It was a temp job that sounded almost too good to be true for a university student fed up with handing out nightclub flyers for peanuts in Brighton.

During the holidays, a university friend of mine had been making almost triple what I was spritzing perfumes in the glamorous beauty halls of Harrods.

The luxury store was one Tube ride away from where my parents lived in zone 6, and I wanted in.

What neither of us knew at the time, more than 15 years ago, was that behind the glitz and glamour of this famous department store lay a world of abuse.

From my first interview in a west London townhouse, run by an agency which hired mostly young actresses for ad hoc shifts on the ground floor beauty halls, the rot was evident.

We were told that pencil skirts should be so tight that we should struggle to take a big step, heels had to be a certain height and make-up was mandatory.

It soon became clear that these rules, which were strictly enforced, had little to do with creating a polished image for the department store and everything to do with something far more sinister.

When Mohamed Fayed walked the shop floor, women considered not to his taste were asked to disappear. I was once threatened for not wearing enough make-up.

I have a memory of receiving a strange call about where to meet someone after my shift.

When my bewildered response made it clear that mine was the wrong number, the caller hung up.

I never got to the bottom of it, but it was all part and parcel of a toxic environment where nothing felt as it seemed.

The abuse at Harrods under Fayed was an open secret.

This was a dangerous man convinced he had the power to do whatever he wanted to vulnerable young women.

Sadly, he was right. Lawyers are now representing 37 alleged victims of the late former Harrods owner, but I suspect that there are many more.

I have always been aghast at how such high levels of abuse could have gone on so openly in such a well-known institution.

“About time,” a message sent to me from an old school friend read after the stories of abuse were published. About time.

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Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said the Conservative brand was “bust and broken” as the party’s leadership pledged to fight the next general election bashing believers in the green transition and “net zero” policies.

Addressing over 3,000 people gathered at a conference centre in Birmingham, Farage declared: “This weekend is when Reform UK comes of age.”

With a huge union jack hanging over the stage, Farage entered the auditorium on Friday afternoon doing US presidential candidate Donald Trump’s signature move of pointing at the audience, many of whom were wearing caps emblazoned with the words “Make Britain Great Again”.

Farage announced this week that he was ending the arcane corporate structure the party has had since its inception in 2019, and would therefore be relinquishing his majority shareholding. 

The existing company would be dissolved, and a new “limited company with guarantee” set up. “You the members will own this party, not me,” Farage said on Friday, to rapturous applause.

The MP for Clacton in Essex also vowed to model the party’s strategy going forward on that of the Liberal Democrats, by building a strong base of local campaigners and ruthlessly targeting seats where the party came second in the last general election on top of its five wins.

Earlier in the day, deputy leader Richard Tice told the Financial Times the party planned to fight the next election against the “extreme cult of net zero”.

“In the same way that immigration for us was a big battleground, I want to make the next general election about net zero,” he said on the fringes of the conference.

“Both main parties are completely obsessed with it, they’re both completely wrong and it’s already killing our jobs in steel, automotive, oil refineries.”

Tice said the party would focus its campaigning where they saw Labour as most vulnerable, in the North East, coastal cities and the industrial Midlands, where “traditional socially conservative working-class [people] are being shafted by a high-tax, no-growth environment and by high energy bills”.

The party came second in 98 seats in July, of which 89 were won by Labour.

Tice said senior business people were approaching him regularly to say: “Thank god you’re speaking out [on green policies]. Privately I’m with you, publicly I have to pretend I want to buy green steel; I don’t.”

During his conference speech, Tice described energy secretary Ed Miliband as “the most dangerous man in Britain” for the economy.

Miliband wants to quadruple offshore wind capacity, double onshore wind and triple solar power to meet the target of cutting UK emissions from electricity generation to net zero by 2030.

The target is five years faster than the goal set out by the former Conservative government.

Reform UK is banking on the view that government investment in renewables will drive up energy prices over the next few years, an issue it would be able to capitalise on ahead of the next election.

Tice said he hoped the party’s membership would swell from 80,000 today to 150,000 next year, buoyed by hoped-for momentum from local elections in May where the party is targeting the new Lincolnshire mayoralty.

Tice said he was still a strong proponent of moving to an electoral system of proportional representation.

