First page of a letter from the Bangladeshi authorities asknig India to facilitate the travel of Dr Asadullah to the UK

2. A letter from the passport office of the Bangladeshi government in exile in India asking Indian authorities to help my nana get to the UK 'temporarily'. 55 years later, he's still in the UK... Looking at the state of Bangladesh now, was it worth it? Of course it was. Joy Bangla জয় প্রাণ আদি-অন্তহীন

A letter telling Dr Asadullah to return travel to Pakistan

1. Pakistani embasssy letter impounding my nana's passport and telling him to take a one-way trip to Pakistan because he had been being a naughty boy in support of Bangladeshi independence

On the eve of the anniversary of Operation Searchlight - the beginnning of the Pakistani genocide in Bangladesh - and the offical date of Bangladeshi independence, letters that my nana recently found:

Dear Shabana, I notice today that you referred to me in your speech on immigration at the IPPR think tank. You said: “A party leader should not be on the beaches of France encouraging people to make a perilous crossing on small boats.” I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised especially after the hateful Labour campaign in Gorton and Denton, but this is just the latest in a string of lies peddled by a discredited Government who intentionally fan the flames of racism and division. When I went to Calais, I was not there to encourage people to travel to the UK. I was there to see at first hand the suffering your Government and successive Governments have done in demonising migrants in a pathetic bid to pander to the base instincts of Reform and the flawed strategy of Morgan McSweeney. As you will know, if you even bothered to research my visit instead of taking Reform talking points, I was there to witness the brutality of families living in tents in freezing temperatures. I filled water tanks and picked up litter. What that visit did do is confirm my belief that if we are to smash the boat gangs and stop the boats, we need to offer safer and managed routes for migrants to come to this country. Showing compassion as a politician is not a crime. In fact, we need to see much more of it. It reminded me of a young MP who in October 2015 spent three days in Lesbos helping migrants fleeing war-torn Syria. She posted videos on X, talked about handing out water and croissants to refugees and food parcels. When she returned to the UK, she wrote a very moving piece in the New Statesman. She said “we have to work with our European partners and create new, safe, and legal routes for refugees to get to Europe. We cannot abandon them to their fate, left as prey for smugglers whilst risking death on the seas.” She said “maybe we can make ourselves feel better by saying no-one is making them get on the boats. And again, the Home Secretary is not entirely wrong when …

Dear Shabana,

Let's clear some things up around migration and remember we're talking about people's lives.

Ludus latrunculorum, you say? Archaeologist Tim Penn from @uniofreading.bsky.social gives some background on this popular Roman game, whose name means the Game of the Little Soldiers.

Come see our example, on display in the Silchester Gallery!

#romangames #ancientgames #archaeology #rdg

Charlie Stayt, "A lot of people think those leaflets are the nasty side of politics"

Zack Polanski, "Genocide is quite nasty"

Just three days remain before the deadline of Astyanax Journal's Undergraduate Composition Competition and our Year 10-13 Essay Competition! Entries must be submitted before 23:59 on Friday 27th February. For more information, visit astyanaxjournal.com/competitions/

this is also the logical (unfortunate) endpoint of an education system hyper-focused on STEM! when you don't read books, think about the past, experience other cultures, you don't have resources to deal with grief! the humanities help!

but James Baldwin said it better

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive. Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

On this MLK Day, one particular passage from his address at the March on Washington seems especially relevant.

Photos of Heba Muraisi, Kamran Ahmed and David Lammy with copy that says: Amnesty UK urges David Lammy to act now to stop the deaths of hunger strikers.

We urge David Lammy to immediately authorise a senior official to meet with the legal representatives of Heba Muraisi & Kamran Ahmed - both on prolonged hunger strike & at extreme risk of death.

Their representatives have repeatedly requested this meeting & it is now critical to prevent a tragedy.

Palestine Action hunger strikers near death ‘intent’ on continuing protests Prisoners remaining on rolling hunger strike are suffering with dangerous symptoms, loved ones and a doctor say.

Palestine Action hunger strikers near death ‘intent’ on continuing protests

Heba Muraisi and Kamran Ahmed, Palestine Action-linked British activists on the brink of death, are determined to keep up their prison hunger strike until their demands are met.

www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/...

Jacob Frey: "To ICE -- get the fuck out of Minneapolis"

A fine piece here from Allison Morris.

Teuta Hoxha (29) has been in prison without trial for 13 months so far. This is her Birthday. bsky.app/profile/hill...

Michael Kast (1924-2014), German official during WWII and Chilean sausage maker

"Michael Kast (1924-2014), German official during WWII and Chilean sausage maker"

Very excited to be part of the next iteration of the amazing Res Diff series!

Mamdani: "New York will remain a city of immigrants, a city built by immigrants, powered by immigrants, and as of tonight, led by an immigrant."

Ancient Rome's legacy looms large in Italy's history, from colonising North Africa to Mussolini's fascist reign and modern anti-immigration movements

Historian @samagbamu.bsky.social explains the long, dark shadow cast by the imperial eagle.

🔗 rdg.ac/467hym7

#AncientSky

it's eye-catching and encourages reading on, I suppose?

Nice of the anti-refugee nationalists to ensure that St. George's flag is trampled underfoot

Congratulations to everyone getting their #Alevel results today!

We look forward to welcoming our new Classics Department students in September.

If things didn't quite go to plan but you're interested in coming to @uniofreading.bsky.social you can call Clearing on: +44 (0) 118 402 0900

Letter of the day (in the Times)

Join Workers for a Free Palestine at Pelican House, Fri 8 Aug, for an evening of live music, dancing and solidarity.

All ticket sales support legal fees for the WFFP9, our friends who got arrested protesting arms sales to Israel, and who will go to court soon.

ra.co/events/2223482

60,000 Gazans have been killed. 18,500 were children. These are their names. Palestinian children have been killed at a rate of more than one per hour since the war began.

This is a remarkable document for a mainstream media outlet to publish.

(gift link)

wapo.st/3IRLZn6

happy les aristocrats à la lanterne day to all who celebrate

To Kill a War Machine

Essential viewing on what Palestine Action do, why they do it, and why they must have our unwavering solidarity

tokillawarmachine.com

I can't believe Staten Island is Hamas

We are all Palestine Action.
🇵🇸

Red arrows fly over a London residential street

What a weekend of fascistic parades in DC and warplanes flying over my street to finish @profdanhicks.bsky.social ’s breathtaking new book. Such a clear articulation of the tenacious, cold grip of the death cult of ‘militarist realism’. Will be returning to this a lot. Also big up Sylvia Wynter.

Grants | Raymond Williams Foundation Home

THE RAYMOND WILLIAMS FOUNDATION TARGETED GRANTS SCHEME 2025
The RWF invites applications for up to eight grants of max £1,500 to support self-organised adult learning activities to help realise social justice aims. Deadline: 29 June 2025. More info at: