MixTogether & Friends

The Observer’s Anushka Asthana has written a lovely piece for Comment Is Free about the first 3 months of her mixed marriage….

Anushka Asthana: A cross-cultural marriage is an adventure I’d recommend

Mixed-race unions in this country are on the increase, a magical journey that benefits all the families involved…

It is a trend that has been welcomed by many (including our parents, thankfully) and vocally opposed by some. In the extreme cases, it comes as little surprise: I wouldn’t expect great support from BNP members. Nor perhaps from a justice of the peace across in the US, in Louisiana, who has recently faced disciplinary action after refusing to marry his fourth mixed-race couple on the grounds that it would be unfair to any children they had. But I have also come across people who are neither extreme nor racist but who have expressed reservations about mixed-race marriages. I’ve heard them argue that cultural differences can be a barrier – something to consider when choosing a spouse; that similar backgrounds create the best chance of success.

Often, it is the minority groups themselves that are making these arguments. I certainly have friends from a number of backgrounds whose parents have been upset when they got together with someone of a different race or religion.

It is really great to see an article like this on Comment Is Free, particularly one that recognises the parrallels between the anti-mixing arguments of the BNP and those of some minority groups. Positive reporting of the benefits of mixed race relationships is critical if we are to rebuff race purists of all colours.

Anushka Asthana has had a great career at the Observer, and this post really shows her coming of age there. She kicked off this year with an exclusive, reporting that 1 in 10 childen live in a mixed-race family, and is clearly going to be a voice of reason for many years to come. If she can make the link between mixed race marriage, free choice in marriage and the campaigns against forced marriage, she will truly be a force for change.

For anyone who has been following Channnel 4’s The Family, tonight was the moment we have all been waiting for: the wedding.

Sunny and Shay from The Family

Shay looked so beautiful, and she was surrounded with the care that we have come to expect from the Grewal family. Her cousin and extended family who did attend and help (giving her a house to leave from for the Doli) showed their good character for all to see.

It is easy for viewers like us to stand in judgement on Shay’s mum and brother, but we are just observers. The only thing we can say with confidence is that Shay’s mum and brother missed out on a magical, once-in-a-lifetime chance to see Shay at her happiest and most elegant.

The loss was theirs, but that didn’t make it any easier to see Shay’s tears. The whole family on both sides would have welcomed them even at the last minute. It was truly tragic to see all the secret hopes- of the family AND the viewers- dashed on the day.

It was an especially poignant episode for all MixTogether members. We know too many people, our friends on the site and others, who have experienced this bitter and pointless loss of close family relationships.

The cultural system that convinces some parents to put the opinions of others over their relationships with their own flesh and blood MUST be challenged. It cannot go on in this country.

We would like to pay tribute to Granada, Channel 4 and the whole production team on The Family for their vision and courage in creating this series and bringing these issues to light.

Most of all we would also like to send our best wishes to all of the Grewal family, from the youngest to the oldest, and thank them for what they have given us.

28 year old Khalid Mamoun Sarwar has appeared at at Glasgow Sheriff Court charged with murder and theft over the killing of Scottish radio host Nasim Jamil.

A 28-year-old man has appeared in court over the death of a radio presenter and agony aunt, who was killed in Glasgow.

Khalid Mamoun Sarwar was charged with murder and theft in connection with the death of Nasim Jamil.

The 54-year-old, who worked on Asian community radio station Awaz FM, was discovered at her flat in Byres Road by her daughter on Wednesday 9 December.

Mr Sarwar made no plea or declaration at Glasgow Sheriff Court and was remanded in custody.

We await the explanation of why a 28 year old Asian man murdered and stole from the home of this popular radio presenter, and whether it confirms MP Mohammed Sarwar’s suspicions that the death was linked to Nasim Jamil’s reconciliation work among Glasgow’s Asian community.

Geeta Aulakh

The Ealing Gazette has carried details of a Police phone and email hotline into the West London area where Geeta Aulakh was murdered.

Police have created a mobile number and email address to help piece together the last moments of Geeta Aulakh’s life.

The 28-year-old died in Charing Cross Hospital around four hours after she was found at about 7pm on November 16. She was attacked in Braund Avenue, Greenford, on her way to pick up her two young sons from their childminder.

A Punjabi interpreter will be on hand for those calling the number who do not have English as a first language.

Detective chief inspector Howard Groves, of the Homicide and Serious Crime Command, said: “As the investigation into Geeta’s murder continues, it is clear the community in this area holds information we need to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice…

Anyone with information can call 020 8247 7821, 07876 546 539 or email solvegeetasmurder@met.police.uk.