He claimed that PR would have prevented July’s Labour landslide and would have led instead to a coalition government that was “much more steady”. He claimed that politically the “most stable period in the last 15 years” had been the Tory-Lib Dem coalition of 2010 to 2015.

Tice would not be drawn on whether he would go into coalition with the Tories in the future.

“Until there’s a massive mea culpa, we’re going to go to war with them,” he said.

Speeches from Reform UK’s MPs and celebrity supporters leaned heavily on rightwing tropes on immigrants and trans people, with arguments that British culture and identity were being “eradicated”.

Lee Anderson, its MP for Ashfield, returned to targeting London’s mayor Sadiq Khan. Comments earlier this year that the Labour politician had “given our capital city away to his mates” led to him losing the Conservative whip before he changed parties.

“I will never apologise to that man.” Anderson told the conference.

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Nearly 15,000 women in the age group 16-24 years wrote to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar in February 2024 to demand a dedicated university in their district, Nuh. This is not a new ask; the girls have written to the chief minister as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi several times in the past too.

The petitioners drew attention to the fact that only four percent of women in their district made it to universities. The district, considered one of the poorest in the country, lacks higher education institutions and training centers, especially for women. It has the highest dropout rate and lowest age of marriage in Haryana, according to The Tribune.

“Every year, we hear announcements about big roads being constructed and new cities being developed but our district still strives for basic things like having a university,” said Fatima Chowdhary. “While men get the opportunity to move away to pursue higher education, we do not,” she added.

This story was only covered by The Tribune, a Punjab-based English language daily newspaper, but not by any corporate or mainstream news organizations in India. Even the article in The Tribune is a short daily story that doesn’t fully address the larger context and the full scope of relevant perspectives from the petitioners, experts, or the government.

In 2023, when the women sent 10,000 postcards to PM Modi to make their request for a university, it was covered – albeit superficially – by corporate media including The Times of India.

In 2018, the central government’s think tank NITI Aayog listed Nuh as the most underdeveloped of India’s 739 districts. Nuh is also the only Muslim-majority district in Haryana and has been at the center of communal tension.

On March 10, the state’s chief minister announced development projects worth Rs 700 crore [roughly USD 89.5 million] in the district. A university for women was not one of them. However, this focus on Nuh illustrates its importance as a political and ideological battleground ahead of the Lok Sabha election later this year.

Source: Sumedha Sharma, “Nuh Women Seek Varsity in State Budget, Write to CM,” The Tribune, February 17, 2024.

Student Researcher: Tarini Mehta (UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism)

Faculty Evaluator: Ankita Kumar (UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism)

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UK foreign secretary David Lammy has been accused of a diplomatic blunder after he suggested that Azerbaijan had “liberated” the disputed Caucasus territory of Nagorno-Karabakh.

The remark was made by Lammy on Monday in a new blog on the Substack website, where he plans to write more long-form pieces about world affairs and UK foreign policy.

“Azerbaijan has been able to liberate territory it lost in the early 1990s,” he said in the post. The sentence had not been removed or altered by Friday, despite sparking a wave of criticism.

The territory he was apparently referring to was Nagorno-Karabakh, an interpretation that has not been disputed by UK officials.

In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a short but bloody military operation to seize the tiny mountainous enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh.

In some 24 hours of fighting, the Baku government restored its control over the territory, which had been held by Armenia or local Armenian leaders since the collapse of the Soviet Union, when a devastating war between the two historic enemies left it under Armenian control.

Though Baku seized territory that had been internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, the military action forced the entire Armenian population of the enclave — more than 100,000 people — to flee within a few days. Refugees spent days making a gruelling journey down the mountainside from Karabakh, leaving their homes and lives behind.

Many Armenians, who traditionally consider Karabakh a national and spiritual heartland, known to them as Artsakh, accused Baku of ethnically cleansing the region, something Lammy’s comment — and use of the word “liberate” to describe Baku’s military action — failed to reflect.

Britain has urged Azerbaijan and Armenia to engage in negotiations to end their long-standing conflict.

Conservative MP Alicia Kearns, former chair of the House of Commons foreign affairs committee, said on X that Lammy’s comments on a “vanity blog” appeared to be “contradicting long-standing UK policy” in a way that was “totally inappropriate and throws into question the foreign secretary’s judgment”.

