Ageing
Far from being a great equaliser, the Covid-19 pandemic has revealed some of the deepest inequalities that have often remained hidden in our society. I worked with a team of of older people to produce this series.
Camden’s older activists
I met and interview 9 older activists in Camden to make a case for the continuation of the ‘Older People’s Advisory Group’ .
“I founded Afghanistan’s first Citizen’s Advice Bureau”
Dr. Nooralhaq Nasimi fled to the UK in 1999. Now he runs a large refugee organisation and has just opened Afghanistan’s first Citizen’s Advice Bureau.
(Image: Afghanistan & Central Asian Association)
Societal issues
A home from home: welcoming refugees in the British countryside
In a picturesque English village, one couple have transformed their home into a haven for people who have fled violence and persecution.
Bread and Roses: helping refugee women blossom
Meet two London women supporting refugee and asylum-seeking women to build skills and confidence through floristry
Volunteers train refugees to crack into London tech industry The UN Refugee Agency
At Code Your Future refugees have a chance to learn computer programming.
Supporting older people in a crisis
The response to Covid-19 across Camden has been incredible: over 4,000 Emergency Food Parcels delivered, 100 hot meals served every day throughout Ramadan, and neighbours coming together in ways never seen in our lifetimes.
The continued winter lockdown and freezing weather have been tough on people across the UK. Many have sought company and entertainment on Zoom, but for a large number of older people, getting online isn’t an option.
Working with local pharmacies to tackle social isolation
Ageing Better in Camden trialled a two-year programme working with pharmacies across the borough to identify socially isolated older people and connect them with their community. This is what they learned. Image: Centre for Ageing Better
Life cycles: The project getting refugees cycling in London
Travel, therapy, a healthy lifestyle and a support network: The Bike Project helps refugees embark on their new lives in London
Voices in exile: refugee journalists retrain in UK
The Refugee Journalism Project supports exiled journalists to tell the refugee story first-hand in the British media.
Want to Support Women? Here’s How You Can Do It Over a Weekend in Udaipur! The Better India
There is more to Udaipur than just stunning palaces and sunset views. Support these women’s enterprises on your next trip!
Migration and asylum
Raju Bhatt was expelled from Uganda at 15 along with 80,000 other Ugandan Asians. In the UK, he found himself working in law, specialising in providing help to members of the public who seek accountability from the state – particularly families who have lost their loved ones through death in custody. He was a member of the Hillsborough Independent Panel and has been responsible for many significant developments in his field of legal practice over some 30 years.
Seven decades of the right to seek safety
I worked with the BBC, the Guardian, and local news outlets to tell the stories of people across seven decades who had sought safety in the UK since the signing of the UN Convention on Refugees in 1951.
“I fled to the UK in 1956. This is not the welcome I remember”
George Szirtes is a multi- award winning Hungarian poet and translator. He fled to the UK in the 1956 aged 8. His mother had survived two concentration camps and was desperate to protect her children from persecution.
Brothers who fled Aleppo start new life in Yorkshire
When war ripped through Aleppo, brothers Alan and Ghaith fled for their lives. They were resettled in Yorkshire where we have been helping them to rebuild their lives. These are their stories.
“I have volunteered with the Refugee Council for 20 years – here’s why”
Bob Vertes left Hungary in 1957. Both of his parents were Holocaust survivors and after the Hungarian revolution, greatly feared the rise in anti-Semitism. After a long and successful teaching career, Bob was a teacher trainer for over 25 years. He has volunteered for the Refugee Council for two decades.
“Becoming a refugee is not a choice”
Gillian Slovo is a celebrated novelist, playwright and memoirist. She fled South Africa in 1964 with her two sisters and her parents, Joe Slovo and Ruth First, who were pioneering South African anti-apartheid activists. She has lived in London ever since.
We are safe, that’s the most important thing
Twins Fabian Favourite and Fortunate Filda Frizell, 25, left Zimbabwe in 2002 when they were ten years old. Their mother was a prominent figure in education and their step-father a founding member of the party that opposed Mugabe’s regime.
“It was the 90’s in Sarajevo. I was four. War raged around us.”
Emina fled to the UK from Sarajevo in the 1990s. After completing a Masters at Oxford, she pursued a PhD in clinical psychology and now works with British army, navy, and air force veterans, assessing the support they receive when they have returned from service.
I am a refugee. But first and foremost, I am a human being
Paul Lorber fled Czechoslovakia in 1968 following Soviet invasion. His parents, who had survived concentration camps, took their family to safety in Britain, where their son went on to become the Leader of London’s Brent Council.
“Freedom, for me, is the most important thing”
I couldn’t live a lie, but the alternative was truly dangerous. Being a gay man in Pakistan meant death threats, beatings and isolation. I just want to live my life.
“I am outcast because several invaders / used me as their parade ground”
Poet Shash Trevett fled civil war in Sri Lanka in 1987. As a well-known surgeon, her father had been repeatedly kidnapped both by the military and the Tamil Tigers, and forced to operate on their wounded. As a result, the lives of his wife and daughter were in serious danger from both sides. After living in exile in India for four years, they returned to their homeland, only to become the victims of violence once again. Shash has no doubt that safety in Britain saved her life.
Humberto and Gabriella fled Chile in the 1970s after Humberto was detained and tortured under General Pinochet’s brutal regime. They live in Wales. Humberto has just retired from 30 years in the department of Photography at Swansea Metropolitan University, and Gabriella from 25 years as a social worker. Both of their children work in the NHS.
“Welcome makes such a difference to a person, especially a child”
Mr. Vu Khanh Thanh and his daughter Linh Vu came to Hackney in 1982, as so-called ‘boat people’ fleeing Vietnam. Linh was 7 years old. On arrival in England, Mr Vu worked with the Refugee Council, helping resettle Vietnamese refugees, then established Ang Viet community centre. In 2002 he was elected local counsellor in Dalston and was awarded an MBE. Linh is an architect and runs her father’s restaurant.
“After fleeing Senegal, I’ve requalified as an NHS doctor”
Dr. Charles Dotou is a Consultant Obstetrician Gynaecologist from Senegal, who has just retrained to work as an NHS doctor. As a human rights activist Charles had always experienced hostility and animosity, but it was his efforts to stop the spread of HIV and his support of members of the LGBT community that made his own situation life-threatening.
I was desperate for my daughters just to survive
Aziz Anzabi was a university professor at the University of Tehran in Iran. After the election in 2009 he was harassed and imprisoned by the authorities due to his work with the opposition party and profile at the university. Aziz is now based in London, expressing the experiences of refugees through painting and sculpture.