ELREC – Page 9 – The NEN – North Edinburgh News

Silver Lining: ELREC holds Zoom AGM

‘Everything has a silver lining’ – this goes for most things and our AGM was no exception (writes ELREC Chair FOYSUL CHOUDHURY MBE). Even during difficult times like such, we as a humanity find ways to not only survive but thrive.

As many of you know, we had the AGM scheduled for March 2020 but due to Covid -19 it was cancelled, and we then went into lockdown. During this time everything went digital and Zoom is now a very common source of conducting meetings, workshops, and classes.

So, we also decided to host our AGM online via Zoom on Wednesday 5th August 2020 and it was just as wonderful as the ‘real’ deal!

The AGM was hosted by ELREC Chair, Foysol Choudhury MBE who welcomed everyone and introduced ELREC’s Honorary Patron, and Lord Provost to the City of Edinburgh, Frank Ross:

Rt Hon Frank Ross – Lord Provost for the City of Edinburgh

Lord Provost welcomed everyone to our AGM and congratulated community groups for coming together during this very difficult time. “Edinburgh is the most successful economy in Scotland with 94 per of its population in employment. We are world centre for celebrating culture and festivals attracting 4 million visitors each year. Since March 2020, our city has been closed to protect ourselves and others from the virus and lives have been disrupted such as schooling, businesses as well as our traditions”. I thank local groups for observing lockdown during the Muslim Eid celebrations and other celebrations which fell during this time.

Since March 2020:

Edinburgh has provided and delivered 200 food parcels to the vulnerable and poor families every day. 1600 to those in shielding, 100 million pounds of support has been provided to businesses and enterprises over last 4 months. 3000 community care grants paid every month,2000 people supported through crisis centres, 200 additional bed spaces created to eliminate homelessness in our city.

These last 4 months have seen communities being resilient and coming together like nothing I have ever seen. During this time volunteering has trebled.

Moving ahead I urge ELREC to continue its work in substantial public society by maximising inclusion and access to employment and access to equality, justice, and access to services. On behalf of Civic Edinburgh, I pass gratitude to ELREC board, staff, volunteers, and partners in their contributions in minimising impact of coronavirus and the lockdown within their communities.

Sarah Boyack – MSP – Member of local government and communities committee.

I want to thank the communities and local groups for all their efforts during this unprecedented time. There are many lessons to be learned from this situation and one is that we cannot go back to the old way of living. We need to create a better society to what we had before lockdown, our focus has been on how to protect people from Covid particularly the vulnerable, and access to practical support for people who have lost jobs, loved ones and are really in need of help.

Some of the issues I have been working on these past few months are that people are worried about the long term effects of Covid and the lockdown on their mental health, more testing in care homes and for care workers and support for teachers and their staff in schools and ensure that our local authorities have the resources they need to make this happen.

I have also had lots of letters asking me what the scientific guidance is on opening religious places and supporting people in workplaces once we return to work. I can tell you that this is the busiest the parliament has ever been.

Or governments need to work together to reduce the effect of the virus on people, find a vaccine and ensure funding for businesses is available to get our economy up and running again.

We also had a debate in parliament on Black Lives Matter movement and three big things we agreed that need to happen were:

A Museum of slavery to look at the history of black lives

School curriculum needs to include this

Establishment of an expert advisory group on to look at the effects of Covid on bme people

I have also been contacted by the son of the Late Saroj Lal who was the first bme teacher and community worker and worked for ELREC and many community organisations in Edinburgh and did some amazing work. We will be planning a session in parliament to remember and celebrate Saroj soon. The Chair thanked Sarah for organising this and ELREC would be happy to be involved in this.

The pandemic is only reiterated the value of our front-line staff and service workers and we want to ensure everyone has equal opportunities and that our services are fairer and allow people to serve their country.

Professor Sir Geoff Palmer OBE

I want to start by conveying my dearest sympathies to the people who have died or are sick and pray that we can manage this disease and minimise the damage further. These are unprecedented times.

Different parts of the country are talking of the links to chattel slavery and we must change attitudes and start with schools and tell children why black people are in this situation. The curriculum must teach the truth.

