Dear All,
Just to let you know that Cambridge UCU have circulated the petition
from Giulio's supervisors to all members. It will also be releasing a
formal statement from the Union in the next couple of days.
The University has now released this statement.
http://www.cam.ac.uk/notices/news/statement-from-the-university-of-cambridge-following-the-death-of-giulio-regeni
We don't know, of course, how strong its representations are to the
Egyptian Consulate and government actually are, and this does not really
tell us either way. There is a lot of strong feeling in the University,
and there will certainly be internal pressure to take a strong stance.
Emma
On 07/02/2016 18:32, Judith Watson wrote:
> Dear all
>
> The petition has been endorsed by the Southern Region of UCU, the
> University and College Union. My colleague Patricia McManus, who is on
> UCU national executive, proposed it there and is going to pursue it at
> a national level too. She asks what University of Cambridge UCU is
> doing. Is anyone here a member?
>
> What happened to Giulio really underlines the importance of everyone
> joining their trade union and participating in it actively. If you're
> in the UK you can join UCU right now at www.ucu.org.uk. [1]
> Postgraduates can join free, and there is a sliding scale of
> membership charges so it is affordable for lower paid early career
> workers.
>
> I read the news in the Guardian. If the investigation of Giulio's
> murder certainly can't be left to the Egyptian authorities, the
> arrival of Italian investigators is not sufficient either. The
> University of Cambridge has a duty of care to its postgraduate
> students, and should be ensuring that the British authorities are also
> involved.
>
> This raises so many questions about academic freedom, criticality,
> engagement and research ethics. So, how do we protect ourselves?
> Collectively.
>
> Best wishes
>
> Judith
>
> -------------------------
>
> FROM: A forum for critical and radical geographers
> [[log in to unmask]] on behalf of Diana Martin
> [[log in to unmask]]
> SENT: 07 February 2016 15:33
> TO: [log in to unmask]
> SUBJECT: Re: In memory of Giulio Regeni
>
> Dear all,
>
> I have for long debated about responding or not responding to these
> emails. A part of me prevented me from speaking: like Giulio, I am an
> Italian national and I refuse to have my indignation for what happened
> be associated to my nationality. It seems to me that most of the
> answers to these emails and concerns also came from Italian scholars.
>
> For long this forum has been used to send CFPs (I did it myself and
> find it extremely useful to reach colleagues worldwide) and request
> access to papers that we may not have through our institutions.
>
> As a researcher that has herself been in the Middle East and not
> always in the safest situations for study/research I feel that this
> tragic event cannot, and should not, be left 'unattended' and not
> addressed 'critically' (whatever being critical means). I happily
> signed the petition promoted by Giulio's supervisors. I thank them for
> that draft and for taking some steps towards justice for Giulio and
> all those who have been abducted, tortured or even killed because they
> are part of some opposition groups in Egypt. But this is not only
> about Egypt and AlSisi's dictatorship, and this is not only about a
> white man going to do international research.
>
> What I feel, is magisterially expressed by Neil Pyper here
> (http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/06/murder-giulio-regeni-egypt-academic-freedom-students
> [2]) where he talks about Giulio and the attack to academic freedom.
>
> My question is, what does it mean to be free? What does it mean to be
> critical at this point? As Pyper puts it, what happened has much
> broader implications for higher education and research both within and
> beyond the UK. My question pivots around the role of research and our
> institutions. Can the researcher be safe and critical? In order to
> think and act critically, are there mechanisms that we can put in
> place to safeguard academic freedom without risking lives? How can we
> protect ourselves? And how should we be protected?
>
> I wish you all a great Sunday.
>
> Best wishes,
>
> Diana
>
> Dr. Diana Martin
>
> Lecturer in Human Geography, Department of Geography, University of
> Portsmouth
> Ludic Geopolitics blog (https://ludicgeopolitics.wordpress.com/ [3])
>
> Email: [log in to unmask] and [log in to unmask]
> Twitter: @Diana_Martin_It
>
> On 7 February 2016 at 07:38, Ugo Rossi <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>> I agree with Luisa. In addition we should also stress the moral
>> responsibility of the Italian and British governments and the other
>> western governments. Not only the El Sisi government should be the
>> target of our protest but also western governments.
>>
>> Italy and UK (Giulio was an Italian expatriate in the Uk) have
>> entertained good relationships with the military dictatorship in
>> Egypt because of their economic interests linked to Eni and BP
>> exploiting mineral resources (primarily gas) in Egypt.
>>
>> when Giulio was still missing a delegation of the Italian government
>> was discussing with the Egyptian authorities about economic
>> investments in Egypt while it was already clear that he had been
>> kidnapped for political reasons.
>>
>> Giulio was a brilliant and promising scholar, interested in the
>> informal economy and the workers movements, he was a Gramscian. He
>> should be a symbol for all critical geographers across the world.
>>
>> cheers
>> Ugo
>>
>> Il sabato 6 febbraio 2016, Luisa Cortesi <[log in to unmask]>
>> ha scritto:
>>
>>> Dear Prof. Alexander and Abdelrahman, Dear Friends of Giulio,
>>>
>>> I signed the letter, but I am not sure it is sufficient to
>>> express our indignation.
>>>
>>> Giulio was one of us. What happened to him can happen to any of
>>> us doing research, to any of the students we meet and advice
>>> everyday. His horrific death need to shake up the academic
>>> community!
>>> Reacting to Giulio's cruel homicide, honors him. And goes beyond
>>> him. It reasserts what is the role of the researcher, what it
>>> means to do research.
>>>
>>> We need a bigger protest.
>>>
>>> Tell us who was Giulio. Why he was killed. Put together a short
>>> essay about him, a video on youtube and the like. Give us data,
>>> help us to realize that he was one of us, that we can be him.
>>>
>>> Then, coordinate action: Ask us to flood emails to our Egyptian
>>> Embassies, or to the Guardian, or whomsoever it takes. Ask us to
>>> send photo of silent students sitting in protest. Each department,
>>> at least, of the Humanities and the Soc Sciences, since we have a
>>> similar modality of doing research. PolSciences, Anthro,
>>> Geography, cultural studies, Middle Eastern, History, etc..
>>>
>>> If the death of Giulio speaks of who the Egyptian authorities are
>>> right now, how we react to it speaks of who we are, right now, as
>>> an academic community, what is our professional collective
>>> identity, what is our role in the world we live in.
>>>
>>> Please do not read this as condescending, or polemic. I feel we
>>> should not miss this opportunity, and you have it right there in
>>> your hands. You knew Giulio, and you can lead us to know him, and,
>>> in return, to stand up for ourselves.
>>>
>>> Regards,
>>> Luisa Cortesi
>
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> Links:
> ------
> [1] http://www.ucu.org.uk.
> [2]
> http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/feb/06/murder-giulio-regeni-egypt-academic-freedom-students
> [3] https://ludicgeopolitics.wordpress.com/
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