Racism in the UK Police Force

Here is a documentary from late 2008 by BBC Panorama where they investigate racism in the UK police force. Apologies but the last 10 minutes is not available.

We would like to make it clear that we do not own this documentary in anyway and all credit goes to the BBC and the creators of this documentary. We simple wish to share their work with the world.

Viewers be warned: there will be language some may find offensive and the videos will not be suitable for children.

Racism in Multicultural Britain

Over the law few days we have seen different videos showing racism in the United States and peoples reactions to it. But the US is no where near the only country with such racism and this BBC Panorama documentary from late 2009 investigates discrimination in Britain today.

We would like to make it clear that we do not own this documentary in anyway and all credit goes to the BBC and the creators of this documentary. We simple wish to share their work with the world.

Viewers be warned: there will be language some may find offensive and the videos will not be suitable for children.

Batty Man.

Homosexuality has been legal in the uk for 40 years but to be gay in the black community is still looked down on. Gay comedian, Stephen K Amos, looks at why.

He starts by doing a social experiment in Croydon, South London. He takes 8 men, 1 who is gay and 7 who are straight and asks passersby to "spot the gay". Of the 9 men, 5 were black and 3 were white but it was constantly the white men who were chosen, even though all of them were straight. Stephen wonders if this is because being gay is more associated with being white than black. Stephen then took out the 3 white men and left the 5 black. People found it much harder now to choose, with one woman saying "none of them look gay". Stephen then asked people to pinpoint the person they thought was definitely not gay and there was one man in particular that kept being picked as the definietly straight guy, with people saying he looked like a "player" and a "womaniser". He was the only gay guy. When this was revealed, people were always in shock. When Stephen asked whether it proves you can't look gay, one woman said "stereotypical ennit...that views gone out of the window".

One night Stephen is doing stand up in Brixton, South London, to a predominantly black audience that do not know he is gay. For years Stephen hid his sexuality for fear of not being accepted by the black community. Then one event had a profound effect on him. In 2006 one of his friends was killed just for being gay. This inspired him not to hide who he was any longer and he created a one man show where, at the end, he revealed to the audience that he was gay. This gig in Brixton will be the first time he comes out to a mainly black audience. As soon as Stephen says it, the atmosphere completely changed and all fell silent. Suddenly the room felt full of tension and aggression. He went around the room to talk to some of the people. One man said, "I dont do that gay shit", another said "within the black community youre less likely to be accepted by your family if youre coming out and syaing youre gay you might not have a mum or dad anymore", another man said "there are some reasons why gay people dont come out and one of those is the levels of homophobia in our community that dont allow them to be gay", a woman said "when you asked if there were any gay people in the room,there was a hushed silence because no one wantd to say they were gay in brixton because you mght get stabbed outside". Afterwards, Stephen said it was the toughest gig he had done in a long time.

He then went Tooting, where he grew up, to speak to some youths about being gay. One said "they shouldnt have gay people on tv, or out on the road" another "my familys christian so im against gay peope" two girls agreed "if my brother was gay i would disown him" and later said "black gay people are putting the shame on our race they're making us not look black" one girl said "just make a different country for them ennit" one man said "i dont understand how balck people are thinking that they can be gay, i dont think that could actually run" another boy said "give me 2 women and i would be perfectly fine with that" but he was cussed out by the girls around him. This same boy said "if it wasnt for the music and that, i dont think no one here would have a problem with gays because we've been brought up to believe that gays are not right" They started singing an Elephant Man song where the chorus is "step on the chi-chi (gay) man! step on the chi-chi (gay) man!" Another 2 boys had most of what they said bleeped out apart for the words "batty boy". One of these boys said "tellin the truth, in Jamaica thats what they say: batty man must dead".

Stephen decided to go to Kingston, Jamaica to talk to Elephant Man. The strange thing is, Elephant Man said "i got nothing against gay people, do what you want to do, live your life, i cant come and tell you whatever, so do what you wanna do". Stephen wanted to find out what had changed his mind. He finds out that his lyrics had got him in trouble in places like USA so if he wanted to be successful there, he had to change that. Stephen said it was quite an eye opener to see what people will do when there are western dollars involved.

Homosexual acts are illegal on the island of Jamaica and those caught can serve up to 10 years in prison or hard labour.

Stephen met the band the Heavy Steppaz. His producer thought it would be safer if he stayed in the car and the producer would interview them. One of the band said "for a black person to be gay is really wrong...if a friend switched and turned to be a fish (gay)...theres one thing i think for anyone who turns fish...six foot deep." Another said "must be a man and a women...i say its wrong in many ways...to be a batty man you'll end up dead. straight bullet or gunshot or one of those things...if they really turn into a batty boy they cant see me or hail me they cant be my friend they cant even walk near me, much less look at me. thats a straight bullet. we dont see those things in our class or in our league. im telling you straight because right now a man to woman thing we deal with round here...the whole of jamaica, i know that certain men deal with those things...but if he wants to deal with that he'll have to take the backdoor where no one can see him...a straight bullet."

Stephen finally got to meet one young man called Kevin who risked his life to talk in front of the camera. "Being black and gay in Jamaica is very hard...there are times you have to hide because you're afraid to be who you are in public because you might get killed or those that should help you won't love you anymore...it all comes from the Bible and how people were brought up and dancehall, reggae music...i would pray and pray and pray that i would be happy with who i am and that God would still love me for who i am...i havent come out yet officially...if more gay people come out, i will be a lot easier for the younger generation to be acepting of who they are".

Stephen went to one of the jamacian churches to talk to the young christians to see if they thought it was ok to damn gay people using scriptures. The pastor said "as a pastor people come to me and say they have homosexual tendencies and i say bredrin, i dont see it the way you see it, i dont accept it the way you accept it but remember that you have a brother in me and im not gna kill you, im gna defend you. im not gna defend what you stand for, but im gna defend you as my brother, a human being". The people there believe that people can be conditioned to be gay, it is not genetic and they will be there to help people change this condition. Archbishop of Kingtson said "to use christiantiy is a lie... it usually comes from those with a limited understanding of the bible. You can justify anything by taking out a particular part of the bible. It was used to support apartheid. I certainly wouldnt be bashing homosexuals because they homosexuals, that is completely contrary to our christian faith".

