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Ansar is pictured, top left, with Westminster Youth Council colleagues Vitaly Kobyashev, Kamel Cherkoiai, Hayleigh Heavey and Hussein Sultan. |
‘There’s no knife epidemic, but one death is still one too many’
THE fatal stabbing of 14-year-old Amro Elbadawy in Queen’s Park just over four weeks ago resulted in a tragic loss of life that saddened and shocked the local community.
As a Youth MP, it’s my job to listen to the opinions of young people in Westminster and make sure those views are heard. Right now, many young people in the city are angry that a young person has lost their life in such a needless way.
Often, when the media talk about “inner-city kids” they only focus on the negative stereotypes of drugs, under-age drinking and anti-social behaviour and, while this might go on in some parts of Westminster, it’s by no means a fair portrayal of either myself, my friends or my peers.
Only two years younger than me, Amro lived just streets from where I grew up in Queen’s Park.
Like him, my friends and I are just regular kids – we like to hang out, we might wear hoodies and even listen to rap music, but that doesn’t make us criminals who want to carry knives – far from it.
We are just as worried about teenage crime as other people in Westminster.
While London has been in the national media spotlight for knife crime, I don’t believe that Westminster is in the middle of a knife epidemic. Overall, Westminster is a safe and tolerant place and a great place to grow up. One death, however, is obviously one too many.
My role then as the local Youth MP is to give young people a voice so the people in power can hear their views and take them on board.
Since I was elected two months ago, I and the local Youth Council have been busy working with Westminster and the Independent Advisory Group (IAG), which aims to improve police and community relations.
One key area of concern has been the police’s stop and search powers.
Although a necessary part of the fight against knife crime, stop and search is something many young people are unhappy about and feel they are being unfairly targeted by the police.
Now, thanks to the Youth Council’s input, the IAG is looking at ways to combat this and may involve young people in future stop and search police training.
I have also visited youth clubs across Westminster to take part in Fear and Fashion workshops which help raise awareness of how devastating knives are and where to go for help and advice if you or a friend do get mixed up in crime.
Amro’s death deeply saddened me and I cannot possibly imagine the terrible impact it must have had on his family and friends.
But I’m determined to keep working with the council, police, local communities and other young people to make some good come out of it as we send out the message that there is never a need to carry a knife in Westminster or anywhere.
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You can contact your Youth MP via Westminster Council’s senior youth worker, Simeon Earnshaw, on 020 7641 1048 or email searnshaw@westminster.gov.uk
For more information visit www.ukyp.org.uk/ info |
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