This weekend marks the start of the holiest month for Muslims worldwide. Ramadan, or Ramazan in Turkish, is the month when the Ku’ran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammed. For the next thirty days, all healthy Muslims will fast during daylight hours. This means not eating or drinking anything from sunrise to sunset. Ramazan is […]
A Royal Air Force A400 plane took off from Istanbul in the early hours of this morning carrying a large consignment of personal protective equipment (PPE) from a commercial supplier in Turkey. The plane arrived back at RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire just after 3am local time, ensuring essential PPE, such as surgical masks, gloves, […]
“One love. One heart. Let’s get together and feel alright,” sing NHS staff, key workers and volunteers from London’s Turkish Cypriot community. Their digital rendition of a Bob Markey classic not only aims to uplift spirits, but to also raise awareness of multiple good causes that need funding through the crisis. The clip is the […]
Ten days ago, I highlighted the plight of some 120 British nationals, many of Turkish Cypriot descent, stranded in North Cyprus due to the coronavirus pandemic. Lots of affected individuals, their British MPs, and community groups have all been lobbying the UK Foreign Office to demand their return. Since then, there has been a flurry […]
Sonya Kaygan, a 25-year-old mother of one, has passed away from coronavirus, her family announced today. She becomes the youngest British Turkish victim to die of COVID-19, which has already claimed the lives of over one hundred others in the community. Friends and family have said the young woman “gave her life protecting and caring […]
Two weeks ago, Erkin Guney, the chairman of the UK Turkish Islamic Trust (UKTIT), recorded a desperate plea for help. Overwhelmed by the growing number of deaths in the British Turkish Cypriot community, the UKTIT faced multiple shortages, including mortuary space, which Hackney Council has helped the mosque to overcome. Less easy to fix has […]
A 5-minute video by Dowan Ahmet warning about the dangers of coronavirus and offering tips for “these uncertain times” has gone viral. Addressed to “the Class of 2020”, Ahmet’s clip has been watched by over ten thousand people. His tribute to “healthcare professionals and other frontline staff” who “risk their lives so you don’t have […]
An appeal to help a Turkish Cypriot family in London cover the cost of two funerals after losing their father and grandfather to COVID-10 has proved successful. The £2,000 target was reached on Monday afternoon, two days after T-VINE first publicised the fundraising effort, which had been launched by family friend Sheniz Suleyman on 4 […]
Ambassador Oya Tuncalı, the London Representative of the Turkish Republic of North Cyprus, has addressed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on lives in a special message to Turkish Cypriots in Britain. The message, given in full below, acknowledges the “important changes to our lives”, and describes staying at home in self-isolation as an opportunity […]
A week after a family in London lost their granddad, tragedy struck again when their father also passed away. Both men died of coronavirus. An urgent appeal has been launched to raise £2,000 to help a family cover the costs of the second funeral. Husayn Hoca, the leading pastor for the British Turkish Cypriot community […]
