Oxfam GB racial justice lead Rhaea Russell-Cartwright reflects on how far Oxfam and similar UK-based organisations have come and what they should think about next to deliver on racial justice – including the implications of racist riots in Britain, the need for solidarity across borders and ensuring that celebrations of this month centre the experiences of our Black staff. It’s …
When inclusion is an illusion: sign language interpreters and the pitfalls for ‘inclusive’ development
How did a meeting for disabled people in Uganda end up using sign language that local deaf people couldn’t understand? Julia Modern reflects on how that failure is rooted in racialised ideas about who is an expert – and shares six tips for effective deaf inclusion. (And you can also watch a Ugandan Sign Language translation of the blog.)
Mia Mottley on Slavery, Poverty, George Floyd, Climate and the Future of the World
‘I felt like we were seeing a future UN Secretary General in action…’ Duncan Green on Prime Minister of Barbados Mia Mottley’s jaw-dropping ‘grand sweep’ of a speech at the LSE
Five ways to tackle discrimination against Roma people displaced by war in Ukraine
Powerful, first-hand accounts and evidence gathered by local NGOs show how Roma fleeing Ukraine’s war have been frozen out of the support offered to many other refugees. Padmini Iyer and Sarah Redd introduce a new report that reveals the scale of discrimination facing Roma seeking refuge – and set out five actions that could transform their lives.
Amid the hostility to Roma refugees, an act of compassion
When Nadia went into labour just two weeks after fleeing Ukraine for Poland, local people rushed to her help. But Oxfam’s research shows that such acts of kindness are still too rare in a refugee response often blighted by anti-Roma discrimination, says Padmini Iyer in a blog for World Refugee Day.
Why the path to diversity and inclusion is a personal journey
A space to finally be heard As a British born Indian, the spaces I navigate have always been predominately white centred. I had never been able to articulate that until recently. With the global social activism in 2020, the Black Lives Matter movement has propelled Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) work front and centre. What was seemingly a ‘nice-to-have’ business prerogative turned into a …
Institutional Racism in the Aid Sector and how Oxfam is responding
Institutional racism in the aid sector interconnects with colonialism, and in turn links with the promotion of intersectional feminism. This is due to the role patriarchy plays in defining who is marginalised and discriminated against, by these intersecting systems of oppression. But what about the aid sector? From my 25 years in the sector, there are two parts – the …
Decolonising development narratives
Narratives around “development” On January 6th 2021, white supremacists stormed the US capitol after months of lies and misinformation about election fraud was spread by Donald Trump and his allies. Several reporters and prominent politicians called the violent insurrection “unamerican,” likening the scenes to a “banana republic” and saying “those are the sorts of things that happen in third-world nations.” Reporting live on …
Podcast: Robtel Neajai Pailey on racism in development
Let’s talk about racism and development. Dr Robtel Neajai Pailey is a Liberian academic, activist and author.In this conversation, Maria and Robtel talk about development as a racist construct. They discuss the academization of decolonization, the systems of power and decision-making that uphold racism, and Robtel asks us: how complicit are we all in upholding the notion that whiteness (often …