Following the violent deaths of their children and experiencing a profound need to bring something good and positive out of something bad, affected families have come together to make a difference.
E tenebris lux. From the darkness (comes) light.
Courtesy of the Daily Mirror and originally written by Beth Neil
‘If telling Ben’s story stops one kid picking up a knife it’s worth it’
A couple of years ago, Brooke Kinsella would have been better known to these children as a star of EastEnders, someone whose face they’d seen in magazines.
Today, at this South London secondary school, she’s simply Ben’s big sister.
And that is probably the best tribute you can pay her for nearly two years of tireless campaigning against knife crime since Ben, 16, was brutally stabbed to death as he celebrated the end of his GCSEs.
Brooke went back to school yesterday to talk to teenagers about the dangers of carrying blades as part of the new government-backed campaign Count Me In: Together We Can Stop Knife Crime.
Over the next few days, Brooke will visit schools in Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Nottingham alongside murdered Damilola Taylor’s father Richard, spreading the Count Me In word.
Information will be available online to all schools and distributed to almost 300,000 primary school pupils in the areas most affected by knife crime.
Schoolchildren will be encouraged to sign up to the campaign via Facebook, where they can access advice and support on making a stand against knives – and the thugs who carry them.
“I’m so passionate about the campaigning work I do and it’s very important to me and my family,” says Brooke. “If we can get into the schools and reach as many kids as we can, maybe what we’re doing will resonate with them.”
It’s hoped that by getting the law-abiding, hard-working children on board, they can help to positively influence youngsters who have fallen in with the wrong crowd, or may feel they need to carry a weapon for protection. The scheme was launched yesterday at South London’s Lilian Baylis Technology School, where pupils were given the opportunity to speak to both PM Gordon Brown and Home Secretary Alan Johnson about their concerns.
Representatives from Families Utd – the support group formed by the grieving relatives of young knife victims – were also there.
“This is the first day and we’re all really excited about it,” says Brooke, 26. “We’re hoping this is just the beginning – education and awareness are key. Some children have been asking me about Ben and I really value the fact that people know his name. It’s lovely for us as a family to feel he’s made his mark. If Ben’s story makes just one kid think twice about picking up a knife then this will have been worth it.”
Brooke was impressed by the bright, sparky and articulate youngsters from Lilian Baylis, who weren’t in the least bit over-awed about tackling the Prime Minister on the issues they felt needed to be addressed in their local area.
Kadija Savage, 15, pointed out that more work needed to be done on forging good relations between the police and young people. Afterwards she tells me: “I was shaking when I saw Gordon Brown but I’m pleased I got to have my say. I agree with Stop and Search but the way the police sometimes go about it is wrong. I’ve never been in trouble with the police but they make you feel like a criminal. It’s a horrible experience and it’s embarrassing.”
They shouldn’t grab us and they shouldn’t be aggressive or rude.” Her friend Jonathan Kalemba, 14, nodded in agreement. “Without us they won’t get no information,” he says. “They need to take advantage of us and if they treat people badly there’s no trust.”
Alan Johnson praised Brooke and the other members of Families Utd for their incredible tenacity in the face of unimaginable grief.
He says: “Count Me In comes from the parents and families of youngsters who have been the victims of knife crime. They have decided that what they need is a way to get across to kids that signing up with pride is an effective way of countering this view that culturally it’s somehow cool to carry a vicious weapon that could murder or maim other people.
“The children here today are articulate and bright and they feel none of the good things they do ever get publicity. I’m constantly amazed at the maturity so many of our children show.” Addressing the group of pupils, teachers and victims’ families, Gordon Brown said: “To have thousands of pupils all around the country listening to this message is going to make a huge difference in the way people see knives in the future.
“That’s why I’m so pleased to be here with so many courageous people.”
Families Utd’s Margaret Mizen, whose son Jimmy was murdered in May 2008, told the children they were part of the solution. She says: “I’m so impressed by the young people here. We are asking you to go out and tell your friends about Count Me In. You have a voice and a part to play. We can’t do this without your help. You should all be really proud of yourselves.”
Brooke adds: “The Prime Minister said we, the families, are brave. Well, I think you’re the brave ones. I think if you stand up and say you’re not going to carry a knife, that’s brave. Let’s be part of history. We can make a difference.”
It will be 10 years this November since Damilola Taylor was killed. His father Richard, chair of Families Utd, was buoyed by the launch of Count Me In. “We are sending out a message,” he says.
In the decade since he lost his son in the cruellest of circumstances, Richard has also had to cope with the death of his wife Gloria in 2008. But he has never stopped campaigning against street violence. It is Damilola who keeps him going.
He says: “He gives me the determination. When Gloria passed away it left the burden on me, but I have a poem which Damilola wrote and I read it every day. That’s where I derive the energy to carry on, he inspires me to continue. This is something I have to fulfil.”
PUBLISHED WITH THANKS TO THE DAILY MIRROR