Smashing a myth

ONE of Britain's most shameful secrets is the way in which we treat asylum-seekers.

Refugees fleeing violence and terror, often caused by our own government or corporations, are likely to be met with yet more violence and terror here while under our legal "protection."

But, if you believe the newspapers, we're actually too soft on refugees.

Film-maker and drummer Gaylan Nazhad has been a part of Birmingham-based Banner Theatre for four years. He fled a death sentence in Kurdish Iraq in 2000 after presenting a political TV show that offended the wrong people.

"I interviewed an unemployed guy here and asked him why he couldn't get a job," he tells me. "Straight away, he started blaming asylum-seekers - how they get free cars, free houses, free mobiles."

It's compelling evidence of how successfully politicians and the media have twisted reality. But there's a different shameful secret that confronts us inside the intimate yet impressive Purcell Rooms on London's South Bank, where radical musical They Get Free Mobiles, Don't They? was shown this Saturday.

After a brief introduction by Tony Berwick, chairman of Lambeth TUC, which co-sponsored this event with the local branch of Unite T&G, four performers pick up their instruments.

Darkly humorous, tragic and surreal songs are mixed with snappy sketches and Nazhad's on-screen multimedia of interviews, animation and photos. They tell a tale that is obvious yet invisible, breaking down the mainstream media's myths one by one.

"Asylum-seekers are robbing this country," we're told. Well, actually, we're robbing theirs.

Ever heard of coltan? It's a vital ingredient for - would you believe - mobile phones. And most of this precious mineral comes from the Democratic Republic of Congo, helping to fuel a bloody civil war responsible for millions of deaths.

The wickedly inappropriate show-stopper Come to the Congo lays it down straight: "There's blood and bones in your mobile phones."

But how does our government treat refugees from these killing fields? It sends them straight back.

Labour Party treasurer Jack Dromey demolishes the "asylum-seekers are stealing our jobs" myth.

"There's a simple reality - our economy needs migration," explains the Unite T&G deputy general secretary in an interview sampled over the tub-thumping Money Screams and its sing-a-long chorus "I'd rather shovel shit than be an entrepreneur."

The songs are all truly original and catchy, guaranteed to get you either bouncing off your seat or sobbing into your hanky.

Jilah Bakhshayesh's vocals and violin are a special treat, as are Tshepe Mukeba's keyboards and bass.

There are appropriate nods to 1960s anti-war masterpiece Oh What A Lovely War and both musicals share a similar intensity and egalitarian ensemble spirit. Yet the issues raised tonight are far more relevant and immediate.

The project has built momentum touring around Britain, fighting the hysteria whipped up by politicians of all flavours. But these myths are powerful and the propaganda works.

That's why it's important for trade unions to mobilise in defence of refugees' rights, says Banner's singer-songerwriter and artistic director Dave Rogers.

"We do workshops with shop stewards on TUC courses, who act out these different roles. It's really changing people's perceptions."

Perhaps the most insidious misperception of all is that "we're a soft touch."

Seven-year-old Anna-Rose fled Congo-Brazzaville with her family and was held at the notorious Yarl's Wood detention centre.

"My schoolfriends asked me: 'Is it like school detention?' No, I said, worse than that."

We hear stories of suicide, including that of Manuel Bravo, who hanged himself from a Yarl's Wood doorway in 2005 to save his 13-year-old son from deportation to Angola.

As SERTUC regional secretary Megan Dobney explains to the audience afterwards, this breathtaking production "links oppression with economic exploitation" and puts detention centres into the wider context of another shameful secret, the "prison-industrial complex."

These are all topics close to Star readers' hearts, which was why it's good to see our paper being given away at the box office. And, at £4 a ticket or half that for unwaged, everyone can afford to watch.

Given the reality of where our so-called civilisation's come from and where it's heading, no-one can afford to miss this.

The production is touring around Britain, with a performance at Eden Grove Church in Horfield, Bristol, Wednesday night at 6.30pm. Box office: (0117) 353-2837. Further information for dates in Coventry, Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Exeter, Mansfield, Liverpool, Halifax and Bedford can be found at www.bannertheatre.co.uk