As Michelle Obama, First Lady of the USA, and her two daughters visited Mulberry School today, John Biggs made one of his first press statements as the Mayor of Tower Hamlets.
John Biggs gushed: “It’s fantastic that the First Lady chose to visit one of our borough’s excellent schools today. Following a major transformation programme, our schools are now internationally recognised and delivering some of the best results in the country. I am sure the First Lady welcomed the chance to meet some of the inspirational young people our borough is rightly proud of and I know they will have found her visit an incentive for further success, in school and in life.”
It was not clear whether Biggs was invited to view the visit or whether he was on a “GLA Day”. Nor was it formally explained whether, if Biggs was on GLA duties, one of the three deputies he has appointed to help him was invited instead.
The excellent Tower Hamlets schools to which Biggs referred have been run for the last four and a half years by Mayor Lutfur Rahman and various Cabinet Members for Education who worked on Mayor Rahman’s behalf. John Biggs commented on the excellence of the schools on what was his third day in office. His comments are therefore being taken as a compliment to Mayor Rahman’s Administration’s work over the last four and a half years rather than as a reflection of what he has done in the last two days.
However, as news reports about the Obama visit began to circulate, concern was spreading among local press and media outlets that no Tower Hamlets-based newspapers or TV stations had been invited to view the visit. As almost all of the local outlets are Bengali-speaking, in practice this means that the Bangladeshi media were excluded. While the mainstream press, such as The Guardian (pictured) has been able to run a first hand account of the visit, the Bangladeshi press is left only able to run second hand accounts.
The visit was organised by the US Embassy, which liaised with Mulberry School direct – and it seems that the Embassy organised the press invites, without asking the Council for assistance in contacting the local press (which it has done before). It is a shame that this has resulted in a visit to a school which has such a high number of pupils of Bangladeshi heritage not being observed by the Bangladeshi media.
John Biggs has either not noticed that the Bangladeshi press were absent or has chosen not to remark on the matter. It is a shame that he has not spoken about this spontaneously, but ELN has asked for his comments now and we shall publish them as soon as they are received.
Michelle Obama was at Mulberry to promote her “Let Girls Learn” initiative, which seeks to improve opportunities for girls across the world to have access to education, and in particular to discuss how the UK and the US are working together to further these aims. Ms Obama will unveil a $200m scheme, jointly funded by the USA and the UK, to give girls in developing countries greater access to education.
Michelle Obama told the Mulberry pupils about her own childhood. She grew up in a working class family, in an area of Chicago similar to Tower Hamlets. Her father was a pump operator and her mother was a homemaker. The family lived in cramped accommodation, where she had her brother struggled to find peace and quiet in which to do their homework. She explained: “There wasn’t much privacy and it was hard to concentrate on homework and I use to wake up at 4am to finish my homework, as that was when the house was quiet.”
Michelle Obama went on to pay tribute to Mulberry pupils, saying, “I am here because of you, girls like you who inspire me. I am so proud of your passion and diligence. You are great, working so hard to complete your education. In so many ways your story is also my story. I know you may feel lost in the shuffle at home or of being in a city like London and wondering whether it’s worth it… With an education from this amazing school you can fulfil every one of your last dreams.”
The three visitors were welcomed to the school by Dr Vanessa Ogden, Head Teacher of Mulberry School for Girls, who said: “We are delighted to be welcoming Michelle Obama to Mulberry School for Girls. The First Lady is one of the greatest, most inspiring women of our time and her visit is an honour for us. Her use of her platform as First Lady to drive change for girls and to break down barriers in access to education is critical for a civilised world.”
The three Obama women were due to see David Cameron later today. While the girls work hard to achieve the best they can, the Prime Minister can make it easier or harder for them. We can only hope that Michelle Obama will have a word with the Prime Minister about the financial challenges of living in Tower Hamlets and will encourage him to support our population, not make us struggle.