Gentrification & Covid-19 are Threatening Brick Lane’s Bangladeshi Community
Shabnam Ali / Feb 12 / Social Cleansing & Gentrification
Credit: Getty Images
A legend in London; in 2021 Brick Lane is majorly challenged by COVID-19 and other detrimental forces of change. For generations, ‘Banglatown’ in Whitechapel, East London has represented a multicultural hub and acted as a revolving door for migrant populations. Home to members of French, Irish, Jewish and Bangladeshi communities, this ‘lane’ holds significant social value to many cultural groups. But it is now under threat.
The Old Truman Brewery, prominent in Aldgate since the 1660s, was once East London’s largest brewery and is now home to the East’s “primary destination for the public and creative businesses alike.” As of early 2020, the Brewery has proposed planning permissions to build over the multi-cultural Brick Lane, with a new shopping mall, offices, and commercial buildings. This gentrification is problematic as it poses issues of displacement, social cleansing in areas of high property value to accommodate the middle class and general lack of ethical care in the face of rising death tolls within the community due to COVID-19. Such gentrification will create a domino effect of negative consequences on the already disadvantaged families, increasing concerns of anti-social behaviour and violent youth crime in the face of potential displacement and relative poverty. This article will comprehensively discuss the specific impact of the Old Truman Brewery’s vision to over gentrify the area on the British Bangladeshi community amid COVID-19.
A petition in June 2020 was extended to early 2021 to stop or extend planning permissions: still, a decision is unconfirmed. In 2021, the lasting effects of COVID-19 only add to the suspected disadvantage and displacement of the British Bengali community. Generally, every British Bengali individual has heard of or has familial roots in Brick Lane, along with its important contributions to a sense of home via fashion, food, and family. From imported unique Bangladeshi fruit and veg in the markets to the bustling of the tight-knit neighbourhood, the suspected dispersion of community will be a harrowing reality. As a member of the British Bengali community, I feel a personal connection to this story and aim to use my background in higher education to engage with and shine a light on this movement. From gentrification, the virus and socio-economic decline, there is a predictable and occurring decline in the social mobility of this community.
A cultural and socio-economic history of Brick Lane
From the second World War onwards, south Asian migration to the UK was consistent. Around 1938, the first Sylheti Bengali community of lascars (sailors) settled around the area of Brick Lane working as pedlars, porters, cooks, and tailors. This led to the introduction of Sylheti coffee houses, lodging houses and restaurants for lascars. The 1970s were a turning point for the British Bengali community; the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971 saw men increasingly bring their families to the UK seeking safety and future economic stability.
The significance of Brick Lane as a cultural hub amplified as the murder of Altab Ali in 1978 by white supremacist group, the National Front drew the community closer together in unity against the mass racial hostility faced. Overtaking the previous Jewish majority, the 80s and 90s saw mass acquisition by Bangladeshi businessmen, over the food and textiles industry, transforming Brick Lane into what is now known as ‘Banglatown.’ This name in itself represents the cultural significance to this particular group, in direct comparison to the importance of ‘Chinatown’ to the British Chinese community regarding food, culture and tourism.
The 1990s saw London as the curry capital, directly linked to the rise of Bengali chefs & Sylheti owned ‘curry houses.’ The trend continued, with the current manifestation of the chicken tikka masala as the UK’s “national dish” maintaining Colonialist sentiment but nonetheless benefitting the community with a legacy; “Bangladeshis run 85-90% of the Indian restaurants in the UK.” Amidst the success of the British Bengali community in Banglatown with over 46 Bengali owned establishments in 2003, by 2007, Tower Hamlets Council declared Banglatown a tourist area; this prodded the interest and re-emergence of the Truman Brewery. Their plans, in turn, are damaging to the local community.
COVID-19 and over-gentrification impacting the British Bengali community
The proposal by the Truman Brewery to gentrify over 400 years of history atop the heartland of the British Bengali community, displays several issues of social cleansing, displacement, and lack of ethical care as aforementioned. Given the current context of the changing world we live in affected by the deadly COVID-19 virus, we must assess the impact in 2021 on the community in conjunction with the effects of the virus. A report from Public Health England (PHE) on June 2nd 2020 states that: “people of Bangladeshi origin are most at risk of dying from Covid-19.”
Another piece has attributed this surge within the British Bengali community to a number of reasons, highlighting their economic disadvantage among the UK’s ethnic groups along with the link to a lack of higher-skilled jobs among the majority, due to poor English skills. As tight communities are formed in areas such as Brick Lane, and mass recent migration, the desire to learn the English language has decreased and states that “the high risk of death among Bangladeshi ethnics, fear of racial discrimination and poor English skills, [paint] a very troubling picture.” Tower Hamlets (TH) in East London, has the highest British Bengali population. The lacking English skills within this community could potentially be the underhand reason for the Brewery’s attempt at socially cleansing and ‘modernising’ the area around the City of London. As a borough, TH has been substantially affected by the virus; the official TH website’s latest report on the 26th of January 2021 outlines “4,563 cases in the past 14 days (9 January to 22 January)” adding that
This is a distressing reality not only for the community but for migrant public health in general. In terms of providing a solution, the article goes on to quote PHE that “members of this community must receive the appropriate information translated to Bengali, the official Bangladeshi language, so that this high-risk group, can have a fighting chance against COVID-19” (PHE 2020).
Nonetheless, as members of this community are sadly passing away in the thousands, the Truman Brewery’s attempt at socially cleansing the area near the City of London, displays a lacking ethical duty of care for other individuals who are already socially disadvantaged, to profit and cater to middle-class communities. The issue of social housing was also brought to light by community group feedback; feedback which in itself was a battle to gain from the Brewery, in an area where overcrowding is present and more social housing is always requested by the community.
Famous for congested tower block housing in ‘Tower’ Hamlets, in response to this demand, East End Housing recently received a “£25m deal to extend tower blocks vertically” further in early January 2021 posing safety concerns, whilst ‘solving’ the under-housing issue potentially to soften the blow of building over Brick Lane. Physical safety concerns along with posing a high risk to housing COVID-19 as official reports show “a strong association of cases with social housing residents”; a lack of governmental care for families in social housing, literally ‘stacked’ like sardines; an eerily similar threat to the tragedy of Grenfell Tower in 2017.
By building over the area, many British Bengalis will be displaced from the area, either forcibly due to the location of the Brewery’s build or unable to live in the area anymore due to rising rent and overheads for small Bengali owned businesses. This has a knock-on effect on the families, increasing concerns for youth crime and anti-social behaviour in the face of relative poverty and displacement.
Without the sacrifices of our grandparents and parents, the likelihood of first-generation British born Bengalis being able to obtain higher education, Western lifestyles and success, would not have been possible in the face of racial adversity and language barriers. This historical sacrifice must always be recognised, honoured, and appreciated within our community.
If the planning permissions go forth, there will likely be a predictable, heart-breaking decline of this community on the social mobility ladder, after generations of struggle.
Join the Battle for Brick Lane by showing up on social media. Follow @nijjormanush; a British Bengali led social activist group for updates and @SpitafieldsT. #SAVEBRICKLANE and tag @SadiqKhan (Mayor of London) and @Rushanaraali (MP for Bethnal Green and Bow)