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12 Ireland June 1 2022 | World and Press When is a window not a window? IRELAND A court case aims to prevent Harry Clarke windows in Dublin’s best known coffee shop from being sold. By Lisa O’Carroll 1 BEWLEY’S CAFÉ on Grafton Street has been a Dublin institution ever since it opened almost 100 years ago. Such is the public’s affection for the grand three-story period café that each threatened closure is met with an outpouring of nostalgic horror. But now the building is facing an existential threat of a different kind over a plan to sell the six large stained glass windows in the main coffee hall in a dispute over rent. 2 Long considered the jewel in the coffee hall’s crown, they were designed in 1927 by Harry Clarke, who is regarded as one of Ireland’s leading Symbolist artists and the country’s finest ever stained glass window artist. The six windows illustrate the four orders of architecture showing Doric, Corinthian, Ionic, and Composite columns adorned and topped by vases of flowers with A 2004 interior view of Bewley’s Café and its stained glass windows. | Photo: Picture Alliance two other decorative glassworks added to a second wall in a commission by the original Bewleyfamily owner. 3 The question as to whether they are windows or decorative panels, which can be removed altogether, is now at the centre of a high court battle – with the commercial tenants arguing that they are movable artworks, not windows. RGRE, owned by Irish developer Johnny Ronan, and the building owners have rejected the argument and are in court seeking a declaration to give legal effect to their argument that the windows are an integral part of the structure that cannot be removed or sold separately. 4 The dispute appears to be one of the strangest to have emerged in the wake of the pandemic, which crushed many in the hospitality sector. But it has its roots in a longer-term issue in Ireland over “upward” rent reviews built into contracts between commercial tenants and landlords. 5 As a tenant, Bewley’s was required to pay €1.4m a year, the result of a series of upward rent reviews, and last year asked for this to be reduced to €300,000 or 10% of sales if higher. Bewley’s also proposed selling the windows, valued at €1m, to a parent company to cover some of the rent going forward, arguing the windows were not windows, but decorative panels and therefore “movable chattels”. 6 To protect the heritage, Bewley’s proposed that the parent company would then donate the windows to the state, enraging the owner further. RGRE has rejected their arguments. In court papers, Rory Williams, the chief executive of RGRE, said the company would “not dream” of removing the windows and insisted they were part of the structure of the premises. Bewley’s, he said, “cannot try to sell us what we already own”. 7 His company claimed that the “seemingly altruistic gesture” to sell and then donate the windows to the state would essentially leave the taxpayer out of pocket as donations of heritage items attract a tax credit of 80%. RGRE is now seeking a court declaration that the Harry Clarke windows were part of the structure and cannot be removed, sold, or donated to the state. 8 Over several days, witnesses were cross-examined on hinges, brass hopper mechanisms, sashes, and the question of whether Harry Clarke would have overseen the joinery work relating to the structures or not. … 9 At one stage, the barrister quipped that the case reminded him of a Christmas cracker joke: when is a window not a window? When it’s ajar. “In this case, it’s ‘when is a window not a window? When it’s an objet d’art’,” he said. © 2022 Guardian News and Media Ltd 0 – 1 HARRY CLARKEirischer Glasmaler und Buchillustrator (1889 – 1931) — grand prachtvoll — three-story dreistöckig — period historisch — closure “"kl´UZ´‘ Schließung — to be met with aufgenommen werden mit — outpouring Ausbruch — horror Entsetzen — existential “ÆegzI"stenS´l‘ existenziell — stained glass window Buntglasfenster 2 jewel in the crown (fig) Prunkstück — Symbolist artist “"sImb´lIst‘ Vertreter(in) des Symbolismus — order of architecture “"A…kItektS´‘ Ordnung der A. — Doric dorisch — Corinthian “k´"rInTi´n‘ korinthisch — Ionic “aI"ÅnIk‘ ionisch — Composite “"kÅmp´zIt‘ komposit (Verbindung von ionischer u. korinthischer Ordnung) — to adorn schmücken — decorative “"dek´r´tIv‘ zierend — glasswork Glaskunstwerk — commission Auftrag 3 panel Paneel — high court battle Rechtsstreit vor e-m hohen Gericht — commercial tenant “"ten´nt‘ gewerbl. Mieter(in) — developer Bauunternehmer(in) — to seek erwirken wollen — declaration Erklärung — to give legal effect to s.th. etw. Rechtsgültigkeit verleihen — integral “"IntIgr´l‘ wesentlich 4 – 5 to emerge “I"m‰…dZ‘ aufkommen — in the wake of infolge — to crush in den Ruin treiben — hospitality sector “ÆhÅspI"tœl´ti‘ Gastgewerbe — upward rent review Mietanpassung nach oben — parent company Muttergesellschaft — going forward künftig — movable chattel beweglicher Gegenstand 6 – 7 heritage (item) “"herItIdZ‘ denkmalgeschütztes Kulturgut — to enrage verärgern — chief executive “Æ-Ig"zekj´tIv‘ Firmenchef(in) — premises “"premIsIz‘ Gebäude — seemingly scheinbar — altruistic “Æœltru"IstIk‘ selbstlos — gesture “"dZestS´‘ Geste — to leave s.o. out of pocket (fig) jdm. Geld aus der Tasche ziehen — tax credit Steuererleichterung 8 – 9 to cross-examine ins Kreuzverhör nehmen — hinge “"hIndZ‘ Scharnier — brass Messing — hopper mechanism Mechanismus für Kippfenster — sash Fensterrahmen — to oversee beaufsichtigen — joinery work “"dZOIn´ri‘ Tischlerarbeit(en) — barrister “"bœrIst´‘ Anwalt/Anwältin — to quip scherzen — Christmas cracker Weihnachtsknallbonbon — ajar “´"dZA…‘ e-n Spalt offen — objet d’art Kunstobjekt Continued from page 1 7 The first restrictions would take effect in 13 states with socalled trigger laws to be enacted once Roe is overturned. Some such laws ban abortions almost completely, while others would outlaw it after six or 15 weeks. The Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organisation, estimates that 26 of 50 states are certain or likely to ban abortion if Roe is overturned, leaving women in swaths of the Southwest and Midwest without access. In 11 states, there would be no exemptions for rape and incest. 8 Most states where abortion would still be legal are on the West Coast or in the Northeast. … Women might have to travel hundreds of miles to get an abortion. This is likely to be especially difficult for women in poverty, often including women of colour, and lead to a sharp climb in unsafe abortions. Republican-led states have already made efforts to restrict abortion pills, which can be prescribed through online visits. 9 There have been fierce disputes over healthcare, immigration, and race in recent years – the journalist Carl Bernstein has spoken of a “cold civil war” – but few can match the raw emotional power of reproductive rights. That much was clear outside the fortified Supreme Court on Thursday, as two vociferous groups faced off. 10 Rev Patrick Mahoney, director of the Christian Defense Coalition, said into a microphone: “We look forward to the day when abortion ends up on the scrap heap of history like chattel slavery and segregation.” 11 Rochelle Rubin, about 20 paces away, shouted: “You don’t have a uterus! Shut up!” Her voice shaking, Rubin, 50, an estate agent and lawyer, explained later: “This is personal for me. I was born the last year that women could not have abortions. My mother had no choice. Had she made the choice, she would have had me, but women of her generation did not have choice. If I didn’t have a choice, my life would be very different today than it would have been. Ten years ago, I exercised my choice and had an abortion. For 50 years you can have a right – and it could be taken away by five people.” … 12 The great divide on abortion is not a 50–50 split. It is asymmetric. A poll released by the Data for Progress thinktank after this week’s leak showed voters wanted to keep Roe by a two-to-one margin. Democrats, independents, and more than a third of Republicans support it. 13 States have been drifting apart for years, across fault lines characterised as liberal v conservative, Black v white, urban v rural, college-educated v blue collar, Hollywood v heartland, mask wearers v vaccine sceptics, and MSNBC v Fox News. The 2016 presidential election was framed as Trump’s “deplorables” against Hillary Clinton’s “coastal elites”. 