Tottenham has gone totally mad. Riots still continuing and spreading. Despite reporting with live footage from Libya, Egypt, and Syria, our media (Sky and BBC) have gone oddly quiet and are seemingly incapable of obtaining any footage from the last two hours in our own capital, where they are based. It’s actually strange how it is being reported. Rioting has been going 6-7 hours now and doesn’t look like it will stop. Unless something major happens while our media isn’t possibly able to report on it directly.

We no longer have North London, we just have debris. It’s crazy here. I’m in Liverpool, but got friends in those ends, hoping they’re safe. Wondering what the fallout from this will be, though. The “initial kickoff” was a protest over a man shot dead by cops. There’s real tension in some of our communities. Photographing in Toxteth, I saw two cop vans full of cops in riot gear and a squad car equally equipped stop two pensioners (70s-80s) in a car on a basic traffic stop for not wearing a seatbelt. Fairly common in that area, 30 years after it was supposedly “dealt with”. With this, the cops didn’t come out to speak to the protesters before the riot started. And there’s a growing tendency during demonstrations and riots for cops to leave unattended vehicles then charge the demonstrators/rioters in the direction of it. Guess which image becomes the iconic news image for the event?

I’m not justifying anything, I’m a neutral onlooker here. But there is a real tension and a real fear and suspicion of police and the police don’t do anything to try to break that down. Then we all wonder why this happens when tensions get raised by a recession, and government cuts, and an incident like the shooting.

My country has gone mad. I’m not sure when it happened, though.

the Met Commander said the initial protest leading to the police station was peaceful and the riot only happened later. But the police wouldn’t speak to the crowd of peaceful protesters.

When we’ve just concluded that the Met have been making a lot of money taking bribes from News of the World to break the law to help NotW shift papers, is it any wonder people aren’t trusting the police here? The British media is still trusting of the police after they’ve spent the last month talking about them systematically breaking the law. As a matter of basic consistency, they should be adopting a more critical stance.

When there are 10 yr olds involved in the riot, I don’t think it’s possible to treat it as a “one off” and just deal with it by arresting people. It takes real change in the fabric of communities, and a greater sense of trust built slowly over time between the community and the police. Right now, there’s just fear so it’s no surprise that turns to stand offs, violence, fires, and looting.

I don’t know how many times my country will have to go through this before we realise. We all have a responsibility to make this country worth living in for everyone, and that includes the politicians and Met Commanders who are too quick to turn around and say “there isn’t a problem” when there clearly is and has been for decades. Riots don’t come from nowhere.

“it’s very difficult afterwards to figure out what single event caused it to go from a peaceful protest to a riot” BBC news reporter. Yes, but it will be very easy to figure out all the single events of looting with all the CCTV we have. Just not what started the riot. Right outside the police station. Where the FITs are all equipped and trained with state of the art cameras and camcorders, and there is CCTV all over the building. Just not there.

Met officer on BBC News says they’re monitoring Twitter and have noted a large discussion planning more riots for tonight and they’re warning people not to do this because the police are monitoring things.

Having spent last night glued to twitter, along with a good deal of today, I haven’t seen any such big discussion planning more riots. Maybe the Met are watching a different Twitter, because otherwise that’s a plain and total lie. On national television to a news reporter.

So, why did the riot happen? Hmm…

Sky News now say people trying to loot Westfield Shopping Centre in White City and throwing missiles at vehicles. All right outside BBC offices. Wonder if they’ll start reporting about tonight now.

Add Brixton London to the mix. Police attacked by youths throwing missiles there, too.

Was all North London before. Now, it has gone south, too.

Still little word from BBC or Sky. Despite reliable reports on Brixton and Enfield from Guardian and Daily Telegraph reporters. Our politicians all away on holiday announced they wouldn’t be returning to London to deal with this, they’re seemingly not necessary.

J’aime le chien a le fumé

London has gone totally mad. Looting in the following ends… Walthamstow, Brixton, Enfield, Islington, Hackney, Waltham Forest, Ponders Green, Wood Lane, White City, kids waltzing down the street with massive plasma screen tvs, has spread from North London to East and South too.

Also…two rival gangs had members stabbed who went to Kings Cross. Other gang members went to visit them, and the two gangs got into it at the hospital. Hospital now under armed guard.

Add to that possibly also Leyton and Peckham. Definitely a minor kefuffle in Oxford Circus, too. This is everywhere in London, not just one area, every area. The gangs have gone mad and declared anarchy. Not the same thing at all to last night.

Burnt out bus in Peckham too now. Buses not running through there or Lewisham.

Peckham can be rough, wouldn’t want to see police try to run those streets.

deptford is south east london

word is police in Manchester and Liverpool also being put on alert as there are expectations that the trouble may spread to other big cities. unconfirmed as yet though.

