I wonder to myself; could life ever be sane again?
As England's main cities battle to get back to normality, the shocking images of the week of riots don't seem to fade as fast.
As a born and raised, proud Brummie, I sat back with the rest of the country and watched in horror as the city was taken over by rebels certainly without cause. Hearing some of the mob declare they were merely 'showing the rich they can do what they want', I can't help but think of 'Hat Man'. Now urban fashion is not exactly to my taste but I'll always admire an underdog, as the face behind the hat is a man who has worked his way up from a market stall to now owning two stores in Birmingham's city centre. His ethos is to make a 'hat that fits all'. Angry tweets fill his twitter about how could 'brothers go against brothers' and 'black people fighting against those who are there to help' but this cannot be even contemplated as a race issue. A greed issue, would be more precise.
Walking past his store today I found myself smiling at his brand new windows; replacing the boards that had occupied the front for a week. And the smile only grew when I walked past 'Cyber Candy' - an out-of-this-world sweet shop, now infamous for being on 'that video' on youtube; being smashed to bits and looted (because ya' know, stealing sweets is hardcore). The store had been previously boarded up and in giant letters the phrase 'Keep Calm and Candy On' had been scrawled defiantly on it, above a peace emblem. Now even that was gone.
The one loss that can't be patched up with a new sheet of glass is the lives of the three young men, defending their livelihoods and hometown in Winson Green. 20,000 people from all over the world showed to pay their respects at the funeral of Haroon Jahan, Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir. Thousands gathered for a peace rally in Birmingham in their honour, proving community spirit and hope for our country did not die with them.
The atmosphere in the town centre is not one of vibrance and opportunity anymore, but as I have watched ordinary, every-day people in the community come together, with brooms and mugs of tea in a clean-up mission, it's safe to say we're getting there. Destructive subcultures cannot and will not destroy a city. Especially one with such an attractive accent.
Cyber Candy, Birmingham - Courtesy of Google
