Hospital failed mum of newborn who died, Black nurse racially attacked and other stories from Black, Asian and Arab communities you shouldn't have missed this week - curated by Melissa Sigodo
What should have brought the nation together in support for victims, descended into racist far right conspiracy theories.
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This week, we were left shocked when news broke that a car had driven into Liverpool Football Club fans celebrating at the victory parade for their Premier League title win. A moment of joy turned into carnage and what should have brought the nation together in solidarity and support for the victims, instead descended into disinformation over the suspect’s race and religion - which was falsely claimed to be a Muslim. The fear that another racist riot would be ignited, kicked into high gear to the extent that the police felt obligated to share that the suspect was a 53-year-old white British man.
The key component in how racism functions is that facts don’t matter, and you need to be at least a little bit detached from reality to keep the pseudo theories of hate alive. So, when it was confirmed that it was not a Black or Brown Muslim who had been suspected of ploughing into the crowd, and that it was in fact a middle-aged white man who was alleged to have committed this act, racists didn’t stand corrected, they doubled down and began plucking conspiracy theories from thin air because in their minds, only Black or Brown Muslims could be suspected of doing such a thing, and not an ‘indigenous’ British man.
Then, cue the media. A Bat-signal of vindication to racists who assumed the suspect was Muslim. Prepped and ready to supply and maintain the white supremacy induced high. Positive words about the suspect’s assumed character from locals splashed across the front pages, but not only that, he’s a father and a CEO who may also be a bit wealthy. Even his own neighbours on this ‘island of strangers’ wouldn’t have thought he’d be a suspect, right?
But the next day comes, reality sets in and Paul Doyle from Liverpool is charged with offences including wounding with intent, causing grievous bodily harm with intent, attempting to cause GBH with intent and dangerous driving. His charges relate to six victims, including two children aged 11 and 17. The loud commentary goes quiet, the papers revert to reporting the facts and fortunately, they’ll be no riots while the undoubtedly traumatised victims try to recover.
It’s easy to predict that a country suffering such rampant racism and Islamophobia will only end up somewhere frightening. History teaches us this. Last summer taught us this. For now, police remain on high alert to try and combat disinformation, while asylum seekers as well as Black and Asian communities live in fear that they’ll inevitably become targets following any incident where the suspect’s skin colour correctly matches the far right agenda. The sad reality is that unless people, especially those in power speak up for the truth and against these ills, we remain a country whose direction is being steered deep into the dark by the far right.
News
A Black British man has launched his own ‘sold-out’ UK dodgeball event after feeling the sport wasn’t accessible to Black people. Quason Matthews, 32, from East London says his club is ‘disrupting’ the scene, bringing people together and breaking barriers. Read the full story by Arike Idris for The Source.
More Black Britons are growing their own food in community gardens, on balconies and home allotments as food costs continue to soar. Freda Anna who launched a community garden project, Anna’s Grow Box says her initiative is helping give food security to locals during tough economic times. Read the full story by Sinai Fleary at The Voice Online.
A 15-year-old girl who died in a house fire in Milton Keynes has been named as Ann Eyre. The teenager died along with a 67-year-old woman and both deaths are being “considered unexplained.” Read the full story by Lewis Adams and Sam Read at the BBC.
Housing
The family of a 15-week-old baby who developed respiratory problems and died while living in a flat where ‘rainwater would come inside’ claim that ‘mould helped kill their son.’ The had family raised concerns with Notting Hill Genesis housing association since 2023. Watch the report by ITN.
A man has been forced to sleep in a tent outside his flat after Bermondsey council failed to fix a leak which comes through his bedroom and has destroyed his extensive record collection. Paul Jones says he feels ‘abandoned’ and no one has come to assess the property since November 2024. Read the full story by Issy Clarke at Southwark News.
Politics
The UK Government's trade envoy to Israel travelled to the country to "promote trade" despite the Prime Minister stating that they were suspending trade talks due to its military conduct in Gaza. Read the full story by Lucy Jackson at The National Scot.
Health
Lewisham hospital missed opportunities to save the life of a newborn baby who died at 38-minutes-old after an emergency C-section. Mum Lay (Lucy) Duong had told staff she could not feel her baby moving but was wrongly categorised as low-risk and her care was not escalated. Read the full story by Issy Clarke at Southwark News.
A Black nurse has revealed the “constant racist abuse” she faces working at a hospital in Kent where she was physically attacked by a patient who called her a Black b***h. The nurse who has been left traumatised by the abuse says her Black colleagues feel unsafe and are often called monkeys which has become the norm. Read the full story by Hedi Mehrez at Kent Live.
Short films exploring Black people's experiences of stroke have been released as part of a research project led by Kingston University and UWE Bristol. The team are now working to embed the films in the NHS and communities in the UK to help “stimulate discussion and action’ as Black people are more likely to have a stroke than white people. Read the full story by Tilly O'Brien at Kingston Nub News.
Windrush Scandal
A Windrush generation man who was wrongly removed from the UK by the Home Office after living in the UK for 47 years has now had his deportation order revoked. Gersham Williams, 74, arrived in the UK from Jamaica aged 10 but was deported after serving a sentence relating to firearms conspiracy conviction. Read the full story by Diane Taylor at The Guardian.
Thousands of Windrush claimants have yet to receive compensation and only a third of processed claims have been awarded, Home Office figures show. Lawyers representing those whose lives were destroyed by the scandal which saw Black people lose access to health care and housing say they are not receiving nearly the same compensation as Post Office scandal victims. Watch the report by ITVX.
Crime
A one-year-old was hit with stones during a racist attack where a group of boys threw stones at a pram in Sutton. No arrests have been made. Read the full story by Rebecca McCulloch at MyLondon.
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