Younger Syrians see themselves more as ‘survivors’ rather than ‘victims’ Mustapha Karkouti, my close friend, was a Syrian-born British journalist, who died of a heart attack last July. We would often have coffee and talk politics. Today, we would have ruminated about the Syrian spring which led to an unending, grave winter. Ten years ago,…
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Coronavirus does discriminate – a colourblind approach helps no one We should mourn all who are taken away by this virus, but some groups are getting sicker than others. Millions of white Brits become choleric when racial differentials are raised in national conversations. They do not want to know and, for years, have accused us…
BMSD was set up 13 years ago to promote active democratic engagement and secularist principles. Secularism- often misunderstood or misrepresented- is not atheism. It is the separation of state and faith in order to guarantee every citizen equal rights. The constitutions of post-colonial Pakistan, India, Tunisia were based on secular rights and responsibilities. Post-Apartheid South…
At a time of the global crisis of Covid 19 and the pandemic that is sweeping the world, BMSD, is grateful to NHS staff at all levels- first responders, health carers, doctors nurses, cleaners and to all the others working tirelessly in providing essential services. Covid 19 infects humans of every race, religion, ethnicity, gender and class.…
Who am I? Mona Al Ghussein August 2019 Who am I? I am a Palestinian Muslim born in Kuwait, raised in France and England and consider Britain my home. There is some irony in that of course as it was the British in the infamous Balfour declaration that voided half of my ancestral home in…