Written evidence submitted by the Global Afrikan Congress UK (MRS0436)

A view of Afrikan UK Citizens during  the Pandemic.

 

Background

In early April 2020, GACuk instructed its Secretary to contact Afrikans to form a coalition to answer the question:

 

DO YOU THINK AFRIKANs IN THE UK ARE BEING GIVEN OR WILL BE GIVEN EQUAL TREATMENT BEFORE, DURING OR AFTER THIS CRISIS?

 

The Public Health of Afrikan People Group was established to provide a meaningful frame of reference for analysing  our experiences and sharing our perspective on issues arising from the Covid-19 Pandemic.

 

By Afrikan we refer to all people who usually self identify as Black and or of Afrikan origin. This is includes people often referred to as African or Caribbean in the UK. This population is impacted by perennial UK Afriphobia.  Afriphobia is the specific manifestation of Racism impacting on Afrikan people.

 

The framing of our UK Afrikan Citizens response identified fundamental questions that need to be answered in order to  tackle the main question. (See page 6 Working Document of GACuk Afrikan Public Health Monitoring Group).

 

Our Response to the Inquiry

 

Our response focuses on the experience of Afrikan People, a group with a protected characteristic who have been disproportionately affected by Covid-19 .  The  high death toll, the struggle to keep body and soul together without an income, stress from the fear of unfair disciplinary action at work, coping with Structural and Institutional Afriphobia and a struggle to live without the usual support structures of Faith Community and Community are pressures the Afrikan Community is juggling.

This is contextualised by years of austerity policies that have disproportionately eroded BAME wellbeing, and, undermine the  international spirit of human rights and UK Equality Legislation that has been hard fought for by our ancestors.

The Government’s response, including the emergency Coronavirus Bill fails to take account of the reality faced by this particular group who are overrepresented in low income, precarious jobs.   With regards to those involved in enterprise, few are able to access the support measures put forward by the Chancellor as the measures  do not recognise the level at which many of the businesses operate because they are not able to access capital.  Micro businesses which nevertheless provide vital subsistence for families are not on the Chancellor’s radar.  None of his measures support this informal economy.

The Government’s aim to support workers and people more widely have inadvertently excluded Afrikan businesses as their businesses often fall within the group of SMEs who find the requirements cumbersome. The support measures exclude and highlight that the Government is out of touch with the operational realities of these businesses, only able  to provide support for larger businesses .

 

  1. How people have been affected by the illness or the response to it

 

Experiences of the Afrikan Community

 

The Afrikan Public Health Monitoring Group is in the early stages of its work but has already recorded the following issues of concern: 

 

(a)   High levels of scepticism regarding public and private agency response due to perennial experiences of unchecked institutional Afriphobia.

(b)   High death toll.  Afrikan staff are overrepresented in the death  statistics 

(c)   Refused medical care with fatal consequences

(d)   Those working on the frontline unable to access adequate protective clothing

(e)   Afrikan Agency staff being put on Covid-19 wards when regular staff refuse to work  on dangerous wards

(f)    Afrikan’s presenting with other emergency needs placed on Covid-19 wards and getting infected in hospital

 

 

  1. Specific impacts on people due to having a protected characteristic

 

(a)   Afrikans are overrepresented in  low paid work including zero hours contracts such as care work, cleaning and the gig economy.  The Lockdown, a  Public Health response to the pandemic,  means that some of this work is not available and  many are without an income. 

(b)   Afrikans  living here legally but stuck  in the  precarious jobs who have ‘no recourse to public funds’ are unable to access a safety net during the Lockdown and must rely on Charity to survive. This adds to their stress and impacts on their Mental Well Being

(c)   Structural and Institutional Racism mean that Afrikans are not always able to assert their Employment Rights when threatened with loss of pay as a result of illness. Many soldier on when they should be seeking medical help.

(d)   Fear of sanctions for asking for protective equipment.  There has been at least one petition for an NHS worker fighting against Disciplinary action for refusing to work until PPEs have been provided

(e)   Work in the informal economy where many Afrikans are overrepresented, does not give much scope for savings or Work/ Life Balance. Without the possibility of going to work, many Afrikans have no money for essentials

(f)    Many Afrikans live in overcrowded housing with inadequate recreational space.   Lockdown impacts more severely on them by increasing their Mental  anquish .

(g)   There is a heightened sense of Afriphobia as the coping strategies, usually through Social Contact, are not available.

(h)   Many Afrikans have Care Responsibilities abroad.  There is an additional emotional and financial impact at this time.

(i)     Afrikans with a family member in prison suffer additional stress. We have received reports  that Prisoners are now locked up for 23hours a day. The powerlessness to protect family in the Prison System is felt acutely at this time especially when there is an outbreak of Covid-19 in prison. All courses for personal development have been stopped increasing the risk of mental ill health. Family members have to send money for prisoners to make phone calls. Increasing the mental and financial stress on relatives.

(j)     Many African people are marginalised in the new world of video conferencing - due to costs associated with the faster internet connectivity link often required - and as a result have limited engagement with the digital political economy. Lack of access to devices like 4G smart phones, laptops, fixed or mobile WiFi means that many people are excluded from web conferences which facilitate consumer-to-business as well as business-to-business relationships, during isolation.

