PrettySweet

Mental health is something many of us in this day and age struggle with. With many of us holding heart wrenching stories to tell. Depression shadowing our thoughts and anxiety suppressing the present, we as a human race need to find ways to look after one another. Depression is something I feel many of us face and it is a topic I feel needs to be spoken about. We need to find ways in expressing our stories to lift a weight of our shoulders, in hopes of overcoming our struggles. But handling these problems are different for others, some (such as myself) choose to keep them struggles to themselves which is a great way of coping. I want to tell a story of someone who I got to know these past few weeks struggling with mental health through unprecedented matters, I explore her thoughts and reactions in hopes of allowing people to see that even in the worst of situations there is always a light at the end.

On a cold Monday morning the world of one female named “Amy”, saw a shadow creep over her life. Amy was a gymnast and actress from Essex, who enjoyed all things in life. She moved west to study at an acting college and found work at a chicken shop with many fun faces, but one day her life took a change.

The confusion of a very early period inched into my thoughts, raising alarming questions. At first, I thought nothing of it “just another period, seems a bit early though” going on with my day trying to get ready for a long day at work. But the pain in my stomach causing agony like no other. My thoughts began to crawl on me “this doesn’t feel like a normal period today” the feeling of stress flooding my mind, the pain of my belly twisting inside out, has begun to raise alarming questions. “hello, Chris I won’t be able to come in today, not feeling the best”, cramps getting worse, head feeling light, I rush to the kitchen for a chug of water. It’s been three hours the bleeding has gotten heavier my belly is hurting more than ever “maybe this isn’t just a normal period” – “do you need fire, police or ambulance” “ambulance!!!”. I waited for 10 minutes for paramedics to come banging on my door and help me move to the ambulance.

 A few hours after excruciating pain and multiple tests I was given the news of a miscarriage, one that I never was expecting. My mind guzzling with confusion, with fear, with anger “I wasn’t expecting this, oh god no”. I went back home later that evening, I called Atif “the person you are calling is currently unavailable please try again later”. “Bastard! Out of all times why isn’t he answering now”, a couple rings later I was able to get a hold of him, “hey Atif I got some news for you its best if you come over”. Around 10pm Atif came by, “what’s the matter” “I haven’t had the best of days today, I had to go to the hospital” “what, why?” “I had a miscarriage!! with our baby”, Atif ignorantly responds “why you telling me this? I wouldn’t have wanted a child in the first place, so this is good news”. My mind flustered trying to get past what he said “are you serious! You know what just get out” “what?” “GET OUT!” I knew this boy wasn’t good for me, my friends have always told me countless times “he’s got too many red flags”.

 Even though I didn’t want a baby, my mind is still struggling to comprehend with what happened “if I knew I was pregnant I wouldn’t have given it up”. The next few days became hard for me “Atif had completely cut me off, he hasn’t tried contacting me and when I went to call him it would go straight to voicemail” my thoughts began to play with me “I could feel this sadness dawn over me, I felt trapped” I have no family in this town, I’m on my own “I couldn’t meet up with friends cause of lockdown, I was all on my own for this” 

“Sooner or later, I did get over it, it was hard, but I tried to find positives in what happened” a couple of weeks went by when I got a call from my agent regarding an acting opportunity “hiya Amy I’ve got a very good opportunity within Essex that you’d love to hear” this was news I really needed, a burst of light had flickered Infront of my face. This opportunity would allow me to be back with my family in a “time I needed them the most”. This made me ponder on the events that had happened. “maybe this was all in god’s plan” if I had this baby, I wouldn’t have been able to do this opportunity and definitely not had the chance to go back home, most importantly I would’ve been a single mother “cause for sure Atif wouldn’t had been there”.

