Observer in London: riots "weren't completely unexpected"

Photo of riot aftermath courtesy of @ravisomaiya.

Smashed store windows, burned-out buildings, the smouldering remains of a double-decker bus: amateur videos and photos show the aftermath of two successive nights of rioting on the streets of London.

More than 100 people were arrested and at least 35 police officers injured during the two nights of rioting. The riots started Saturday evening, when a protest over the death of Marc Duggan, 29, who was fatally shot by police, descended into violence in the neighbourhood of Tottenham, north London. Groups of youths looted shops and clashed with police well into Sunday morning, with dozens of fires flaring up throughout the neighbourhood.

On Sunday night, rioting spread to other areas of north London and Brixton in the south, in what police called “copycat criminal activity.” Parts of Tottenham and Brixton remained cordoned of on Monday, as police examined the scenes.

Meanwhile, the police have launched an investigation into Duggan’s death. He was killed during an attempted arrest by police officers working as part of Operation Trident, a group which investigates gun crime in London’s black community. A candlelit vigil in Duggan’s honour is to be held Monday evening in Tottenham; police plan to remain on high alert.

This footage shows fires burning during riots in Brixton, south London, early in the morning on August 8. Courtesy of Emma Reynolds and Ailsa Leslie.

The video, posted to YouTube by horrificstorms, shows authorities fighting huge fires in Tottenham early in the morning on August 7.

An opticians’ store post-looting in Wood Green in north London. Posted to YouTube by CtrlAltxDeletex.

“What the community needs now is answers”

Keith Flett is a union leader who has lived in Tottenham for more than two decades.

I was watching the football game in a restaurant [Saturday night]. I went out on the street at about 11 p.m. The rioting was in full swing at that point. The rioters were a mixed crowd – black, white, some young and some not so young. Things were burning, people were running – it was not the kind of situation you want to hang around for, so I headed home.

I went back out the next day. There are quite a few historic buildings in this area, and some are now badly damaged. Some people lost their dwellings above the burned shops. That’s pretty tough.

The shooting [by police of 29-year-old Mark Duggan on Thursday] is what sparked all this off. And what the community needs now is answers. We want a fully independent inquiry into the shooting, not just an internal inquiry by the police. [Duggan] may not have been the most perfect of human beings, but that doesn’t mean he had to be shot dead.

“These kids are wandering around the area, bored”

There’s another problem that has to be addressed: because of cuts in public services, over half of the youth centres in Tottenham have closed recently. [After-school clubs and counselling services were also shut down this year.] These centres gave youth a place to hang out, play sports, stay off the streets. There have also been cuts to the program that gives 16- to 18-years old small allowances as an incentive to continue their education.

Now these kids are wandering around the area, bored. So it’s not totally unexpected that something like this would happen. We need to look at how cuts in services are affecting this community.

Of course, these cuts aren’t the sole cause of the riots, but it’s certainly a factor in the wider mix. It’s created a space where people are more inclined to think, ‘well, what have I got to lose?’ Tottenham has a high unemployment rate, racism is a big issue, and there are a lot of people who are totally alienated from the system. But there’s a real community spirit as well, so we’ve got grapple with all these issues.”

A carpet store before and after the riots that shook Tottenham on Saturday. Top image courtesy of Google Maps; bottom photo courtesy of @ravisomaiya.

Rioters set fire to a Foot Locker store in Brixton. Photo taken on the morning of Monday, August 8. Courtesy of Luke Massey

Comments

A bunch of hoodlum dogs,

Submitted by Neighbor (not verified) on Tue, 09/08/2011 - 09:44.

A bunch of hoodlum dogs, that's all they are. There's never an excuse for torching houses and destroying other people's livelihoods.

hoodlum dogs?

Submitted by 55scouse (not verified) on Thu, 11/08/2011 - 19:01.

Try telling Cameron, Blair, Brown, Bush, Obama et al, they set the precedent by doing even worse to the business's, homes, communities, and infrastructures wherever they send their trained 'hoodlum dogs'.
And why do they do that?

BECAUSE THEY DEMAND THE RIGHT TO ENTER OTHER STATES TO GAIN A FINANCIAL FOOTHOLD!

In fact, nothing short of looting but on an international scale.

Before Cameron starts issuing threats towards those who torched much of our city centres, he should take stock of what his 'dogs' get up to, especially when using the excuses, about 'democracy, and freedom'.

Just as the rioters took it unto themselves to go on the rampage, without the consent of those around, so did Cameron et al, take it upon themselves to 'riot' across the world, without the explicit consent and agreement of the public.