'Unvalued people won't accept values of society'

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:

A priest who pumped iron with Moss Side gang members has spent the last decade building bridges in Oldham.

Father Phil Sumner was hailed for his peace work after a wave of shootings in south Manchester.

As part of his unique approach, the Catholic priest approached the gangs on their home soil, hitting the gym with them in a bid to form a bond.

His peace mission began after families in his south Manchester parish were caught up in the violence in the early 1980s, leading him to conduct funerals for some of those shot.

But when trouble flared in Oldham, Father Phil was brought in by church bosses to act as a mediator.

The priest, who moved into the town-centre parish of St Patrick’s RC church, has made it his job to engage with people from all faiths and from none.

He chairs a diverse group known as the Community Cohesion Advisory Group, which helps shape the town’s integration plans.

Despite years of good work - including the launch of new ethnically-diverse secondary schools - the 59-year-old cleric is cautious about what the future holds.

He said:

The Building Schools for the Future programme, which will bring young people form different backgrounds together, is a courageous step that could have a major effect on solving so many of Oldham’s problems.

But de-segregation is not a cure-all and is only the first part of the process.

The corporate identity of Oldham is much better now; the town is a nicer place to live, but the work on improving individual identity has been left by the wayside.

I have been pushing and pushing for schools to spend more time nurturing the identity of young people as individuals.

My experience working with Moss Side taught me that identity is the single most important thing in improving cohesion.

If people don’t feel valued they won’t accept the values of society. But schools are concentrating more on attendance and achievement, and I fear not doing the other work will inevitably lead to conflict and the problems will continue.

He also warned of the composition of influential groups and bodies in Oldham, claiming there were still too few Asian faces involved in making crunch decisions.

He said:

The Ritchie and Cantle reports said participation and engagement were essential. Unless Asian, Muslim, afro-Caribbean and Hindu communities get to be affected decision-making then we are not responding to the needs of the borough.

I doubt there will be any Asian faces around the table and that worries me for the future.

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