A homeless woman turned barrister, Grenfell and other stories from Black, Asian and Arab communities in the UK you shouldn't have missed this week curated by Melissa Sigodo
Good afternoon,
Thank you for subscribing to The Thread.
I did my best to curate this for you as there was so much news to cover this week.
Separately, I’ll be chiming in on the election as well this evening so you can catch me on the BBC News Context programme at 8pm.
Without further ado, I've cut through the noise so you don't have to.
Missing people
A body found in the search for Xielo Maruziva who fell into a river 3 months ago on February 18 has now been confirmed as that of the two-year-old. Xielo fell in while walking along the towpath of the River Soar with his family. Full story.
Immigration & Asylum
A mum-of-two had to borrow money and visit food banks to survive after a high court ruling found that the Home Office acted unlawfully and failed to provide her and other migrants with documents showing they were in the UK legally while applying to extend their visas. Cecilia Adjei from Ghana was ‘suspended from my employment as a healthcare support worker twice, without any notice’ as she was unable to prove she had the right to work. The case has now been compared to the Windrush scandal. Full story.
A pensioner father of three British children who came to the UK at the age of 23 from Jamaica will not be able to apply for British citizenship for another decade after the Home Office said he must use the 10-year route which is “expensive and is likely to cost Henry more than £10,000 in Home Office application fees and NHS surcharge.” Full story.
Policing
Met Police officer Perry Lathwood who asaulted a Black woman, called her a "daft cow" & wrongfully arrested her for bus fare evasion has been told to pay her £200 in compensation. The judge added he did not find it was "an abuse of power", but rather a "mistake". Full story.
Black children are more than six times more likely than white children to be strip-searched by ‘police forces riddled with racism’ a new study has shown. While Black people are 18 times more likely to be told to take off their clothes by Sussex police. Full story.
The family of a Black man who died after he was restrained by six police officers who cuffed his hands and ankles after being batoned to the ground has called for the public inquiry to examine why officers were not prosecuted afterwards. Full story.
The use of stop-and-search by police in Greater Manchester has increased by 25 times the national average with Black people 2.4 times more likely to be stopped and searched than any other group. Full story.
A South Yorkshire Police officer constable Bradley Cross accused of having ‘racist, derogatory and discriminatory’ images and messages on his phone, quit before he had to attend a misconduct hearing. The officer would have been dismissed without notice had he not resigned. Full story.
British Transport Officers who let a man freeze to death in -4C weather after concern was raised by members of the public could have saved his life if they had intervened, a coroner has said. Full story.
Sport
An open letter has been written to British media editors criticising the use of England player Bukayo Saka’s picture following the team’s defeat by Iceland despite the footballer only coming on as a 65th minute substitute. Anti-discrimination group Kick It Out urged the media to consider the “long history” and the ‘impact of black players being a media target. Full story.
Media
Black journalists were told to ‘stop pitching Black stories’ and that their ideas were ‘too expansive’ and ‘too complicated’ when writing about issues facing Black British women. As a result they are leaving journalism which is a ‘huge loss.’ Full story.
Education
Some of the Nigerian students kicked out of Teeside university after their country’s currency plummeted wiping out their tuition money have now been re-enrolled. But others were told the university will ‘help pay’ for their flights home and that they can ‘return at a later date’ which one student says they do not trust will happen. Full story.
Housing
A mum-of-two living with ‘mice eating her kids food’ has been told by Lambeth council that there is a ‘housing shortage’ despite housing activist Kwajo Tweneboa revealing that there are 726 empty council homes in Lambeth. Roche Smith, 29, says she has been bidding for a council flat since her ‘son was a baby.’ Full story.
Charity
A charity supporting women sent to prison for stealing nappies and victims of domestice violence who have hit back at attackers has marked 35 years of helping people. Pecan in Peckham has also given food to 1000 households since January as they say demand for it has increased. Full story.
Grenfell
Grenfell residents were charged £618.09 by Kensington and Chelsea Council for the cleaning of a memorial to those who died in the fire which killed 72 people. Leaseholders discovered the fees after requesting to see their service charge invoices. Full story.
A man whose disabled mother and aunt were killed in the Grenfell Tower fire after becoming trapped has hit out against the government for not implementing an inquiry recommendation to impose a legal requirement for buidling owners to have personalised evacuation plans for disabled residents or those with mobility difficulties. Shah Aghlani who rushed to the tower and stayed on the phone to his mum and aunt while the fire took hold says he heard “every last breath” they took. Full story.
Campaigners from the Infected Blood scandal and the Covid Bereaved group have united with the victims of Grenfell to demand that recommendations from public inquiries are not ignored. Four out of the 15 recommendations from the Grenfell Tower Inquiry which were aimed at the Government remain outstanding. Full story.
Firefighters and charities has also hit out at the government stating that disabled residents in high-rise flats are ‘still at risk.’ Full story.
Legal
A woman left homeless as a teenager has gone on to win an award making her the first Sikh woman to be named Young Pro-Bono Barrister of the Year after getting herself off the streets. Tinessa Kaur, 32, says her faith’s teachings inspired her to help others from underrepresented communities. Full story.
World News
A UN investigation has accused Israel of war crimes and crimes against humanity including sexual violence, starvation as a method of warfare and murder while Hamas is accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity including killings, kidnapping & sexual violence. Full story.
The UN migration agency says number of internally displaced people in Sudan has surpassed over 10 million people. In a statement, IOM Director-General Amy Pope said, “Imagine a city the size of London being displaced. That’s what it’s like, but it’s happening with the constant threat of crossfire, with famine, disease and brutal ethnic and gender-based violence”.
Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr. released a tweet after three fans who racially abused him last year were handed eight-month prison sentences in a first for Spanish football saying, “I'm not a victim of racism. I am a tormentor of racists. This first criminal conviction in the history of Spain is not for me. It's for all black people." Full story.
The first Palestinian long-distance runner and flag bearer at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics coach Majed Abu Maraheel died from kidney failure due to lack of access to medical treatment in Gaza. A report found that there were between 1,000 to 1,500 patients in Gaza with kidney failure facing a "slow death." Full story.
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