East End stabbing escalates gang war

17^th September 2010

A man in his early twenties was stabbed yesterday outside Bethnal Green station. His bloody footprints led to the Approach Tavern near Victoria Park. He had been stabbed in the calf and sought sanctuary at the pub accompanied by a friend. 

Sharon, one of the bar staff, said he had sat in the beer garden until the police and ambulance services arrived at the scene. His blood-soaked trainers were left for forensics who arrived around 11pm to aid the investigation.

Bethnal Green police constabulary refuse to comment on the events and insist no arrests have been made.

Locals at the pub were not shocked or surprised at the turn of events. Richard Walker, 26, who has lived in the area all his life, said: "Gang crime is still rife in the East End. It doesn't affect us and I feel pretty safe walking around here".

Speaking to youths on local estates, they agreed that it is easy to identify gang members. Shoaib Ahmed said: "My parents are really strict and we'd get into lots of trouble if we got involved with them". Another, who did not wish to be named, said his parents enforce curfews and encourage them to get involved in local activities at youth centres and mosques in the area. The youth centres and mosques have after school activities to engage the younger population of Tower Hamlets in an effort to keep kids off the streets, learning skills to help them gain valuable experience for job hunting or to help them into higher education.

Google has created a map to show the distribution of gangs in London:

https://sites.google.com/site/londonstreetgangs/borough-pages/tower-hamlets

In Tower Hamlets there are presently around 25 gangs, with over 20 of these almost entirely, Bengali. The Bengali population makes up 29.4 per cent of the overall population (around 65,553 people) from which an estimated 2,500 Bengali youths in Tower Hamlets are associated to street gangs. Some of the more prominent currently in existence are the Brick Lane Massive, Turin Massive (Turin Street) and White Flatz (Minerva Estate).

Fanatical fervour

I am always overwhelmed when I think about the millions of people that inhabit this Earth and their very different priorities in life.

Everyone has something that drives them, that keeps the blood pumping through their veins, and gives them that warm fuzzy feeling in their belly. For some people it can be their family, for others their job and for quite a few people: religion.



I went to an Evangelical church service last Sunday, and far from being full of over zealous types attempting to convert me, I discovered the meaning of an equilibrium between fanaticism and open-mindedness. Even as a non-believer I was welcomed with open arms into this group, who are bound together through their love of Jesus.

Take away the bouncy songs, clapping and swaying in praise of their Lord, and you're left with people who are looking to do good. With their songs, emotive words and literature they declare that they're not interested in what other people do or say. They encourage their followers to do good by giving to the community to enrich the lives of people around them, proactively and not just with cash. My friend who took me to the service, showed me a derelict building that the church had bought. He insisted that there wasn't going to be any material advertising the church - not even subliminal messages, he joked! He said the only people who would know of the church's involvement in this scheme would be those curious enough to ask who their benefactor is.

My friend said that his interest in this church in particular stemmed from the pastors having lead "real" lives and converting much later in life, rather than having been born into religion. For example, one of the pastors had been part of a gang. He wanted a sense of belonging to a family and when he finally "found Jesus" he realised he could get it within a group that didn't need to use knives to gain respect from fellow members.

Now, don't get me wrong; the service wasn't all sweetness and light. On my way in I was given a "Welcome pack" which contained information on what the church does and how they can help you to see the light. It's a white bag, so highlights to everyone else that you're new - and because they're all such a friendly bunch everyone comes up to you to say “hi” and ask what your motivations for being at the church are. At the end of the service the pastor asks "Is there anyone amongst us who would like to receive Jesus?" - it's a chance for those that are looking to convert to evangelicalism to have their doubts put to rest so they can become part of this family.

Of course, let's not forget that fanaticism doesn't just manifest itself within the religious, but also the non-religious.


Richard Dawkins is one the most famous atheists around. He also leads services open to the general public under the guise of “lectures”. His welcome pack comes in the form of his many books full of powerful words in an attempt to convert the readers.

On the Richard Dawkins Foundation website (http://richarddawkins.net/), it lays out its purpose (akin to the Ten Commandments, perhaps?):

“The mission of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science is to support scientific education, critical thinking and evidence-based understanding of the natural world in the quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and human suffering”.

I don’t believe that religious fervour is the same as fanaticism. What I saw at the Evangelical service was pure fervour, whereas the antagonistic feel of the Richard Dawkins’ website is fanaticism.

I believe religion to be a human instinct to create a bond between people in order to encourage cohesion. Religion manifests itself in a variety of forms. It is this OBSESSION that unites people but also creates dissention.

