Consequences, Breaking the negative cycle

By Emeka Egbuonu

Concern about gang culture is on the rise. Gangs lead young people into danger and lead to community division, fear and deep distrust. However the friendship and support the security and sense of belonging they give young people is a powerful draw. Through his Consequences Programme Emeka Egbuonu aims to give young people a real sense of the consequences of their actions. Taking a group of young people from London to Los Angeles he looks at how life in gangs has ruined lives in the 'gang capital of the world'. Emeka examines the pain of families who have lost young people to knife crime on the streets of London and tries to identify what drives young people into the viscous cycle of gang culture. Starting from the slave trade, Emeka's insightful look at the breakdown of the family unit, peer pressure, stereotyping and racism is an uncompromising message to us all. With interviews and powerful accounts of knife crime on both sides of the Atlantic, this book pulls no punches.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Emeka Egbuonu
• Release date: Oct 3, 2011
• ISBN: 9780956981028

Emeka Egbuonu

Youth worker for the Crib youth project based in Hackney.

Book preview

CONSEQUENCES

Breaking the negative cycle

Emeka Egbuonu

Published by Emeka Egbuonu at Smashwords

Copyright 2011 by Emeka Egbuonu

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

ISBN: 978-0-9569810-1-1

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

To my beautiful daughter

Summer

Table of Contents

About cover

Perfect Partner

Preface

Introduction

His-story, My-story, Our-story

Ambition

Broken Homes

Peer Pressure

Stereotypes

Violence &Gangs

Social Inequality

Comm-Unity

Identity

Message from parents

Cause and effect

Acknowledgements

About Author

Agnes

References

About the cover

Sharing of knowledge

During our workshop one of the main things that we always conclude on no matter what group I am working with is that knowledge being passed to them via their peers is one of the most effective ways to reach them. So I thought that I can use that notion and use it to represent the book cover.

The young man on the left represents the one receiving knowledge. He has to want the knowledge for it to be effective, so we show that by adding the glass, which represents the barriers he wants to break in order to receive that knowledge.

The young man on the right represents someone that is of similar age, who has broken barriers in his life and his passing on a book which represents the start of that journey.

The word on the bottom half of the book are positive words the young people use in the sessions.

Picture by Adebola Ajao (Motions Media)

Cover design by Tony Nwachi (Mucky Designz)

Perfect Partner

I have been looking for someone to share my life with

I was looking for someone very special who would make me happy

I met a few people who told me who would be perfect for me

But they said she would not be interested unless I have had interaction with a few people before that

So I met education, she gave me knowledge

I met history, she gave me pride

I also met believe who gave me determination and motivation

My good friends kept pushing me to find her

But I was told in order to meet my perfect partner I was still missing something

Eventually after many tries I met up with ambition, she was really good to me; she gave me direction and goals

As I continued my journey to meet my match

I flirted with doubt, but told her it would not work

Fear, she had me for a while, I overcame her and told her I was not interested

They introduced me to their boss, she went by the name of failure, after meeting her I kindly rejected and told her that I was not destined to be with her and that I never wanted to see her again

My journey for learning never stopped

Because I finally found my partner and she goes by the name of SUCCESS

We are now very happy together

I told her if it was not for education, history, believe, ambition and good friends I would never have found her.

So now I have found her I never want to lose her, I will never go backwards

Because I have already met failure and she has nothing on

SUCCESS

Preface

Consequences workshops

The aim of Consequences is to provide young people with a different perspective on the way their actions lead to various consequences. We target young people between the ages of 13-19. We want them to start thinking ahead and to make sure that they are aware of the effect that their actions can have on their lives and on the people around them. We have different subjects within the consequences program;

Ambition;

Within this topic we discuss the importance of having a goal and the basics of how to achieve personal targets. This involves breaking the mental hold that has been imprinted on our young people so that they believe that they cannot achieve certain things. We discuss what to do, after they have identified their ambition, to make it happen, we discuss the short-term targets necessary in order to reach the long term goals. We strive to give young people the motivation to believe that they can make it if they focus and have direction.

Stereotype;

Within this topic we aim to analyse the specifics of what stereotyping is and what effect it has on young people’s lives. Within this topic we explore how people perceive different racial groups, age groups, and economic status. The objective is to be aware of negative stereotype and how not stereotype people.

Peer pressure;

Within this topic we discuss the issue of peer pressure. This is a big part of young people’s lives as it is well known that they are easily influenced by the actions of their peers. We aim to dissect the issues and the consequences of being a follower in negative activities. We aim to promote independent thinking as we know that this is very influential to the young people.

Female affiliation

Within this topic we promote the campaign run by Trident, which is about young women who get involved with negative activities and hold weapons and drugs for their male counterparts. This is very important to the program as we see the rising number of young women who fall victim to this is increasing pressure from young men.

Social inequality

This topic is about the differences between the rich and deprived areas, and the way in which they impact on our society. We ask what are the consequences of having major differences, within, education, work, income, and health?

