BME network meeting in Burngreave

Story: Lisa Swift

Following funding cuts, volunteers from the BME (Black and Minority Ethnic) Network organised a public meeting at the Vestry Hall, in June, to discuss ongoing issues of inequality in Sheffield.

Ronnie Lewin and Mubarak Hassan led the meeting, explaining that although the Network had lost most of its funding, they wanted people to get involved in regular public meetings and to help to continue to raise issues of inequality with organisations like Sheffield City Council.

Young people, youth justice, education and jobs were high on the agenda. Ronnie revealed a shocking statistic that over 50% of BME young people in Sheffield are unemployed. Volunteers had recently raised these concerns at a Cabinet meeting, and the group intends to keep highlighting the serious inequalities in Sheffield.

Mubarak spoke about health inequalities, pointing out that life span is over 10 years less in Burngreave than in the other side of the city,

“We know from the Fairness Commission that people from BME communities do not get a diagnosis early enough and this affects how effective treatments can be. At one GP a Somali woman was told to come back the next day when an interpreter was available, so she was not getting the same service as others when she needed it.”

Comments from the audience included:

“We can't wait for things to change. We need to do things ourselves and get things done.”

“We have to come together. We shouldn't be threatened by funding, we need to act.”

“There are many communities missing from this meeting, we need representatives from all communities.”

“We have made a massive contribution to this city but we are being pushed back to the 1960s.”

“We need to keep talking, and keep doing what we are doing and we can become a social and political movement.”

The BME Network plan to hold regular public meetings. For more information visit http://www.sbmen.co.uk