“Its easier to mend broken children than mend broken men”

Do not let things be nice to do, make it part of the curriculum and it becomes the attitude of the people we produce in the future.

I have given interviews for Canada, Japan and South Africa, Jamaica and other Caribbean connections and the world is interested not in me but in Edinburgh and what it is doing. What we are doing in our city is going worldwide and has attracted the attention on the world.

Promoting Equality and Fighting Discrimination

ELREC is registered in Scotland as a company limited by guarantee no. 183419 and is a recognised Scottish Charity no. SC007896

The Henry Dundas statue in St Andrew square has been there for 199 years and its taken us this long to change the placard to include the word “slavery” on it. It may have taken a long time but its been worth it and truth be told.

Edinburgh is a city that is seen by the world as doing something about Black Lives issue and I am grateful for ELREC for making lives better for its bme communities in Edinburgh and the surrounding areas.

Councillor Donald Wilson – Convener Culture and Communities Committee

I am proud to be part of discussions on our history and making changes. Some of the silver lining has been reaction of communities and organisations who have stepped up and been involved in their local areas.

The Impact this has had on elderly and how we treat our elderly and our role and priority we have in society and role of culture on our mental wellbeing. In terms of mental health and realising role of culture has on mental health and wellbeing is essential part of our lives.

Edinburgh is a world class city of culture, and Covid has had a massive impact on it, we must do what we can, culturally and civically and its vital for our wellbeing. Our committee had been suspended and rightly so and is restarting soon and rightly so as its time to get back and argue the case for culture and strong communities.

Police – Chief Superintendent Sean Scott

Policing over the last four months has been something I have ever seen before. We were given new powers and had to learn quickly. I must say though that communities came together fantastically in the last 4 months, and we have not had major issues to report.

During these rather difficult times we wanted to be as tolerant as possible and the last resort was to enforce however Edinburgh and the bme communities have been fantastic with adhering to the rules. We may not have got it right every time, but we took the right approach and have a new survey online for feedback, so please do have a look at this on our website and send us feedback.

Going forward we closely monitor social tensions and are working very closely with our partners so that we can provide the right protection service to our local communities.

Crime is dramatically down last number of months, but anti-social behaviour has increased but not any great levels to cause any worry.

I thank ELREC and other partners for their continuous efforts and support making our work easier.

I would also like to mention that we have a new ACC, Tim Maier’s who will be joining us soon. The Chair thanked Sean and the rest of the Police for their swift action on the issue of hate incidents against the Asian community in Edinburgh due to Covid.

MSP Ben McPherson – Minister for Public Finance and Migration

Ben is the MSP for Edinburgh North and Leith.

In support of the health service and third sector that has come together in a tremendous way has been one of the positive things to come out of this terrible situation, my condolences for those who have lost their loved ones to the virus. We need to learn the lessons from this such as

Promoting Equality and Fighting Discrimination

ELREC is registered in Scotland as a company limited by guarantee no. 183419 and is a recognised Scottish Charity no. SC007896

how we can adapt to the changes and inequalities Covid has raised and the humanity that has strengthened the process. How do I support local organisations, and local businesses? Money has been made available and given quickly during this time to help with this. Recognising our own society and understanding our history to build a better society. I thank Sir Geoff for always inspiring us to be proactive and better.

ELREC Projects

Our current projects: Communities for Conservation, Equalities Engagement, Open Arms, True Colours, are all doing well despite the current situation.

Many of our services have gone online and some just cant. We want to thank the funders for their patience and understanding during this time. During lockdown we started 2 new projects, equally informed which disseminates information in different languages related to Covid and the lockdown restrictions to various ethnic minority groups in Edinburgh.

The purpose of this work is to ensure our local diverse communities have access to the official guidance and its understandable. We have also been working in partnership with Edinburgh Community Food, Lieth Decides and Port of Leith Housing to provide food parcels to local bme communities in North of Edinburgh.

Many of the communities need halal meat and products so our food parcels are specific to the needs of the local groups we represent here in Edinburgh. The Lockdown and Covid has pushed many of our local bme groups into poverty so this little help offers some support.