Back in England, Stephen decided to come out to a group of young people face to face. their reactions were partly very encouraging with one girl saying "love is love, happiness is happiness and if that means being with another man, then that means being with another man, simple as that". However, not entirely: "I just see it as wrong...thats just my personal belief...i just feel uncomfortable". One boy said "if i was gay i would pray to god to be put down to dead because i cant see myself being gay".

Stephen talks to gay couple Perry and Olisa who have hidden their sexuality since they were teens. Perry said "before i came out, i was a homophobic. when you first realise it, you dont want it. you dont want to be gay". Olisa said "you can look at me and say im masculine. I could take you down the rugby field and break your nose and say yeah im masculine". Perry agreed "just because you sleep with a man, doesn't mean you aren't masculine". Perry said "my black friends dont know im gay. they wont talk to me again". Olisa said "i havent told my mum yet...i would have been on the first plane to Nigeria if i told her when i was young". Later that night, Olisa told his mum. He was really scared but said she was absolutely a brilliant mum. He said now hes got his approval he doesnt care what anyone else thinks.

Watching the programme back, Stephen hears all the arguments for homophobia and says none of them stack up. The religious argument doesn't wash, neither does the one that you arent masculine nor that pushing them out forces them to change. All fear of homophobics does is give homophobia a platform. The only way to dispell the fear is to face up to it, and thats the hardest lesson of all. Stephen said "I thought I was a strong ballsy comic with attitude and a lot of thinsg to say but i never thought i would have to regress into myself like i had to when we were in Jamaica. There were certain situations where i couldnt express myself and i dont owe anybody anything, i was denying myself and meeting Kevin who was younger, lived there and expressed himself so eloquently taught me something. Hey, stand up and be counted".

If you live in the UK, you can click here to watch this documentary

Congo: Forest of the dead

Reporter Nima Elbagir and director Edward Watts have gone to the jungles of Nort East Congo, beginning in the town of Dungu. Aid agencies say that in the last few weeks alone, tens of thousands of people have fled their homes here. Nima speaks to some people in the road who are refugees and asks them what happened. the woman said that a group of armed men had come and attacked their village. They came into the village and set fire to it and abducted their children, which is why they have left to go to the next safe town. For the last 2 months there have been constant attacks on their village Duru and many more people are leaving because they're just too scared to stay out in the bush.

Nima and Edward joined the UN mission to the town of Duru. It had been under attack for the last 4 months and it was the first time anyone had gone out there. They went with 3 helicopter carriers of troops because no one knew what were going to find out there. When they landed, the town was deserted. Many of the huts had been knocked down and the catholic church had been looted. Villagers started coming out of the bush when they saw the soldiers. Nima asked one of them what had happened in the last attack. The man said just yesterday 3 people were killed. When asked who did it, they were told it was the Lord's Resistance Army, a gorup of notorious rebels from Uganda. The villagers say that they dont know why this is happening to them. In the beginning the LRA were just looting but then they started stealing their children, then buring their homes and then killing them.

Many people started gathering as word spread about the soldiers and people came to see if they could get aid. One lady was carrying her injured little girl, whose Dad was shot trying to run away with her and the bullet went through his body and into the baby. There is no nurse, the baby is sick and they find out it is unlikely the baby will survive the week. They were taken to a school which the LRA broke into during lesson time and abducted the children. They say nearly 100 were abducted from the class. They broke the windows and started passing the kids out through them.

Because of the dense rainforest, the group are invisible until they strike.

Dungu is the heart of a major military operation launched by Sudan, Uganda and the Congo, which have suffered the most since the LRA first emerged in 1987. So far they remiain undefeated but they have managed to rescue some abductees. They spoke to one 15 year old who was taken from the school in Duru. He was sent to a camp where he had to work in the fields and was recieving military training. A group of boys in his camp tried to escape but were caught and made to lie face down on the ground in front of the other abductees. One by one they had to hit the boys with a club on the head then pass the club along until they had beaten the boys to death. When she asked hin why he thought they were doing the things they were doing, he said that they were never told why they were fighting and if you asked you were beaten so they were questions you learnt not to ask. The LRA have always been notorious for their use of children as fighters. Aid groups estimate that up to 1000 children have been abducted in the Congo since last year.

They visit another village which aid groups were bringing medical supplies to. They are met by a group of men who have made rifles, machetes and spears in an attempt to have something to protect themselves with. Nima spoke to the catholic priest there, Father Maurice, about what had been happening. He said the first time the LRA came was 4 months ago and it was after that that they decided to arm themselves and fight. They were waiting for their deaths. He said that the LRA are trying to exterminate them but they weren't going to be forced off this land. There is no police presence and no government presence. The weapons were their last resort, even he the priest was carrying a knife in self-defence. They go to the huts where the victims in need of medical help are. One of the victims, an old man, was beaten on the head with clubs. Another young man was captured, tied to a tree, beaten with sticks and then they started hacking at him with machetes.

The military offensive has only splintered the LRA into smaller groups, making them harder to find. The countries have tried creating safe areas that are always protected but they are over stretched and under resourced.

So that Nima and Edward could go to another village where there had been attacks, they had to travel on motorbikes with a Congalese soldier and a patrol had been sent ahead because security was so unstable. The first thing they saw when they came in were graves where people had buried their loved ones. They spoke to a vilager, Sebastian, who had actually witnessed the massacre. He said the village had been attacked on Christmas day just after mass and they had just come out of the church to go to where they had prepared their christmas lunch when the LRA surrounded them. The villagers had been tied together and then marched into the bush. They were walked down a path to their death as the LRA started smashing their skulls. They massacred people, left their bodies dripping blood and then sat down and cooked their meals. While going down the path that the LRA had taken the villagers, the soldiers, Sebastian, Edward and Nima find a dead body. Sebastian realised that he knew the woman who had been killed, and that she had been pregnant. Her skull was collapsed in where she was clubbed to death. As they keep walking, they find more and more dead bodies.They were introduced to an old woman, who was the only survivor. She said they came in the afternoon, told the villagers all to lie down and then beat them on the head with clubs. She had been buried under a pile of dead bodies and laid there for a whole night, waiting until morning to crawl out. Her brother that she was visiting was killed during the attack.

