The Turkish Women’s Philanthropic Association (TWPA), organized a Mevlit remembering for community members who lost their lives due to coronavirus.
On Friday, April 1, the Mevlit was held in the TWPA building in Wood Green, north London with great participation. Prayers were read by the President of the Cyprus Islamic Society and Imam Hüseyin Haşim El Bakayi.
In the UK over 185,000 coronavirus-related deaths have been marked on death certificated to date, worldwide over 6.1 million people have died during the pandemic. London Turkish-speaking community members living in the UK were also affected heavily by Covid. Known figures of deaths within the Turkish-speaking community are around 337 based on Londra Gazete’s data however, real figures are believed to be much higher than this.
A number of members of the TWPA sadly passed away during the pandemic most due to the coronavirus. TWPA members, Samime Bilginer, Şerife Şakır, Akile Işın and Pelin Değirmencioğlu were all commemorated in the Mevlit. Also at the Melvit Dr Tahsin Bilginer who lost his wife and TWPA member to Covid-19.
In addition, Aysin Yılmaz who lost her life in January 2020, after her battle with cancer, was commemorated. Yılmaz had been the former chair of TWPA as well as the Council of Turkish Cypriots Association for many years. She was well known for her positive approach to people, and was also the president of the International Federation of Women in London, between 2000 and 2002.
