Riots: Young NCB members speak out
18 August 2011
A group of young people from leading
children's charity the National Children's Bureau (NCB) has spoken
out about the recent riots.
Members of the Young NCB, the NCB's young people's network, feel
that young people have been unfairly represented amidst recent
events and are eager to voice their opinions.
Aisha Nageen, 16, from Sheffield: 'I condemn
the actions taken by the opportunists and feel the press have
unfairly portrayed all the criminals as young people, when in fact
it is people of all ages. People need to recognise that a majority
of young people have been involved with cleaning the streets the
day after riots and a minority actually involved with the rioting,
and this needs to be highlighted and praised in the media. I feel
deeply saddened by the number of lives that have been taken due to
the riots, and also by the number of businesses and communities
that have been damaged. The fact that people are actually
considering looting from their own community is evidently a major
problem in our society and we need to address the root cause of it.
MPs need to listen more to their young constituents to be able to
do this, so that this will not be repeated in the future.'
Leon Man, 17 from Buckinghamshire: 'The recent
riots were in no way justifiable or appropriate. It highlights the
wider problems of our society including mass youth unemployment and
deprivation, but more importantly our education system that has
failed to teach those involved the fundamental moral values and
concept of citizenship - and that is the problem we must address
immediately. The majority of young people today are positive
contributors to society and our communities and I hope that these
disgraceful incidents of looting and riots won't be manipulated by
the media to worsen the public's perception of young people; the
youth of today do not need to be branded as hooded thugs or
knife-carrying troublemakers for another generation.'
Matthew Percy, 17 from Ipswich: 'A debate is
now starting on the causes of the worst rioting the UK has ever
seen. Although the riots in Tottenham allegedly started from what
was supposed to be a peaceful protest regarding the death of Mark
Duggen after he was shot by Police in the area on Thursday 4th
August, the widespread riots are about so much more. Some say it's
down to government spending cuts, others say it's a result of
multiculturalism. I suspect that a combination of all of these were
probably a factor, however I also suspect that many involved aren't
trying to make any sort of political point. They are just
opportunists who only have one thing in mind, mindless violence,
and theft. But there's one thing for definite, whatever their
reasons for their involvement is absolutely no excuse for the
criminal behaviour that is being shown.
'It is also worth noting that media reports referring to the
rioters as young people are wrong. Yes, some are young people but
some are in their 30s and 40s, it's not right to refer to them
simply as young people. It's particularly wrong of the media to be
doing this as it's part of the reason why so many young people have
been involved - because everyone is constantly referring to
teenagers as 'hoodies' and 'thugs', so if adults are constantly
telling teens that's what they are many will go through a process
of self-fulfilling prophecy and become exactly that, and that's
what we are seeing from young people involved in the riots. It is
important to stress though that the majority of young people
haven't been involved in the rioting, only the minority.'
Hamza Modi, 16, from Southend: 'I'm one of the
majority of young people that did not participate in the violence
across the country. We condemn the behaviour of the small minority
and ask you to not to generalise. We are all individuals and the
majority of us respect each other, communities, business and the
police. Together, we stand united and we will fight for the fair
representation of young people who make positive contributions to
society.'
The young NCB are working to challenge media representations of
young people. You can view a recent short film they wrote and
starred in to help fight their cause on the NCB YouTube channel at:
http://www.youtube.com/user/WatchNCB
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors For further information contact the NCB Media
Office: media@ncb.org.uk 0207 843 6045/4
1. The National Children's Bureau's mission is to advance the
well-being of all children and young people across every aspect of
their lives. As the leading national charity which supports
children, young people and families, and those who work with them,
across England and Northern Ireland, we focus on identifying and
communicating high impact, community and family-centred solutions.
We work with organisations from across the voluntary, statutory and
private sectors through our membership scheme and through the
sector-led specialist networks and partnership programmes that
operate under our charitable status.
2. Young NCB is a group of children and young people who speak
out about the important issues and decisions that affect them. It
is open to all children and young people who are 17 or under and
live in England and Northern Ireland. It is supported by the
National Children's Bureau and its work is guided by an Advisory
Group of young people. Young NCB gives its members the chance to
speak out and take action on issues they feel are important such as
safety, sex and relationships, schools and education, bullying,
drugs and media. To find out more about Young NCB email
info@youngncb.org.uk or call 0207 833 6830