Violence

This topic tackles the issue of violence amongst young people. We also tackle black on black violence, which some call second hand suicide. We focus on the history and the causes, of why certain things happen in the black community and why is it becoming more acceptable in everyday life.

Conclusion

We want to break the destructive cycle of violence amongst our youth and to improve the knowledge of our young people, equipping them with the right tools to succeed in life. We strive to steer our young people away from the inferiority mindset that has been so ingrained in them over their years. Our ultimate aim is to build a generation of achievers and thinkers.

Our advice to young people is to go home and to keep away from friends and their peers and to start thinking about what they want to achieve in life, to concentrate on the most important thing to them and to understand how they can use that positive energy to achieve great things.

When an individual then makes that positive decision they have to be ready to;

Make a plan of short term and long term goals

Stay motivated

Staying focussed

Being strong minded from negative peer pressure

Keeping positive people around you

With all these steps we continue to break the negative cycle

Those that decide that they don’t want to pursue positive activities will keep the negative cycle alive. The consequences of their actions will not just affect them or their families but will affect the whole community, the ripple effect felt for long after the event with the impact of keeping the negative cycle alive.

No one person can to everything BUT everyone can do something!

And when I say everyone, we are talking about the uncle who sees his nephew heading down the wrong path and realises that the parent hasn’t acknowledged the situation. Now is the time for that uncle to intervene and try to make sure he advices the family and helps to offer the right tools and wisdom to make the right decision.

When I say everyone we are talking about the aunt who sees her 14 her old niece at 4oclock in the morning, when she is supposed to be at a friend’s house and makes the aunt now promise not to tell her parents. If she loves her niece she will tell her parents and lovingly try to prevent this 14 year old taking the wrong path.

When I say everyone I am talking about the parents who are working hard to make something for their families and children. With pursuit of financial happiness, they have overlooked the most important job that is the care and nurturing of their children. Parents need to engage more with their children as many youths act differently at home than they do on the streets. You can’t cure what you don’t know you have!

When I say everyone I am talking to the young people themselves. To stand up and realise their potential. Concentrate on their ambitions to realise that their actions alone can inspire others. They have to think as individuals; learn from their elders, it’s easier to learn from other people’s mistakes, if you don’t by the time you learn from your own mistakes it might be too late!

Prevention is better than cure...

We cannot rely on the on the government to fix the problems, whether that is;

Increasing sentences

Adding more police to the streets

Stop and search

The mindset of a criminal or anyone who part takes in negative activities, whether it’s planning to rob some at gun point or taking chicken from the pot when you’re not supposed to, this is a mindset of people who do things in hope of not getting caught

This is why longer sentences, more police or stop and search will never fix the problem. In America in some states they have capital punishment, which is the ultimate punishment for a crime, DEATH. This does not stop people being killed and further crimes being committed, because although these things are deterrents, people still act on the fact that they hope not to get caught or lose control of their reason, even if the punishment is death.

I believe the answer lies in the ability of everyone to want to break the negative cycle; this involves dealing with the disease before it spreads. Like any disease it is always best to deal with it in its early stages.

So when a young man is asked the question

Why didn’t you part take in the robbery with your friends? and he answers because I didn’t want go down for 10 years

The deterrent is at work which stops him from committing a crime with his peers. But, I believe that we still have not tackled the main root of the problem.

If he can answer "I didn’t not part take;

Because it is wrong

I have an ambition and I know what I want to achieve

Because I have re -evaluated the type of people I have around me

Only then can we say YES we are making progress to finally breaking the negative cycle and creating a generation of achiever and thinkers.

The police say that information from the community is often vital to solving crime and that withholding information is key. My point is similar withholding knowledge and wisdom is also very important. I believe it is selfish, to keep your wisdom and life experiences to yourself. We need everyone to make a difference, if you don’t have anyone directly to share your wisdom with there are so many organisation who will be happy to have you share something positive with their young people. Find them!

Don’t assume young people will not listen, because you never know whom your words will affect. We do the best we can to provide young people with the wisdom and tools to make their own decisions and that is the least we can do.

Introduction

The very fact that I have come to write this book is a tragedy in itself. I wish it were not necessary to examine and pull apart the fabric of the society that we find ourselves living in, in the 21st century. But it is. The future of our young people depends on people like me refusing to give up, refusing to keep quiet and refusing to accept what many see as the inevitable.

In the same way as plagues and war have decimated human beings throughout history, crime and violence on the streets is robbing us of the young who make up the next generation.

In this book I will examine the history of black people from slavery to the Wind rush immigration. Can learned and evolved behaviours from the dark days of slavery be blamed for the breakdown of today’s family unit? Do stereotypes doom youngsters to failure before they even begin? Is a fractured society responsible for young people seeking solace in the ‘family’ of a gang?

In this book I examine the perspective of many different people living in today’s troubled society. I look at those who grew up in different societies and get their view on today’s Britain. I speak to those that have never known any other home than the streets of London and even those who live in the gang capital of the USA, Los Angeles.