14 Fareed Zakaria, an author and broadcaster, warned in the ‘Washington Post’: “You cannot really understand America anymore by looking at averages. It has become two countries. One is urban, more educated, multiracial, secular, and largely left of center. The other is rural, less educated, religious, white, and largely right of center. … For the country’s political future, the central question is now this: can these two Americas find a way to live, work, cooperate with, and tolerate one another? If not, the abortion battle may be the precursor to even larger struggles.” © 2022 Guardian News and Media Ltd 7 – 8 restriction Einschränkung; s.w.u. to restrict — to take effect in Kraft treten — to enact erlassen — to outlaw verbieten — swaths “swÅDz‘ weite Teile — exemption Ausnahme — of colour nicht weiß — climb Zunahme — to prescribe “prI"skraIb‘ verschreiben 9 – 11 fierce “fI´s‘ heftig — civil war Bürgerkrieg — reproductive rights “Æri…pr´"døktIv‘ reproduktive Rechte — fortified befestigt — vociferous “v´U"sIf´r´s‘ lautstark — to face off einander gegenübertreten — scrap heap Müllhalde — chattel slavery Sklaverei — segregation Rassentrennung — pace Schritt — estate agent Immobilienmakler(in) — to exercise ausüben 12 – 14 divide Kluft — poll “p´Ul‘ Umfrage — by a two-to-one margin mit Zweidrittelmehrheit — independent Parteilose(r) — fault line Verwerfungslinie; h.: kontrovers diskutiertes Thema — blue collar Arbeiterschaft — heartland Kernland — to frame formulieren — deplorables “dI"plO…r´b´lz‘ die Erbärmlichen — multiracial “Æmølti"reIS´l‘ unterschiedlicher ethnischer Herkunft — secular “"sekj´l´‘ weltlich
World and Press | June 1 2022 Colonial legacy 13 Gurkha veterans fight a colonial-era legacy still shaping Nepal NEPAL The country’s best and brightest have been recruited while young to fight for Britain for over 200 years. mit Audiodatei By Mujib Mashal and Bhadra Sharma 1 IN ONEcorner of Nepal’s capital Kathmandu, young men are going through the final preparations in pursuit of their singular lifelong dream: a place in the British Army as a Gurkha soldier, perceived as their ticket out of a life of uncertainty and poverty. They arrive for training before dawn, lifting weights, running sprints, and pushing the limits of their teenage bodies. Then they sit for hours of math and English lessons. “Ever since I was a child, I have worked for this – everything I do is for this,” said Rabin Mahat, 19. “I will make it.” 2 But in another corner of Kathmandu there is a stark reminder that those who did make it faced unequal treatment during their service – and for long after. Thousands of older Gurkha veterans are engaged in a decades-old fight against the British government for pay and pensions on par with the other soldiers with whom they served. 3 For many veterans, their struggle – in the form of protests, court cases, and even hunger strikes outside 10 Downing Street in London – has dragged on longer than the duration of their active service. Thousands of older veterans – of a force sent to fight in bloody battles on behalf of Britain, from the two World Wars to Iraq and Afghanistan – died before receiving the compensation, and the dignified treatment, they sought. 4 “I served for 24 years,” said L.B. Ghising, who was with the British Army in Malaysia and Hong Kong. “But it’s been 32 years that we have been fighting about our equal right. Unfortunately, we have lost 50% of our veterans without getting it.” Around the time of his retirement, in 1998, the pension of a junior Gurkha soldier was £45 compared with £800 for a British soldier of the same rank, Ghising said. Rabin Mahat, 19, at his home in the village of Malpi in Nepal’s Bagmati region. |Photos: Rebecca Conway/The New York Times 5 The veterans’ fight has heightened the debate in Nepal over this colonial-era legacy, a 200-yearold arrangement in which the country’s fittest and brightest are recruited into the British Army. Two centuries of plucking large numbers of young men at the peak of their formative potential has left a deep mark on the nation, hampering the growth of a sustainable local economy. Gurkha veterans in Kathmandu, Nepal. 6 About 3.5 million Nepalis – roughly 12% of the population of Nepal, which ranks among the poorest countries in Asia – work as laborers abroad. “A culture developed that we should not work in the village,” said Yubaraj Sangroula, a professor of law who has been involved in the Gurkhas’ fight for equal pay for three decades. “Rather, we should seek jobs outside.” 