‘Panic and sadness': British Gujaratis in Harrow gather to mourn Air India dead
Everyone's phones had been buzzing all day on Thursday, said Aneka Shah-Levy, a local Labour councillor, as friends and family members across the world anxiously checked in on each other, and shared rumours and snippets of what information they knew.
Though she hadn't yet learned the names of anyone she knew who had died, she was unsure if it would stay that way, said Shah-Levy. 'Coming from Harrow, and knowing what the community is like, how close the community is and the links we have, then – goodness – you wait. There's that horrifying feeling that there will be connections that will lead back here. It's just unimaginable.'
Shah-Levy had joined dozens of others at the International Siddhashram Shakti Centre, close to the high street, to pray and light candles. 'I have had this sense of panic and sadness all day that I haven't been able to shift, and being able to come here and gather collectively in some way, it's important,' she said.
Some of those present had already heard the names of people they believed had been on the flight. Bhupendra Buch, a retired police community officer, said an uncle of his in India had messaged to tell him his two granddaughters were on board, though Buch was unsure if they had been injured or killed. He had also been told that another Indian couple who he had lived next door to many years before had also been killed.
Few operators fly direct between Ahmedabad and London, so this same Air India journey is a trip that many here have taken many times, said Navin Shah, a retired architect and former Labour chair of the London Assembly. Shah was born in a small town 20km (12 miles) from the crash site, and said he knew the area intimately. 'As we speak I can vividly picture the whole area.'
It had been an exhausting and overwhelming day, he said, apologising for the emotion in his voice. 'Since the morning, I've been talking to my nephews, my cousins and friends who live in Ahmedabad, within spitting distance. The sense of shock I got from them, phone call after phone call, is that of horror and disbelief.'
He said he believed the majority of those present, as well as in other British Indian communities in places like Leicester and Brent, would have connections with someone who had died.
Shah has been discussing with family members in India what they could do for the part of the city where the plane fell, which he said included a slum. 'You have got to look, in the gloom, at what good you can do. That's what I'm looking towards. That something good can and must come out of this event. If we can help regenerate that community, that will be something,' he said.
For Shri Rajrajeshwar Guruji, the spiritual leader of the community, the crash was 'very, very sad news, it is a very big disaster'. Guruji said he personally knew the names of '13 or 14' people he believed had been on the flight, including Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat, who had previously worshipped at the centre. Rupani has been confirmed as one of those on board.
The disaster had had a 'big impact' on the British Gujarati community, Guruji said. 'I can only try to give them spiritual support, because beyond that, God is the only one who can give them strength.'
The community is braced for hard days ahead, said Shah-Levy. 'Obviously, it's still very early days. No one really knows yet. As more names come through, no doubt there will be more prayer meetings. There will be many people among us who have lost someone. This is a day that we won't forget – for all the wrong reasons.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
4 hours ago
- The Independent
Could white storks return to London? Public's views sought on ‘talismanic' bird
The public is being asked for views on the potential return of white storks to London, as part of a project to see if the 'talismanic' birds could make a home in the capital. Long-vanished white storks have been reintroduced in southern England, leading to an 'explosion' in sightings across Greater London in recent years. Now conservationists are looking at whether the metre-tall birds, which are known to thrive in urban settings on the continent, could do the same in London. Community-focused urban rewilding organisation Citizen Zoo is conducting an appraisal on making London a 'white stork-friendly city', including habitat mapping, reaching out to boroughs across the capital to gauge their response and surveying the public about the birds. White storks could once be seen flying in Britain's skies and building their huge nests on roofs and buildings as well as in trees, but disappeared centuries ago as a breeding bird due to hunting and habitat loss. Since 2016, the white stork project in Sussex has sought to create new colonies of rehabilitated injured storks – which can act as a 'magnet' for wild birds that visit from the continent – at Knepp and Wadhurst Park, with the first successful breeding in 2020. In the four decades before the start of the project there were just 27 records of white storks across Greater London. But between 2016 and 2023 there have been 472 sightings in the capital, with the numbers increasing year-on-year, conservationists said. Citizen Zoo has worked with communities to bring beavers back to Ealing, reintroduce water voles in Surrey and restore wetlands in the capital, in efforts to bring city dwellers closer to nature, deliver wellbeing benefits and make London more resilient to climate change, and is now looking at white storks. The storks have wider ecological benefits for their habitat, creating huge nests which are homes and food sources for an array of species from insects to birds. But it is their ability to inspire people about nature that has been a key part of reintroduction efforts in the UK. Elliot Newton, co-founder and director of rewilding at Citizen Zoo, told the PA news agency: 'These are a really talismanic, iconic species that really do draw and attract attention. 