Appointment of Board Members

This year we had four board members retiring so we had four vacancies.

Mrs Shana Rams and Mr Irshad Ahmed were elected as new board members, and Mrs Magdalena Sajnaga and Cllr Carl John were re-elected.

Vice Chair, Shami Khan and the Chair thanked the speakers and everyone for attending and participating in ELREC’s AGM. We thank all front-line staff for all their hard work and public services for keeping the city moving during these unprecedented times.

ELREC: challenging racism in schools

ELREC promotes a culture of zero tolerance of inequality, hate and all kinds of discrimination, both in society and in schools.

As an equality organization we do a lot of work in schools through our True Colours Project, challenging stereotypes and prejudices young people may have.

However, it is not just young people but staff and teachers in schools needing training and awareness too. Ignorance is not bliss when it affects people in a negative way, especially when young people go through their school lives suffering poor mental health and later carrying the scars into adulthood.

Many children are aware of the racist behaviour of adults and some practice this racism in school. Unfortunately, when teachers and other staff are also the perpetrators, it either goes unreported or if it is reported, then most likely the school ignores it and so the cycle continues.

The history and the harm that are associated with racism must be taught properly, like any other mainstream subject, in our schools. The curriculum must reflect this change in our educational objectives. If there are no consequences to racist behaviour, then it will continue in our schools. Consequences should be outlined clearly for children, teachers, governing bodies and local authorities.

Promoting mutual respect and understanding of diversity is key to countering all forms of intolerances and discrimination. Community organisations can only do so much, the education department must take serious action as they have duty of care to protect these young people during school hours.

As an equality organisation we are happy to help schools achieve this and some of our recommendations are:

• policymakers, teachers and families must all work together to promote equality and non-discrimination both in schools and at home

• policymakers must create, enforce and fund policies to eliminate discrimination.

• teachers must be trained to work with children from all backgrounds; and pupils’ parents should be included in their school’s decisions to promote equality and non-discrimination in education

• Governments must provide the appropriate financial resources for schools to be able to promote equality and non-discrimination and regularly monitor the situation

By working together, we can create an equal, safer and more tolerant society for the future generations.

Foysol Choudhury MBE

Chairman, Edinburgh and Lothian Regional Equality Council

ELREC’s response to racism in schools

As an equality organisation we have been working with schools through our projects, Young People Against Hate and now True Colours. However racism continues to be an issue in many schools in Edinburgh and more definitely needs to be done on it.

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BAME community and coronavirus: we need answers

A recent publication released by the government states that BAME communities – including the Bangladeshi community – are disproportionality impacted by COVID-19 (writes Foysol Choudhury).

My community would like to know: how many Bangladeshi people have actually died from Covid-19? Where is the evidence regarding why they died?

We are asking for factual information to relay back to the communities as misinformation has a detrimental impact on people’s mental wellbeing, which has become clearly apparent from speaking to the local BAME community members.

As an organisation and as community activists, it is our job to ensure our communities are given the current and correct information in a manner they understand. Failing this causes paranoia, worry and stress. This is very detrimental for those people who already have underlying health issues and mental condition such as depression and anxiety.

Public Health Scotland published some interim data about two weeks ago that suggested that there was no evidence of disproportionate impact on BAME communities in Scotland. A few weeks ago it was mentioned that Black people are at higher risk of dying from Covid-19. Why?

Information given in the media relating to BAME people should be based on science facts and provide clear explanations to why BAME people are at higher risk of Covid deaths.

Is it due to the lack of PPE provided for front line workers, or poorer working conditions and poor health? Why are certain ethnicities more at risk? In particularly, those who are working as carer, patient handlers, porters, cleaners etc.

“An analysis of survival among confirmed COVID-19 cases and using more detailed ethnic groups, shows that after accounting for the effect of sex, age, deprivation and region, people of Bangladeshi ethnicity had about twice the risk of death than people of White British ethnicity.

People of Chinese, Indian, Pakistani, Other Asian, Caribbean and Other Black ethnicity had between 10 and 50% higher risk of death when compared to White British.”

