Panic on the Streets of London

Panic on the streets of London
Panic on the streets of Birmingham
I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again ? - The Smiths, "Panic"



I woke up again to the sound of sirens and cars whizzing past in breakneck speed. It is the 4th day of riots in London. The streets are empty, the pubs shut at 10pm last night... It appears the sleepless city of Europe has gone silent. No one knows exactly why these riots are occurring - are these acts of mindless violence or has it stemmed from deep-seated political and sociological problems.

It all began after a 29-year old man was shot dead by police at Tottenham on Saturday night. Since then pockets of violence have broken out in Hackney, Brixton, Lewisham, Peckham, Islington, Oxford Circus, and Ealing. Ealing, the neighbourhood where I lived only two months ago is one of the more severely damaged areas. Having gone up in flames last night, BBC is showing images of burnt tarmac, buildings, and cars this morning and although I deeply loathed living there, I feel incredibly sad.

Next I hear that the bookshop down my road was destroyed. It seems surreal. People are staying at home, too scared to hit the streets. Whether these youths are fighting for their rights or not, they need to know that they are destroying the lives of the people of the very people they are protesting for. Small family-owned businesses are suffering the most, getting burned to the ground, destroyed and looted, and unlike the larger franchise companies, they do not have the insurance to cover this.

David Cameron has promised to put more policemen on the streets tonight so that these youths will feel the full force of the law. I hope this chaos ends soon.