'You look up into the skies and see a white stork, it's quite obvious.' And he said: 'We realised in recent years we've seen an explosion in white stork recordings across Greater London. 'And if you look across European landscapes, this is a bird that can actually thrive in urban landscapes, on chimneys, on pylons, and are associated with thriving in urban settings. 'What we want to see is how can we make London a more white stork-friendly environment, and embrace it for its ability to inspire people about the nature we can and should have close to where we live.' He added: 'As humans we can dictate what our urban environments look like, we are the actual architects of these spaces. 'It's completely within our will as a species to choose the environments that we build around us and we can make that conscious choice to integrate more nature into our cities, and that will bring a whole wealth of benefits.' The survey is being led by the University of Brighton's Rachel White, with two phases that mirror a national survey she conducted as part of the white stork project in Sussex. The first phase of the study has involved surveying a representative sample of 1,000 Londoners, and a second phase is asking residents and frequent visitors to give their view on white storks and their place in the capital. Dr White said: 'It is really important to be monitoring stakeholders' opinions and attitudes towards any reintroductions, because that's one of the main reasons that reintroduction projects fail – they haven't got the buy-in from the key stakeholders. 'It is really important to not assume, or to not just go ahead with projects, because you see the conservation value in it.' She said projects need to ensure a majority of people are onboard with a reintroduction, that the rationale has been clearly communicated and people have been given the opportunity to have their say. The national survey found overall people were very positive towards the species, even if they had never seen storks before, although there was a lack of knowledge about things such as the stork's diet, and even what they looked like. But a 'relatively small' number of people – often those who were ecologists, conservationists or birders – were not in favour of the reintroduction, largely because it was not a threatened species and they thought it should not be a priority for action, she added. The London survey will feed into the wider assessment by Citizen Zoo of the political and public enthusiasm and habitat availability for storks, and potential next steps such as creating more habitat to encourage natural colonisation or even a release similar to that in Sussex. However, Mr Newton added that 'nature has a fantastic tendency to surprise us', with the possibility storks could establish themselves in the capital of their own accord.
The Independent
5 hours ago
- The Independent
‘Iconic' white storks could be coming back to London after centuries
Londoners are being consulted on the potential re-establishment of white storks in the capital, as part of a project to determine if these "talismanic" birds can once again thrive in the city. The majestic birds, which vanished from Britain centuries ago, have seen a resurgence following reintroduction efforts in southern England, leading to a notable "explosion" in sightings across Greater London. Conservationists are now exploring whether the metre-tall birds, known for flourishing in urban environments across Europe, could similarly establish themselves in London. The urban rewilding organisation Citizen Zoo is spearheading an appraisal to transform London into a "white stork-friendly city". This involves comprehensive habitat mapping, engaging with boroughs across the capital to assess their receptiveness, and conducting public surveys. Historically, white storks were a common sight in British skies, constructing their large nests on rooftops, buildings, and in trees, before their disappearance as a breeding species in the 1400s due to hunting and habitat destruction. Since 2016, the white stork project in Sussex has sought to create new colonies of rehabilitated injured storks – which can act as a 'magnet' for wild birds that visit from the continent – at Knepp and Wadhurst Park, with the first successful breeding in 2020. In the four decades before the start of the project, there were just 27 records of white storks across Greater London. But between 2016 and 2023 there have been 472 sightings in the capital, with the numbers increasing year-on-year, conservationists said. Citizen Zoo has worked with communities to bring beavers back to Ealing, reintroduce water voles to Surrey and restore wetlands in the capital, in efforts to bring city dwellers closer to nature, deliver wellbeing benefits and make London more resilient to climate change, and is now looking at white storks. The storks have wider ecological benefits for their habitat, creating huge nests which are homes and food sources for an array of species from insects to birds. But it is their ability to inspire people about nature that has been a key part of reintroduction efforts in the UK. Elliot Newton, co-founder and director of rewilding at Citizen Zoo, said: 'These are a really talismanic, iconic species that really do draw and attract attention. 