If this is the case, where are the UK statistics? What is the government proposing to do to eliminate such disparities? I am keen to get Scottish Covid 19 related data on BAME communities; test results, hospital admission, death and suspected infected.

It is the responsibility of the government to release true, reliable statistics – not to create fear and division in the community by releasing data that has no scientific evidence.

As a member of the Bangladeshi community, I am fully aware of community members going through many difficulties during this pandemic. I am also fully aware of only a few Covid-19 related deaths in Scotland.

It is shocking to hear that Bangladeshis are apparently at a higher risk of this disease. Please provide the data requested so that the community can protect themselves.

Foysol Choudhury MBE

Chairman, Edinburgh & Lothians Regional Equality Council

Action Against Inequality

A new expert group will work with the Scottish Government to provide a clearer picture of the impact on minority ethnic communities of coronavirus (COVID-19).

Following indications that minority ethnic communities may face higher risks from COVID-19, the group will consider evidence and data being gathered by the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland, National Records of Scotland and the NHS, and advise on policy actions to mitigate any disproportionate effects.

As part of its immediate response to the pandemic, the Scottish Government has provided more than £500,000 to organisations working specifically with minority ethnic communities across Scotland.

Equalities Minister Christina McKelvie said: “The Scottish Government is deeply concerned by reports that suggest people from ethnic minorities have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 both in terms of health and wider social and economic impacts.

“Although the current analysis in Scotland appears to show that there is not a higher level of COVID-19 cases than would be expected, I understand that many people will be anxious about protecting themselves and their families. I want to reassure them that we are taking this issue extremely seriously.

“We are working to better understand the data on how the pandemic is impacting on our minority ethnic communities in Scotland so we can take the appropriate action and this new group will use their expertise to challenge, inform and shape future work.

“Equality and human rights issues such as this are at the heart of our policy response to the impacts of COVID-19, and in particular in our recovery and renewal work. This is part of our wider work to advance race equality, backed by over £2.6 million in the last year.”

Angela Leitch, Chief Executive, Public Health Scotland said: “Understanding whether minority ethnic communities are at greater risk from COVID-19 is a crucial part of our response to the virus, particularly in light of reports from other parts of the UK and across the world.

“Public Health Scotland is undertaking work to review the available evidence understand emerging patterns including comparisons between the situation in Scotland and other parts of the UK.

“We are also working with National Records of Scotland and the Scottish Government to analyse and report on the impact of COVID-19 by ethnicity. Working with other members of the expert group, our evidence and data will enable the development of an effective evidence-based response and ensure the health of all of Scotland’s communities is protected.”

National Lottery money helps connect Edinburgh communities

An award of £9,500 announced today to Children with Cancer and Leukaemia Advice and Support for Parents SCIO (CCLASP) means that they will be able to provide essential food and household items for families with children suffering from cancer leukaemia.

Scotland Yard Adventure Centre also receives an award of £10,000 to provide a targeted advice service for some of the most vulnerable disabled children and their carers. And an award of £14,000 means that Children 1^st, based in Edinburgh, will be able to increase the capacity of their telephone helpline and digital support service, Parentline, to meet increased demand during the COVID-19 crisis.

The awards to CCLASP, Scotland Yard Adventure Centre and Children 1st are three of 31 Edinburgh based projects sharing in £271,636 of funding from The National Lottery Community Fund.

There’s money too for LifeCare’s Cheyne Gang choir to move online, Granton Youth Centre for a mudic video project and support for both Leith Festival and ELREC’s Edinburgh Climate Festival.

Across the country 282 groups, from charities to smaller voluntary led community projects, are receiving funding raised by National Lottery players for a range of activities, many of which will help people to support each other through the COVID-19 crisis.

Gordon Murdie, General Manager, CCLASP, said: “The National Lottery Community Fund award has ensured that the charity can meet its ongoing staff and running costs through the pandemic and be ready to resume its operation in full as soon as the Scottish Government allows.

“This funding has allowed us the financial security to diversify and assist the families we serve in the best way we can during these difficult times. Lockdown is challenging in general but for families with children suffering from cancer and leukaemia it is particularly difficult.

