Sikh woman raped in 'hate crime' attack, Stephen Lawrence revelation, maternal health & more stories from Black, Asian & Arab communities you shouldn't have missed this week. Curated by Melissa Sigodo
If there’s one thing that this week showed me, it’s that a shocking number of people are terrifyingly misinformed.
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While curating this week’s recap for you all, I included the latest maternal heath report which shared some disturbing statistics for Black mothers. Unfortunately, I have had to link the lengthy report itself as I could not find a single news article on it. Please do correct me if I am wrong. This is obviously the type of story that I would like to cover here on The Source, but it is often a one-man show which makes it challenging and sometimes impossible to do at all. But with your help, it might be possible in future to have the resources and the manpower to write up these important stories. So, thank you for your support.
This week, I will be speaking at the Caribbean and African Health Network’s Black History Month Media and Communication Event where I will be giving a presentation on how the media can amplify Black voices and diversify Black stories.
You can register to attend it online by clicking here.
As I mentioned in the email header, it has been a surreal week, and I’ve had to remind myself to take breaks from the news and social media. I don’t know how many times I can say we are in dark times but alas, these are truly dark times.
So please be kind to yourselves, look after each other and do stay informed in a world full of misinformation. Because if there’s one thing that this week showed me, it’s that a shocking number of people are terrifyingly misinformed.
This week’s newsletter is accessible to everyone. I will be back to recapping world news as well next week.
Without further ado, here’s what you shouldn’t have missed this week.
News
Police are investigating the rape of a Sikh woman in her 20s which they say they are treating as a hate crime. Detectives say they are searching for two white male suspects alleged to have racially abused the woman during the assault which took place at 8.30am on Tuesday. Read the full story by Vikram Dodd at The Guardian.
The Sikh Federation (UK) as well as faith and community leaders came together for an emergency meeting following the rape of the Sikh woman who was allegedly told “you don’t belong in this country, get out”, during the attack. Read the full story by Shamaan Freeman-Powell at Sky News.
Tributes have been paid after a woman, Linner Sang ,39, was stabbed to death in Reading. Police were called to an address on Sunday but sadly, Linner died at the scene. Edwin Kiplangat, 29, has been arrested and charged with murder as well as two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm. Read the full story by Suzanne Antelme at Reading Chronicle.
Stephen Lawrence
The mother of Stephen Lawrence, a Black teenager who was killed in a racist attack in 1993 has revealed that it was Prince Harry who made contact to say that he had seen evidence that she was allegedly being spied on by the Daily Mail. Doreen Lawrence said she had trusted the Daily Mail which had campaigned for her son but now the trust had been ‘completely broken.’ Read the full story Daniel De Simone at BBC.
Windrush Scandal
An 81-year-old woman Hannah Dankwa who has cancer and was blocked by the Home Office from returning back to the UK has finally arrived home after 4 months. During that time, she was forced to miss her vital cancer treatments. She said, ‘they just leave you there.’ Watch the report by Ayshah Tull at Channel 4.
Crime
St George’s flags hung on lamp posts in York are set to be taken down as local MP Rachael Maskell says they were being used by some "to rally those who suppress the rights of others and perpetrate acts of hate." The MP said she had received reports that there had been verbal abuse with people “too afraid” to leave their homes. Read the story by Joe Gerrard and David Spereall at BBC.
A father and his two children have been sentenced for conspiring to incite racial hatred through Neo-Nazi music. Siblings Stephen and Rosie Talland played racist songs with references to a race war and killing at a Neo-Nazi event in Leeds. Read the case at the Crown Prosecution Service.
Police are investigating an arson attack on a hotel where anti-immigration protests where previously held in Southampton. A flare was put through an open window on the ground floor of the hotel but was quickly put out. Satvir Kaur MP for Southampton Test called the incident “horrific behaviour which is inexcusable.” Read the full story by ITV News.
Belfast Police have said they will increase their presence after racially motivated attacks including one featured in a video showing a delivery driver being surrounded in his car at a fast-food restaurant which has been described as an ‘attempted lynching.’Read the full story by ITV.
Immigration
The government’s change in visa eligibility could see hundreds of prison officers mainly from African countries being forced to leave. The new requirements means that workers must earn £41,700 but currently most officers are paid £33,000. Mark Fairhurst, the national chair of the Prison Officers’ Association has accused the government of “pandering to Reform.” Read the full story by Rajeev Syal at The Guardian.
Politics
Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Herzog has drawn criticism from MPs as well as SNP's Westminster leader Stephen Flynn who asked prior to the meeting whether the PM would invite Russian President Vladimir Putin to Downing Street and what it would say about him meeting with the Israeli leader while “kids starve.” Read the full story by Sky News.
A study has found that Nigel Farage’s Reform UK featured more than the Liberal Democrats in the BBC and ITV’s News At Ten bulletins. The Liberal Democrats currently have 72 MPs in parliament versus Reforms five MPs. Liberal Democrats’ leader, Ed Davey says the BBC is fuelling Reform’s rise. Read the full story by Michael Savage at The Guardian.
Health
A woman who struggled to find roller skating groups for mums and children under 5-years-old decided to start her own group as she says the hobby helps with postpartum recovery and is raising awareness about air pollution in South London. Cece, 42, says that she saw the benefits of skating with children in the US but wanted to see the same in the UK. Read the full story by Evie Flynn at Southwark News.
A report into maternal health disparities in the UK shows that Black women are now 2.3 times more likely to die in pregnancy or shortly after in 2021-2023. Although the rate has decreased, the risk of maternal death for Black women still remains two-fold higher compared to white women. Read the report at MBRRACE.
A parliamentary report has found that women living with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) face “prolonged delays in diagnosis and limited access to treatment.” The report also found that Black and Asian are up to 2.5 times more likely to be diagnosed with the condition. Read the full story by Tobi Thomas at The Guardian.
Legal
A couple who call themselves as King Atehehe and Queen Nandi and their “handmaiden” Asnat are refusing to adhere to a court order evicting them from their campsite in the Scottish Borders which they say is land stolen from their ancestors which they are reclaiming. Read the full story by BBC.
Policing
The mother of Stephen Lawrence has urged witnesses to come forward as a review into her son’s case begins. Read the full story by BBC.
Nine Metropolitan police officers have been suspended and the force has referred itself to the police watchdog following a BBC investigation into claims of “excessive use of force, discriminatory and misogynistic comments, and failing to report or challenge inappropriate behaviour” at Charing Cross police station. Read the full story by Kathryn Armstrong at BBC.
Tributes
A “cherished” Birmingham poet and musician has died after a fire broke out at a building in Hockley, West Midlands. Family paid tribute to Louis Campbell, 63, who was also known as Louis Poet saying they were “devastated” by his “unexpected passing.” Read the full story by Sinai Fleary at The Voice Online.
‘Kind and generous’ Jordan Keyton, a third-year University of Cambridge student on a Stormzy scholarship was found dead in his room at college accommodation after staff hadn’t heard from him in days. A coroner confirmed that he died of overdose but that there ‘no evidence to determine whether this overdose was intentional or accidental.’ Read the full story by Ellen Roberts at The Tab.