There is a lot of action happening over here right now. London is making headlines for what started as retaliation for the killing of a suspected drug dealer on Friday night. Since then the situation has escalated each day growing more out of control and widespread. It started in a section of London, Tottenham, and has spread to more than twelve areas within London and five major cities outside the city, some hours away. There's no rhyme or reason. The vandals text each other to meet at a predetermined location at a certain time, and then violence breaks out. It's like a game of cat and mouse. Vandalism pops up in one area and then erupts in another, and the police chase the mayhem arriving after it's too late.
Here's a run down of the damage. High Streets are getting destroyed. Stores are being vandalized. Cars are going up in flames. Businesses are burning down to the ground. Looting is rampant and there is no end in sight. The biggest surprise is the ones who are causing all this mayhem are minors - adolescents barely out of puberty. They caught one kid who was just 11 years old. The authorities are urging parents to ask their kids where they've been, and if they are involved, keep them home.
How have the authorities responded? Well, they've been on vacation. Seems a bit odd but they all took holiday at the same time. Granted, no one new this kind of incident would occur nor would it take a life of its own. It really didn't make the news (non-stop, that is) until Sunday. Friday was the initial incident. Saturday was the surprise follow-up, and by Sunday it became apparent a pattern was developing. David Cameron, the Prime Minister, ended his vacation early in Tuscany and flew home, but not until Monday, which turned out to be the worst day yet.
We had ventured to Croydon to go shopping at Costco yesterday. It's not close so we don't go often, and when we do go we end up spending the day. We didn't return home until 6 pm. Later that evening we turned on the TV only to find out Croydon was ablaze and mayhem abounded. That's when it really hit home. The violence was closing in.
The PM held a conference this morning calling for an end to the violence. He said we would not tolerate any more disturbances. If young people are acting like criminals, they will be charged as criminals. He is bringing in 10,000 more police tonight (we only had 6,000 on duty the past few days which clearly was not enough). There was talk of calling in the army, shooting rubber bullets as a deterrent, and shutting down Blackberry messenger. However, nothing has been approved.
People are scared and are responding accordingly. Businesses shut down early today. The town of Kingston closed down this afternoon. Football matches for the upcoming days have been cancelled. Electronic stores, jewelers, and other high-end retail shops were boarded up and not open for business. London is in a state of fear and many are praying for rain - anything to deter the violence.
The good news is so far tonight there seems to be less violence. The stepped-up police presence seems to be making a difference. Now Manchester is in the hot seat and there is unrest there right now. However, overall it does not seem to be as bad.
There's a TV camera crew interviewing a group of kids on the high street right now. The kids said they are looting because they are angry. They can't get a job. Unemployment is high. They need to steal things so they can make money. They are 18 and they have no future. Those were their words.
We're thinking, "Grab 'em. Throw them in jail." Unfortunately, jail is not an option. They are so overcrowded the authorities are busing prisoners outside the city. So much for that solution.
So we sit, waiting for all the violence to end and hoping it won't come to our little town. Only time will tell. Tomorrow we'll read about how tonight really went.
May the city recover from all the destruction that has happened these past few days. It's time to heal and move forward, and bring justice to those who caused some much pain. A couple of lives were lost, so many areas were destroyed, and some people were left with nothing. But there's always hope. This morning people were outside sweeping the debris. Friends came to help neighbors. One person muttered the famous British motto, "Keep calm and carry on." We'll get through. Let's just pray this is the end.
No comments:
Post a Comment