The launch of the hotline comes as a 14th man was arrested over Geeta Aulakh’s horiffic murder:

A 14th man has been arrested in connection with the death of a woman who was found dying in a west London street with her hand cut off.

Geeta Aulakh, 28, also suffered serious head injuries when she was attacked in Greenford while on her way to picking up her two sons in November.

Detectives arrested a 21-year-old man in Southall, west London, in connection with the death on Thursday morning.

Two men including Ms Aulakh’s estranged husband have been charged with murder.

Harpreet Aulakh, 31, from north-west London, and Sher Singh have both appeared in court.

The other 11 arrested bail are on police bail.

From the BBC:

A 28-year old man has been arrested in connection with the death of a radio presenter and agony aunt, who was killed in Glasgow last week.

Nasim Jamil, 54, who worked on Asian community radio station Awaz FM, was discovered at her flat in Byres Road by her daughter on Wednesday 9 December.

Police said a man was being detained in custody. He is expected to appear in court on Monday.

Nasim Jamil apparently felt called to help re-unite split families on her radio show.

The Asian community in Glasgow, where she lived, fear Mrs Jamil was murdered over her role in disputes, Mohammad Sawar, a high-profile Muslim MP said yesterday.

Mr Sawar, who represents Glasgow Central constituency, said: ‘This is only my opinion but I think the most likely motive may be the radio show.’

It also emerged yesterday that Mrs Jamil, called ‘Aunty’ by listeners, may have known her killer as there was no evidence of forced entry at her flat in the city’s West End district.

Mr Sawar added: ‘I have spoken to people in the village where Nasim’s family come from and my own gut feeling is grievances between families she dealt with could have led to this.

‘Problems between husband and wife can have serious implications and I have been involved in some very intense situations involving families in the community.

‘If there were issues between them, it could be they were the most serious kind. There could be some ill feelings in some quarters.’

It has also emerged that a former colleague of the widowed mother of two left the Glasgow-based radio station after receiving anonymous threats.

The 42-year-old, who did not want to be named, left the network, which serves the Asian community, in 2005 and said he and Mrs Jamil had concerns about some of the hostile reactions of some listeners.

He said: ‘It was because I challenged people about their views of women in Asian culture.

‘There are some in the community who are very aggressive and threatening if programmes do not fit their religious views.’

The agony aunt’s body was found with severe head and neck injuries in her kitchen just before 8pm on Wednesday.

Campaigners against so-called honour killings have spoken with one voice against multiculturalism after Tulay Goren’s father was jailed for her murder.

Jasvinder Sanghera leads the charge with a blistering article in today’s Times entitled ‘It is not part of anyone’s culture to be abused‘:

I know from personal experience, and from working with victims, that such “honour” crimes are a huge social problem in this country. The shame is not just that it is happening on such a large scale, but that it is so often covered up for fear of upsetting cultural sensibilities. Serious crimes are being treated as a matter for diversity officers rather than for the police and the courts…

Over the past 20 years attitudes towards domestic violence among the white population have changed immeasurably. No longer do police say “it’s just a domestic” when they receive a call from a woman who is being attacked by her husband. Sadly, different standards still apply to violence among Asians. While it is too late for Tulay Goren, I hope that the story of her appalling and avoidable death will finally wake us up to the abuse taking place in our midst and that we will stop trying to excuse forced marriage as just a price to pay for multicultural diversity.

Diana Nammi, director of the Iranian and Kurdish Women’s Rights Organisation, is outspoken in her criticism of multicultural sensitivities in the Labour government:

She said: “It’s not just the detection of honour crimes which is increasing, but the number of crimes which are committed. The rise of fundamentalism is the reason these crimes are increasing. The Government has also been turning a blind eye to the problem, which only makes things worse.

Labour’s Ann Cryer is equally direct in the Telegraph:

Ann Cryer, the Labour MP for Keighley, near Bradford, who has campaigned to raise awareness of honour crimes, said local councils in areas with large ethnic minority populations remain reluctant to confront the problem because it is such a politically sensitive issue.

She said: “It is a real struggle to get this issue out in the open because instead of looking after the human rights of vulnerable young women you get accused of doing down the Asian community.

“One of the difficulties is that you have very large extended families in places like Bradford, which are very influential, and local councillors are afraid of upsetting them because they think they will lose votes. As a result local authorities are reluctant to talk about this issue.

Sanghera agrees:

Up until last month, 86 forced marriage protection orders have been issued, yet not one of them was in Bradford, Leicester or Tower Hamlets. Is this because forced marriage is not a problem in those areas, all of which have some of the largest Asian populations in Britain? Or is it because authorities there are failing to use the powers for fear of creating offence? I am afraid it is the latter.