For someone like Amy life hasn’t treated her the best. From a young age she had cancer in her neck which could have been life changing. A gymnast at a young age, the doctors said that this cancer is most probably going to end her career at gymnastics. The tumour exploded in her neck and she had to go through several operations. But she lived passed that, and still carried on being a gymnast and even got into acting school. She became a survivor. “you see with my life I’ve gone through a lot, but I always saw a light at the end of the tunnel – I’ve gone through a lot of challenging situations physically and mentally, but I never gave up because I knew it wouldn’t be worth giving up”

I am a firm believer that “verily with every hardship comes ease”. Perhaps the suffering you’re going though may be a blessing in disguise. We need to remember there is always something far greater that comes out of moments that test you. “the only thing we truly own in this life is moments in time” -Tyson fury 

The lane of flourishing culture. The road of dreams and ambition. The stretch to hard work and success. Brick lane packed with Bengali nationals and commonly known as ‘Bangla town’. With a brewing history of 400 years, brick lane is no foreigner to the UK culture and has been the heart of tower hamlets for many years. A strong tourist attraction for the beautiful curry houses and vibrant atmosphere. Brick lane doesn’t shy away from its multi-ethnic background, it embraces it, which gives it an atmosphere you can’t find anywhere else.

But that all seems to see an end. With the decision made my Truman brewery to develop a shopping mall in the middle of brick lane, posing a threat to brick lanes flourishing character – pushing out the working class people of colour, and independent small businesses. The same people who have protested against the racist violence during July 1978. After the murder of Altab Ali.

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Abdul Malik a 60-year-old who travelled from Bangladesh and found a new life within brick lane says, “coming to a new country with little English, brick lane and its people have made me apart of them”. Malik was a part of the movement of July 1978, the strikes against the racial prejudice produced by neo-fascist groups. He recalls the strikes of 1978 where “I felt empowered and unified’ as they marched in solidarity. The events of the march became significant as it signified power to the people. During the protest 3 of the Bangladeshi strikers got arrested, the strike then resulted in thousands waiting outside the police station in order to have them released, 2 hours later it proved successful.

Till this day, brick lane houses the biggest Bangladeshi residence outside Bangladesh. The unification of the Bangladeshi community uplifts the freedom of which they fight for, resulting in a strong movement to stop the construction of a shopping mall. This would drive rent prices sky high in an area filled with some of the poorest people in Britain – a few hundred yards west lie the wealthiest area in the UK, the city of London. The people of brick lane will struggle with rent, pushing out the working class and independent small business. 

Bangladeshis such as malik will be affected as rent prices increase and cause an economic crisis to the local community, at a time where the community is suffering the worst impact of Covid-19. Not only would it affect small business but wipe away the 400 years of rich history. 

  “we need to see our community unify together as we did in 78”

Brick lane represents centuries of migrants and immigrants battling to build a prosperous life which helped create the multicultural Britain we see today. It is the closest thing to an ‘Ellis island’ within Britain. Post war Bangladeshi nationals came to work in white chapels garment factories and opened the many famous curry houses we see today. But brick lane wasn’t always filled with south Asians, during the 90s it only became known as ‘Bangla town’. Prior to that the neo-Nazi group and far right groups such as combat 18 were strong oppressors towards the south Asian community. Harrowing abuse and slander towards people, even towards some who fought for the UK during world war 2.

We shall not forget the art influence the lane has produced. With street art dating from decades ago, the brick walls are layered with history. Possibly the most famous location to find street art, with each having a story to tell. It is the epicentre for graffiti with artist travelling horizons to portrait. Safe to say they will get a pleased audience and a wide appeal. With the famous graffiti ‘a couple holding hands’ which promotes community cohesion. Malik lives a couple of doors down from this famous piece of art which was voted one of the nation’s favourite painting. He says he remembers the time this painting was done “it gained a lot attention and I’d see more tourists around the area”. The beautification of the art drives the character of brick lane further, developing it into a very accepting community for those people like malik, who are finding a new life within the UK.

I pray for the boost of moral for the residence and the unification for everyone to come through strong, in order to uplift the hopes of these Bangladeshis, and to stop this development, to cease the social cleansing, and to say no to the gentrification. The petitions and emails to the council see a deadline on December 18^th. But the empowerment and unification of Bangladeshis where they’d literally lay down their bodies to save brick lane will show again. This won’t be the end to a flourishing community but just another hurdle to overcome. .

With lockdown growing more restrictive, and guidelines becoming tough across the south east of the UK. People are finding it difficult to cope with life, from family life to work life some have resorted to things which the laws of the UK prohibits. I engage with the world of drugs within parts of London and Luton to ask questions of why, how, and what they are dealing with. Some following a path of drugs for aesthetic basis, to others dragged into it from the lack of guidance. I link these situations with how the tory government has worked with the UK public in these distressing times.