The Foreign Office was forced to clarify on Friday that Lammy’s comment did not mark a change in the UK government’s stance on Nagorno-Karabakh.

Nonetheless, the Armenian government is formally seeking further clarification from the UK in the wake of Lammy’s post, an Armenian official told the FT.

US congressman Brad Sherman also weighed in on X, saying the remarks were “a stain on UK foreign policy”, as he accused the UK foreign secretary of having “endorsed ethnic cleansing”.

Laurence Broers, an associate fellow at the international affairs think-tank Chatham House, said: “It’s a real gaffe by the foreign secretary.”

Accusing Lammy of the “simplification and conflation” of developments in various post-Soviet states, Broers said the foreign secretary was “misreading the situation” regarding Azerbaijan, and “reinforcing the talking points of an autocratic regime”.

The EU parliament accused Baku of undertaking ethnic cleansing in the disputed territory last year. Azerbaijan has denied the claim.

Elin Suleymanov, Azeri ambassador to the UK, said: “I don’t understand why there’s so much response to this blog by the foreign secretary, because what [Lammy] said is absolutely true . . . It reflects the longstanding position of the UK government, which has always been supportive of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, and Armenia.

“For 30 years the territory of Azerbaijan was occupied by Armenian forces, and in 2020, Azerbaijan did liberate its territory.”

After the ceasefire in the region last September, Lammy urged on X that “Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians must be guaranteed safety and dignity”.

The title of the new Substack account is Lammy’s name rather than his ministerial title, but the blog was written by the foreign secretary in an official — rather than personal — capacity.

However, the Foreign Office refused to confirm if it had been reviewed internally within the department before it was published.

A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: “There has been no change in UK policy. The foreign secretary supports the territorial integrity of both Armenia and Azerbaijan and is encouraged by both sides engaging in meaningful dialogue. The UK will continue to support their commitment to lasting peace in the region.”

In 2017, Emmanuel Macron admitted that French colonization was a “crime against humanity” while campaigning for the French presidency. However, Algeria expected France to officially apologize for these crimes. France has yet to do so. In fact, President Macron dared to question if Algeria would have existed if it had not been for the “French colonizers.”

In the Algerian War of Independence from 1954 to 1962, France committed unimaginable atrocities against Algerians in both Algeria and France. Algerians who cooperated with French forces were often captured and killed by their countrymen fighting for independence. Many escaped and sought asylum in France, where they were then put in camps and denied basic human rights and access to education. Those in Algeria fighting against the French were subject to horrific crimes such as systematic torture, which often resulted in deaths that were labeled as suicides. 

In 1961, a year before Algeria gained independence, thousands of Algerians peacefully protested in Paris. In this event that became known as the Paris Massacre, French police killed over 100 of the demonstrators, shooting some and throwing others into the river. The French government covered up such atrocities by censoring the media and destroying archival evidence. 

On September 20, 2021, President Macron condemned the “massacre of Algerians in Paris.” He issued an apology to the Algerians who fought alongside the French forces and to the families of those whom the Algerians captured as traitors and killed during the fight for independence.  

Over the course of the conflict, the French colonization of Algeria is estimated to have cost up to 1.5 million Algerian lives. In 1962, an agreement was finally reached calling for a cease-fire, and Algeria gained independence after 132 years of French rule.

The shaping of Algeria

For the last five hundred years, Algeria has had a turbulent past. Around the turn of the seventh century, Arabs first conquered the region today known as Algeria. At the time, it was home to an indigenous group called the Berbers, known for their bravery and independence. However, that conquest was short-lived, and upon a second attempt, the Arabs were defeated by a Berber warrior queen named Kahinah. 

In 705, the conquest finally succeeded. Arabs settled in the region and Berbers gradually became Muslims, adopting Arabic as their language. In 711, Berbers joined the Arabs in the conquest of Al-Andalus, present-day Spain and Portugal. 

In 742, the Muslim Berbers rebelled against Arab rule and succeeded. By 907, much of North Africa came under the control of the Fatimids, a Shia sect. Over time, local rulers began to follow Sunni Islam and from that event to the 15th century, the area lived in turmoil. 

Then, the Europeans arrived. In 1471, the colonization of Africa began with the Portuguese taking some of the Moroccan coastlines. In the early 16th century, Algeria came under the Ottoman Empire. 