Over Christmas and Boxing Day the LRA carried out a series of coordinated attacks across the North East of Congo. The death toll stands at nearly 1000 and new bodies are still being found.

Next Nima and Edward went to the Duru hospital to meet some of the victims. They met Elaina and her grandchildren. The LRA had killed the childrens mother, Elaina's daughter and hit the children on the head with wooden clubs and left them for dead. Elaina had been told that one of her grandchildren would never walk again.

They met a man who was trying to make a list of all of those that had died, so that they wouldnt be forgotten. There were many babies and pregnant women on the list. He said there are very few survivors as once the LRA have entered a village, you have to presume everyone is dead. When Nima asked him why he thought they were doing these things, he said he didnt know.

Nima and Edward flew to the north of Uganda, the birthplace of the LRA, to see if anyone could tell them why they were doing this and what it is they actually want. One of the old generals of the LRA, who had turned himself in years earlier, agreed to speak to them. He was abducted as a child by the LRA and fought with them for 18 years. Nima asked him why the way they are killing civilians is so horrifically violent and he said it was a campaign of terror designed to scare villagers into leaving so that the LRA could take over their territory. she asked him what they want and he said the LRA's leader Joseph Koni was fighting for his survival, to protect his life and existence. When asked how it can be stopped, he said the time for talking was over and the world had only one option: the military one.

Nima asked a village elder what he though the cost of the war has been for the people of Uganda. He said that they had watched their women raped, their children butchered, that the war had destroyed their people and that there were now more dead than living.

No one knows how long it will take for peace to come.

Image: Joseph Koni

If you live in the UK, you can watch this documentary here

Young, Angry and White

In July 2009, almost a million voters chose the BNP in the EU elections. As well as the traditional BNP voters explaining this success, a recent survey found one in 20 young people would vote BNP. In this Channel 4 documentary, Peter Beard follows 19-year-old Kieren who is considering joining the BNP but is unsure that the party represents his views. As the Channel 4 summary put it, "t

his fascinating First Cut documentary offers an insight into a young person's attraction to a party whose policies and image continue to cause extreme controversy throughout the country."

Kieren is part of a new generation of far right recruits, "I do want to see an all white Britain. An immediate stop to immigration and repatriation which would follow”.

Walking down the high street, Kieren points out Halal and Carribean food shops saying he doesn't like all of these things being around. He sees them as a threat, culturally changing his town and destroying what his town is about saying that “its just catering for minority groups but it seems like the majority of the high streets are getting taken over by that” and that he doesn't want it "on my doorstep".

Talking about being a nationalist, Kieren says “you have to be a pessimist about the whole society. You gotta be quite angry and depressed and think oh this is horrible everything about this life is just rotten. But then once you have an alternative once you have an answer which manifests itself via the BNP you can only look forward and try and be optimistic”.

The first thought that comes to someone hearing Kieren have such extreme views is that it must come from his family and friends, but that is where you would be wrong. His mum doesn’t want herself or Kieren brothers to be involved in filming the documentary. His mum comes from a background of liberal voters and doesn’t agree with her sons views. Kieren's parents split up when he was one years old and he didn't have a male role model growing up. This has made him want a strong family when he has children and he wants to be the 'breadwinner'. Five years ago, his Dad moved to Wales with his new wife and children and Kieren sees him a few times a year. His dad is a labour voter and says of BNP leader Nick Griffin, “the way he says things makes him look like a complete racist”. He also disagrees with his sons views. After his Dad moved away, life became difficult for Kieren. He and his mum later had to move out of London because of domestic violence and then move again because of another 'woman beater'. He made friends with nationalists from his old London area of Barnet online and then his friendships grew and he was welcomed into their group. He says that he felt like he belonged to something and found it quite comforting.

Kieren doesn't agree with mixed race relationships, hanging a banner in his garden saying "love music, hate race mixing", a twisted pun on the slogan "love music, hate racism". Asked about mixed relationships he said "as a matter of principle I'm against immigration and multiculturalism. Our own women, by fraternising with the other races, they're part of the problem as far as I’m concerned”. Kieren has a girlfriend called Amy. He questioned her heritage, thinking she had an 'oriental look in her face'. She had to ring her sister to confirm that there was no Chinese in her family and he still didn’t believe it. He admitted he wouldn't have dated her if she had Chinese in her family. Kieren thinks that "people should be around their own type of people” and thinks "multiculturalism cannot work, as a concept, or will work...just from looking at social circles, from studying it. I would welcome people to live amongst each other in harmony but I don’t think it can happen”.

He has also made a new group of friends, none of which are nationalist or agree with his views. One of his friends asked Kieren “how do you feel about me losing my virginity to a black girl?” to which he responded “you know how I feel about that and I told you at the time that you hate your own race...Its a form of genocide”. Despite everyone around him disagreeing with his views, Kieren is unashamed to be honest with them, saying things like “its not that I don’t see people as unequal, its that in my life I want people like me around me” and “if they want to call me a racist then fine, I’m a racist, I’ll happily be a racist but I don’t think its racism and I think the word racism needs redefining and we need to have a common sense acknowledgement of what it actually is”. His friends and girlfriend looked very awkward being around while he said these things.