7 Sangroula said he believed that the centuries of recruitment into British service were an early and major factor in preventing the rise of a more prosperous economy at home, with so many promising young men ending their education at 18 to go abroad. And many were often sent home before they had served long enough to qualify for a pension – or if they were eligible, the payouts were a small fraction of what their British counterparts got. 8 But with good jobs scarce, the competition for a slot in the British Army – as well as the Singapore and Brunei security forces, for which the British Army also oversees recruitment of Nepali fighters – is grueling. This year, more than 12,000 youths applied for a little more than 200 slots in the army, and 7,000 went for 140 slots in the Singapore police. … 9 As Mahat, the 19-year-old hopeful, girded for his final selection, his parents held their breath in their village about 20 miles outside Kathmandu. The Mahat family had borrowed money to pay for a slot at the Gurkha Victory Training Center, one of about 150 such facilities across the country with a reputation for helping hopefuls earn a slot. The center offers a nine-month package for about 0. “If he makes it, it will be like winning the world,” said Sabitri Mahat, Rabin’s mother. 10 The recruiting arrangement dates to 1815, when the Kingdom of Nepal fought a war with the British East India Co., which then ruled over much of the subcontinent. As the Nepalis faced defeat, the British made an offer: Instead of submitting to colonization, the Gurkhas, who had displayed great courage, could serve in the British Army. … 11 At the heart of the current protests is the agreement that laid the foundation for continued recruitment after British rule in South Asia ended in 1947. The Gurkha regiments were split – half went to the army of the newly independent India, while the British stationed the other half in Hong Kong. India has abided by the agreement of equal treatment for the Nepalis in its army. But the British are accused of having flouted it from the start. 12 The British government’s position was that although the Gurkha pension payouts were far from equal, they offered a comparable standard of living for retired veterans in Nepal. After decades of protests, the British government agreed in 2007 to start providing pay and pensions on par with British soldiers. … © 2022 The New York Times Company This article originally appeared in The New York Times. Klassensätze gibt’s im Sammelabo. Ab 10 Exemplaren: • bis 40% günstiger • Übungsmaterial gratis www.sprachzeitungen.de 0 – 2 LEGACY “"leg´si‘ Vermächtnis — to shape prägen — in pursuit “p´"sju…t‘ im Streben nach — singular “"sINgj´l´‘ einzigartig; herausragend — to perceive “p´"si…v‘ ansehen als — uncertainty “øn"s‰…t´nti‘ Ungewissheit — stark krass — reminder Erinnerung — unequal ungleich — to be engaged in a fight against s.o. mit jdm. im Streit liegen — on par gleichwertig 3 – 4 court case Gerichtsverfahren — to drag on s. hinziehen — duration “djU´"reIS´n‘ Dauer — on behalf of s.th. für etw. — compensation Entlohnung; Entschädigung — dignified “"dIgnIfaId‘ würdevoll — to seek s.th. s. um etw. bemühen — retirement Ruhestand 5 – 7 to heighten “"haIt´n‘ verstärken — to pluck entfernen — formative “"fO…m´tIv‘ Prägungs- — to hamper hemmen — sustainable “s´"steIn´b´l‘ nachhaltig; tragfähig — laborer “"leIb´r´‘ Arbeiter(in) — professor of law Juraprofessor(in) — recruitment “rI"kru…tm´nt‘ Rekrutierung — prosperous “"prÅsp´r´s‘ florierend — to be eligible (for s.th.) “"elIdZ´b´l‘ (auf etw.) Anspruch haben — fraction Bruchteil — counterpart Kollege(-in) 8 – 10 scarce “ske´s‘ knapp — slot Platz — security forces Sicherheitskräfte — to oversee leiten — grueling “"gru…´lIN‘ aufreibend; strapaziös — hopeful Anwärter(in) — to gird for “g‰…d‘ s. für etw. wappnen — facility Einrichtung — to submit to s.th. s. etw. unterwerfen 11 – 12 to lay the foundation die Grundlage schaffen — to station stationieren — to abide by s.th. “´"baId‘ etw. einhalten — to accuse s.o. of s.th. “´"kju…z‘ jdm. etw. vorwerfen — to flout “flaUt‘ missachten — comparable “"kÅmp´r´b´l‘ vergleichbar — standard of living Lebensstandard
