MEETING AGAINST POINTS BASED IMMIGRATION, 2 DECEMBER
Helena Kennedy
We need to think of the erosion of civil liberties within the context of the ‘War on Terror’. Academic freedom is vital to society (totalitarian regimes go after universities first). Over the last 10 years there has been a huge shift in relation to civil liberties. This began with 9/11, and the attempt to detain people without trial. The next was the Control Order regimes, as well as Stop and Search without reasonable cause, directed mainly against minority communities. Other examples include the banning of demonstrations in the Westminster area, increased use of surveillance, the escalation of police violence around the G20, or the retention of DNA (again targeted at minority communities). Curfews are used on kids as young as 8 in inner cities. The ASBO regime was a fundamental change in policing, which can be made with a lower level of evidence – which leads to a huge increase in the number of people in prison.
What is the most shameful is that we have allowed it to happen, in the name of terrorism. This can affect the liberties of all of us. What is the worst about PBSI is that if students don't attend, it will be the responsibility of academic staff to report them. The same is true for arts organisations. Poor artists and musicians, and people doing the most challenging work will be the most strongly affected. The purpose of the criminal justice system is not to establish truth. But truth isn't the only value – human rights are as vitally important.
James Haywood
With PBSI, students must pass certain checks to gain a certain number of points. The worst of this is money – you have to prove you have around £17 000 + £535 for each child. This closes off any opportunities for students from poorer parts of the world – only the rich of the rich countries can come to study. Another aspect is the ID cards. Within 7 days, you must apply to a specific police station. The minute you step through that door, you are searched and scanned; the process takes at least an hour. If they find any discrepancy, you can be deported. The worst is the idea that every staff member must take a register which will get sent to UKBA. If students don't attend regularly, they can be deported. Once we go down that path, academic freedom goes out the window.
Goldsmiths management also have a lot to answer for by not coming out more clearly against the rules. There is only one winner here – and that's the BNP, fascists and racists, because it pushes the idea that people who are not from this country are problematic ‘Others’. At SOAS, the cleaners were deported shortly after they won union recognition. The students occupied the Vice Chancellor's office, which was a huge success. These are the sorts of things we need to do.
Manick Govinda
London is a cosmopolitan city, and this is one of its strengths. The arts community has been heavily affected by the new point-based system. What has happened is that these draconian rules treat international artists as though they are trying to take British artists' jobs. Abbas Kiarostami (the Iranian film director) was fingerprinted twice, and asked for a financial guarantee that he would go back to Iran. He was so disgusted he did not come to the UK. Grigory Sokolov (the Russian pianist) could not come to the country for concerts because he refused to give fingerprints to be able to perform in the UK. It's not only Africa, Asia etc. but also artists from Canada and the US are affected. This also affects communities of interest (non-professional setups) if they want to organise classes by a foreign national. The Home Office is now dictating what kinds of artists we can invite. The profession is being devalued. Artists from certain backgrounds (such as black men) are being profiled as 'likely to overstay their welcome’). Once the Manifesto Club petition reaches 10, 000 we will take it to 10 Downing Street. You should all write to your MP, and sign the petition here:
http://www.petitiononline.com/MCvisit/petition.html
Tom Hickey
Why did the UCU adopt policy committing members not just to oppose the rules, but to support its members in non-implementation of the policies? The answer is that there is an assault on Higher Education. It's not just about jobs; it's about how we define Higher Education. If we duck the campaign on PBSI, then we will be divided. PBSI is a discriminatory filtering system which keeps out those in real need, and lets people in who are in lesser needs. PBSI targets people from certain parts of the world. Lecturers, GPs and others are supposed to perform tasks such as checking people's passports, although we are not trained in these tasks. There are 2 reasons for PBSI: 1) it's about controlling immigration, but also 2) about the State gaining greater control over the public, because society is seen to be in crisis. This is why we need to think of this in relation to the ID cards scheme. The source is to do with an imposed notion of human identity, about who is entitled to be here, who can claim health and education and who will be excluded. The ideas underpinning PBSI come from Carl Schmitt, whereby the state chooses who is or isn't a citizen. PBSI destroys the relationship between staff and students, and amongst students. At Brighton we have refused to collect information about students, and urge others to do the same.
COMMENTS:
There is an increasing imperative about creating incentives to inform.
Fees are also a discriminatory issue.
I'm from Korea. To go through Tier 4, I had to prove I had enough money. It was very difficult to prove this, and so I had to ask other relatives.
There is an A and B list of compliance with UKBA – which will affect resourcing.
We need to connect with other campaigns, not just in Higher Education.
There is not much we can do without campus-wide mobilisation. Every student should put pressure on their tutors not to comply.
I had to deal with PBSI. It's a 40 page application. You have to show you have £17 000 in the bank for 3 months. If they find something, it can be further delayed. The funds in your bank account could change because of the exchange rate, which could mean that you fall short. You also have to claim you're not a terrorist in 6 different ways. You also have to affirm that you're a person of good character. The biometric process is also quite intimidating, and it's like going to prison. The waiting period takes a very long time.
If we want to hire a visiting speaker, we have to go through a huge amount of bureaucracy, and even go to Croydon.
We need to document stories of how people have been treated by PBSI – this will put a human face to what is happening.
NEXT MEETING: 13TH of Jan, at 5PM, RHB 142 – all welcome!
