Haringey Solidarity Group

Clap For carers 2

“Clap for Carers” but now they want our money as well

For the last three Thursdays we have been asked to “clap for carers”. As we have said before, we fully support all NHS staff (and in fact all workers) and the appreciation they are getting. But, we also need to remember why we are in the position we are in, where the NHS is under staffed; doesn’t have enough beds; and many staff have to claim benefits to top up their disgustingly low wages. Presently staff don’t have enough Personal Protective Equipment (PPE); we are scrambling around to find more beds; we don’t have enough ventilators; and testing is woefully short. All of this didn’t happen overnight – it’s because of years of successive governments not giving a damn about NHS staff and ordinary people’s health. This was never a “mistake” or “over-sight”. It was a cynical, calculated policy by our so called leaders.

Now, on Thursday 9^th April we are being asked to not only clap for the state underfunding our health service and putting our health workers lives at risk (and maybe up to a dozen have already died due to this), but we are also being asked to donate.

These donations go to an organisation called “NHS Charities Together” and they are asking for a fiver from all of us. It seems, this money then goes to the charitable trusts most hospitals have to set up to beg for money from local people, because the state under funds them.

Details: Published: 26 April 2020

Clap For Carers

A statement from some of us in Haringey Solidarity Group

We TOTALLY respect, appreciate and support all that those in the NHS are doing and putting themselves through, along with millions of other essential workers. But, we have concerns that the Clap For Carers gesture will be seen as a smoke screen for the government’s handling of the current situation.

Whilst it was a way for ordinary people to show their genuine support for care workers, it also takes the spotlight off the state for their pathetic attempts at protecting and supporting essential workers, whilst at the same time shoring up the business sector and donors to their parties. The governments lack of foresight and mismanagement is nothing short of astounding.

Our care workers need more than a two-minute round of applause – as heart felt as it was from all of us. They need us to support their demands for the tools they need to do the job effectively. They don’t have enough personal protective equipment, resulting in staff are being asked to work in dangerous environments. They don’t have enough staff and its bloody criminal that we ask retired NHS staff to cover when we have known for years we have between 30,000 and 100,000 vacancies in the NHS. NHS staff have been undervalued and under paid for years by successive governments of all colours. The financial crisis was brought about by the financial sector yet public sector workers and the poorest in society were made to pay for it.

Details: Published: 26 April 2020

7 Million living in poverty

According to a new study millions of people including 4 Million of children in deep poverty.

The main points in this studding are:

More than 4 million people in the UK are trapped in deep poverty, meaning their income is at least 50% below the official breadline.
The Social Metrics Commission also said 7 million people, including 2.3 million children, were affected by what it termed persistent poverty.
“By cutting £40bn a year from our work and pensions budget through cuts and freezes to tax credits and benefits, the government has put progress into reverse,” said Alison Garnham, the chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group.
It found that of 14.3 million in the UK in poverty, 4.5 million were in deep poverty – a third of all those on the breadline, and 7% of the population.
A single parent with one child would be on less than £101.50 a week.
There has been a dramatic rise in child poverty in families with three or more children, up 9% points since 2013-14.
It also confirms that work is no longer a guarantee of protection against poverty. At the millennium 54% of children in poverty lived in a family where an adult worked. That rose to 73% in 2o17-18. Even in families where all adults work full time, one in six children are in poverty.
Children of lone parents, and pensioners – have had hardship levels rise since 2013 as a result of austerity measures such as the benefit freeze, reversing earlier downward trends, the commission said.

Details: Published: 29 July 2019

We must support StART and this is how

The route to a political solution is to answer the question, “what would we like to happen?” and use the answer to that question as the guide to making it happen.

In terms of housing in Haringey if you asked most people they would state that they would want the provision of truly affordable homes for all residents of the Borough. Who provides the homes is much less of a concern. Most people would probably say that as long as they were truly affordable now and forever they really don’t care who provides them. Given a choice between homes held in Trust by the community itself, the Council or private developers there would most likely be consensus around the first two.

People are tiring of multinationals and their bulldozers and all their unaffordable houses.

Details: Published: 10 January 2019

White Helmets Statement on Grenfell

To the London Fire Brigade from the Syrian Civil Defence [White Helmets] in Daraa, Southern Syria:

We were saddened to hear about the loss of souls in the Grenfell Tower fire, including Mohammad al-Haj Ali, a Syrian from our home of Daraa who had fled to London seeking safety from death and destruction.

We appreciate your efforts to search for bodies for days in a row and we feel your pain because this horror is our daily reality. In Daraa, we’re under the heaviest attacks we’ve ever seen in this deadly war. Hundreds of airstrikes have destroyed entire neighbourhoods and fires are everywhere. Just like you, our teams are rushing towards the blazes and we do all we can to rescue the injured.

The past 16 days have seen 88 people killed and nearly 35,000 civilians displaced from their homes.

A civil defence centre was targeted and destroyed, and 5 volunteers were injured in the bombing -- as you know it’s a terrible thing to see your teammates suffer.

You have been so generous to us, donating equipment to our teams when you met with our teammates in London. We’ve received trainings from British experts in search-and-rescue and firefighting. Who knows, we might have been trained by the same people. And who knows we might also be saving the lives of the friends of Mohammad al-Haj Ali here in Daraa.

We feel we have so much in common. We all risk our own lives to save as many lives as possible as fast as possible. Our hearts are with you and we wish we could help you in your search for victims.

We send you strength for your mission and we hope to meet you one day.

The Syria Civil Defence [White Helmets] of Daraa