Shale Ahmed

I love the neighbourhood, I wouldn’t ever want to move

Having deep-rooted family ties to Lozells & Handsworth, Shale Ahmed is a well-respected member of the local community having been involved in it for a long time.

Born and raised in Lozells, Shale has lived in the area since birth in 1981. His Grandfather came to the UK during the 1950s and has gone on to establish a family in the Lozells & Handsworth area ever since, “My children were born in this neighbourhood and go to the same schools that I went so it’s home.”. Regarding work, Shale started out as a Youth worker for the Bangladeshi Youth Forum during the late 1990s. He, later on, got a degree in Youth and Community work in 2007 before going on to set up Aspire & Succeed which was founded after the 2005 riots in 2008.

As someone who has lived in the community all his life, Shale can easily recall the riots of 1985, 2005 and 2011. Regarding the 1985 riots, he can remember a “car burning down” in front of his house. The main cause of these riots was thought to have been tension between the police and the local community. During the 2005 riots, Shale was a youth worker hence it could be argued that he was in the middle of it all. He describes how he came outside of his house to see bullet shells everywhere, “I could remember coming out of my house and there were bullet shells, there were about 11 or 12, right in front of our house.”. Speaking on the 2011 riots, he said that he did sideroad patrols with the police.

Reflecting on the 2005 riots, Shale notes that those who were involved were mainly “outsiders” meaning people who were from outside Lozells, “It was people who don’t live in this neighbourhood who are causing these issues for us”.

Shale also discusses how the community came together to bring forth solutions to the riots, “We could make a phone call and say ‘we’re willing to sort this, let’s bring people from both communities together or different communities together and let’s sort it’ and these were the conversations that were happening”.

Regarding the community’s experience with Covid-19, Shale talks about how, initially, it was difficult for the neighbourhood to fully understand what the Coronavirus was prior to the first lockdown. He also remembers how Lozells was one of the “worst hit neighbourhoods definitely in the city, if not the country”. He goes on to explain the difficulties that BAME individuals faced due to unfamiliarity with the virus. 

Thinking over the changes in the Lozells community, Shale notes that there is a difference when it comes to how people view the area. People who live in Lozells for instance may not see change the way “outsiders” may do. He also adds that it’s a very close, tight-knit community hence it’s very easy for people to come together. In summary, Shale’s thoughts of Lozells are “I love the neighbourhood, I wouldn’t ever want to move”.