Youth crime: I weep for our children

The shooting incident at the New Testament Church of God, Brixton on Easter Sunday has stunned the black community. Dona Sinclair was at the service.

I was one of too many who witnessed this New England incident. During a hail of bullets I tried to save my Son and Grandson's life on Sunday. My maternal instincts kicked in there was no concern for myself but only for my Son and Grandson my life meant nothing at the time as long as they did not take a bullet. I would have sacrificed my life to save them. The shots still ring in my left ear.

We had just left the Church after christening a baby relative when the shots rang out. Our most precious elderly, children and others screamed, spoke in tongues and prayed for their lives on the pavements, hundreds of us screaming at once. As we ran in search of safety a Samaritan let eight of us into his house as he also fled for his life.

It was from there that I dialled 999 to report an assumed execution. The look and tears in my 10-year-old Son's eyes was traumatising to witness as was the same for a 5-year-old who fell to the floor in shock.

I am the CEO/Founder of Options 4 Change a children and young people service and a branch of the National Black Boys Can. Ultimately we aim to inspire academic excellence whilst tackling root causes of social and individual challenges affecting collective and personal growth.

Since last year, and more recently last week I have been in personal and email contact with two of our local MP's bringing to their attention that our community is frustrated and in trauma over the lack of political intervention and the silent voices in the House of Commons on what is so called Black on Black violence.

Is it that ineffective legislations impacting on family relationships and the disempowerment of parents bearing the evils that we are witnessing.

The youths' lack of identity and lost hope as they are too easily expelled from schools, taken into care for trivial reasons, experience police searches and beatings at ages just inside of their teens fundamental to their retaliation and dysfunction.

We need another Bernie Grant to tell it like it is for what it is. Politicians who need to demand more for the people who voted for them, I weep for Africans in UK society as we witness the destruction of a generation of young men who no longer feel loved or want to give love to each other.

Through my work, I hear from victims and perpetrators of youth crime seeking change to no resolve. We need to fight for our rights. Where was the BBC and the rest of media and press, when it matters, to report our plight like the incident on Sunday?

I hear responses of Black on Black, not our concerns, just keep it out of our backyard. Maybe when we have the shootout in a supermarket or a shooting that impacts personally on  on one of our leaders, then the silence will be broken in Parliament, if we do not break the silence ourselves before then.

I have a personal mission and commitment to work wherever it is necessary  to ensure that we have voices which will be heard. To date nothing has worked - so it is back to the drawing board with all voices and hands on deck.

These atrocities are happening within our community so it is time that we unite under a common agenda demanding that our Government show more concern for what is happening to our communities.

Donna Sinclair
Options 4 Change