“Drought season” has approached as drug dealers struggle to gain stock for what they call business. With county lines struggling to shift drugs across London and county boarders, suppliers are failing to gain stock to distribute to dealers. Lockdown has made it very difficult for dealers to transport cannabis. 

“It has been difficult to come across as many suppliers are short on stock and much of the cannabis isn’t good grade.” Says “J”. A “roadman” as the gen-Z population would call him. He follows the roads beyond Luton to cities such as Birmingham and Manchester to purchase cannabis. This becomes increasingly difficult to acquire with tier 4 in place. with it being so smelly and police patrolling the streets more it becomes riskier to acquire stock. J sees it as “applaudable rather than a gateway to drugs”. As Marijuana is categorised as a depressant “I see it much better than dealing MDMA or coke, it makes one feel calm and collective rather than violent and loud”. Marijuana is a class B drug which doesn’t have much of a sentencing compared to class A, making it less of a risk to deal with. It is seen as a very fluid income as many people smoke it day to day. J says, “having a trap phone ringing nonstop is the most satisfying thing, I never have to worry about not being able to make money because I know everyone will come to me”. J is one of the many to be selling cannabis within Luton, but he covers a wide area – a whole postcode to be specific. He has a very strong reputation and has “hundreds of calls daily”. When asked why he does what he does, he says “I was never good at school I got kicked out most of my schools, I met people who put me on, and I built my line up to a business for myself. I have no regrets” 

On the other end, dealers like “Julius” a supplier of psychedelics, such as MDMA and LSD, which are supplied from labs using the dark web. These drugs are acquired from Amsterdam which are shipped “very discreetly”. “money hasn’t been a problem this lockdown, the cash flow has seen an increase” according to Julius with an expected increase over the Christmas period. People have been ordering bulk special deals in order to use and sell for themselves, and with the use of discreet packaging his business has been getting much more credibility than others. With new year’s special deals and increase in demand Julius has been very busy dealing with finances. When asked why Julius works in this trade, he says “the work isn’t morally right, I see that. But what can you do when people don’t want to work with a council estate boy in the depths of London?” 

The dealers down the chain who purchase stock from people such as Julius then go on to sell the drugs to what they call “cats”, these are regular customers who often purchase large amounts. The cost for things such as MDMA or ecstasy is at 80 pence per pill if bought in a bulk of 1000 for £800, and with each pill selling for £10 the profits are immense. With other class A drugs such as cocaine; the profits stretch further with 0.3 grams known as “tickets” selling for £30. The job of dealing can work as a day job with these figures, and you can see how appealing it is to sell drugs, but is it worth the trouble? From law enforcement to even gang involvement, a few dealers have got themselves in trouble where nobody can help. 

For a lot of dealers, the path they have paved hasn’t always ended in riches. One dealer I spoke with who wishes to stay anonymous, spoke to me about why he took a break from dealing. With increasing pressure from law enforcement, he was almost faced with 3 years of jail time on the charges of conspiracy but was graced with a suspended sentence and community service. But that wasn’t the worst of all, his life was endangered after being kidnapped from his own home by a gang, who stole his money and supply. He was “lucky enough to escape as they fled the car in fear of police” this wasn’t the only thing, he was robbed multiple times in separate occasions, which made him question, “is the money worth this hassle”. Lesson almost learnt; he went back to the life after a 1 year break, but at a smaller market. Picking and choosing “who to sell to and who to trust”. and why he started again? is because he was made redundant during the start of Covid-19 the company wasn’t able to offer furlough as he started his new job a couple of days too late. Since he couldn’t find anyone else hiring, he went back to dealing class A, which he sees as better than a casual job “from the immense profits to meeting new people”.

