Ripon Ray’s exciting new book, ‘  Covid Crisis: The Brit Bangla Response ,’ and exhibition in the East End of London’s Rich Mix Centre will open on Independence Day, July 4th.  This critical text is “a major achievement as there are very few studies of the pandemic that focus in such depth on particular minority communities in the UK”, Alastair Owens, Professor of Historical Geography, Queens Mary University of London  Highlighting the dynamic response of the British Bangladeshi community during the devastating Covid crisis, the book reveals a unique insight into a marginalised community during a crisis—testimonies of the local community and beyond, collection of livid experiences during an unprecedented global pandemic. A space where marginalised and often vulnerable people's voices are given a platform.  Unheard stories insight detail:  “The Brit Bangla COVID Platform is an excellent and fascinating example of community-wide mediation."  King’s College London, Dr Chris Tan

  He came to the UK in 1962. At the time, he felt the UK was pretty peaceful and safe. There was no rivalry, conflict or tension among many communities. He stayed with Bengali seamen. There were thousands of seamen. All of them were Bengalis from India. They came on a ship, and many married English women and stayed in the UK permanently. We are not speaking about just a few Bengalis. During the global pandemic, many Bangladeshis in Bangladesh lost their lives. If more die in Bangladesh, there may be a call for a national lockdown, according to Badsha Khan. He wanted to go to Bangladesh for Eid to sacrifice a cow. All the flights from the UK to Bangladesh were on hold. Instead, those who lived there shared the cow meat with others. He spent a few hours walking about. It was terrifying for him.

On behalf of Dr. Philippa Whitford MP, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Vaccinations for All, I am pleased to invite you to our in-person breakfast event in partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance: ' Lessons from the Pandemic '. To commemorate World Immunisation Week, the event will take place on  Tuesday, 25th April 2023 at 9am-10:15am in Parliament  (final confirmation on the room to follow)   and feature a panel of high-level speakers, including Dr Seth Berkley, who will be in London for the last time as Gavi's CEO for this event. Further details will be shared in due course. In the meantime, please respond to this email to RSVP and do not hesitate to get in touch with me if you have any queries. We look forward to seeing you soon. Kind regards

Keep an eye on the vulnerable during Ramadan As many British Muslims begin to plan for a month of fasting whilst they endure, reflect and build solidarity among fellow Muslim men and women, it is also a time to reflect on what has impacted this community in recent years and protect the most vulnerable moving forward.  Having grown up in a Muslim family, I can imagine many Muslims are beginning to prepare psychologically for a change in their routine where they refrain from eating and drinking between dawn and nightfall. As they break their fast they are going to consume extra sugar content. The weather condition this year is a blessing due to shorter days and chilled temperatures. A few years ago one of my colleagues had to break his fast due to dehydration and exhaustion on an unbearable hot summer's day. Extreme heat can be a threat to many people’s lives. This is particularly the case when there are underlying health conditions and those who are elderly. Living conditions &

This is the final story of the pandemic by BritBanglaCovid. This time Najma Begum shared her experience of being stuck in Dubai, United Emirate, during the pandemic. She stayed in Dubai for nearly five months whilst being away from her family, yet felt guilty about being in the sun. Since the pandemic, she has been suffering from long covid. When the pain is extreme she takes medication to cope. Ethnic minority communities in Britain had seen more deaths than our white counterparts due to Covid. Najma also heard about her close relations passed away.

A local campaigner encourages community vaccination. Onupom Rahman, who  gave up being an Uber driver because he could not survive on nil income during the pandemic, is now working as vaccination worker in the East End of London to get his community members vaccinated and save lives.  Onupum lost two aunts to Covid-19. He  also felt insecure about working as Uber driver because passengers who he was  serving may be carrier of Covid-19. He then completely abandoned the trade as he was getting no income. Once Covid-19 vaccination was  underway, Onupom quickly joined Tower Hamlets Council's vaccination team to make sure he was saving lives of his community members. He is BritBanglaCovid's hero!