When deciding whether to join the BNP, he watched the infamous episode of Question Time (read about question time here) with BNP leader Nick Griffin. He said “theres never been a question time like this. I enjoy this show normally”. He is extremely disappointed with Nick Griffins performance and unsure whether they still represent his views. This disappointment was made stronger by the news that the BNP could be extending their membership to allow non-whites to join their party. Kieren doesn’t join the BNP. Instead he attends the annual National Front remembrance march. The National Front are a far-right party that have stronger views than the BNP and are arguably more racist and elitist.

The filmer, Peter Beard, talks to a militant group who also grew disillusioned with the BNP. They only agreed to talk if they could be in disguise. The man speaking for the group said “we would like to see England returned to the hands of the people who have the blood right to this country... their blood is in this soil... we have seen the filth flooding through our streets, we have seen a consumerist nation overtake a moral nation”.

Kieren admits that there can be problems with not wanting to integrate with other races. “A lot of nationalists might suffer from social problems I suppose. You don’t really want to indulge in a social life with people who don’t see everything along the route lines as you. I don’t not want to have a life. Nationalisms brilliant and I put all of my thought into it but at the same time I’m 19 and I want to live a normal life”. Sometimes his nationalist views provide a worry to Kieren: “I want to do well and I feel like I’ve turned it around from not being in school to being in education. I want to enjoy university and have a great time and I want to enjoy a successful career. It shouldn’t be considered wrong for me to say how I feel no matter how un socially acceptable it is I’m not doing it in an aggressive manner. I do worry that my honesty in that regard could hold me back."

If you live in the UK, you can watch this documentary here: Young, Angry and White

Osama Bin Everywhere: The Many Faces of Everywhere

(Image from Osamaloves.com: Osama the schoolboy,5, from Morroco who loves his chick)

There are 1.4 billion Muslims in the world, but many people are only able to name one: Osama Bin laden. Creator of this documentary, British born Pakistani Muslim Farrah, set out to prove that not all muslims are terrorists with the help of her fellow muslim friend Masood. They travelled around the world for 50 days meeting people of different cultures with different problems and different passions but they all have one thing in common: they are all called Osama.

While the day that changed the USA was 9/11, the UK changed after the 7/7 bombings in 2005, where bombs exploded on 3 underground trains and a double decker bus. It was a day that rocked the UK and, in particular, London. Before we had been watching terror attacks on the news, now we were having attacks on us. It was one of the moments where you can remember where you were. Robyn, 18, was in the waiting room of the orthodontist and on the radio they were saying something has happened on the trains although it isn't clear yet they thought there had been some kind of major power cut and later found out the double decker bus had exploded outside her fathers office in Tavistock Square, London. Farrah took the bombings as a personal attack on her home and when she heard that the people who did it were the same ethnicity, religion and linguistic background as her, it was "a bitter pill to swallow". The suicide bombers were British Muslim men, three of Pakistani descent and one of Jamaican. Now she feels angry that extremists have stolen the limelight and has had enough of being pidgeon-holed into being extremist terrorists.

Her idea was to go around the world, meeting Osamas, finding out what they love and proving to the world that not all Muslims are terrorists. She began in the UK with Osama 37 from Worchester, UK who loves hip hop and Osama, 17, an A Level student from Warwick that loves innovative web design. She then posted these onto www.osamaloves.com where other people with the name Osama can post what they love.

The first country the pair travelled to was Nigeria, West Africa where 50% of the population are Muslim. They first try to meet an Imam called Osama but on the way, he becomes suspicious of their motives and decides to pull out. Slightly frustrated, they hit a local market and try to find someone and they meet a tailor called Osama who says that he thinks they are doing this programme to “enlighten America and perhaps the whole world the name Osama is just a name and doesn’t belong to a terrorist”. This Osama is 23 and loves footballer Ronaldo. They find another working right next door that loves tea. Word spreads and the osamas just keep coming. They find one that loves his chickens, a blacksmith that loves football team Man United, a goat herder that loves football team Arsenal, a tanner that loves football player Wayne Rooney and one that loves Nigeria. It soon becomes clear that the country is football mad, particularly for British football teams. She also meets a musician called Osama "bin Music", who made it his stage name after the famous bin laden. His favourite music is dancehall and he loves Beenieman. In the UK, Farrah says that many believe music and Islam don’t mix, but in Nigeria Osama says that there is no problem: "Islam allows singing, songs were sung in front of the prophet but he laid down rules that a woman is not supposed to reveal her body, a man is not to touch a woman while he is singing and the song should convey a message that will benefit the listener not something that would corrupt their minds or lead them astray". Going on from this, Farrah then goes to meet an Osama who was a judge responsible for shutting down the Nigerian film industry under Sharia law. He said that “the ban was correct because these kinds of films don’t teach anything. Drama should teach people something. Teach them what to do and what not to do. These thinsg are just a copy of what goes on in Europe. Theyre just dancing and singing and romance... These kinds of pleasures teach bad things... Those from the west taught us how to commit burglary and to break into a womans room and rape her. Thats how we learnt those things. ” Farrah says his judgements about western culture seem “a little farfetched” but back home in the UK many people share his views, with parents thinking their children are becoming “too westernised” and losing their traditional values. From Nigeria, they met 19 total Osamas.

