Oldham Riots - how White and Asian residents have moved on

The Asian News marked the 10th anniversary of the Oldham riots earlier this year with a series of insightful articles around the disturbances. Happening before 9/11, those disturbances were to transform the way Britain viewed its Muslim communities, and also the way many Muslims viewed themselves.

Ten years on and we have witnessed more widespread civil disturbances, but not in predominantly Muslim areas. In reflecting back, what can we learn today? In order to learn lessons, OBV will be running the full series of articles written by Yakub Qureshi from the Asian News to mark the Oldham Riots - 10 years on.

From the Asian News:

People living on Roundthorn Road in Glodwick where the riot began a decade ago today explain how they feel about their neighbourhood.

Shahban Rashid, 35, has lived on Roundthorn Road since he was a child. He said,

When it all kicked off and cars were being smashed, my white neighbour moved his car onto the street so I could put mine in his garage where it would be safe. That was the sort of feeling that was there between most of us. We looked after each other. The people that stirred up the bad feeling were from outside the area. And those living here who were involved are long gone. Other than those two or three days I have always felt safe in this neighbourhood. I now have a six-year-old son and I feel completely comfortable letting him play outside with his friends in the street.

Marian Hampson, 59, said,

I’ve lived here 25 years when it was about 80 per cent white and 20 per cent Asian families in the street. Today, it’s the opposite. It’s actually better in terms of having good neighbours. I won’t lie, we’re not all involved in each others lives, that’s not the way of the modern street, but we are there for each other when needed. There is a resilience in good people not to let the bad elements drag us down with them.

Mum-of-two Ashra Amir, 39, said,

I had just given birth to my second son when the riots took place. There were groups of young Asian lads going door to door to put pressure on people to ‘defend their own’. It was hard not to get involved, which is why the groups got so large. This was the big bang. It needed to happen to bring everything which was boiling underneath to the surface.

She added,

Now things are lot more harmonious. You will always have racism, but it doesn’t have the impact any more. We all have too many other things to worry about. The minority spoilt it for the majority. It was down to immaturity and ignorance.

Window cleaner Charlie Briggs, 31, said,

I get a real sense of community here. There’s no aggro or problems, but I accept that there are some underlying issues. What you need to do is bring children together from an early age.

Lisa Wolfenden, worked as a volunteer youth worker in Glodwick and moved to the area after the riots, said,

This a great place to live and is really multi-cultural. My daughter is only one of three white children in the class of Asian youngsters. She loves it and is doing really well. It’s good for her to be introduced to another culture early in her life.

OBV is running a series from the Asian News to mark the 10th anniversary of the Oldham Riots.