Everyone has a religion, everyone has an agenda; be it God, football, or a boyband. Each side is looking to increase their numbers – either subliminally or by force - and do you know which side I'm going to take? NONE! When the collection tin comes round to me, I'd rather give my hard earned cash to my local pub than the pious or Mr Dawkins!

Soap operas? Who'd watch 'em?!

In the past few years, Bollywood has become part of our every day vocabulary. We’ve welcomed with open arms these films with their glamorous stars, glitzy costumes, and of course the all important singing and dancing; now it’s time for the soaps!

Forget Eastenders, Coronation Street and even the best hangover cure that is Hollyoaks; my new favourite is Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai.

India is changing. It is an emerging giant capable of doing as much as the other superpowers of this world. Unfortunately, not everyone is happy with this change and this is voiced in these soaps.

Although they follow the age old idea that love really and truly does conquer all, they also focus on the fact that through following Indian culture and tradition you can overcome all obstacles. A belief in the gods and taking part in the rituals and prayers will aid you in leading a better and happier life. If you can do a pilgrimage then more kudos for you! The western way will only bring about your downfall.

This is the underlying tone, but these soaps also raise issues on caste, skin colour and a woman’s place in society. Sapna Babul Ka...Bidaai is a story of two cousins - Sadhna and Ragini; one is fair in colour and the other dark, but both of their hearts are pure (don’t worry – this won’t be the only cheesy line – read on for more!)! The fair skinned Sadhna is revered by society whilst her darker skinned cousin is shunned. We follow their trials and tribulations, their determination to uphold their culture and traditions within a higher caste, westernised, rich and powerful family that they've married into.

Most people consider soaps to be a very inaccurate portrayal of real life. I believe it to be a hightened view of our existence and relationship with the people and world around us. It allows us to take note of the priority of individual societies. In the Indian soaps it is about maintaining traditions. Success isn't about how much you have in the bank but how those closest to you feel towards you. Respect can't be bought, it has to be earned (I DID warn you about the cheesy lines!).

At the end of the day, regardless of how we may feel about the soap opera - be they British or Indian - after a hard day's work, sometimes, it's a wonderful feeling to kick off those heels, find a comfy spot on the sofa, with a glass of wine in one hand and the remote in the other!

Beach holidays – to go or not to go?

I’ve just come back from a week in Turkey. Well… I say Turkey… I mean Marmaris – a holiday resort that is a home away from home for us Brits! You can get an English fry-up or Sunday roast every where you turn. God forbid you'd want anything else... Like Turkish food perhaps?! There are TV screens to watch the all important footie and of course the Sun – in case you cared about what was happening back in Blighty.

Although a little dubious at first, the more and more stressed out and tired I became the more attractive a prospect Marmaris became. The idea of sun, sea and stunning white beaches was certainly getting me through the grey and gloomy weeks in London.

After all, Thomson Travel voted Marmaris the third best holiday resort in the world for British holiday makers (in case you’re interested, Benidorm was number one).

http://marmaris.org/marmaris_blog/Default.aspx

OK – a bit of back story here: I’m usually a “sight-seeing” traveller. I go to places to explore and understand a different way of life to that of my own. I enjoy doing things I wouldn’t do at home. So the idea of a beach holiday would never have occurred to me until my housemate suggested it.

As soon as we landed and checked into our hotel, I realised that this would be as much of a culture shock as any other far flung place I've been to. I’d never seen so many lager louts, never been perved on so much in my entire life, and never started a pool party before!

I know I sound like a snob – but not only did I grow up in a ghetto in Birmingham, but I've also been to university so you’d think I’d be used to seeing people pissed off their faces, tinny in one hand and fag in the other. But believe it or not, I’ve never ever felt so out of my depth.

Our activities included sitting by the pool, swimming in the pool, getting a massage from very cute Turkish men, sitting by the beach, swimming in (or in my case bouncing in) the sea.



Not to worry, though, we didn't just sit by the hotel pool sipping our martinis - we explored Marmaris itself: Bar Street contained more bars than I’ve ever seen, even compared to the West End! And the drinks were about the same price as London! All the bar staff encouraged dancing on the bars! For the shoppers out there, there are hundreds upon hundreds of shops selling, towels (for the all important sun worshiping), sheesha pipes and the usual tacky nik-naks you get in every major toursist destination!