They next went to Cairo, capital of Egypt. The country has a 75 million population and 90% of them are muslim. Osama is an Arabic name which, loosely translated, means young lion, and in these parts the name is as common as John or James is in the west. It is so common that to find an Osama, all they have to do is walk in the street and yell the name. Doing so, the first Osama they meet is 23, works downtown and loves his fiancée. Next they meet an Osama who is an air traffic controller that loves peace. He went to America before 9/11 and then after he changed his name to Sam. When people in the west hear his name is Osama and that he is an air traffic controller, they do not trust him because of his name. They meet more Osama’s that love the internet, their mum, Egypt, foreigners, laughing, their neighbours, investing, a girl (its a secret), Kebab, black Sabbath and a seven year old that loves bananas. Talking about her time in Egypt, Farrah says “I’ve not meant any extremists... not a single person who said it was right to blow up the twin twoers or bomb London". While there on a Saturday night, the whole of Cairo came to a halt, as a football match is on and the country is also football mad. The star player of one of the football teams is called Osama. Farrah meets him and asks him about being a role model and he says “its definitely a responsibility. Not only when im playing but everything outside football as well. The way I am wuith my friends when im on tv and when im playing. Im not doing this for myself its between me and God. God will reward me for that – this is what Islam is about.” He recorded a tape of the Qu’uran which was very successful and they gave the income to poor people. He loves scoring goals. One of Farrah's observations is was that in the west, it would be rare to find a football player that you could go to for religious guidance. The next Osama they met was Osama Mounir, who famously tackles the taboo subjects of sex and love on the radio. He loves love. When he first began his radio show, he couldn’t believe how many people were listening and became an overnight celebrity. He even has listeners calling from America and Europe. His voice is now the most recognisable in the Arab world, with deep gravly tones similar to Barry White. This Osama is actually a Christian. When asked what he would do if a girl called saying she was Muslim and wanted to have a relationship with a Christian, he said he would tell her not to do it because it would cause so many problems. In their community they have to have the blessing of the family and no one would bless the marriage. Farrah admitted she was disappointed by this advice after all the pressure she feels to marry a nice Muslim boy but would prefer to just let love choose. In Egypt they met 57 Osamas including ones that love the sahara, their girlfriend and horses.

The next country that Farrah and Masood were meant to go to was Pakistan, but they haven't yet given them filming permission so they cannot go there. Farrah said she is "actually embarrassed of the obstacles we've met... we're trying to do a good thing".

Instead, they next go to Indonesia in the far east. It is home to more muslims than anywhere else in the world: 200 million. The first Osama they meet is a little boy who was originally born in Leeds, England on the 11th September 2001: the day of the terrorist attacks. He loves riding his bicycle. Talking to his father, they are told that he was named Osama before any of this happened. He told the midwife he would name him Osama and she said “oh very good, that’s nice” but when he was going home, "she never smiled again". He was born hours before the first plane struck the towers. Osama's father says that he doesn't think Osama will have problems in the future: “it depends on Allah”. They next meet an Osama that owns over 400 goats and sells the milk all over the city. He loves martial arts. She also meets Osamas that love manga, an engineer that loves his days off and one that loves intelligent women. They meet 75 Osamas in total.

Next they go to Toronto, Canada. It has the highest number of Muslims of any north American city. They have had a lot of press interest for the documentary, with them getting onto national news almost as soon as they arrive. Very soon after being on the news, the Osamas get in touch. They first meet one that moved from Sudan to Canada. Osama says that Canada is very accepting and he thought that "there were would be more problems than there were". He loves acceptance. They also meet an Osama originally from Pakistan and he too feels very welcome in the country but for his parents it was difficult as every step he took towards the Canadian culture, they saw as a negative step: his hair style, his music, his clothes. His parents have a fear of him drifting from their culture to the western. He loves sandy beaches. Looking back at the website Osama loves, Farrah and Masood see there was an Osama, a writer from USA that loves global dialogue and say that he is the perfect example.

Farrah talks about the importance of getting permission to go to Pakistan because it is being associated with the training and recruiting of terrorists and “its name is becoming mud, and that hurts me”. They do manage to get the filming to go to Pakistan. They arrive on the eve of independance day, the biggest night of the year. They meet an Osama who was a newsreader from London at the time of the bombings and was on the way to work at the time and was evacuated from the station. When he found out British Pakistanis were responsible he didn’t want to believe it but also thought “oh crap, now its us who are going to suffer” because everybody is naturally going to think that everyone coming from Pakistan is coming with the notion of blowing London up. He says that “terrorism and Islam are 2 things completely apart”. They go to meet Masoods family in the town of Lahore and his cousin called Osama who was born 2 months after 9/11. Masood is worried his uncle named his cousin after Osama bin laden. When they ask him why he chose that name he says that “there was a guy at his school called Osama who was very intelligent” and says that he didn’t name his son after Osama bin Laden. He says “nowadays everywhere in Pakistan there are bombings. Everyone is frightened even in Lahore we are frightened. I work in the areas that bombs are going off. When my family hear of a bombing they are so worried... no one can stand their family being harmed”. Back at the hotel they are met with devasting news that a suicide bomb has rocked Lahore. Farrah says “it sickens me... the timing of it... the eve of independence day, the one day of the year the ordinary Pakistani can celebrate and be joyful and they do this at midnight”. In the first three months of 2008 over 600 civilians died in blasts around Pakistan. Masoods friend Jerad talks about how they are becoming an everyday occurrence “we are the ones who are paying in this world... it hurts us a lot when people are saying that we are terrorists. This is so painful, you have to fight tears when you hear it. We are victims not terrorists.” After talking to Jerad, Farrah says “there is no mistake who is taking the brunt of this war on terror”. Despite the earlier bombing, later that night everyone is out in the street celebrating independence day and Farrah says she is “so proud to be Punjabi and have a heritage in this region. The resilience is astonishing”. It reminds her of how Londoners picked themselves up after 7/7 and refused to let the bombers have their way.

When Farrah and Masood went back home, they invited Osamas from all over the UK to help them celebrate. They had ones that love reading, love, playing chess, football, a 57 year old entrepreneur that loves meatballs and a 13 year old that loves his name. Farrah says that she set out to prove that not all Muslims are the same but she wasn’t expecting just how different they all are: Nigerian Muslims are different from Egyptian Muslims and both are different from British Muslims. Nevertheless there was one thing that this journey had made Farrah sure of: “How can anyone look at those faces and think that those people are associated with terrorists and violence?”

If you live in the UK you can watch this documentary at:

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/osama-bin-everywhere/4od

People all over the world can visit:

www.osamaloves.com

What do you think of peoples prejudice towards Muslims? Are you Muslim? Leave a comment and let us know!

Tower Block of Commons: Episode 4

In the final programme, the MPs try to complete the challenges they set themselves and looks at what they do after they have gone back to their regular lives.

