Jahangir ALOM was practising as a doctor in Leicester during lockdown. His experience of poverty in early life and lack of diversity in medical schools  persuaded  him to campaign for inclusive NHS. EARLY LIFE IN TOWER HAMLETS He was the first out of his nine siblings to have been born in London. He was born in the Royal London Hospital. Up until he was six years old, eleven of his family members lived in a two bedroom flat in Stepney Green, East End. ‘We grew up in a British Bangladeshi community at the time it was mainly first generation…of the twenty-four flats in the building…twenty of them were British Bangladeshi families. All of my friends until I was eighteen years old, were British Bangladeshis, Muslims. Most or all of us were on free school meals. All on child benefit, housing benefit. Most of our parents were unemployed.’ He was often suspended from school because of his behaviour. He did not enjoy studying. He went on to say: ‘But I started secondary school with very high g

Due to the severity of Covid-19 amongst Bangladeshi communities in Britain, BritBanglaCovid has organised Health & Social Care Crisis Public Meeting on 23 August 2020 at 3pm.  You can hear from doctors,  care worker, carer and domestic violence sufferer and many more! Have your say on the subject matter in order for our government, councils and community activists to take action.  If you want to take part in the event, you must register on EventBrite and have your say. This is urgent! https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/health-social-care-crisis-for-britbangla-tickets-115043678740

Shajida Ali lost her sister and brother-in-law to Covid. She feels anxious when people don't comply social distancing guidelines. EARLY LIFE OF SHAJIDA Shajida Ali's father came to the United Kingdom (UK) in 1962. When she was 7 months old, Shajida,  her mother and two brothers came to the UK in 1982. Three of her sisters remained in Bangladesh who were already married off. When they came to the UK they, at first, stayed in the East End. Later they moved to Berkshire for a year but she says: ‘My mum had to move back because there were no Bengalis and there was no community. We could not live like that; so we moved back to east London. I have been living in east London since then.’ Although Shajida has been living all her life in the UK, she goes back to Bangladesh to see her siblings. Her brothers talked about racism and being attacked when she was young. She remembers Canon Street Park where she played during her childhood. ‘Most of our neighbours were Bangladeshi. Even to thi

EARLY LIFE Ima Miah came to the UK as a toddler. She was brought up in a typical Bangladeshi family. She was one of six children. ‘My father was here (in the UK) from the 1960s. My village gran parents were the early cohort of people coming over. My family has been deep rooted for many many decades,’ she explains. When they joined their father in the UK, they first lived in a tiny restaurant in Crystal Palace, South London. Eventually, they lived in a house in Beckenham. She lived in the area for   over 30 years.   ‘I do remember living in a very white community compared to my cousins who lived in Camden and East End…We would have weekly trips into town where my dad would make it absolute priority to go every week at some point in one of the relative's houses. This is how I was able to learn about Bangladeshi culture’. ‘I remember going pass   East End and being quite tearful because I felt I’ve gone back to Bangladesh. I’ve never seen so many brown faces! Living in a town like Bec

In a challenging time, we need to work with like minded people and organisations for the same cause. BritBanglaCovid endorses and supports the work of King's College London for the interest of Bangla-Britain in times of Covid-19. If you know of anyone who fits the criteria please ask them to contact Julie or Ansar from Swadhinata Trust. 

Ritha Chowdhury shares her experience of Covid on BritBanglacovid. Her Uber driver husband lost his job, 300 colleagues on furlough scheme and many redundancies. She knows two people died of Covid. She is now the main breadwinner of her home.

BRITISH BANGLADESHIS ARE TWICE LIKELY TO DIE FROM COVID THAN THE WHITE POPULATION.  WHAT IS TO BE DONE?