 

Whether there may be unforeseen consequences to measures brought in to ease the burden on frontline staff, for example relaxing the measures under the Mental Health Act and Care Act

 

    1. Afrikan people feel such legislation will disproportionately impact on our human rights.
    2. There is a time lag between consequences being felt and reports reaching us.  There is considerable anxiety in the Afrikan Community that the battle for equitable treatment is that much harder with protections being relaxed.
    3. There are some reports that DNR Orders are being routinely used on Afrikan patients and there seems to be little scope for challenging such decisions in this  emergency climate.

 

Reviewing the measures

 

The Government has said current measures will be reviewed in three weeks’ time, and measures in the Coronavirus Bill be voted on again in 6 months’ time.

  1. What needs to change or improve, which could be acted on in three weeks’ time: 

 

    1. The Government needs to acknowledge and redress endemic ongoing structural inequality emanating from the enslavement of Afrikan people, as identified by the the United Nations World conference on Racism and Xenophobia in 2001.

The United Nations International working group of experts on people of African and African Descendent’s periodical reviews for the UK government, provide high level information on how Afrikans are experiencing Afriphobia in the UK.

    1. Infrastructure and financial support to Afrikan led voluntary and community sector community health organisations
    2. Financial Support for small and micro businesses should be put in place so vital support is easier to access
    3. Support for the most vulnerable to access to digital interfaces like smart phones and tablets. Broadband connectivity for each home,  Laptop for each child of school age
    4. Remove the additional charges on phone calls to prisoners.
    5. Prisoner release where possible so family members  have one source of considerable stress removed
    6. Where it is not practical to release prisoners,  online delivery of courses should be facilitated so the mental health of prisoners is not further impacted. Community input should be sought so Afrikan organisations are empowered to provide culturally appropriate development for vulnerable members increasing their chances of surviving and thriving.

 

  1. What needs to change or improve, which could be acted on in 6 months’ time:

 

    1. The welfare benefits culture needs to be shifted from stigmatising means testing to facilitating human self worth and esteem. Many Afrikans are fearful of stigma and corrosive scrutiny of their lives, families and communities, perceived to come from applying for Universal Credit.
    2. The Introduction of Universal Basic Income which will give access to a basic income so workers do not need to put themselves in harm’s way in order to survive.  The flexibility  will give those on zero hours contracts the funds to buy essentials when they are unable to work
    3. Afrikan’s appear to be at significant risk from Covid-19.  Until the reasons for this are properly understood, they should be protected from this increased risk by being withdrawn from risky work placements or being provided with enhanced personal protection
    4. A significant proportion of African people are unable to access the new world of video conferencing - due to costs associated with the faster internet connectivity link often required - and as a result have limited engagement with the digital political economy. Lack of access to devices like 4G smart phones, laptops, fixed or mobile WiFi means that many people are excluded from web conferences which facilitate consumer-to-business as well as business-to-business relationships, during isolation.

 

GACuk’s Public Health Group is in the early stages of its work, but has tried to give the Committee a sense of the particular pressures being faced by Afrikans on the frontline and in the Community.

Early indications are that Afriphobia, Structural and Institutional Racism are heightened by this public health emergency.

It is also clear that the precarious work situation of many Afrikans ill equips them to space out their shopping so they do not expose themselves to the risk of infection.  We are convinced  that Universal Basic Income could go a long way to healing the glaring fracture of inequality and poverty.

2020’s lens is irrefutably revealing to the world that the poor treatment of some of us impacts on the life chances of all of us. Reparative Justice for Afrikans is more than a ideal, it is a prerequisite for Public health.

 

GACuk Afrikan Public Health Monitoring Group 

UK Afrikan Citizens perspective on the Pandemic.

The question :  DO YOU THINK AFRIKANs IN THE UK ARE BEING GIVEN OR WILL BE GIVEN EQUAL TREATMENT BEFORE, DURING OR AFTER THIS CRISIS?

The framing of our UK Afrikan Citizens response identified the following three fundamentals tackling the main question.

1)     What does equal treatment look like?

a)      Do we have organisations reflecting equity e.g. Independent social welfare provision, and political representation of the same in policy. 

b)     Who is measuring it?

c)      We need a list of organisations?

 

2)     What is the crisis?

a)      How has it been defined by policy makers, the media and every day White folk, every day black folk.

b)     Is it

i)       public health crisis,

ii)     health crisis

iii)   a political/economic crisis or

iv)   the momentum of structural change/an opportunity?

 

3)     What are the implications of the crisis from each of the above positions 2b i) to iv)?

a)      For the next 2 months?  

b)     Next 6 months.

c)      Next year and beyond.

 

Simplifying our approach:

1. Collect stories & data about how Covid-19 is impacting on our Community. NHS, Transport  workers etc

2. Find out which individuals & organisations have stepped in to support our people

3. Make a case for

( a ) resources for the work in progress

( b ) corrective action to address the Afriphobia which is fuelling our vulnerability

( c ) champion the introduction of Universal Basic Income as it will benefit our Community. We are over represented in Low  Income precarious work

 

Issues:

●       Economic depression and marginalisation from Employment and business,

●       Changing status of black organisations, social.welfare needs (Universal Basic income),

●       political representation in policy( challenging Afriphobia),

●       Technological implications and concerns  (social and biological engineering, testing/marketing/mythologisation... Vacinnes, 5G etc etc)

 

 

May 2020