What is it that matters and how is it we make a difference

 

There are a few key news reports today that have really got to me.

This afternoon news of the report written by the coroner ofthe inquest into Jimmy Mubenga who died whilst being deported by the actions of G4 staff. Karen Monaghan raised a number of concerns not least of which were,

• Evidence of "pervasive racism" among G4S detention custody officers who were tasked with removing detainees;

• Fears that these racist attitudes – and "loutish, laddish behaviour … Inappropriate language, and peer pressure" – are still common among escort guards today;

Secondly was the news that when three officers are found to have been guilty of misconduct after falsifying records relating to pregnant Lindsay Wallace being strip searched and left handcuffed for 11 hours,  no one lost their job. Following the incident Lindsay was rushed to hospital for an emergency caesarean and now her daughter, Charna is now suffering from developmental delays after being born ten weeks early.

Lastly was the news that no one will face any actions for the collapse of the San José mine in the Atacama desert, 500 miles north of in the capital, Santiago in which 33 men were imprisoned for 69 days.

All three of these stories smack of huge individuals costs for the victims but no/minimal consequences for those who should be responsible. They also smack of corruption and working cultures and practices where there is no humanity and the human costs of such activity are expendable commodities. Perhaps it is my parents influence and their belief that the prevalence of corruption was something that they associated with the country they left (India) rather than the country where they settled (England). However it seems all that has changed. For whatever reason, sick practices that abuse people are more visible than ever but it hasn't stopped them happening. Slowly it does seem that there is more public outrage. The question is whether even that will make a difference.

Truth, Justice, Racial Violence and Belief

Over the last five days I’ve had to give a redundancy notice to a pregnant women and had to hear the ultimate abuse of a Council Worker of twelve years who has been told that they don’t know what will be happening with their job or whether they will be made redundant or redeployed in the next few weeks.

That and writing off my car (again!) Thursday morning only to have another car collide into my courtesy vehicle on Friday makes it officially a danger zone. So in situations like this it is about the fundamentals. Those have to be words like truth and justice and making them more than words.

Work at the moment is hard ... harder than ever ...we always say that it is hard ... but the search for truth and justice seems harder than ever.

So in the context of this turmoil news comes of this. So is it better to feel that there is the potential of people in the then institutionally racist Met being brought to justice for the failure to properly investigate a murder that happened sixteen years ago or is it right to focus on the fact there has been sixteen years with no individual accepting or being apportioned blame.

Perhaps the most important thing is to belive that truth and justice will be brought to the front of our minds regardless of collusion of those who do not value these ideals for the world of today or the future.

Northampton- extreme snow, and the need for authorities to lighten up

There were high spirits and a atmosphere of a town where people really cared about each other and wanted to create out of the snow the essence of joy and playfulness. So was it right for the six foot snowball that appeared outside the Grosvenor Centre to be destroyed ?.

With town campaigns increasingly led by the people and not politicians it's concerning when there has been yet another incident when authorities seem to be out of touch with the wishes of local people.

The tenth anniversary of the MacPherson enquiry report being published is coming up in a few week. In the report, ten years ago there was out and out damning condemnation of the police but have things changed now?

Race for a long while has been something that's been too hard to raise as an issue in Northampton with the oh so many problems that are faced locally ... failing schools despite more government investment than anywhere else in the country, a dying town centre, an absence of ambition. Perhaps the key is harnessing the peoples sense of injustice. In that way perhaps race really does need to be on the agenda.