Towards the end of the week, we thought it was time to do something a little more strenuous! We took a boat out to Dalaman and Turtle beach where we did some more lying around in the sun, had a mud bath and sat around in a sulphur pool!
http://www.troysan.com/dalyan-caunos-turtle-beach

There's nothing particularly Turkish about Marmaris (the signs were in English and every Turkish person we met (mostly men) spoke perfect English!) If you want a holiday where each day all you have to think about is "pool or beach" and "martini or gin and tonic" then Marmaris is for you!

Do as the French...

Liberté egalité fraternité...

It is on this mantra that the French have been raised. It is this belief that sets them apart from the rest of Europe. They believe in a free society, where everyone is equal and walk hand in hand as brothers. Although on the surface this appears to be a harmonious way to live – it is just that - skin deep.

Recent events have us waiting with bated breath for Autumn. The French Senate will decide in September whether there will be a ban on people from concealing their face in public. This means masked crusaders, balaclava-clad robbers, hoodies and of course veil wearing Muslims.

According to the UK national press, out of the five million Muslims living in France, only 2,000 women wear a full face veil.

But of course, the French have a history of hypocrisy towards Muslims, so is it any wonder that they still feel threatened today?

The French government has tried to create a secular society but it appears that more than anything else, it has created divisions between the people. They seem more at ease hiding things from view rather than being upfront.

This is represented on a small scale, by concealing religious symbols at school. This means that children do not learn about the belief of others through experience but merely through text books. You learn by asking questions, not through spoon-feeding (as the British government is doing - but we'll save that debate for another time!). Nothing is as black and white as it seems. Even if it appears as such you need to ask why.

And on a much larger scale:
The end of the Algerian war in 1962 caused an influx of immigrants to France. The pieds-noirs (original immigrants to Algeria from France when it was under French rule) were repatriated. On the other hand, the 91,000 or so Algerians that had fought for France (the Harkis) were not given official permission to migrate to France so were left in refugee camps.

Once they were freed they were left to their own devices, but their lack of money and social status meant they could not afford proper housing, thus creating the infamous banlieues as represented in films like that of Matthieu Kassovitz’s La Hain and books, such as the autobiographical Le Gone du Chaba by Azouz Begag.

Those at the bottom rungs of society are hidden from view allowing the rest of the population to continue with their daily lives as if nothing had ever happened.

Separating a population on such a vast scale doesn’t allow a culture to assimilate nor people to integrate. They are left feeling like second class citizens.

A ban on the veil will not encourage integration. The French say that a ban will liberate these women, but many feminists including myself will argue that true freedom comes from being allowed to be who you wish to be.

People rarely learn from past mistakes – why should the French be any different? So... Now, we wait...

The demise of Mr Brown

The Cast:

Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Gillian Duffy

 

The extract:

GD: You can't say anything about the immigrants because you're saying that you're... but all these eastern Europeans what are coming in, where are they flocking from?

GB: A million people have come from Europe but a million British people have gone into Europe. You do know that there's a lot of British people staying in Europe as well. Look, come back to what were your initial principles: helping people – that's what we're in the business of doing. A decent health service, that's really important, and education. Now these are the things that we have tried to do. We're going to maintain the schools so that we can make sure that people have that chance to get on.

Gordon Brown gets in car.

GB: That was a disaster... should never have put me with that woman. Whose idea was that?

Aide: I don't know, I didn't see her.

GB: Sue [Nye]'s, I think. Just ridiculous.

Aide: Not sure that they'll go with that one.

GB: They will go with that one.

Aide: What did she say?

GB: Everything, she was just a sort of bigoted woman who said she used to be Labour.

And so on...

The British press has predicted that this event will lead to the demise of Gordon Brown and the Labour party. But where on earth has this conclusion come from? It appears that the majority of the UK publications have reported this affair in a negative manner. From the extract of the conversation with Gillian Duffy, you can see that Brown attempts to placate her; he makes an attempt to encourage her to understand the immigration situation and in doing so certainly makes a very valid point.

From my point of view the only negative of this episode is the length to which Brown went to, to apologise to Mrs Duffy. I actually found this quite embarrassing. Surely the opinion of one person can't be THAT important? Shouldn’t the Prime Minister be exempt from grovelling? It feels as if the general election has created a little boy of one of the world’s most powerful men.

As the Independent noted today: "Mrs Duffy won't decide the election. You will". I certainly hope that the general public aren't quite that easily influenced. But as the final election debate demonstrated, it does not take much to sway public opinion.

I can understand that people will be disheartened to know just how two-faced he actually is, but who isn’t? We all have a face we show people we don't know very well - colleagues, clients, even to the Big Issue bloke and a more relaxed face to our friends, family and loved ones. He may be the Prime Minister and in the middle of fighting to retain this position, but he is also a HUMAN BEING.