Lockdown has created a mass redundancy, which is expected to push 2.6 million by mid 2021 according to the government’s economic watchdog, it has forced some people to turn to dealing such as 20-year-old “Em” I met within north London, she has been made redundant during the early stages of corona and has turned to dealing substances such as LSD in order to keep the taps running. Em used to work for a recruitment company but was later made redundant, she now sells LSD to a lot of people majority of them being software engineers which they say “help to pioneer focus and creativity” 

The lines put forth by the government have created a border to restrict dealers from flourishing, but then it all comes down to what is being sold and how much of an audience one has, so for some it has alleviated them to create more profit. Allowing them to push through and create different lockdown lines. 

Covid-19 lockdown restrictions has become the new norm regarding life within our society, with lockdown becoming a huge restriction on the general public’s social life and mental health, and self-isolation for some bringing out absolute boredom. The dawn of a second lockdown coming into place has left many people feeling somewhat fed up. As the public struggles to cope with their mental health, some choose to breach government restrictions in order to maintain sanity. The market for the underground raver scene or “illegal raves” (as some might call it) has become popular with many gen z teens, bringing back the popularity of the 90s and 80s “acid house raves”.  The rise of drug use has also been on the increase, with people popularising ecstasy and cream canisters accompanied by alcohol. These degenerates have gone crazy! But I wouldn’t blame them.

I have been lucky enough to locate one of such illegal unlicensed events, situated within a somewhat prehistoric barrage boat, located on the outskirts of London on the River Lea, to see what people are getting themselves into.  Straight of the bat I was able to see the sheer amount of profit the organisers were raking in with their balloon/drinks bar and extortionate 20-pound entry fee. The boat which was a small cannel tightly packed with at least 30 people (a clear breach of corona rules), and not a single care in the world, as though corona did not exist for this moment – it looked like life before this catastrophe started. The balloons all over the floor and the vapor of people’s lungs steaming my glasses, I quickly felt uncomfortable with the paranoia of corona lingering in the air. 

Upon exit I got a gasp of fresh air and a shiver from the cold sweat running down my neck. I was also able to meet one of the organisers who explained “we have events held every week for the past two years”. As Covid-19 cases see a rapid increase I’m not surprised why the UK has seen a huge 166,998 cases within the last 7 days according to gov.uk. The UK has been accused of failing to enforce lockdown in a strict enough manner in comparison to places such as Wuhan, where lockdown has ended since April and nightlife resumes back to normal with no new cases reported as of September 2020. 

I also had the chance to speak with “the plugs” of the drug scene, who have told me more of their supply has been sold to “people who sell at raves” and they’ve been able to “sell more during this lockdown period”. Drug dealers have taken advantage of this global pandemic many dealers making “up to £800 on profit for ecstasy pills”. Some of these dealers have told me they sell to people who are self-isolating or don’t seem to go out due to these new rules. This makes me wonder do people do drugs for these raver nights or is it just a way to escape from our new reality? 

The stress of lockdown has played a huge factor on the breaches of rules. Many people across the UK have felt a huge effect on their mental health “Over two-thirds of adults (69%) said they were very or somewhat worried about the effect that the coronavirus was having on their life now.” With “56% of people feeling stressed or anxious” according to the health foundation an organisation focusing on the health of the public and currently focusing on Covid-19 within the uk. People aren’t taking the government serious especially with Boris under control. The youth struggle to keep within the guidelines and have been refrained from going any longer. With conspiracy theories being the sprinkle on the cake, it makes people suspicious if the virus is even real, but that’s a topic for another day…

Peoples mental health being challenged has become a hot topic, especially with the recent death of a 19 yr old university student in Manchester, which resulted in an outcry from students to the government to look out for people’s mental health. Students are acting for change, so they aren’t barricaded by the walls of their accommodation. Social media has become a huge impact on mental health with many people reaching out to others as a voice. It’s also become a huge influence on how people are feeling with many of us trapped by the internet.

The whole idea of these breaches doesn’t sit well for many people, but from looking at the perspectives of others I see why people don’t care. People have grown tired of false promises from the government feeling disheartened by the government’s reaction to the pandemic. The loss of trust is heavily noticed from people who have already endured many months of lockdown. Having many people struggle with coping with their mental health and the social media influence making things much worse I don’t give blame to people trying to break free, as this lockdown has made us escape from what was once known as reality.

When watching what’s going on around the world, I question if the UK is reacting well to this crisis, or are we struggling to keep afloat.