“Since lockdown began, we have delivered over 20,000 items to around 300 children and their families. These deliveries of essentials, small treats and toys to brighten the days have meant so much to so many.”

Ellen Starkey, Fundraising Assistant, Scotland Yard Adventure Centre, said: “Here at The Yard we were delighted to receive a grant from The National Lottery Community Fund for our COVID-19 services.

“It will enable us to provide at-home play ideas, online mental health and wellbeing sessions, online play sessions and much more for disabled children, young people and their families, as well as our small, targeted service at The Yard, Edinburgh.

“We hope this support will offer fun, respite and a much-needed community of support for our families at this time. Thank you!”

Linda Jardine, Director of Children and Family Services, Children 1^st, said: “Right now, more families across Scotland are getting the support they need to cope through the coronavirus crisis, thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund’s support for Parentline.

“Parentline is our digital family support service, offering help by phone, by webchat and online, every day of the week. Families are telling us that as they face the strains of losing loved ones, mounting financial pressures and the stress of juggling the care their children need with work and other demands, the support Parentline offers is quite simply a lifeline.

“Parentline is here for any family in need of support on 08000 28 22 33, or online: www.children1st.org.uk/parentline.”

Announcing today’s funding totalling £3,384,222, The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Director, Neil Ritch, said: “These awards, made possible by National Lottery players, are making an amazing contribution to the nation-wide response to combat the impact of COVID-19 on local communities across Scotland. 

“This funding will make a huge difference to the lives of thousands more people and highlights the vital work that’s being done in communities across the country at the moment. It also reminds us all how important a package of tailored support can be to improve well-being and help forge a sense of belonging to a wider community again.”

The National Lottery Community Fund, over the next six months, will focus its National Lottery funding in Scotland on those projects that supporting organisations and communities to respond to the challenge of COVID-19.

To find out more visit www.TNLCommunityFund.org.uk    

No Place for Hate in Edinburgh

Hate incidents can be verbal abuse, harassment, bullying, or intimidation, physical attacks, hoaxcalls or messages, online abuse and many more. Hate incidents are motivated by ill-will and prejudice (writes Foysol Choudhury).

The term ‘hate crime’ can be used to describe a range of criminal behaviour where the perpetrator is motivated by hostility or demonstrates hostility towards the victim’s disability, race, religion, sexual orientation or transgender identity.

The recent attack on two shopkeepers in Edinburgh who were physically, verbally and racially abused by group of teenage gangs. The thugs reportedly shouted, “why did you come to this country”?

The Police dealt with the matter well by making arrests and charging those responsible. The area was subsequently patrolled, and the community given the support and personal/crime prevention advice.

The local Chief Inspector and her team continue to deal with anti-social behaviour in the area and a community impact assessment continues to be in place with the additional police patrols planned to continue over the school holidays.

Another recent issue has been the rise of racism towards the Chinese community due to the coronavirus outbreak in China. Ken Chung, a British-Chinese comedian, posted: “Less than 0.001% of Chinese people have coronavirus yet more than 99.999% have already experienced coronaracism.”

Even though there have been very limited cases reported in the UK of this virus, there has been a rise of racism which goes to show the prejudices in society. People of Asian origin are being treated differently either by not sitting next to them orrefusing to attend classes which has Chinesestudents to even refusing to sit next to them on public transport.

Another student from Edinburgh said how someone had shouted “coronavirus” at her whilst she was on a walk and it made her very upset and scared in case it led to anything physical.

Hate can also be one religious group being intolerant of another because their ideologiesaren’t the same. In Edinburgh and overseas there is hate being spread in many forms and some of the current activities include hate speech, violence against one group and policies aimed at intimidating and singling out that group solelybased on religious reasons. Stirring racial or religious hatred is a hate crime.

Hate in any form will not be tolerated: ELREC aims to reduce inequalities in our society and always promote good culture of human rights and work towards elimination of discrimination in all its forms.

Hate shouldn’t be tolerated in any form, please report it.We also urge the Scottishgovernment to do more to tackle this issue in Scotland and make it compulsory education in schools by raising awareness and putting practical measures in place to eradicate this as much aspossible, both in schools and the general community.