A group of 30 to 40 volunteers from the Bangladeshi-American community has evacuated hundreds of people during the deadly blizzard in Buffalo, a city in the US state of New York, removing them from hazardous conditions and providing them warm shelter and food.
The group's members knocked door-to-door to check on residents, and also made requested spot checks and house calls, reports The Buffalo News.
They drove seven vans over nearly a week on main roads, then walked on side streets. The volunteers based their operations near Erie County Medical Center, but also helped people on the West Side and Cheektowaga, as well.
Mohammed Osman Shimul, a member of what he calls the Bangladeshi Group, said they transported nearly 500 people from their homes to a network of warming centres the group set up at several Bangladeshi-owned businesses, buildings and homes.
The places included the Bangladesh Plaza on Bailey Avenue, the Desi Center on Fougeron Street and the Al Aqsa supermarket on Fillmore Avenue.
"Wherever people needed help, my team was there," Shimul said.
Once electricity and heat were back up and running, the group started transporting people back home – but not empty-handed. Those who were rescued went home with hot meals, groceries – even pocket money, he said.
"The volunteers, we put together whatever we had to share," he said. "People couldn't go to work because of the snow, so they will not get paid."
Even now, the group is delivering hot meals and offering them free for pickup from Lovebirds restaurant on Grider Street.
Although this was not a new matter that the Bangladeshi-American Community Rescue Team embraced the "City of Good Neighbors" moniker for their humanitarian efforts, it was the first time they were fined while doing so.
They ran afoul of the travel ban and got caught in a ticketing blitz meant to keep drivers off the streets. The group racked up tickets for driving when it was prohibited.
"We knew there was a travel ban, but we didn't care because our people needed help," Shimul said.
By "our people," he does not mean fellow Bangladeshis but rather fellow Buffalonians.
"People have to help each other. We all have our own duty," he added.
Carlanda Meadors is a peacemaker and a spokesperson for the youth engagement group Most Valuable Parents, which works with the Bangladeshi Group to improve relations among the Black community and Bangladeshi immigrants.
"They're very understanding, and they have no problem helping," she said. "They do whatever is necessary for our community, and, because of that, I love them."
Snowed in herself, Meadors has been handling calls and coordinating help for those in need. As the Bangladeshi Group deployed resources and rescued those stranded or without heat, Meadors matched them with people who needed the help.
"The Bengali community has a lot of restaurants, so they started cooking food and decided they would deliver it free to anybody," she said. "So they asked us, 'Who are the people who need food to eat?'"
Meadors paired a group of GYC Ministries volunteers shovelling snow on the East Side with the Bangladeshi Group's food delivery Thursday.
Meanwhile, Shimul said he plans to appeal the tickets, but if the price is required to pay for doing good deeds, he is OK with that.
"We love this community," he said.