Conservative MP Tim Loughton has set up a football tournament for the local youths against the police that he hopes to make a permanent event in the area, to give the youths something to do other than join gangs. Despite many young people from the area attending, only 2 police officers turn up. Extremely frustrated, Tim and the youths have the game without them. Before leaving, Tim bought his host Natina a toilet seat and attached it. Natina said "to me, he seemed like he was being himself" and Natina's mother said "if he was the MP for our constituency, I would vote for him".

Liberal Democrat MP Mark Oaten continues to get a date for when the tower blocks will be demolished. He manages to arrange a meeting with the head of housing from the council to discuss when the tower blocks could be demolished. Unfortunately, the council cannot afford to knock down the blocks because they have to pay £20 million to central government to pay off other council's debts. The council are organising a march to radically change the system and they invited the residents to join them. They also go to hand in their petition about the tower blocks to the local council. When Mark Oaten -prepares to leave, all of his hosts and the other residents on the tower blocks thank him for all that he had done that week. Mark became quite emotional, saying that "you spend a lot of time in this job being disliked as an MP" and it's nice hearing that you've helped them and how nice you are.

Conservative MP Nadine Dorries spends her final night with a new host, 20 year old Jonathan: "I'm too big a fan of the conservatives. They think poor people are poor just because they are lazy. Jonathan lives with 4 other room mates in the 3 bedroom flat and they have no electricity. Using a network of extension wires, they get electricity from the plugs in the hallways outside: "we are currently stealing off the council". Jonathan was expelled from a prestigious local comprehensive 4 years ago, has no qualifications and is unemployed. He admits to Nadine that he is unable to hold down a job because of constant late mornings due to an addiction to weed. Nadine tries to get Jon clean and give his life a purpose. She asks him his ambitions and he tells her that he wants to be a liaison officer between youth and government, because he feels there's too big a gap at the moment. Nadine however questions him for aiming so low and asks why he has to be a middle man, why can't he become an actual councillor. Jon, believing you had to have a degree to go into politics, was surprised to hear from Nadine that you don't at all and that she herself doesn't have a degree. Nadine also talks to Jon about his view of the conservative party and their leader David Cameron. He talks about how David Cameron reminds him of the rich conservative students at his old comprehensive school that made his life "hell" and the characteristics like his "smirk" and the way he talked and moved. Jon became very emotional talking about how the kids had looked down on him and treated him horribly because he wasn't rich like them. When Nadine left, Jon said that "she has lit the way a little bit and I can now make out the next stepping stones".

Labour MP Austin Mitchell is trying to get a youth centre reopened. He got it onto the local news and radio. Lindsay said "he did pull some strings and did things we couldn't have done but he could of done more". Talking of leaving the tower blocks, Mitchell said "to tell you the truth I'd rather stay here and not go back to London. It's so removed from all the stupidities of politics".

On leaving the tower blocks, all of the politicians say that they will never take anything for granted again. Two weeks later, Tim Loughton invites ex gang member Jason from Youth Disciples to talk at a conservative conference about gang violence. Mark Oaten called Sloane to catch up on the action groups progress. He is anxious that they haven't met since he left and haven't got a date for a new meeting. Nadine takes Jon to visit the Houses of Parliament and gives him a surprise visit from David Cameron to show him that his impressions based on the kids he used to know aren't correct. When David asks Jon what he thinks about politics, he said "a bit of everything. I enjoy it, I despise it. I think its fun, I think its dangerous. There's just so many things wrapped up in it. But I think its so important because what comes from politics affects everything." Austin returned to his estate to find out that the youth centre is still closed and that they are waiting for funding bids to come back. Mitchell's wife said "it doesn't seem we've achieved anything".

Two months later, Mark goes back to the estate to meet Candy and finds out that Mark and Alan and Sloane have been moved into council houses while Candy's flat flooded again. The action plan has so come to a halt, having all been left to Candy. He manages to organise the residents Cathy and Candy to come along to their local councils rally to change the system at 10 Downing Street.

In January 2010, Oaten also spoke to government housing minister about the situation, who said that he will soon announce plans to dismantle the current system but no set date has been made. Oaten doesn't think that he has made a difference. Tim Loughton secured funding to ensure the youth can play regular football. The local police finally agreed to a game and the score was Tim's team 4 - 10 local police. Nadine has sent Jon to rehab for his weed addiction and he is considering becoming a local councillor. Austin Mitchell said "I was more of an observer and I should have done more with the agitating and campaigning...too late”.

Read about episode 1 here

Read about episode 2 here

Read about episode 3 here

Do you think the politicians have made a difference? Do you think that they learnt anything from the experience? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Tower Block of Commons: Episode 3

In this episode the MPs stay with people who need their help to discover how much power an MP really has.

Nadine Dorries is staying with 69 year old widow Ruth. When asked whether she likes her area, she says she used to but not any more. There used to be a British Legion across the road but "somehow the Somalians bought it and turned it into a mosque". Ruth is frustrated by them parking on double yellow lines and praying on the pavement, so people cannot use it and, as Nadine put it, "the laws that everyone else has to abide by are not being adhered to". Nadine puts on a headscarf and Muslim dress, then goes to speak to the Imam to talk about the problems with obstructing the footpath and parking on the double yellow lines. Despite the Imam defending that they are on their land, Dorries says "tensions begin when one particular group or another feel that they can behave differently or not adhere to the laws that other people have to adhere to." Clearly insulted, the Imam tells Dorries of all the work they have done for the community, such as clearing out the heroin needles and stopping the drug addicts from using the building. Later that night Dorries says "I do want to make people's lives better and when you come face to face with what you do... I've realised that quite often what politicians do is make people's lives worse". The next day Dorries finds out how resentful some of the residents are towards the new Mosque and comes up with the idea of having a barbecue to get the two communities to mix together and talk. Ruth however doesn't think she'll "get much support". Dorries then goes to speak to the Imam, who is very unhappy to see her saying he didn't want to see her again and "was very hurt" by her "tarnishing the building making it feel like we're some suicide bombers" and forgetting all that they have done for the community. Nadine tries goes to other members of the Mosque to get support and finds Anab, who insists that to be with the Somalian community that Nadine needs to get a Somalian outfit. Once wearing the full dress, Nadine says "it feels nothing like me, it feels like a different person". As the barbecue is about to begin, Nadine realises that at the moment only the Somalian community have come and is worried that no one from the estate will join them. She says that "It just dawned me... that I may have made things worse" as if only the Mosque community turns up, things may get worse. Fortunately, Ruth arrives and so do some more eventually and the 2 communities begin to talk. The Imam comes down to see what is happening and admits he is "a little bit impressed". As they talk they discuss the problems and begin to work on building relationships and a better merge of their two communities. Later on, Ruth tells Dorries that "its been lovely having you here, i've really enjoyed it and the things that you've done I think are magnificent".

