Daily Times

Memory can be a dodgy thing. If not refreshed often, we tend to either erase or put in cold storage information and images that are not really relevant to our present. Watching images of widespread riots in England, most particularly in London, has brought back memories from my past.

In April 1981, we lived in Ealing, located in west London. Ealing was and is still considered to be an affluent area, populated then by predominantly white people. The ‘desi’ lot was a few kilometres down in Southall whilst the nearby Acton had a sizeable ‘black’ population, which I tended to avoid with almost a religious fervour.

On Saturday, April 11, 1981, massive riots broke out in Brixton, in south London, which was the result of racial tensions between the police and the African-Caribbean community. Brixton was an area in direct contrast with Ealing, predominantly inhabited by the ‘blacks’ and other marginalised ethnic groups. It had a higher rate of crime, unemployment, poor housing and all the other ills that come with these. Initially the tensions started between the police and youth as a house was burnt down as a result of suspected racially-motivated arson. A day earlier, a black youth who had been stabbed was stopped by the police and instead of calling an ambulance they tried to bundle him into a police car. The crowd intervened and the boy was taken to the hospital but he died later. Things flew out of hand when a rumour started that he had been left to die on the street by the police. It was believed by the local community that he had been killed as a result of police brutality. And then all hell broke loose.

Watching the news, now flooded with images of various parts of London, including the affluent Ealing, ablaze, is disturbing. This is nothing like the Brixton riots. The youth involved now in all the lootings, arson, physical violence are not the marginalised black and ethnic youth of the ‘81 riots. A majority of them is white. This is an area that has good housing, higher education, higher employment and a lower crime rate.

Though the current riots started, purportedly, in Tottenham, as a result of the killing of Mark Duggan by the police, it is being suggested that Duggan was a drug dealer and spearheaded various criminal gangs and was under investigation. The peaceful protest demanding answers turned violent when a rumour took off that a 16-year-old protesting girl was baton charged by the police. And then all hell broke loose.

Major parts of the country including London, Birmingham and Manchester are now involved in the riots. But is it about Mark Duggan now?

What I have been watching on television is not about a cause. The destruction that shows London burning is the result of a mob mentality. The anti-social personality being displayed by the youth of England is not about getting answers to a probably extrajudicial killing. It is about disparity. It is about the growing divide between the rich and the poor. In order to save its economy, Britain has had to make massive cuts. According to various charitable organisations, the programmes running for the youth during the summer vacations have been cut by almost 85 percent. Add to it rampant unemployment and higher college fees, making the choices limited. These looting mobsters might not be racially marginalised, but they certainly seem to be financially and educationally so. But then again, areas that are affluent as well as the relatively ‘deprived’ are all under siege. Another factor that seems to be playing a part is the internet and social networking, as well as BlackBerry messaging, in fuelling the ongoing riots.

Michael Bailey’s death in 1981 led to a public enquiry and it was found that the police used indiscriminate and disproportionate powers of ‘stop and search’ against the blacks. This finding by Lord Scarman eventually led to legislative changes and the establishment of the Police Complaints Authority.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is holding an investigation into the Duggan killing. So far, they have not found any evidence of Duggan having fired his gun at the police officer. Duggan received two bullets. One to his chest was fatal.

As of now it is reported that 16,000 policemen have been called into London. There are also reports of riots in other parts of the UK.

We as Pakistanis are used to extrajudicial killings by the police. We are downright dismissive of the atrocities committed against us and our fellow citizens. We are not raised to believe in our fundamental rights, especially our right to life. We will stand and watch, if not openly applaud, when our police take around the body of wanted criminals like Nanu Goraya or assist in the killing of two brothers in Sialkot, alike. We will not ask for equal treatment of law. Mark Duggan, even if he were a criminal, was entitled to be tried by the courts. We as people of Pakistan have the right to be tried by a court too. Unlike the UK, there is no non-departmental, independent police complaints commission here, who are bold and independent enough to make public the truth. Various units like citizens and police liaison committees are said to be ‘functioning’ but judging from the incidence of human rights violations and resort to the courts, none has the true grit required to speak up against the atrocities of our police and are reportedly more of a social networking group themselves!

Bailey’s death in 1981 led to several reforms. A debate is already underway in England questioning the powers of the police in the aftermath of Mark Duggan’s killing and in the wake of the widespread riots. Sadly, an independent police complaints commission is not in the interest of those in power here in Pakistan. London is burning, again, today. But Pakistan burns every single day.

The writer is an advocate of the high court