Leader of Redbridge

I was privileged to be among the many people who took part in this year’s Holocaust Memorial Day service at Valentines Park on Friday 27 January.

Councillor Prince, Leader of the Council, gives a speech on “Speak Up , Speak out” , the theme of Holocaust Memorial Day 2012

The Holocaust is an incredibly harrowing subject and I am proud that we were joined by so many residents and more than 300 of the Borough’s schoolchildren to remember the those who died in the atrocities and to commit that we would learn from the past so such acts may never be repeated in the future.

The service, which was presided by Councillor Alan Weinberg, Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, was very moving, featuring readings from the Borough’s students, the Mayor’s Chaplain Reverend Dr Liz Horwell, from Christ Church, Wanstead and prayers from the Rabbi I G Hyman from Ilford United Synagogue.

There were also speeches from the Mayor, Councillor Chris Cummins, a poem from Maria Leier, a member of the Roma Support Group, and an incredibly touching first hand account of the horrors of Auschwitz from Ivor Perl, a Holocaust Survivor.

The crowd, which included MPs Mike Gapes and Lee Scott and Councillor Jas Athwal, Leader of Redbridge Labour Group, also heard a hymn from the combined choirs of the South West Essex and Resettlement Reform Synagogue and Ilford United Synagogue.

The theme of this years Holocaust Survival Day was “Speak Up, Speak Out” which encourages us to speak out against discrimination.  This isn’t a message to be taken lightly.

We can each do our bit to ensure that racism, discrimination and xenophobia have no place in our society and I would encourage each of our residents and workers in Redbridge to speak out against any such behaviour to ensure that Redbridge can be a safe and happy place to live for people of all faiths and ethnicities.

A panel at Show Racism the Red Card event held on 26 January 2012

On Thursday 26 January I went to along to the ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ event at Dagenham and Redbridge FC.

Over 100 pupils from five schools in Redbridge had the chance to meet top footballers and managers to talk about the issues of racism and get involved in different workshops to teach them about the impacts racism can have on people’s lives.

I was a member on the panel, during the Question Time session, which gave pupils the opportunity to ask about views and personal experiences of racism.  Also on the panel were Luther Blissett, former Watford legend and ex-England international footballer,  Sam Williams, Kevin Maher and Exodus Geohaghon, ‘Daggers’ players,  Laura Greason, representatives from the Roma Support Group along with Stephen Thompson Managing Director of ‘Daggers’ and Vasile Calin, year 8 pupil from Mayfield school.

Show Racism the Red Card event held on 26 January 2012

I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved and for Dagenham and Redbridge FC for hosting this very worthwhile event and helping to develop good relationships and respect the differences between people. I would also like to thank Gurdeep Singh Jutte for the Roma Support Group, Sue Mutter, Traveller Education Coordinator for Redbridge Council and Theresa Parish, Community Liaison Officer Dagenham and Redbridge FC for supporting the event and workshops.

I believe it is very important to take part in such worthwhile events and I was impressed by the pupils’ challenging questions and the positive impact the event and workshops clearly made on them.

I visited parts of Hainault yesterday following the severe weather to see the storm damage for myself and to talk to local residents who were affected.

It was quite surreal, I’ve never witnessed anything like it in the Borough before. Several properties had been damaged and I was speaking to two residents whose house was badly damaged. There was also a bus shelter which had been torn from the ground, trees which had been uprooted and a trampoline that had flown from a garden. It was really shocking.

There was obviously no warning that the winds would be that severe so emergency services and Council staff responded and reacted as quickly as they could to assess the damage and make properties safe. I know that there were a small number of residents who were unable to return to their properties for health and safety reasons so I would like to express my sympathy to all of those who have been affected by this freak weather. I hope that people are able to return to their properties soon and that any damage is repaired as quickly as possible.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the emergency services and Council staff and contractors for their actions during and immediately after the storm.

Along with the Deputy Mayor of Redbridge Councillor Felicity Banks, I joined the London Tigers last week at their annual awards ceremony to recognise the positive contributions.  The event took place on Monday 12 December and rewards the extraordinary contributions of London Tigers’ staff, volunteers and members.  The Awards given out were in the themes of Children & Young People, Community Cohesion, Health, Sports (Football, Badminton and Cricket) and Employment. There were also special awards for outstanding achievements. I would like to congratulate all those who received an award for their hard work and fantastic achievement.  It was also wonderful to see so many inspiring individuals from Redbridge.  I was proud to attend the event and am pleased to support the work of London Tigers.  Their volunteers and staff work tirelessly to offer people across London opportunities to learn and take part in sport to help them achieve their goals.

