Workers from former colonies do not join in mourning for Elizabeth II

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Exactly a week after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, London completes this Thursday (15) the first full day of tributes by the general public to the sovereign, with the coffin at the Palace of Westminster being visited by thousands of people.

As was to be expected, the demonstrations of love and respect for the queen can be seen all over the capital – notably in the castles and official residences of the monarchy, full of flowers and souvenirs. But of course not all Brits feel the same way, especially those of the working class whose families left British colonies or ex-colonies and moved to the UK to make a living.

“I don’t hate her, but… I mean, I didn’t dislike her. But the empire did a lot of bad things in the world and in Bangladesh,” he told Sheet app driver Abu Zubair, a British citizen with parents who arrived in London in 1985.

Pakistani Asad Ullah, who shares Zubair’s profession, says the queen divided his country. “She’s dead, as everyone will be. As I feel with everyone, she’s sad. But not more than that.” Ullah, 36, has been in London for 20 years and says the situation in his country is one of backwardness and selfishness among people, who struggle to survive on a daily basis.

India, a British colony since the East India Company came to rule the region in the mid-18th century, was divided in 1947 after the suffocation of independence movements. On the left, Pakistan was created and, on the right, East Pakistan, which in 1972 was liberated and renamed Bangladesh.

This, however, was five years before Elizabeth ascended the throne. In 1947, her father, George 6th, reigned. The division was made from religious positions, leading to revolts. About 12 million people had to migrate across the country on foot, which caused between 200,000 and 2 million deaths.

The Bangladesh region itself has experienced several periods of major famines, such as in 1770 (between 1 million and 10 million deaths), 1943 (up to 3 million deaths) and 1974 (up to 1.5 million). It is estimated that, between 1765 and 1938, the United Kingdom took — or stole, as some prefer — $45 trillion from the region.

On the internet, there was commotion against King Charles III after the video in which he is going to sign a document and awkwardly asks an employee to remove the ink cartridge case from his face. “Imagine what he’s like when the world isn’t watching,” wrote Michael Walker, prompting a string of comments about the king’s clumsiness with his aides.

On CNN, Kenyan correspondent Larry Madowo explained why some Africans refuse to participate in the mourning for Elizabeth II. “There is a complicated legacy in Africa. The fairy tale says that Elizabeth arrived in Kenya in 1952 as a princess and left as a queen. [ela estava no país quando o pai morreu]”, said.

“But this was the beginning of eight years in which the British colonial government brutally attacked the Kenyan liberation movement. A million Kenyans were put in concentration camps by the British and were tortured and dehumanized. So across the African continent, there are a lot of people saying she won’t cry for her because her family members have suffered atrocities done by her people and she never fully acknowledged it.”

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