London's Kurdish community pulls together to help in times of need

VILLAZ, France — When customers at their cafe began to dry up with the city on lockdown, London business partners Ali Kalkan and Cemal Polat knew they had to shift gears to keep up with the times.

With the help of the community – and a little Kurdish hospitality – the two have launched a successful initiative to prepare and deliver meals to people who need them the most, and brought people together in the process. For just over a month now, they have been delivering food to health workers and the vulnerable. So far, they have delivered just over 3,000 meals to individuals at home in quarantine, who can check their website to see what type of food is on offer.

Communities around the world are struggling under the weight of lockdown measures to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus. Businesses have closed their doors, key workers are risking their health, and every household is distracted by fears for loved ones. After the UK government mandated that cafes and restaurants only serve takeaway meals, the pair saw an opportunity to help, and decided to transform their cafe into the hub of a community-wide support network for those in need.

Health workers are at the forefront of the battle against COVID-19. Doctors, nurses, and hospital staff are facing a challenge unlike any other in a generation. Long working hours, the complications arising from treating patients in isolation, and a lack of personal protective equipment means that work has become more dangerous and more difficult. For the long-time London residents, both 32 years old and of Kurdish origin, the need to help out and support the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) was clear.

“They’ve got life and death responsibility in their hands and they work under critical conditions. For them, it’s like going to war every single day," Cemal told Rudaw English via telephone. "They can contract the virus which could potentially kill them, or affect their loved ones.” 

A recent poll of UK healthcare workers by YouGov for the IPRR thinktank found that the stress of lifesaving health care work was impacting their own health and well-being. More than 50 percent of those asked reported problems such as stress and trauma as a result of working to treat COVID-19.

The elderly and unwell are also facing an arduous time. Isolation can be a severe experience if contact with other people is potentially life-threatening. Going to the shops is often too dangerous, and the respite that comes with socializing with friends and family is too often an impossibility.

With the connection of London’s Kurdish community, they are able to find and reach the most in need. “People in our community will get through to us by social media, or their relatives will ask for help. We’ve had a few drop-offs lately to the vulnerable who can’t physically go to the supermarket as they must maintain social distancing. says Ali. While supermarket queues can sometimes last for an hour of waiting in risky social proximity, “we are there for them when it comes to food or medications and prescriptions,” Ali told Rudaw English.

Friends since primary school, Ali and Cemal share a strong bond which has lasted for twenty years. They came from the same region in Turkey, and shared a lot in common. “Our families knew each other; both our parents worked in factories. When a lot of Kurdish people arrived in the country, they worked in textiles,” Cemal explains.

After high school they lost touch when Cemal went into higher education and Ali busy at work, but soon got back in touch with each other. When they reconnected in adulthood, they decided to become business partners. “Ali had flown from Istanbul and I picked him up from the airport. We went to a Kurdish restaurant in London, I even remember what I had to eat that day, we had a meeting and thought ‘this is what we have to do,’” Cemal remembers.

Beginning with car leasing, the friends-turned-business partners went on to expand into cafes and hospitality. They now have four cafes in London – including Drury 188-189 and 215 Hackney, which is focused on Middle Eastern food. Most recently, they’ve developed their own app to ensure their leased vehicles are used safely and efficiently.

Despite success in business, the pair say their family values taught them to always remember to look after their staff. Part of the motivation to start delivering food to health workers and the vulnerable was the fact that members of their staff, including two cooks from the Kurdish community, did not qualify for UK financial support during the lockdown because they had only recently started working at the cafes.

By asking for donations from the local community, the cooks were able to be paid a living wage. Many of the donations, which total more than $11,000, have come from London’s Kurdish community. The wider support network of London’s Kurds also came in useful when implementing the plan.

Meryem Kaya, a general practitioner in London, helped Ali and Cemal contact hospitals that are seeking food for medical staff. She says that the initiative has been beneficial in other ways too. “Sometimes people who are immigrants or are from ethnic minority backgrounds don’t have the confidence to take part in such initiatives. I think seeing other people do it probably gives them encouragement as well,” Kaya told Rudaw English.

“It’s a good way to boost the morale of the NHS staff," she added. "There have been comments from the London Ambulance staff about how touched they’ve been by the poster outside the restaurant. I think it’s been really good work and very appreciated.”

Ali and Cemal say they plan to carry on with food donations until the end of the lockdown in the UK.

Edited by Shawn Carrié

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