This story tells the life of how an innocent man who was pressured into the life of drugs and gangs was arrested for 7 years. This story will show the moral side of how consequences of your actions can result to a domino effect of punishment. This ex-convict goes by the street name of Tee and has asked to stay anonymous.

Tee was pressured into this life of crime after causing damage which he could not pay for. On a summer night in 2011 tee hired a car of a third-party organisation but instead of returning the car to its owners it fell into the hands of a scrap yard. Not being able to pay for the damages he was forced into a gang to “pay for the damage” or “fear for life”. Throughout the course of 6 months Tee was transporting class A drugs into smaller towns and rural areas to pay of his debts, he was now a part of the county lines.

During a run the police had stopped Tee unexpectedly which took a turn on his life. The car was searched, and the police found a kilo of cocaine. Arrested on the spot and dragged into the back of the police car, tee saw the end of his freedom. Sentenced to 7 years with the chance of parole tee didn’t know what to do with his “shall I end my life” “how do I survive in prison” 21 different questions running through his head but all he could do was face the time. 

during his time in prison he resorted to a Muslim group trying to reconcile with his faith and stay out of drama within prison which he says “kept me surviving in there” for the time served he suffered no commotion and no problems and after his sentence of 4 years he was let out on a suspended sentence. The police offered him witness protection for information on the drug ring and he had no choice but to except or face more drug deals and possibly years in prison. Three people had been arrested from his information and the police transported him to Birmingham to start a new life.

After three years since his release he had got married and has his own child. from being a scruffy and immature drug dealer to a smart bright individual. He sees his future to be bright and dedicates his life to be a family man. 

The world of power revolves around drugs, money and of course, power. It shows the story of a pair of friends’ tommy Egan and James st Patrick (ghost) and how they are on top of the chain for new York’s drug ring. Ghost takes a turn on his lifestyle and sees himself meeting his childhood love, Angela Valdez who he doesn’t know is with the FBI. With his wife at home and his old love back in his life, this idea of love pulls him into a string of lies and deceit, which slowly crumbles his whole line of friends and family across the series. 

Ghosts life take a turn when he confines with his childhood lover Valdez with jealousy and mistrust taking a toll on his wife Tasha, he soon finds his “new life” crumble around him. His childhood friend tommy soon turns his back on him after all of ghosts lies and failed promises, and they both decide to go their separate ways. 

Tommy is still stuck in this drug life and fails to get himself out, as the “streets” raised him and fed him, so he sees nothing else but being the kingpin. Ghost on the other hand tries to live a normal life as a club owner and move away with Angela leaving his family behind. But things take a turn for the worst, Angela is shot by tommy by accident after she blocked the bullet from hitting ghost within season 4, now things take a huge spin on everyone’s life.

From season 5 ghost and tommy are playing game of cat and mouse with each other but soon realise they are brothers and there’s bigger things to worry about like the new source of drugs and cartels chasing the two friends. Not only that but ghost sees his family turn against him with his daughter death leading his family fall closer to an end. Tariq has lost faith in his father and begins to doubt him as even being a father due to his lack of support and untrustworthiness.

Near the end of season 6 ghost has been murdered and the suspect list is given. Throughout the last five episodes the stories of each suspect are portrayed and how all of them have crossed paths. Each character telling a different story with different motives it is now up to the audience to figure out who’s behind the death of ghost.

The world turns a blind eye on the people of Rohingya, the people of Uyghurs, the people of Palestine, the people of Syria. The Muslims of the east face a genocide and an ethnic cleansing to tackle “extremism” on a powerless people. A facade to cover up their war crimes, Aung San Suu Kyi the state counsellor of Myanmar described the violence as “internal armed conflict” which creates irony for someone who is supposedly the winner for the noble peace prize which was awarded for her “non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights” recently the world court has ordered measures to protect the Rohingya people from a genocide 3 years after the start of the genocide.

