Chetna Patel wrote to the Messenger with her feelings about the shooting:
Dear Messenger,
I am writing about the recent incidents in the area, which led to the death of a young Asian man, Ibrahim Ilyas. I have worked in the area previously for over seven years and I am still in touch with what happens locally. I often read about the New Deal police team and crime levels being reduced and then hear of tragic news about young people being victims of gun and knife crimes.
Why is this still happening? We have had five years of New Deal monies, and yes houses on a surface level may look better. Flowers on lamp posts may make the area look pretty. But how about focusing our attention on the young people in the area and making sure their short lives are not ended abruptly by crime. It seems all wrong; we focus our energies on what looks good and achieving targets but don’t address the root of the problem.
Why do we still have so many young people not achieving in our local schools? Why do we still have young people not gaining employment in good-quality jobs with salaries to sustain them to divert them from other activities? Why do we still have to read about young people being victims of crime? Where is the youth service and detached street work, which is so desperately needed?
Why do we read about young Muslim men being arrested for terrorist crimes that they did not commit and have to face humiliation, and fear just because of their colour and religion?
When are statutory and other organisations going to wake up and see what is happening to our young people who are competing with so many pressures in society? When are we going to address the root causes to end the cycle of deprivation that so many families and communities still face?
What is the purpose of regeneration monies if you can’t help young people who are our future; make a better future for themselves? I hope someone out there is looking into all these issues, otherwise we will continue to see young people and families lives being disintegrated. I’d like to finish with a quote from Malcolm X, which is still relevant today:
“We black men have a hard enough time in our own struggle for justice, and already have enough enemies as it is, to make the drastic mistake of attacking each other and adding more weight to an already unbearable load.”
Peace, Chetna Patel.