Mrs Nurun Nessa has been diagnosed with middle stage dementia during the pandemic. She is currently receiving informal support from her husband, adult daughters and a close friend. Her doctor said that her health is going to get worse as time goes on. She has accepted that her situation is going to get worse. She is waiting for a care package from Tower Hamlets Council. This film is brought to you by BritBanglaCovid. Filmmaker: Ripon Ray

Ruhul Abdin was born in Bangladesh, brought up with six siblings, spends lockdown in Dhaka, Bangladesh, and becomes lead artist for the National Portrait Gallery's project to celebrate 50th Anniversary of Bangladesh in Britain. RUHUL’S CHILDHOOD Ruhul and his siblings emigrated to the UK in 1993. They settled in Darlington, north east of England, in the county of Durham.   ‘We had an interesting kind of couple of years growing up in a very, very white working class neighbourhood. It wasn't that much like East is East , but it wasn't that far off the style. It was interesting, colourful, there's lots of racism.’ His father had two wives   and they were living in two separate houses in Darlington. ‘I’m one of six children, you know, all these kind of crazy narratives that come with that. I mean -  I'm one of six and I have six half siblings.’ As a 13 year old he read a book and ever since he got excited about education and architecture. ‘I was very lucky… I had some g

  Tanzila Zaman, a community mentor, and writer of a book, ‘Mother Tongue’, shares her experience of the pandemic.  EARLY LIFE Tanzila Zaman was born in Barisal,  Bangladesh. Most of her life, prior to coming to the UK just over 10 years ago, she lived, studied and worked in  Dhaka, capital city of Bangladesh. Her mother was always busy and cooking, cleaning and maintaining their home. Tanzila enjoyed her time in school.  In Dhaka she studied at the best institutions and later she worked for a corporation.  Her passion to excel in her career made her come to the UK. Her employer preferred her to get trained in Singapore. She chose London.  BRITISH EXPERIENCE ‘Most of the things you study in Bangladesh is about memorising things. It is not practical at all. In London you are flexible. In Bangladesh there are restriction, and lots of memorising. I don’t like memorising.’   ‘When I came to London my life changed (dramatically).  When I came to the UK, I started studying and Allah blessed

We know that Covid-19 vaccines are shortly to be distributed in Britain sometime soon. The pandemic, however, has shown that we are not all in it together. Bangladeshis in Britain have seen a tsunami of their loved once die,  spend time in hospitals due to the virus, lost jobs and furloughed.  Covid-19 has also exposed the fragility of the Bengali community in comparison to the white British population. The  government and NHS data clearly demonstrate that Bangladeshis are vulnerable in the context of their health because t hey are more likely to work in shutdown sectors, live in overcrowded conditions, twice the risk of dying of the virus compared to the white population, and unemployment rate is much higher.  What can we do about it?  Prioritise the Bengalis who are more vulnerable in proportion to the while population to save Bengali lives.

Join BritBanglaCovid's next Zoom Public meeting on 13 December at 3pm. Link:  here We are seeing poverty level rising, minority communities losing jobs and dying . What can we do about it? Ask your questions and share your experience to those who have the chance to shape our communities. Guest Speakers: Bill Bowring - Criminology professor Phil Glanville - Mayor of Hackney Charlotte Hughes - Journalist and social media influencer IMA Miah - CEO of Asian Resource Centre Rokhsana Fiaz - Mayor of Newham Lilu Wheeler - NHS Project Manager