And the question that runs through this book is. Are they worth saving? Is it worth trying to make a difference with today’s youth? The answer is simple. Our future is common to all of us, it is the same future. It is like ignoring a disease in your leg because the rest of you is all right. Sooner or later that infected leg will begin to affect the rest of the body and over time the sickness will spread and you will die. Can we afford to let this leg of our society fester? I am here to tell you that we cannot.

But this will not be a quick fix. And it is not all gloom. There are young people who can see the dire CONSEQUNCES of making the wrong choices and the self-destructive outcome of making the wrong decisions and following the wrong path. These young people need our help to bolster them in their fight to bring other young people in from the wasteland of lives sacrificed to violence on the street and to misplaced loyalty to demagogues.

My message is simple. We have to wake up to what is going on and we have to understand what the consequences for all of us will be if we do not.

Chapter 1 (His-story, My-story, Our-story)

"A people without knowledge of the past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots"

Marcus Garvey

His-story

The point at which this story actually began is quite hard to identify - but I think it might have been something like this:

I can remember clearly, being in secondary school, Bethnal Green Technology College, in history class. I can remember the sights and sounds of the place and Ms McGlasson who was about to give us homework to do on King Henry VIII. As the class around me groaned I felt the same, totally de-motivated. To me it seemed like the same old thing, it seemed as though I had been learning about the Royal family and their dusty array of ancestors for a long time. I wanted to learn new things. I craved something different!

But, being the good student that I was, when I got home I started doing my research on the topic. Then, unexpectedly, I started to feel a curiosity stir in me. King Henry VIII I realised was a very interesting and complicated man. Unlike the other Kings and Queens I had read about, this man seemed to come alive to me as I read page after page of the story of his life and reign. And the more I read about him the more he seemed to fit the pieces of the puzzle together and bring it to life. Before I knew it I found I had become interested and was actually enjoying reading about history!

Henry acceded to the throne on the death of his father, Henry VII in 1509. He then married Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the Spanish King and Queen, and the widow of his elder brother in the same year. I started enjoying reading about him; his character seemed different to his predecessors, he seemed like a real person, someone I could relate to, even if I didn’t understand or approve of everything he did! So I continued my reading even after the assignment was handed in to the teacher. My teacher was quite surprised that I was now keen to learn more about history, to understand why certain events happened and to look at the course of events and learn from past mistakes.

As I continued my reading on King Henry VIII, I read all about 1511 when Henry joined the Holy League against the French. I was fascinated by the fact that at that time all men under the age of 40 were required to practise archery. I imagined myself going for archery lessons, would I be any good? Well I suppose I could find out but luckily nowadays no-one’s life depends on them being able to use a bow and arrow!

In 1513 the English defeated the Scottish at the battle of Flodden Field and James IV of Scotland was killed. In 1516 Catherine the wife of Henry VIII gave birth to Princess Mary.

I read avidly progressing through the years trying to imagine what it was like for people in those bygone days. Now I thought about 1518 when the Pope and the Kings of England began to hold talks with France and Spain to attempt to establish peace in war torn Europe. There was no conference calling in those days, no shuttle flights, or channel tunnels. I wondered how long it took them to travel for their meetings.

Then in 1533 Thomas Cramner was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and annulled Henry’s 24-year marriage to Catherine. Henry then married Anne Boleyn. That made me think. We read all these facts, but what about the human side of it. How did Catherine feel about this? Did she love Henry? Or was she glad to be free of him? No doubt she was worried about her own and her daughter’s status and safety. And there was no Jeremy Kyle in those days to sort things out!

That same year Princess Elizabeth was born. The act of supremacy was passed in 1534 establishing Henry as the head of the Church of England. The following year Sir Thomas More was executed after refusing to recognise Henry as the supreme head of the Church of England.

After reading all there was to know about King Henry VIII, I was trying to understand what kind of man he was and to understand why it was so important for him to have a male heir to the throne. He has often been described as a charismatic man; he was educated and was accomplished. I tried to understand what it felt like to rule a country with absolute power, how would that feel? Would the responsibility weigh heavy? And what drove him to the role he valued so highly as a reformer?

Henry is probably remembered best for having six wives two of whom he beheaded. Over the years his story has been the subject of many films, plays, and television programmes. People are still interested in HIS-STORY probably above any other Royal descendant and so was I at that early age. His story gave me the interest and the motivation I needed to find about more about iconic figures in history. Another thing happened after I read about King Henry VIII. I realised that if I was to truly understand myself and my context in this life, I needed to know about my heritage history.

My-story

So now my real journey began which was to find out more about black history, and also why it was never part of the curriculum. One day in a history lesson I asked the teacher why we did not learn about black history in class. This seemed to be an awkward subject she didn’t really give much of a response apart from telling me to get on with my work.

I remember that we were learning about World War 1 at the time, and I was desperately curious to