jimenez extremely homesick. But she is hoping that the opportunities her son will have as a British citizen will make up for it.

“I have endured a lot here, in this country, because of my son,” she said.

*Name has been changed to protect identity

Tommorrow: London Voices reports on a charity that gives support to disabled Latin Americans, as part of the special report on Latin American London.

"It has been a threat of a level we have never seen before." Sir Ian Blair, when speaking on terrorism. Image: Giovana Zilli

Counter terrorism and the DNA National Database dominated a debate about civil liberties, hosted by the Hansard Society in the House of Commons last Wednesday.

Panelists included Sir Ian Blair, the former Police Commissioner, journalist Peter Oborne and novelist Henry Porter, who discussed whether the state should pass legislation that scrutinises and controls the public.

“In the last 12 years, the Labour Government has endowed the British State, with powers and technology that present, I am certain, a very grave threat to public liberty and privacy,” said Henry Porter.

He cited the CRB checks (criminal records), done by millions of people who work in childcare, to argue that the government has created an atmosphere of “suspicion and mistrust”, which will change the principle of innocence before proven guilty. “If the state doesn’t trust us, we shouldn’t trust the state,” he said.

But Sir Ian Blair said we should first be examining the evidences of government actions when speaking about civil liberties. He mentioned the 2007 Haymarket bomb and 2006 airliners plots to put across his point:

“We cannot be in a position in which, at the turn of the twenty-first century, we do not recognise that there has been, in these last ten years, a completely different kind of threat than we have seen before. It is not as serious as the Second World War, it is not as serious as the Cold War, but it is deadly serious,”  he said.

Blair also said that we can’t treat a  “general rather wishy –washy consensus about  civil liberties” as something  more important than “protecting people from being murdered.”

Opposing Porter,  Oborne argued that the public’s resistance to the DNA database means that the subject needs to be “explained more fully”.

“I don’t understand what is wrong with the DNA database given it is so efficient in not just solving crimes, but as we know, preventing murders, rapes, maimings and the destruction of innocent lives.”

But none of the panelists were more applauded than a member of the audience, who said:

“We have to stand up for civil liberties. Nobody objects that criminals, serious criminal be in a DNA database, but I object that innocent people are being kept in DNA database … I don’t want the nation to know all about me, I want my liberty; information is power, and when the state has that information, it has power, and that diminishes  me as an individual and everybody else.”