Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
Latest editorial
‘I don't want to go back to Kenya and hide my sexuality’
Gay rugby player KEN MACHARIA will report to Bridgewater Police station today where he fears he may be detained. He tells Ben Cowles his story
After 9 nyears out of the closet, Ken Macharia is under threat of deportation to Kenya where homosexuality is illegal and gays live in danger.
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
KEN MACHARIA arrived into Britain in 2009 to study a masters degree in mechanical engineering at the the University of the West of England.
“When I was in Kenya,” he tells me over the phone, “I was hiding my sexuality and at the time that was normal practice. I had to hide who I was.
“And when I first came to Britain I was still overcoming the same fears I had back there. I didn’t let people know I was gay and felt shy and fearful about it.”
Similar stories
Gisele Pelicot said ‘shame must change sides.’ We may think we agree, but, argues LOUISE RAW, society still has some way to go
JOHN GREEN has doubts about the efficacy of the Freedom of Information Act, once trumpeted by Tony Blair
JAMES NALTON discusses how Fifa claims to be apolitical, but as Infantino and Juventus players stood behind Trump discussing war, gender, and global politics, the line between sport and statecraft vanished