Austin Mitchell is staying with Lindsey, a volunteer at the last youth centre on the estate called The Chill Out that is in danger of closing down from lack of funding. It provided a safe haven for young people on the estate and rans classes on everything from how to write a CV to putting on a condom under the influence of drink and drugs. Lindsey says that without the club there is a very bleak outlook for the kids and "to have a bleak outlook at 15 is just sad". Austin speaks to one of the youths, asking what it does for him and he said it "keeps us out of trouble, helps us look for a job and is everything we need really. Without this place we're nothing". When the youths ask Mitchell if he can help, he says "there's nothing I can do, it's not my constituency". Unhappy with this response, one of them replies "so just because it isn't your area you aren't going to do anything". Mitchell then goes on the defence saying "you can't turn to me, you've got to help yourselves". When Mitchell asked the youths what they would do went it closed down, they replied "go back to a life of crime". Everyone wants the club to stay open: the youths, the volunteers and the parents. One parent shows Mitchell a used heroin needle she picked up from outside and says "once my daughter came home with one of them in my mouth, she was in hospital every week for blood tests". When the Chill Out closes completely, Austin discusses what he can do with his wife saying "its a serious question, what does a politician do for people, what do government do for people. That's a real problem." The next day Austin tries making calls to reopen the youth club by publicising it and getting public opinion to pressure the council to give them funding. Austin also joins local young offenders on community service, picking up rubbish. He speaks to one of the offenders who is doing community payback for a crime he committed before joining the Chill Out centre and says that now it is closed, he has nowhere to go. If he had somewhere to go, he would be less likely to offend because he would have something to do. Mitchell said he "never realised it was so simple...thought it was giving playstations and such but actually it’s just a roof with a meeting place to sit and talk”. Mitchell's phonecalls and emails have paid off as news of The Chill Outs closure will be broadcast on local television. Mitchell admitted that “politics is a matter of priorities and unless a problem is... kicking you up the backside its gets postponed and gets ignored”.

Tim Loughton is staying with Adrian who hates the estate saying that there is no safety and he once had a knife put against him in the stairway when he was coming home and there are always people doing drugs. He keeps a large stick in every room for safety. Loughton tries to find out more about the gang violence in his area and finds an organisation called Families for Peace, dedicated to raising awareness of the effect gang violence has on families. Tim met Debbie, whose nephew Aaron was shot outside her house in 2005 and is now stuck reliving the memory. He also spoke to Aaron's father, who showed him the box with Aaron's ashes in it. When talking about the experience later "no one except a robot could have had that experience and not have been moved". Families for Peace put Tim in touch with Jason, an ex-gang member who served 2 years in prison for drug related offences and when he was released found many of his friends had been murdered. He now works for Young Disciples, an organisation that attempts to give youngsters an alternative to gang life. Tim wants to talk to someone of the youths themselves, but the difficulty is finding ones that are willing to be identified. They eventually manage to speak to one boy who keeps his hood up and face down the entire time so his face cannot be seen. Tim asks the youth to explain postcode wars to him. Postcode wars are when groups of people fight one another because of the different areas that they live in. Tim tried to get an explanation as to why this happens, but the youth couldn't give one, only able to say that "you've got to stay loyal" and “you’ve got to protect your turf”. The youth admits that he doesn't feel safe but says that "there's no point in living in fear all your life. You just get over it and do what you've got to do." When asked how to fix the problem, he replied "just give us something to do". After the interview, Tim said he had never before realised "the pointlessness of it all" and called it a "sobering" experience. It makes you "appreciate what you've got and what you've come from" and "you value life more when you speak to people who lost it and who wont have the chance to go back and regain it". The next day Tim goes to speak to more youths to try and find up what they would like to see happen. The suggestion of football arises and Loughton asks about setting up a football tournament between them and the police. Jason takes Tim to see the Young Disciples facilities and on talking to one youth, finds out that the organisation keeps him out of trouble and if it wasn't there, he would be back out on the streets. Later that night, Tim's host Adrian says that he thinks Tim's exploration of the gang culture has really "opened his eyes" and even "shocked him a little bit".

Mark Oaten is staying with civil partners Mark and Alan in their flood damaged flat. Mark Oaten's campaign from the first episode has continued and in fact grown as he has gotten all of his hosts, Cathy, Sloane and now Mark and Alan interested and involved. He puts up signs for a meeting for residents in the evening but then finds out that the council has come and taken them down. A furious Oaten said “it’s like they’re saying we don’t want you to talk together because when you talk together you might get dangerous”. He doesn't give up however, and puts his leaflets through peoples letterboxes instead. Nervous about whether anyone shows up to his meeting, Oaten is excited to find nearly 30 people have shown up and to hear that more people will be coming. Oaten is keen to hand over the campaign to the residents so they can do it when he has left. The meeting begins with the residents voicing their anger about the housing and then begin discussing how to get their voices heard. The meeting attracted the attention of a BNP local councillor who began to give a speech on the horrible mistakes of Labour and basically use their meeting as an opportunity to promote the BNP. He doesn't get to speak for long, however, as Sloane interrupts him saying that "we're trying to get everyone in a positive notion here and you're just negative, negative". The other residents then join in, with one saying she "refuses to listen to the BNP" and that this "is not a party political broadcast". The BNP councillor continues his anti-Labour rant and the residents begin yelling abuse at him, almost leading to a fight. However, he eventually leaves and they get things back into control and focus on becoming active. The next day while Sloane and fellow resident Candy are making posters, a number of police cars and vans pull up to the estate and go inside. They were called to the estate after a fight between 2 families became violent. The trouble was sparked after allegations that a child was hit. Oaten says he has "never seen anything like this before but it must be bread and butter to these guys". Standing with some children, he asks how often this happens, to be told "about 3 times a month" and then begins to comfort one little girl who was scared and began crying. Afterwards Oaten said "kids shouldn't have to see that". Later that night, Oaten says "I couldn't live here."

