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I had a really interesting chat with an elder on an East London estate this evening about #SeriousYouthViolence
(hat tip to @akalamusic for pointing out the power of the words we hang over the heads of our young people).
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(hat tip to @akalamusic for pointing out the power of the words we hang over the heads of our young people).
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He was looking very dapper, and I gave him a compliment on his suit, and he sighed and said the kid he took to court this morning got 7 years. And the one this afternoon from his block got 2 years. That’s the difference between guns and knives he said.
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I asked him if there was anything we could do to support him. He looked tired. “I’m 60 years old. Why am I the one listening to them? Why is no one coming down here asking what is going on? These kids are all gas. They wanna play the big man because they have no voice.”
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“They listen to me because I’ve been inside. They can’t work out if they carry weapons there are consequences. But they respect the fact that I’ve seen bars and I know what time means. So they listen.”
“What’s the break?” I asked “What’s the key to get a kid to hear you?”
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“What’s the break?” I asked “What’s the key to get a kid to hear you?”
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Without skipping a beat he said “Their mother. I turned my life around when I realised my mother cried too many tears. I remind them of what they are doing to their mothers. No one can play big man to that. They’re just kids. We’re all just kids when it comes to our mums.”
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There is no big moral to this thread, just a tale of a man on the front line of some very serious issues who has one solution and a heart of gold. And unless we connect to gents like him and listen and fund their projects the problem we are facing will continue to escalate.