 Another act of prejudice seems very familiar to historic events. The Muslims in Uyghurs who are facing a psychological genocide and an ethnic cleansing for the same reasons to “tackle extremism” following the likes of Nazi Germany in creating camps and forceful rejection to faith describing it as “re-education centres” with two million trapped inside. Human rights have been stripped away from them, they cannot leave the country, they are forced to resign their faith and follow the rule of Xi Jinping. The camps are described as “open air prisons” Tursan a refugee and victim from Beijing has spoken on her situation, her triplets were taken, and one murdered by the government. She says to CNN when her kids get older “I will tell them everything – I will tell them the Chinese government killed their brother”

Lastly, Syria and Palestine have been troubled for decades over contrasting issues but with different parties. Palestine facing eviction by the new founded Israeli government after the holocaust Palestinians invited the Jewish refugees to take comfort in their land but not knowing that they will have their land taken away by Zionist supporters. And with Syria who face the same but by their own government who had their country come into civil war with amassing destruction all over the land and involvement of Russian forces.

The western world fails to portray a light on what is happening in the east. They fail to create an image for those who lack information. Only small news branches speaking out and even if it was publicised it would be pushed aside as a side story to make space for things like the royal family or presidency.

The son of the late king hamlet murdered! after a spiral of bloodshed provoked by king hamlets death. Prince Hamlet has provoked a mental breakdown causing a string of murders after the passing of his father. Witnesses state that hamlet was vouching for revenge towards his uncle for assumedly murdering his father for the place as king. Many believe this to be true after the strange behaviour of king Claudius at the Elsinore castle play. The prince was witnessed for the death of Polonius the father of his lover Ophelia as well as one of his own courtiers. Allegedly hamlet fled Denmark to London with his two friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern which was confirmed after the death of the two friends, from the prince’s hands. After the return of prince hamlet things stay the same with the suicide of Ophelia and with king Claudius commencing the fencing match between the prince and Laertes to end the feud, leading to nothing but the death of several, the death of Laertes, king Claudius, Gertrude, Osric the courtier and prince hamlet himself. After analysis the sword of Laertes had traces of poison which had caused hamlets death and the death of Gertrude was caused by poisoning of wine. The prince himself had murdered Laertes and the king with the poisoned sword for the revenge of his alleged murder upon his own father. The people have commanded a retribution act and a memorial for the prince as they side with him and believe the treacherous story of king Claudius being a traitor and committing treason upon the country and late king hamlet of Denmark. The legacy and bloodline of the hamlet family has ultimately come to an end, with prince Fortinbras as our new king of the land.

An interview about why journalism was picked as a subject was conducted between me and Mrs flack. I had asked multiple questions in order to gain insight into her motivation to do journalism. The first question asked was very simple “why did you decide to do journalism” flack felt her father was a huge influence for this decision she says “ my father had a brief career in photo journalism, he had done work in Africa and Kenya” she had a very strong connection with her father and journalism just became attached on her. She also stated “journalism is a very broad and creative subject” flack believes that journalism a strong route in choosing a career many directions of the media world, describing at as the “heart of media” I then asked “how has your father influenced your decision to be a journalist” she responded “my father was always a huge inspiration, he has had a very eccentric life and travelled a lot, he has almost seen every corner of the globe” travelling is a big thing in Flacks life she has always been travelling, and writing was always a passion she had grew up with from her father’s influence, doing both things at once and following in her father’s footsteps is a big motivation for her. Lastly, I’d asked “do you have a specific form of journalism you’d like to do?”  “I’d like to focus primarily on foreign correspondents in the middle east reporting from conflict areas and looking at correlations such as the correlation with Suleman’s assassination and US stocks soaring” flack feels as though this form of journalism isn’t focused on at all – and places such as “south America” don’t get a lot of mainstreamed recognition as they should.

PETA invite the queen to replace the fur on her ceremonial robes with custom made faux fur from ECOPEL which is used by renowned companies such as Burberry and Stella McCartney. This was suggested shortly after the queen’s announcement of not obtaining any newer fur items. Ingrid Newark the founder of PETA has written a letter to the queen sending his gratitude towards her support, and suggesting the replacement of her robes with the faux fur in exchange of donating her fur to those less fortunate, such as Syrian refugees. Newark’s letter portrays clear views on Britain and the queen’s views in a nutshell. Newark suggests “this would demonstrate that modern Britain Is at the forefront of innovation while, at the same time, continuing to respect tradition.” Which  reflect the views of the current generation who as a majority reject the use of animal fur.