Saeed Haque Saidul

We might be small but we do punch above our weight

A long-time resident in Lozells, Saidul Haque Saeed has proven himself to be a respected member of the community being raised in Lozells whilst also working within the neighbourhood.

Saeed, as he is known by most, and his family moved to Lozells in 1984, a year before the Handsworth riots. He says that “not only do I live here, but my actual work is also here in a lovely convent a couple of streets from where I live. I am a community organiser for a charity called Citizens UK [that operates] across the city.”. He goes on to further say that his “other local connection [is that] my dad is a local, retired Imam of a Mosque in this area, serving a range of people for over 20 years.”.

The first time that Saeed experienced challenges and disturbances in the neighbourhood was during the 1985 riots. He follows this up by describing the 2005 riots by saying, “My memory of it was shock. You didn’t expect things to happen. You thought things would’ve moved on, further forward. The tension got whipped up by lots of individuals, many who didn’t live in the area, many who had different agendas” demonstrating that the bulk of these riots consisted of “outsiders”.

When asked about the community response to these issues, Saeed says that the “community response to these challenges was really inspiring”. He goes on to say, “I was out and about with many different people from different backgrounds who live and work in Lozells to really think about what’s happened when the disturbances happened in 2005 and what we can do about it.”. Saeed goes on to further explain that took place inside the Lozells Neighbourhood Forum which he was a member of. As a force for positive action, it led to the creation of the Lozells Community Awards which rewards local people for their work in the area.

Lozells was arguably affected the worst by the Covid-19 pandemic, taking a toll on families and loved ones. Saeed explains how the community dealt with the virus by saying, “The community has been massively affected by Covid. We’re one of the parts of the city that had a disproportionate number of deaths. It was another shock to life in this neighbourhood. But the way in which we responded was in a traditional fashion, coming together for each other, being there for people who were the most vulnerable and doing the utmost. I remember Lozells Central Mosque doing huge amounts for funerals, cost-free [for the families of those who passed away].”.

Ending off with how Lozells & Handsworth has changed over the years, Saeed says that “Lozells has always been a welcoming neighbourhood” in reference to the area’s diversity. In his experience, people who come from all over the world to live in Birmingham tend to settle in Lozells. Saeed closes off with, “We might be small but we do punch above our weight.”.