UK News
Brown offers support to vulnerable Jamaicans as UK’s COVID-19 crisis continues
BY MKUU AMANI
The impact of COVID-19 on the UK’s Jamaican community was just one of the issues discussed by Dr. Kevin Brown, who was amongst the guests on the Jamaican Diaspora Online Radio Show last Sunday.
Speaking to Power106 FM’s radio host Dervan Malcolm via a live link from Nottingham to Kingston, Jamaica, Dr. Brown shared an update from the region that he represents as a member of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Council (GJDC).
Dr. Brown is also the Chair of Jamaica Diaspora UK, a voluntary organization that aims to promote and protect the interests of Jamaica and Jamaicans and contribute to Jamaica’s development.
He was joined on the show by other members of the GJDC, Nathaniel Peat, Dr. Allan Cunningham and Dr. Karren Dunkley.
Nathaniel Peat is the UK South representative on the Council, while Dr. Cunningham and Dr. Dunkley represent the southern and north-east regions of the US, respectively.\
Regarding his UK North constituency, Dr. Brown offered condolences to those who have lost loved ones due to the pandemic. Amongst those he spoke of was Bishop Theophilus Augustus McCalla MBE, founder of Nehemiah Housing. In Wolverhampton McCalla House, a retirement scheme for people over the age of 55, which offers self-contained flats specifically designed for older people, is named after him.
Rev Bishop McCalla passed away on April 2nd after 67 years of service in the Church of God of Prophecy as a minister, regional overseer, and director within the UK.
Dr. Brown paid tribute to the clergyman who had migrated from Jamaica at a young age during the Windrush era and acknowledged that the pandemic has been “impacting the Windrush Generation.”
He added, “As most of us have been told, the elderly, especially those above the age of seventy-five, are most vulnerable. So, we have been trying to support Jamaicans in the community as much as we can. Within Jamaica Diaspora UK we have regional coordinators in various parts of the country, and through working with local community groups, we have been trying to support members of the community, whether this is through providing meals, or going shopping for them or running errands.”
At the time of writing, there have been over 16 thousand deaths in the UK. And in a recent Government brief, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Robert Jenrick admitted that “There does appear to be a disproportionate impact of the virus on BAME (Black and Minority Ethnic) communities in the UK.”
His comments came following a report, the ICNARC report on COVID-19 in critical care completed by the Intensive Care National Audit & Research Centre (ICNARC), which found that 35% of almost 2,000 patients were non-white, nearly triple the 13% proportion in the UK population as a whole.
“It’s for that reason,” Jenrick continued during the briefing, “that the Chief Medical Officer commissioned work from Public Health England, to better understand this issue.”
The Government has not been alone in voicing its concern about these developments. On social media a number of individuals commented including Labour MP Diane Abbott who said, “Government must start recording all important data about coronavirus victims. And this includes race and ethnicity. Many things to understand. Including why (the) BAME community seems to be hit harder.”
News editor Vic Motune of The Voice newspaper asked the Government to clarify “if there’s a timeline for the enquiry and what the scope will be.”
Journalist and founder of the youth advocacy and empowerment organization Kids of Colour Roxy Legane said: “The impacts of COVID-19 on people of colour are becoming increasingly clear, and increasingly devastating as every day passes.”
As for the community’s response, and in the face of the ongoing developments Dr. Brown commented, “We are trying to deal with the immediate crisis and support members of the community that might need help, but we’re also looking at what issues we need to focus on once this pandemic has passed.”
“We tend to suffer from diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and these are things we need to look at as a community after the coronavirus has passed. Is it our diet? Are members of the Jamaican diaspora exercising enough? I think we now need to use this crisis to reflect on how we could improve our health outcomes.”
The UK remains in lockdown. The Government is instructing that people only go outside for food, health reasons or work where home-working is not possible. It also advises that people maintain social distancing and not meet others, even friends or family.
Inevitably, this leaves many people alone, vulnerable and in need of support. A point not lost on Dr. Brown.
He said, “The Jamaica High Commission, although they’ve closed the office, are still accepting phone calls from any Jamaican that needs support. You can contact the High Commission, and they’ll try to help. You can also contact the Jamaica Diaspora UK at admin@jamaicandiasporauk.org, and we’ll try to assist you where we can.”
You can watch and listen to the full radio show