In terms of immigration, what most people don't seem to realise (or those that DO know, are not willing to accept) is the extent to which we rely on the immigrant population. As Brown pointed out: the level of immigration may be high, but let's not forget the Brits living abroad.

The film "Dirty, pretty things" contains a brilliant line: "We are the ones who drive your cabs. We clean your rooms, and suck your cocks". The people that come over here (especially those of the "Eastern European" variety) do the jobs that none of us would want to do.

Mrs Duffy also complained about university fees. Maybe Gordon Brown should have told her about the extortionist fees paid by foreign students. According to a Guardian story last year, foreign students can pay up to £20,000 a year. Without this money the universities would be in a much more dire state that they're already in.

It's a shame and terribly unfortunate that this is such a no-win situation for poor Gordon Brown and unfortunately the majority of the population will ignore that he tried to open the eyes of this woman - to get her to see the bigger picture. I certainly believe that he did his best, but sadly, in these, situations honesty will get you nowhere. You need to put on your best, most smiley face for the public to win those votes and pray to all the gods that you don't slip up!

It is a shame that the Labour party has had to resort to relying on people like Duffy for votes. Where have all the sane people gone?

Of course, as much as this event has raised my estimation of Gordon Brown, I still won't be voting Labour.

Thursday’s election debate:

I believed this to be Gordon Brown’s most impressive performance since the start of these debates. And, why should it not have been? This is his field; this is his area of expertise. THIS was his time to shine!

Unfortunately, the polls showed a whole other story… The public put Cameron first, Clegg second and Brown last. Was I watching a totally different debate to the rest of the country? It certainly felt that way! It seems that Brown’s grovelling didn’t improve the British public’s opinion of him. If he had stood his ground, I think he would have certainly gained a few more points from various sectors of the population. I want a strong leader. A leader who is in control of the power we have entrusted him with. He should stand by his convictions and not give in to the media. That phone call should have sufficed. He lost so much precious preparation time, and for what? To appease a voter? Incidentally, she was portrayed by papers like the Times s an innocent, sweet grandmother, who did not mean any harm and was sorely wronged.

The Liberal Democrat leader’s performance certainly was not up to the standard to which we have become accustomed, so in my opinion, he deserved to come second. But, Cameron FIRST?

His face became more and more flushed as the debate progressed. He seemed flustered, confused and unable to form coherent sentences, to the point where he kept repeating himself.

My only trouble with Brown was his relentless petty attacks on Cameron. Brown had the knowledge, he was certainly in his element and therefore capable of standing his ground – so, what was the need for all those cheap shots?

The results of this debate just proves how easily people are swayed by the media. As a would-be journalist, I find this very exciting and yet terrifying about the power at my dispostition. It seems the pen certainly is mightier than the sword. But, surely, the media’s duty is to report the facts – to make the public aware of home and world affairs. NOT to influence. Black and white facts should be enough to help the public make an informed decision. During previous elections, the Sun claimed Labour’s win as their doing. Hence, the Independent’s posters declaring “Murdoch won’t decide this election; you will” (which resulted in James Murdoch storming into the Independent offices and throwing expletives at the editor!).

The media should not be making or breaking elections. They should be reporting the lead up to it and then the results. The media has a duty to keep each and every person informed of the situation – they should not be making decisions for them.

The British Media = 1
Gordon Brown = 0

Teacher trouble!

Teachers. A story was forwarded on to me yesterday. The author viewed teachers as no more than mere babysitters. Apparently, teachers are paid an extortionate amount of money for doing nothing more than what a 15 year old does to earn and bit of pocket money.

In my opinion, teachers are more akin to crowd control personnel. All the teachers I know work 10 – 14 hour days. It is certainly true that they have a great deal more holiday than the rest of us 9 to 5ers. But again, the teachers I know spend the majority of it marking or creating lesson plans.

Teachers are the foundation of our society. It is their influence on the future generations that will give us doctors, police officers and Prime Ministers.

In recent years, under the Labour government, bureaucracy has crept into the education system. Teachers no longer have the power to decide the curriculum – there is no encouragement to teach children to think outside the box. In order for schools to win funding, they need to meet government standards, yet this means ticking a whole load of inane boxes. These boxes don’t include teaching anything other than the basics. Children are not pushed to achieve more than the minimum that will lead to some form of employment.

I feel that we will have a generation of young people incapable of using their initiative, terrified of living independently of others because they are so used to being spoon fed.

A standardised curriculum, short working days, and 13 weeks of holiday a year, could a job get any better than this?