Although Algeria was under the Ottomans, that did not stop colonists from attacking it. The French invaded Algeria in 1682, the Dutch in 1715, the Spanish in 1775 and the US in 1815, to name a few. In 1830, the French conquered Algeria and it eventually became a French colony. 

The colonization of Algeria

When the French invaded again in 1830, it took them nearly 20 years to conquer Algeria. The occupation was bloody and brutal, resulting in a substantial reduction in the local population. Some even consider the conquest genocide. 

As the French struggled to gain control, they deliberately killed, raped, tortured, and buried unarmed civilians alive. Out of a population of three million, French forces caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Algerians, some occurring as the result of disease and famine. Around two million civilians were kept in prison camps. French officer Lucien de Montagnac, who was sent to assist in the colonization effort, wrote that the French must “annihilate all that will not crawl beneath our feet like dogs.”

The legacy of colonization in Algeria goes far beyond mass killings. The French stole religious endowments, restricted movement and confiscated fertile lands which they then gave to settlers. The French also plundered gold, iron, coal and other minerals, some of which are still in France.

Over the next century, France struggled to maintain control of Algeria. In 1911, a group of upper-class Muslims labeled themselves “Young Algerians” and demanded representation in the French National Assembly, which was duly declined. Not long after, when France began drafting Muslims to fight the Germans in WWI, many Algerian Muslims took up arms and resisted the law. In the following decades, tensions continued to boil over between Algerians and the French.

The Algerian War

By 1945, encouraged by the 1941 Atlantic Charter, Algerians demanded full independence. When Nazi Germany accepted defeat, Algerians gathered in large numbers to not only celebrate the fall of the Nazi regime but also to garner attention during the United Nations Conference in San Francisco. They wanted the delegates to know that Algeria existed and was ready to be an independent nation. In May, after the conference commenced, mass protests broke out in cities across Algeria.

Like all other mass protests, some violence occurred. The French reacted with aggression, and by the end of June had massacred several thousand Algerians. Many of those Algerians had fought side-by-side with France against Germany.

From their experience in 1945, Algerian patriots realized the only way to gain their freedom was through armed struggle. In 1954, unable to make progress, young Algerian patriots formed the Revolutionary Committee of Unity and Action (CRUA). They tried to unite the Algerians to fight the French and liberate their country. The CRUA created the National Liberation Front (FLN) to direct the Algerian War of Independence, which in turn created the National Liberation Army (ALN). So began the Algerian War. 

Protests continued throughout the country, and as France suppressed uprisings, violence broke out. French brutality angered more peaceful civilians to join the revolutionaries, and the movement grew. 

In 1958, France offered Algerian Muslims an opportunity to become equal with the French settlers. After so much bloodshed, it was too late, and revolutionaries rejected the offer and asked for independence. By March 1962, the French agreed to grant independence after the 132-year struggle.

Make wrongs right

Despite admitting their atrocities, the French maintain that they will not offer any “repentance or apologies.” To regain some respect, France could acknowledge, apologize and make reparations for the crimes against humanity they committed during colonial times. Importantly, reparation payments should go directly to victims and their descendants, not to the coffers of the Algerian government. To compensate for the ravages of colonization, the French could additionally allocate a sum for education and infrastructure. 

Support should also be offered by organizations like the UN. Despite its mission to support peace and security, the UN has consistently failed to stop genocide, prevent ethnic cleansing or sufficiently support victims such as those in Algeria. Consider the ongoing example of the innocent Palestinian men, women and children being butchered daily by US-backed Israel. From Cambodia to Sudan, the UN has let down countries and communities across the world. 

In the case of Algeria, the UN heard the cries but failed to provide justice. Even with denials and cover-ups, evidence of the French atrocities were overwhelming. To right these wrongs, a UN organized International Tribunal for Algeria (ITA) would be a good first start. Just as victims of the Holocaust have been compensated, Algerians must also receive compensation.

While no sum of money can ever erase the suffering of Algerians, reparations are an important step. First, victims get justice. Second, poor countries and victims get valuable financial support. Third, they set an important precedent for holding colonizers accountable. France must take responsibility and action to rectify the country’s dark history in Algeria. 

[Emma Johnson edited this piece.]

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.