{"id":26532,"date":"2020-11-13T14:23:14","date_gmt":"2020-11-13T14:23:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=26532"},"modified":"2020-11-13T14:23:15","modified_gmt":"2020-11-13T14:23:15","slug":"the-only-way-we-will-get-through-this-is-if-we-help-each-other","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=26532","title":{"rendered":"‘The only way we will get through this is if we help each other’"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n\n

At a time when hunger and want have soared in the UK and across globe amid the coronavirus pandemic, never has reaching out to our communities been more important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Unite has set up its Christmas Appeal initiative, where both industrial and Unite Community members are working together to donate to local food banks, start collections and ask their employers to get involved as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Within days of launching Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s union-wide initiative, a huge number of members, branches and workplaces have already offered to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This week, UniteLIVE caught up with Unite rep and activist Ethnie Abbasali, who is one of many members contributing to and drumming up support for the Christmas Appeal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As soon as Ethnie received an email about the Appeal, she wanted to get involved right away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI thought this was a great opportunity for me and my family to make a personal donation so I ordered a bunch of toiletries and hand sanitisers since I knew these items were in high demand. People don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think about things like shower gels, body cream, and deodorant when they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re donating to food banks but people need these items too to survive and get by.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethnie also collected numerous toys she had that she had bought over the year for her nieces and nephews that she hadn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t yet given.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI realized that my nieces and nephews don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really need them, and here was an opportunity to put a smile on a child\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s face who may be going through a really hard time at the moment,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethnie then got in touch with her local Unite Community branch, who then in turn connected her with a new local food bank in her area where she could donate the items to in Brent, London, in the Chalkhill Estate area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As chair of her Transport for London (TfL) branch, which covers professional services who are office-based staff and has about 600 members, she called a branch meeting so that they could discuss how they can assist with the Christmas Appeal collectively. The branch will now be making a donation through the Appeal as well, and Ethnie has also encouraged all reps and members to find a food bank or charity in their local area to donate to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI told them that it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to be a large amount, even if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just \u00c2\u014110 or \u00c2\u014120,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Ethnie noted.  \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnything, however small, that people can do will be a blessing to these families who are struggling right now. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re comrades and members just like us. TfL hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t made any staff reductions \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m not saying that it may not happen in the future \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but for the time being we are still getting paid and we haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t had any redundancy notices yet. So we are in a position to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s all about helping someone else who might not be in the same position as you. It doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t mean that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re any less than anyone else \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it just means at this particular junction in their lives they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re struggling and they just need some support.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethnie said her industrial branch is now in discussions with her local Unite Community branch about how they can help further in their communities and also potentially affiliate to the local trades council.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis sort of collaborative working is now at the top of our agenda as a branch. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s vital that industrial members and branches work within their communities so we can brainstorm ideas to maximise our impact in helping others.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethnie urges branches and members across sectors and regions to get involved in Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Christmas Appeal too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen I donated the toiletries, hand sanitisers and toys to the food bank, I can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t begin to describe how good it felt \u00e2\u20ac\u201c there really are no words for that feeling,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been a member of the union for nearly thirty years and I have never seen a time like this, where so many people have been affected by the pandemic in one way or the other \u00e2\u20ac\u201c both here and across the globe. So many people are suffering and the only way we are going to get through this is by helping and supporting each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd it doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter what religion, race or gender you are \u00e2\u20ac\u201c if you need help, we need to be there to help each other,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Ethnie added. \u00c2\u00a0\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not about saying, ‘Well I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m just going to help that individual because I know them’. If there is a need, we as a community, as a branch and and as individuals need to be supporting others.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ethnie said the Christmas Appeal is one part of the many ways that she believes Unite is supporting its members and communities during the pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never been prouder to be a member of Unite \u00e2\u20ac\u201c from all the online training we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re receiving as reps to the many communications we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re getting from the union to keep us updated and informed and much more in between, Unite is really going above and beyond at this unprecedented time. Even though we may be physically isolated from one another, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve never felt more connected to the union than I do now.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unite assistant general secretary Steve Turner, who is responsible for the union\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s army of community activists, hailed the work Unite Community and industrial members and branches are doing to help those in need this Christmas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bUp and down the country, Unite Community members are working with our branches and members in workplaces to help people get through these really tough times,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bTogether what a force they are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re organising collections for food banks; they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re organising for clothes banks. And they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re asking employers to show they care for their communities too, by donating cash, toys and gifts so that no child goes without this Christmas. This is Unite in action \u00e2\u20ac\u201c dedicated, driven and standing up for our people.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about Unite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Christmas Appeal, and how you can help, on our web page here.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Hajera Blagg<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

At a time when hunger and want have soared in the UK and across globe amid the coronavirus pandemic, never has reaching out to our communities been more important. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why Unite has set up its Christmas Appeal initiative, where both industrial and Unite Community members are working together to donate to local food banks, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":24421,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1482,1295,1486,164],"wps_subtitle":"Unite rep Ethnie Abbasali explains why she's got involved with Unite's Christmas Appeal - and why everyone should take part too","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26532"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=26532"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26532\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26538,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26532\/revisions\/26538"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24421"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=26532"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=26532"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=26532"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}