Especially Hard-Hit by Coronavirus, City’s Bangladeshi Community Sees Failure of Government to Help Vulnerable New Yorkers

by Afia Eama, on Gotham Gazette

Among these workers are many undocumented Bangladeshis who are ineligible for unemployment and other government assistance programs. Hanif, along with her sister, Sabia Hanif, started a fundraiser for vulnerable undocumented Bangladeshis. “With no clear timeline of when they can return to work, guarantee that they'll have a job, and savings to survive the upcoming waves of the pandemic, they are disproportionately overburdened by the impacts of COVID-19,” the sisters wrote on their Launch Good Campaign. So far, they have raised over $40,000 as of July 9. “We need representation and policy changes to shift the way we care about our family members who work in Dunkin Donuts,” said Shahana Hanif.