Published in The Independent (July 30th, 2009) Nigeria’s minister of Information has launched a campaign to rebrand her country, attempting to lure foreign investors and tourists under the […]
Afghanistan / World
False hopes and phoney democracy
Published in The Independent (July 15th, 2009) And so the charade begins once again. A state ripped apart by war, poverty and corruption promises to hold elections, and […]
Immigration / Policy / Politics
How our politicians failed to stop the rise of the far right
Published in The Independent (June 9th, 2009) A few weeks ago I attended a think-tank lunch held to discuss whether the rise of the left was inevitable in […]
Arts / Immigration / Music / Policy
This outburst will strike a chord around the world
Published in The Independent (May 7th, 2009) Abbas Kiarostami’s outburst against British officialdom will strike a chord with artists all around the world. However famous, however inspirational, they […]
Arts / Music
A brave new world of music
Published in The Independent (May 1st, 2009) As she waited to go on, Souad Massi looked nervous for the first time that evening. The Algerian singer, who has […]
Economics
The unlikely triumph of capitalism
Published in The Independent (April 4th, 2009) Presidents, politicians, pundits and protesters are united: Capitalism is in crisis; free markets are fatally wounded; the state is in the […]
Africa / Libya
These poor unfortunates are pawns in a game of power politics
Published in The Independent (April 1st, 2009) Michael was sitting in the shade of a building site with about 20 fellow Nigerians, watching life go by in a […]
Disability / Politics
Iona and Ivan – a tale of two children and two families
Published in The Independent (February 26th, 2009) I awoke to the sound of my daughter, Iona, screaming yesterday morning, shortly after six. First the agonised screams, then coughing […]
Immigration / Policy
Why turn away these people that we need so badly?
Published in The Independent (September 10th, 2008) Sonia trained as a nurse in Nairobi before coming to Britain a decade ago. Since then, she has worked long and […]
Africa / Libya / Travel
Libya: From desert to oasis
Published in The Independent (December 8th, 2007) Ali took a hunk of camel meat and carefully chopped it into tiny cubes before throwing it into a pan. Then […]