Below is a list of the winners from Redbridge.

Community Cohesion -  Outstanding Achievement Award

Nasir Jamal Ali

Daaniyal Iqbal

Sports Football – Daniel Noel’s Sportsmanship Award

Aminur Rahman

Sports Football – Manager’s Player

Alhad Mohammed

Sports Football – Most Improved

Ehsan Afzal

Employment – Voluntary Contribution

Yasir Sadiq

Nasir Jamal Ali

Special Awards – Outstanding Recognition

Sulthana Begum

On Saturday 19th November I attended a Salsa night hosted by Broadmead Baptist Church in Woodford Green.
The fundraising event was in aid of Cuba Mission.

For the last twelve years a team of Jamaican Christians have been going to host concerts around the island of Cuba providing practical support and encouragement for the people and spreading the love of god.
The event was well attended and I had a great evening.

There was a very interesting presentation on the work of the Cuba Mission team and I also took to the dance floor and learnt a few salsa dance steps during the evening too!  To find out more about the work of Cuba Mission email BroadmeadSalsa@yahoo.co.uk

On Sunday I attended the Redbridge Bengali Association AGM. 

It was significant this year that Mr. Tojammual Hoque was standing down after 4 years service as Chairman.

I congratulated him on his sterling work as Chairman during this time, which has seen it grow year on year and broaden its membership in the Community.

I also congratulated them on the number of activities they do on Health/Education, Community Liaison/Cohesion and Recreation/Leisure.

I also wished the incoming Chairman Mujib Rahman a successful two year term of office.

Redbridge Football Club have the honour of being the team from the lowest league still in the FA Cup after beating Oxford City last night in the replay on Tuesday night.
I went to the first game last week with Ilford North MP Lee Scott to support our local team.  Now the ‘Motormen’ have earned a place in the second round to play Crawley Town on 3 December. Good luck!

The difficulty of creating jobs, homes and opportunities in the current financial climate is a problem facing not just Redbridge but all areas across the UK.

That’s why I was very interested to take part in the widerdebate around how to make the most of growth in these difficult times at a Growth and Localism event at City Hall on November 18.

The event highlighted the benefits of the public, private and voluntary sectors working hand in hand with local neighbourhoods and communities to push forward change and help strengthen the economy.

There was a focus on new homes and greater local involvement in neighbourhood planning; better skills for the unemployed and young people including a strong drive for expanded apprenticeships.

The event also spoke about the importance of tapping into people’s ideas and ambitions by encouraging enterprise, self employment, skills for start up businesses and local creative industries and entrepreneurs.

The wide range of ideas left me with plenty to think about as we continue to try and deliver homes and services and opportunities to our residents.

I had the privilege of attending the World of Dance Festival in Waltham Forest on September 23 at the Borough’s Assembly Hall, in Forest Road, London.

Proceeds from the excellent event went towards Waltham Forest Mayors’ Charity Appeal with money being split between Havens House Hospice and The Guru Nanak Trust fund as well as other local charities.

There were a huge range of dance styles for the audience to enjoy during the evening from Brazilian, Bollywood, African, to traditional Irish dancing.

The event was also attended by a number of Redbridge Councillors including Councillor Chris Cummins, The Mayor of Redbridge.

We all sincerely enjoyed the event and were happy to be able to help raise money for such worthy causes.

As Redbridge Museum’s latest exhibition opened this week I took the opportunity to visit with my son.  The exhibition, called Island to Island, is a display of photographs exploring the links between Britain and the Caribbean and in particular East London’s links to the islands of Dominica and Barbados.

We really enjoyed taking a look around and reading the personal stories of migration and experiences of living on the islands which are complemented by some stunning photographs.
I think it is really important to promote the culture, heritage and history of all communities and the contribution that generations have made to make the country the vibrant tolerant and diverse society that it is.

As my children are of  Caribbean descent it is important that they and indeed all second and third generation residents have the opportunity to experience their culture and history.

The pictures are by photographer Tim Smith who spent his childhood in Barbados and Dominica.  It also includes some photographs taken by his father, Derek Smith, which look at life on the islands during the 1960s. The images capture some wonderful moments of community life and celebration.  I thoroughly enjoyed our visit, and would recommend the exhibition to residents.  It is open Tuesday to Friday 10am to 5pm and Saturday 10am to 4pm and is free to visit.

The exhibition also forms part of a programme of events taking place during October to celebrate Black History Month.

• Find out more about the exhibition and Redbridge Museum

• Find out more about events taking place as part of Black History Month