'You look up into the skies and see a white stork, it's quite obvious.' He said: 'We realised in recent years we've seen an explosion in white stork recordings across Greater London. 'And if you look across European landscapes, this is a bird that can actually thrive in urban landscapes, on chimneys, on pylons, and are associated with thriving in urban settings. 'What we want to see is how can we make London a more white stork-friendly environment, and embrace it for its ability to inspire people about the nature we can and should have close to where we live.' The survey is being led by the University of Brighton 's Rachel White, with two phases that mirror a national survey she conducted as part of the white stork project in Sussex. The first phase of the study has involved surveying a representative sample of 1,000 Londoners, and a second phase is asking residents and frequent visitors to give their view on white storks and their place in the capital. Dr White said: 'It is really important to be monitoring stakeholders' opinions and attitudes towards any reintroductions, because that's one of the main reasons that reintroduction projects fail – they haven't got the buy-in from the key stakeholders. 'It is really important to not assume, or to not just go ahead with projects, because you see the conservation value in it.' The national survey found overall people were very positive towards the species, even if they had never seen storks before, although there was a lack of knowledge about matters such as the stork's diet, and even what they look like. But a 'relatively small' number of people – often those who were ecologists, conservationists or birders – were not in favour of the reintroduction, largely because it was not a threatened species and they thought it should not be a priority for action, she added. The London survey will feed into the wider assessment by Citizen Zoo of the political and public enthusiasm and habitat availability for storks, and potential next steps such as creating more habitat to encourage natural colonisation or even a release similar to that in Sussex. However, Mr Newton added that 'nature has a fantastic tendency to surprise us', with the possibility storks could establish themselves in the capital of their own accord.
The Guardian
5 hours ago
- The Guardian
Rewilding group to assess possible return of white storks to London
An urban rewilding group is seeking the public's views on the potential return of white storks to London as part of a project to see if the birds could make a home in the capital. White storks could once be seen flying in Britain's skies and building their huge nests on roofs and in trees, but they disappeared centuries ago as a breeding bird as a result of hunting and habitat loss. Citizen Zoo, an organisation that specialises in community-led urban rewilding, is conducting an appraisal on making London a 'white stork-friendly city'. It will include habitat mapping, contacting boroughs across the capital to gauge their interest and surveying the public about the birds. The White Stork Project in Sussex has sought to create new colonies of rehabilitated injured birds at Knepp and Wadhurst Park since 2016. These can act as a 'magnet' for wild birds that visit from the continent, and the project's first breeding success was in 2020. In the four decades before the start of the project there were just 27 records of white storks across Greater London, but there were 472 sightings between 2016 and 2023, with the numbers increasing year on year, conservationists said. Elliot Newton, a co-founder of Citizen Zoo and its director of rewilding, said: 'If you look across European landscapes, this is a bird that can actually thrive in urban landscapes. What we want to see is how we can make London a more white stork-friendly environment, and embrace it for its ability to inspire people about the nature we can and should have close to where we live.' The survey is being led by Dr Rachel White, of the University of Brighton, with two phases that mirror a national survey she conducted as part of the White Stork Project in Sussex. The first phase has involved surveying a representative sample of 1,000 Londoners, and the second phase is asking residents and frequent visitors to give their views on white storks and their place in the capital. The London survey will feed into Citizen Zoo's wider assessment of the political and public enthusiasm and habitat availability for storks, and potential next steps such as creating more habitat to encourage natural colonisation or even a release similar to that in Sussex. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Citizen Zoo has previously worked with communities to bring beavers back to Ealing, reintroduce water voles in Surrey and restore wetlands in the capital.