According to a report in the Guardian last year, nearly 40% of newly qualified teachers drop out after 6 months. Many teachers have complained that this is due to the conditions under which they work.

This brings me to the case of Peter Harvey, who in a moment of utter madness hit a child over the head with a dumbbell. Firstly, the pupil was waving a Bunsen burner whilst shouting abuse at Harvey. Secondly, what was the teacher doing with a Dumbbell in the classroom. Jokes aside, I do not condone this behaviour, but it is also easy to understand the stress he was under. Children are extremely cruel. I remember a lesson once when a group of girls left a number of tampons dipped in red paint in the classroom. The teacher, after seeing this went bright red with embarrassment, which resulted in the class hurling abuse at him.

Teachers deal with abuse on a regular basis – some more than others. Luckily there are those that are strong enough to persevere with their students in order to create another generation of people who have the desire of improving the conditions of our society.

Considering all the difficulties, the long hours, and constant abuse faced by some from students, I think they do a pretty good job!

The Respect party

George Galloway? Apparently, he's the man who's spent the last 5 years "fixing" Tower Hamlets and if voted for again, he will continue to do the best for the borough.

Below are a few of his ideas:

It's been reported that he's bringing in a new brand of cola where the profits will go to Palestine. Keeping the streets clean, maintaining the schools, building houses, costs money. If these profits are sent to Palestine, where will he find the money to help the residents of Tower Hamlets? At the end of the day, people will ALWAYS give to a good cause, and I'm not aware of many institutions who don't believe the plight of the Palestinians is a worth cause. At the end of the day, liberal papers like the Independent and the Guardian will always support the Palestinian cause. The journalist Robert Fisk - has lived in the Middle East for over 10 years and has always condoned the behaviour of the Israelis. Just because Galloway’s screaming louder than everyone else it doesn't mean its going to make a difference.

Second point - he wishes to "empower local Muslims". It seems people have forgotten about the number of schemes that are in place which helps Muslims from all corners of society in order to reach their potential. This hasn't happened because of Galloway atop his red bus, but thanks to the Labour party. Although I don't agree with positive discrimination, there are initiatives which help those from underprivileged backgrounds to get into Oxford and Cambridge. In industries where there are a limited number of people from ethnic backgrounds, for example, media: there are various grants to help fund the courses - the average journalism course costs around £3000. As long as these people can prove that they have the determination to succeed in their chosen industry, they have a shot at getting a place. Galloway didn't do this - Labour did.

In terms of Galloway's character, compared to most other MPs, he has made the least amount of appearances in Parliament compared to any other MP - what on earth is he going to do for Tower Hamlets if he's never in Parliament??

According to a story by Simon Carr of the Independent, if Galloway were to become Prime Minister, his main priority would getting the army out of Ireland - what on earth's that got to do with helping the people of Tower Hamlets.

On the contrary, this is what the Liberal Democrate candidate's offering:

They're going to make sure that money goes into funding the Idea Store isn't cut - this'll ensure that future generations can actually read and don't turn into gangsters - that these kids will take advantage of the scholarships and grants being offered to people from unprivileged backgrounds.

Galloway says there are over 25,000 people in the East End who are in need of housing - the problem is that he doesn't know how he’ll fix this - on the other hand, the Liberal Democrats are campaigning to make habitable the 2,692 empty houses in Tower Hamlets that are being wasted and could go to those that need help.

They plan on building more sports facilities in Mile End. Not only will this keep kids safe this will also aid the problem of rising obesity (this is more so an issue within Bengali communities rather than other communities).

Most people may feel indifferent to these issues. They believe them to be too small in the grand scheme of things. But it is these are issues that affect us - Galloway’s policies are based on helping Muslims abroad – which is all well and good, but at least the Liberal Democrats appear to want to put our own houses in order before branching out into the world.

The Telegraph reported that when he turned up yesterday in order to get on his open top red bus, he was sat in his car smoking a £400 cigar - if he has that sort of money to waste on something without any sense of permanence, why doesn’t he pump more cash into his campaign?

Galloway is a one trick pony. Yes, he stood up against the war in Iraq. Yes, he wants to help the Palestinian cause. Yes, his heart is probably in the right place, but you know what? I would rather vote for a party that will help ME to achieve my potential than worry about issues better left to institutions created to resolve foreign conflicts.

At the end of the day, I believe that although Respect has some good ideas they have no method with which to implement theme. The Liberal Democrats have mostly the same ideas and beliefs (they also didn't agree with the Iraq war and have tried to encourage the government to get involved in the war in Israel) BUT the difference is that the Liberal Democrats have a plan!!