FEATURE:
The World Is Your Oyster?
IN THIS PHOTO: The members of Tal National who were able to perform at WOMAD (some of their bandmates were denied entry to the U.K.)/PHOTO CREDIT: Judith Burrows/Getty
WOMAD and the Visa Fiasco – and Why We Need to Do More to Welcome International Artists
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MANY of us have been hearing about…
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
WOMAD and the issues around visas. There are those who feel ‘World’ music – a rather broad and misunderstood term – is not really that good and something we do not really need to protect. The diversity and brilliance of the music world need to be embraced and spread as far as possible. The Guardian reported what happened at WOMAD and the musicians who missed out:
“Three of the acts scheduled for the festival – Sabry Mosbah from Tunisia, Wazimbo from Mozambique and some of the members of Niger’s Tal National – were denied entry to the UK and either had to cancel their festival appearance or perform stripped-down sets. Indian duo Hashmat Sultana passed through border control 24 hours after they were due to go on stage. Smith said that an increasing number of performers were now declining invitations to the event because they deemed the Home Office’s iron-fisted process humiliating.
Questions have been raised about what this means for the future of world music in the UK. The festival’s co-founder, Peter Gabriel, this week released a statement calling the situation “alarming” and asked: “Do we really want a white-breaded, Brexited flatland? A country that is losing the will to welcome the world?” Channel 4 News’s Jon Snow, meanwhile, tweeted: “The ‘hostile environment’ took its toll at Womad … a number of events were seriously affected by visa refusals. By definition, a festival of world music requires visas for many bands. What on Earth is the Home Office doing refusing them? Is music the new enemy?”
The fact Gabriel has come out in such strong terms shows you how ridiculous the situation is. I am not an expert regarding the Visa process – few of us are – but this is not the first time musicians have been restricted entry into the country. It costs hundreds to have a visa (for international artists) slow-tracked – it costs so much more to have it fast-tracked. There are countless boxes and processes the musician needs to go through. It is almost like renewing a passport and filling out a job application in one – to those whose first language is not English. They then have to find a wad of money to get a visa. There is that endless wait and, often, musicians are being turned away and denied. Artists including Serbian D.J. Tijana T revealed – to a Dance music site – she felt criminalised for having her U.K. visa denied three times in a year. Other artists have expressed horror and sadness at the lengths they have to go to in order to get a visa. The Home Office have said, last year, 99% of non-settlement visa applications were processed within fifteen days. That sounds like a pretty good statistic but you only need look at the difficulties surrounding the visa application process to know it needs changing. Artists often need to appear in-person at visa centres.
IN THIS PHOTO: Peter Gabriel/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
Many of them do not live near one at all – it is hard when you’re in Africa and do not really have a choice. There are, as The Guardian’s article continues, other challenges:
“Performers invited by a number of approved events such as Womad (there are 45 in the UK in total) can apply for a permit-free festival visitor visa without the need to issue a certificate of sponsorship. But they must “provide bank statements showing a consistent balance of around £1,000 for at least three months,” says Richard. Even these visas are clearly no longer guaranteed, often due, according to David Jones, a director at live music producer Serious, to spiralling processing times. “What used to be the absolute maximum period they would turn the visa around in, 15 working days, has become the norm.” Often this means that passports are returned long after a gig has taken place”.
It seems, since 2015, it has become harder for non-residents to enter the U.K. to perform. Not only has the process got harder but, when many appeal after they are denied, many have to spend thousands rebooking flights and uprooting themselves. It is not as though people working in the visa office are racist and want to keep people out. There is costing-cutting happening and there is less accuracy/competency when processing forms. The fewer people employed to process applications, the more incidents like the WOMAD situation we will see.