The last episode sees the MPs prepare to say goodbye. Find out tomorrow whether they have managed to really learn anything from their week in the tower blocks!

Click here to read about episode 1

Click here to read about episode 2

Click here to read about episode 4

Tower Block of Commons: Episode 1

In the UK, the television Channel 4 is well known for its documentaries that tackle controversial but fascinating subjects. One that aired its last episode yesterday was the Tower Block of Commons which took 4 politicians and sent them to live in the roughest areas for a week so they could really experience what life is like.

The first politician was Iain Duncan Smith, the former conservative leader who said that he liked "the idea of taking politicians out of their comfort zone and making them sweat a little bit. No one ot fall back on. It's good." He would be spending the next two days on the Carpenters estate in East London with 19 year old Charise, sleeping on her sofa.

The second was Tim Loughton, the Conservatives shadow children's minister. He was sent to Birmingham's gang divided Newtown Estate. He would be staying on the blow-up mattress in the living room of single mum Natina, her 6 month old baby and her mother. On hearing where he would be staying, Loughton said "Birmingham. It's got a lot of tower blocks. And no conservative MPs".

The third was Mark Oaten, a Liberal Democrat MP that was once hinted at becoming the next Lib Dem Leader, until a sex scandal of him having sex with a rent boy. He is married with 2 children. Mark Oaten stayed in a Dagenham towerblock which he said "feels like one of those old communist blocks" and after constantly having to enter codes to get into the building, he compared it to "prison... It's like Fort Notts".

The final MP was veteran Labour backbencher Austin Mitchell who stayed in Hull but would only agree to take part in the programme if he could have his wife with him, they could bring some of their possessions and they could have their own council flat. Their first two days were helped by Selina, 29 who, before their arrival, said "these politicians don't do nothing. They're making bloody good money just for arguing in a parliament. I could be an MP". On arriving in their new home, Mitchell's wife said it "looks a bit like a prison".

For the polticians, the first part of settling in to their new lives is to change their outfits. As Mark Oatens host Cathy put it, "if you wear a suit, you’d get egged around here. The kids would egg you because you stand out too much”. The politicians clearly felt very awkward in their new attire, swapping shirts and ties for Nike and tracksuits. The culture difference in fashion was immediately made clear when Tim was laughed at by his host Natina and her mother for how he did his laces.

The politicians also has a chance to talk to their hosts and get to know them a bit better. Iain Duncan Smith asked his host Charise what she knew about politics and what politicians do etc, and she replied that she had no clue what happened in the houses of Parliament, or what politicians do and she heard that they just "sit in a room and talk". When asked about this comment from her later, Smith conceded that "politics is many miles away from what goes on here". Tim Loughton went to explore the local area and began talking to a man outside the newsagents. The man began to get angry about the MP expenses scandal, saying that politicians "are legitimate crooks...why having any of them been prosecuted?” and saying that they are "on another level". Attracted by the argument were some local youths and when Loughton began to talk to them he found out that they didn't know the name of the MP for their area, and in fact one of the teenagers didn't think there was one for their area. Later on when speaking to his host Natina, the topic of parenthood came up as Natina is a single parent and part of Conservative policy is a strong bias toward married families and bias against divorce and single parents. Loughton said that his parents had divorced when he was 12 and he was split up from his brothers and sisters to live with each parent and when asked "but don't you think it was better for them to be apart" he replied that he didn't think that way when he was 12, at that time he would have done anything to have them back together. When asked by Loughton, Natina said that she wouldn't want her baby's father back in her life but in her daughter's life. Austin Mitchell's host Selina took him to "buy a newspaper" and in fact took him to a local NHS Methadone clinic. Selina is a recovering heroin addict and has to go to the clinic everyday to take her methadone. Heroin use is a large problem in these areas, with the ground littered in used needles. Mark Oaten was shown around his host Cathy's house and disguested by the mould growing on the walls and terrible living conditions. He immediately moved into action, going outside with Cathy to try and get people to sign a petition to get something done. He began talking to a couple where the women didn't vote because politicians "don't listen" and the man voted for the BNP after switching from Labour because they "actually give a voice to a white person". He assures Oaten that he isn't racist whatsoever, a quality often assumed of supporters of the BNP, saying that many of his best friends are "coloured" and that "we're all human".

What was instantly made clear from this episode is the lack of understanding on both sides: the public have little awareness of what politicians are doing and politicians have little awareness of what the public are going through. It is therefore a two sided problem that will require the efforts of both sides to be resolved.

What also struck me as interesting was that the Labour MP, the party of the working class people, was the least willing to compromise. He didn't want to change into the new clothes, he brought his wife, he got his own council flat, brought expensive artwork and such with him and one night he and his wife went to dinner with rich friends.

Towards the end of the episode, you find out that Iain Duncan Smith found out his wife had cancer and had to pull out of the show. Asked what he thinks of what is going to come, he said "the other MPs will have to accommodate a whole other set of horizons. They are used to being the centre of attention in Parliament...suddenly they will see that they are in an area where most of the people there think that people like them will have forgotten them."

Well, to find out how true Smith's predictions are, you will have to read tomorrow when I post about the second episode!