UK Riots - mindless thugs, but why?

Rioters in Liverpool/BBC

Like everyone else in England, I am trying to make sense of the mindless violence, arson and looting that have spread first across London, then to other cities throughout the country over the last four nights. Four people have died as a result of the mayhem.

Video footages show young men and women in hoodies torching local businesses and family houses, smashing windows, overturning cars, taunting terrified shop owners and residents, ransacking shops, drinking and laughing at the police, who were clearly out-numbered and overpowered.

The images are terrifying and unsettling – especially because the looting and violence are so brazen, and because many of the young people involved, some as young as 14 or 15, seem to have such a good time smashing up the place, like it is all a big joke.

Many didn’t even bother to cover their face. Some have even posted pictures on social networking sites, proudly showing off their haul.

Two girls who took part in Monday night's riots in Croydon, London, boasted on the BBC that they were showing police and "the rich" that "we can do what we want". 

Looters, Birmingham/AFP

 And that is what it looks like. In some areas, young people pillaged for hours before the police arrived. And when the police did arrive, they seemed powerless to do anything.  This new and unexpected feeling of having power and being in control must have been intoxicating to young people who are used to feel powerless. This acted as a catalyst for more violence. 

The devastating riots, which are still spreading across the country, first flared on Saturday after a peaceful protest in Tottenham, London, over the fatal shooting of Mark Duggan, 29, by police.

Commentators say the ensuing violence has nothing to do with the fatal shooting: the riots are not a social protest, but random opportunistic thuggery.

It is true that the riots don’t look like a social protest – the young people are not marching for a cause or rioting with a message; they seem to be looting, burning and smashing things up for the sake of it.

But this doesn’t mean there isn’t a deep underlying cause.

The riots started in deprived London’s boroughs hit harder with unemployment. And the recent cuts in social and educational services and programmes have only made things worse. 

The gap between rich and poor is ever growing here. Britain is now one of the most unequal countries in the developed world. And many young people, especially Blacks and Asians, see the police as adversarial and biased.

Many of the rioters have no stake in conformity and feel they have nothing to lose.

"They have no career to think about. They are not 'us'. They live out there on the margins, enraged, disappointed, capable of doing some awful things," says Prof John Pitts, a criminologist who advises several London local authorities on young people and gangs.

Most Mira festival – hope in a deeply divided post-war Bosnia

Today’s judgment by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), convicting two Croatian generals of responsibility for crimes against humanity, is a strong victory for Balkans war’s victims.

But in Bosnia, sixteen years after the signing of the Dayton Agreement, the region is still deeply scarred and profound divisions fester underneath a fragile peace. Last year’s Bosnian elections saw a resurgence of nationalism and threatening rhetoric – on an even larger scale than before the war.

While traditionally, Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks have lived and worked together in the country, the children born after the war are completely segregated.  They live in different areas, go to different schools where they learn different versions of their country’s history, and never meet children from another ethnic/religious background.

But once a year in May since 2009, some 450 children from all ethnic groups in the Prijedor region of Northern Bosnia come together for Most Mira (Bridge of Peace) festival, a festival of dance, drama, music and arts where they learn new skills, develop friendships and build a new future.  

The festival is run by a growing number of volunteers from all over the world and is the brainchild of Kemal Pervanić, a Muslim from North West Bosnia who survived the infamous Omarska concentration camp and now lives in England, where he founded the charity Most Mira in 2005.   

Pervanic was so alarmed at the mistrust and hatred he discovered during his visits back to his hometown of Kevljani that he decided to try to bring the children together and “build a bridge of understanding and tolerance between youngsters who have learned only fear and distrust.”   Many of these children have now developed lasting friendships across ethnic groups.   

The weeklong festival, which will run this year from May 16 to May 21, also provides one of the rare opportunities for these children to engage in the arts in a region whose economy has yet to recover from the war.

The project almost collapsed when Pervanic realized that one of the local teachers he had enlisted into the scheme was one of his interrogator/torturer in Omarska.

Pervanic is the author of The Killing Days – My Journey through the Bosnian War and a human rights activist. He contributes regularly to conferences and educational talks on issues relating to genocide and human rights, as well as to TV and radio programmes about Bosnia, The Hague war crimes trials, and issues such as citizenship. 
He has an MA in Conflict Resolution from Bradford University. I've met him for an article a few years ago and we have remained in contact.

Most Mira needs help: if you want to get involved or make a donation, click here.

Like a Magic Cup - Vital Communities

Vital Communities is a bit like a magic cup

Art is radical. Art can prevent children from turning into bored, alienated, aggressive teenagers. It can break down barriers between generations and ethnic groups, provide new skills, improve self-confidence, expand horizons and help rebuild communities.

That’s what Vital Communities, a unique five-year arts and research project has achieved and demonstrated.

My friend, filmmaker Dominique Chadwick has followed the project over the past five years and produced “Spotlight” - a film analysing the workings and effects of Vital Communities upon children, their families and communities. She presented her film at the Cambridge’s Festival of Ideas last week.

 Vital Communities brought film, dance, drama, visual arts, literature and other creative activities to children in primary schools in ten diverse communities across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough. It then extended the activities to the children’s families and communities.

“Spotlight” shows that Vital Communities has increased participating children and families’ enjoyment and engagement with the arts.  It has helped them develop new skills, increased their self-confidence and given them a sense of well-being.  And the project also acted as ‘social glue’ in the community, creating links between different generations and diverse ethnic groups. These results were found in all ten locations, regardless whether rural, urban, affluent or deprived.  Vital Communities also had a strong 'ripple effect', in which participating children, parents, teachers and artists passed on their skills to those not involved and encouraged them to join in the activities.

   

"Vital Communities is a bit like a magic cup. When you take a drink, you can do anything!"  Year 1 child, Peterborough.


"Parents, teachers and more crucially the children themselves said they became happier and more creative as a result of taking part in Vital Communities," says Susan Potter, the project manager. "Working alongside people of different ages and diverse cultural backgrounds encouraged these children to be more imaginative, responsive, open and tolerant towards others."

The project, which attracted the attention of UNESCO and other national and international organisations, was originally planned over 15 years, but had to stop this year for lack of funding, sadly.

For more information on Vital Communities and links to the progress and final reports, click here.