There is another presumptions (international artists) are here to remain and not return to their countries. Musicians are here to do a job and bring pleasure to people. The fact those who can successfully get a visa and play here have to go through so much tells you how changes need to come in – we need to take measures and ensure there are no barriers imposed. Maybe it will be a case of festivals sponsoring acts or acting as references. Maybe there needs to be greater differentiation between non-genuine performers and those faking the application. That, again, comes down to resources and capital investment. Many others will say there is not enough money to overturn the visa situation – others are not concerned with the problem and feel there is no big loss. I am wondering whether Britain is pushing people away to keep ‘safe’ its own people. We are leaving Europe – in the worst and most embarrassing way possible – and it seems like we are becoming less connected with the rest of the world. Musicians from continents like Africa and Asia bring so much talent and colour to our shores. It is not only festivals like WOMAD where musicians are feeling excluded and frustrated. If artists have to pay a lot of money to get a visa and others are rejected for no good reason; we risk sending a bad message to the rest of the world.
PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
U.S. and European musicians will see how hard it is getting through barriers and customs; how stringent and complex the visa application process is. Many will not take the risk and stay where they are. The reverse may be true for British musicians: countries not willing to freely let in our artists if we are excluding theirs. All of this is a mess that needs untangling and getting to the bottom of. I am not sure whether there is an easy solution but is clear the Government needs to realise their current policies are not working. More money needs to be sourced to better staff the visa offices; the forms need revising and we need to make sure the process for applying for visas is affordable, thorough but not too difficult. Seeing festivals with a sea of white performers is not something I want to witness. Diversity and cultural richness rely upon openness and the understanding we cannot keep British music solely British. WOMAD director Chris Smith had this to say regarding other countries and their attitude to international musicians:
"Without a doubt it is harder to get into the U.K. than it is to get into other countries," he laments. "In other countries, the authorities bend over backwards to actually solve any problems that we may come across. Here you don't get the support. It's a premium cost phone line to an answering machine. We very often have staff sitting in the office making very expensive phone calls because the artists simply can't afford to."
IN THIS PHOTO: Chris Smith/PHOTO CREDIT: Getty Images
He adds, "When you have your prime minister saying she wants to create a hostile environment for immigration, you have to assume that part of that is actually about being hostile and finding reasons [not to let people enter the country] -- whether it's racial or religious or any other grounds"
Musicians in Mali, for example, have to travel to Senegal to lodge applications; others have to wait endlessly for a decision and many others find the application itself user-unfriendly. Many artists find there is nobody to speak with regarding their application and it is a confusing and frustrating process. WOMAD has revealed a real problem – one we have only seen the tip of. We do not know how far the problem extends and how problematic it is for artists all over the world to get into Britain. If Brexit represents a new and more independent Britain then I wonder whether we need to look at our views of the world and why we are isolating ourselves. We are less keen on doing business with Europe and there is a view Britain is better off when it makes its own decisions and has a bigger say on the world market. Britain is hardly a shining example of openness and unity when it comes to people outside of our nation.
IN THIS PHOTO: Meklit performing at this year’s WOMAD/PHOTO CREDIT: Judy Totton/REX/Shutterstock
I know there are a lot of questions that need to be asked but the fact the visa process has got worse the last few years shows the current Government is dropping the ball. The real risk is a shrinking of our music culture. Britain, soon enough, will only produce its own artists and exclude everyone else. We are more welcoming when it comes to American and European artists; it is a simpler process and they have greater access to visa offices and assistance. In any case, many are calling for real change and a realisation this nation is losing what makes it great. If we push everyone away and make it impossible for great international artists to play here; festivals like WOMAD will be in danger and that will have a knock-on effect. I am concerned this is a sign of worse things to come: other festivals losing musicians because of the visa process, for instance. Let’s use WOMAD as an example of how brilliant World/international music is and why we need to make it easy for artists to come and play in the U.K. I am becoming more ashamed of the country and where we are heading. The music industry is the last industry I want to see suffer because of our restrictions and visa processes. Let’s learn from this mistake and hope the Government gets themselves organise and ensures…
IMAGE CREDIT: Getty Images
THIS never happens again.