Ceri Radford, Assistant Comment Editor of the Telegraph, concludes her blog post on Tulay’s murder with another powerful quote from Jasvinder Sanghera:

It’s like we’ve tunnelled back in time to when troublesome women could be drowned as witches.

Tulay Goren was killed in 1999; a year later, the Government set up a task force to combat forced marriages, and there has been a broader shift away from multicultural policies. As Sanghera has said, “It’s a betrayal of these women to be PC about this. Look at the figures. Asian women in Britain are three times more likely to commit suicide than their white friends.” Every woman in Britain deserves the same opportunities, and the same protection.

What about coverage from the left-wing press?

The Guardian’s only coverage of Tulay Goren’s murder is confined to a single piece of bald factual reporting from the trial. They have not bothered to interview any of the main campaigners, and at the time of writing this have no coverage of the issue on Comment Is Free. The Independent fares no better.

So-called honour crime, and the alien value systems that breed it, should not find shelter on any side of the political spectrum. Yet the murder of Tulay Goren has uncovered yet more criticism of the multicultural doctrine and political correctness that have been the hallmarks of life under Labour for the last 12 years.

It is time for campaigners and politicians who question the benefits of multiculturalism to join forces, and begin to dismantle the damaging social architecture that has protected so-called honour crime for so long.

Finally:

A father has been jailed for life to serve a minimum tariff of 22 years for murdering his daughter, 15, in a so-called honour killing.

Tulay Goren disappeared in 1999 after having a relationship with a man who her family disapproved of.

At the Old Bailey earlier, her father Mehmet Goren, 49, was convicted of murder. His brothers Cuma Goren, 42, and Ali Goren, 55, were cleared of the charge.

Tulay Goren

This conviction is a fitting end to a long trial that took 10 years to reach court.

However it is just the beginning of the analysis of Tulay Goren’s killing, and the beginning of proper scrutiny over Labour’s shameful decision to cut funding for campaigning groups.

We hope that all those who mourn for Tulay Goren may find some measure of peace and justice in today’s decision.

James Forsyth at the Spectator magazine’s Coffee House blog has tipped Sayeeda Warsi for a more prominent Conservative role:

Certainly, the Tories lack a shadow Minister for the Today Programme, someone who can be relied to go on when it is a bad morning for the party and deal robustly with a tough interview. This is a position the Tories will need to fill before the campaign gets under way…

I suspect that Sayeeda Warsi might soon be auditioned for this role. Andy Coulson is very impressed by her media skills. To a leadership that is sensitive about the perception that it is too white, too male and too posh, the idea of having a Muslim Yorkshire woman act as one of the party’s main spokesmen is particularly appealing.

Baroness Warsi does not just deserve this role as a box-ticking exercise.

She was the best-received panellist on THAT edition of Question Time with Nick Griffin, and her response to the egg attack in Luton was equally convincing.

James Forsyth might also like to add that she is taking a keen interest in ‘honour’ crimes and mixed relationships, which should cause a stir in seats where Labour rely on older (and more traditional) immigrants for votes. Warsi appeals to younger Asian voters, especially women, for whom the old bleating of ‘Tories bad, Labour gooooooood’ has less effect these days.

The Press Association reports that this is day 3 of the jury’s deliberations over the Tulay Goren case.

Tulay Goren is said to have been murdered by her father Mehmet and uncles Ali and Cuma in January 1999 because she fell in love with the wrong man.

Mehmet Goren, 49, of Navestock Crescent, Woodford Green, north east London, Cuma Goren, 43, of Evesham Avenue, Walthamstow, north east London, and Ali Goren, 56, of Brettenham Road, Walthamstow, deny the charge.

All three defendants also deny an allegation of conspiracy to murder Tulay’s boyfriend Halil Unal.

Jurors in the case began their deliberations last week at the end of the two-month Old Bailey trial.

From Luton Today:

Police have arrested a man in connection in with the attack on Baroness Sayeeda Warsi in Bury Park just over a fortnight ago.

Officers arrested a 24-year-old man in Bury Park on Tuesday evening on suspicion of criminal damage and a public order offence. He is currently in custody at Luton Police Station.

During Baroness Warsi’s visit to Luton she was pelted with eggs and shouted at by a group of men. They accused her of not being a “proper Muslim” because she does not want strict Islamic Sharia law implemented in Britain.

Wil be interesting to find out if it was one of the ‘Muslims’ who threw the egg.