Coronavirus: Benjamin Zephaniah 'scared' after two family members die of COVID-19
The poet also said his cousin died in the UK in 2003 in almost exactly the same way as George Floyd did.
Friday 5 June 2020 06:16, UK
Poet Benjamin Zephaniah has said he is scared of what COVID-19 can do as he revealed two members of his family have died with the virus.
The musician and professor of poetry at Brunel University also told Sky News that his sister nearly died after contracting coronavirus - and his brother-in-law is still suffering.
Zephaniah said he misses being able to hug people but is aware of "the realities" of the effects of COVID-19.
He told Sky News' After The Pandemic programme: "I am quite nervous about [physical interaction], just because I know of the realities.
"Let me lay my cards down here, I've lost two members of my family to this COVID-19.
"My sister was very close to death and the day she came out of hospital, she came out on Saturday morning, her husband went in on the afternoon.
"She got it very badly, physically, but he hasn't recovered mentally because of what he saw in the hospital.
"When they tell you what they went through I think 'I don't want to go through that'.
"I can be a tough guy at times but I'm pretty scared right now."
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The dub poet also addressed the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis after a police officer was seen kneeling on his neck for more than eight minutes last week, prompting global protests.
He said his cousin, Mikey Powell, died in almost exactly the same was as Mr Floyd did, but in the UK in 2003.
And he said most of his family work in the NHS, yet it is only now their service has been recognised.
"My mother came to Britain in 1956 and her dream was to work for the National Health Service, and that's what she did for most of her life," he told Sky News.
"Most of my family are what we now call frontline workers, up until recently they were called low-paid workers.
"When nurses went on strike for better pay and better conditions they were mean. Suddenly people have got to appreciate what these people do.
"Now we do see black people are dying in higher numbers, I don't quite understand the reasons for that.
"I understand we tend to live in multi-generational homes, there is a high level of diabetes among the elderly black community.
"But not long ago there was this whole thing about Windrush and Brexit and sending us home. I used to get racist threats in the 70s and 80s and they kind of went away, but suddenly they were back and I felt unwanted in my country.
"Then this pandemic comes, we're all indoors, if my family is not indoors we're in hospitals trying to save the nation's lives.
"Then this thing comes up in America. And it didn't just happen in America, in 2003 my cousin, Mikey Powell, was killed in almost exactly the same way as George Floyd.
"The coroner said he died of asphyxiation, he had a police officer's foot in his neck.
"This is happening to black people all the time so this is kind of a perfect storm what's happened recently and we've said 'we've got to get out on the streets, we can't take it anymore, things have got to change'.
"They've got to change on so many levels.
"Black lives really do matter and we're fed up of them not mattering."
The self-described anarchist also said he, unusually, agrees with Prince Charles about how important nature is.