Lewisham: the most violent place in Britain?

The topic of gang and youth violence has been controversial for many years and continues to cause uneasiness in the heart of communities. Recent reports carried out by the Institute for Economics and Peace earlier this year has stated that:

Lewisham is the most violent place in Britain.”

This statement has naturally ignited debate from sections of society and Lewisham resident Daniel Pink, has chosen to tackle and demystify this stereotype and those surrounding young ethnic minorities. Pink, an OBV graduate working in conjunction with Ubuntu Social Living Network and Family Health Isis has organised an event on 22nd July 2013 called ‘Ending gang and youth violence’.

The Ubuntu social living network is led by Pink and has made a great impact on young ethnic minorities through education and mentoring. The organisation itself encourages young ethnic minorities to have an active knowledge of their roots and be proud of their ancestry. According to Pink, the current education system does not give enough credit to BME history and fails to give credible knowledge to students. The Ubuntu Network aims to solve this issue and Pink argues, “history is key to one’s identity, young people can be better citizens overall if they have a knowledge of themselves and their history.”

According to Pink, the media is not interested in showing young ethnic minorities positively, and plays a role in the stigmatisation and stereotypes. It concentrates on the negative and violent stereotypes of young ethnic minorities in Lewisham rather than balancing out the arguments. This event aims to celebrate the achievements of young ethnic minorities while understanding that gang and youth violence is a serious issue. The event, chaired by the Young Mayor of Lewisham, in itself shows how young people are actively participating to end gang and youth violence.

Pink states that Lewisham traditionally has been a deprived area and the current austerity measures are causing more problems and tensions within the community. Individuals have become so desperate to survive that some may view crime as an option. The government fail to understand that poverty and desperation are the main reasons for gang and youth violence. He states that poverty is the root cause for the unrest, when one analyses gang and youth violence they need to understand that no one is born a criminal. Pink argues that environmental factors and poverty drive and fuel gang and youth violence.

The slogan of the event is “Every voice matters”, which shows that ending gang and youth violence is a collective effort. Gang and youth violence can be stemmed if the community comes to a consensus about the issue. This includes local churches, local business and local groups; if the community comes together and stands together anything is possible.

From the event Pink hopes that people look at themselves and look at the importance of where they have come from historically. The BME communities should recreate past victories by being proud of where they have come from and gain a better knowledge of themselves. He also argues that the communities are the answer to cut gang and youth violence, the government are limited, but the communities themselves have the solutions.

The event has a range of speakers who have a wealth of knowledge when it comes to understanding gang and youth violence. This includes Robin Travis who is the author for “Prisoner of the streets”, Tanya Edwards a youth offending manager, Ian Alderson representing the Metropolitan police and Dr. Lez Henry.

If you are interested in attending this event it will be held on 22nd July in the Town Hall Chambers, Catford Broadway Lewisham, London SE64RU starting from 10am-1pm.To register your attendance, please contact: ashante@tiscali.co.uk

Mems Ayinla