Liverpool has now been attacked also.

All day there has been a facebook page encouraging a Liverpool riot and twitter talk of heading to Toxteth for 11pm. From around 9.30pm I was reading reports on twitter of gangs of kids in wavertree, the edge of toxteth. They moved up Smithdown Road and into Toxteth, burning cars and trashing bus stops. Rioting at the Womens Hospital and the Brain Injury Centre. Reports that police may have been shot at while stationed at the junction of Lodge Lane and Smithdown Road, and that there may have been stabbings also. Current reports are that it’s heading towards the city centre and looting has begun. Police have apparently formed a line, riot police, and it is a standoff between them and the crowd of kids.

I was working on a project in Toxteth documenting the place 30 years after the infamous 1981 riots. I have to go there tomorrow, I have a responsibility to do so. Will take camera, don’t know yet if I’ll photograph anything.

I’m gutted.

I grew up there. I’ve walked those streets all hours of the day and night and never felt safer. And now a bunch of kids are burning it down.

Will do. Heard journalists and photographers getting targeted in London, so camera in my bag until I talk to my people in the area and get a handle on what went down. Get a feel for them about the danger. Reports of gunshots have now been confirmed, and cars burned and water pipes burst on Hardman St, so sounds like it is heading towards town. Hoping that might cause the police to actually step up and start dealing with this.

Jess Hurd – the first night in London, in Tottenham – http://jesshurd.com/clients/1108TottenhamRiots/

Kicking off again in Smithdown Road, Toxteth (liverpool), they waited til nightfall. I can’t get anywhere near. Back down early am to see what happens, riot squad are out and it’s petrol bombs now. I’m not shooting any night stuff – don’t have the gear to do it without getting within a couple of metres, and too many reports of photogs being targeted, combined with very real gun shots and machetes in Liverpool to risk it like that. Not gonna be stupid about it.

Took Liverpool idiots until their second night to try and start looting, though. Manchester has been mad all day. Rationale from Manc kid on the news earlier, “I’m not law abiding cos the cops nick me cos I’m not law abiding.” Just about sums it all up, really.

More later. Am safe a few miles form this, and no one’s gonna come to my part of town guaranteed. Toxteth residents had a community meeting and a um ‘community’ meeting earlier, so wondering what reception these kids will get if they try to push up to Lodge Lane or Granby.

In London, some areas have vigilante groups protecting their ends. Sikh community in one area, and a large group of men in Enfield. Also heard rumours that one of the vigilante groups were yelling “get the paki” repeatedly in London, not sure which area. Also heard rumour the EDL (English Defence League – racist thugs) were planning to head to Toxteth tonight.

They’ve also adopted bits of american hip hop culture as if it is their own, strangely. Keep talking about “the feds” (we have none – we’re not a federal state), and a lot of talk of gun culture as if it is common place in Liverpool. Outside of Norris Green/Croxteth, it really isn’t, though.

Oh, and minor update re convo with Panos about this earlier – so far those arrested age between 11 and 52, although over half are young. One man charged today with violent assault, looting, and other offences was a 32 year old primary school teacher.

UPDATE:
I didn’t go out tonight. There were no riots tonight.

I will be honest here, I feel doubly relieved. If I speak seriously, I try to speak fully and honestly – here, I was both relieved that nothing happened, but also relieved that I “hadn’t missed anything happening”. As you know, I am no conflict photographer, I have no experience with that. But I felt a mix of feelings tonight. Had something happened, I would have been looking for ways to be there, as I have done the last two nights. I didn’t want things to happen. But I also recognised that feeling, perhaps war photographers feel this, of relief that nothing had happened based on not being there to document it. I don’t say it to brag, act cocky, justify or anything else. I just recognise the feeling as a genuine one. Where the riots happened is my childhood home. I have been living 4 miles away. And I have been, on one level, wishing it was happening more closely to me, or that I was closer to it, just to be there. In that sense, I am no better than some of the kids caught up in this. I just have better sense and moral principles/intuition guiding me.

I hope we have no more riots. Time will tell.

More in the morning. I apologise if anyone disagrees or takes offence with what I wrote above. But read it not as me arguing in favour of anything, but just trying to explain where I’m at in all this, as a photographer and the decisions I made/thoughts I had. Speaking to some of the rioters today, that is what I asked of them, so I owe it to you to give myself up to the same extent as I sought from others.

DAH
Thanks, your words are appreciated. I don’t know how this will go. I’ll keep you updated. If I have work I think you need see regarding this area, or questions I have to ask of you, I’ll buzz you.

Interestingly, I got speaking to the rioters today after meeting a reporter from a national newspaper. Having photographed this community, I worked hard to build up trust. I was asked was I press/police and I said no, just an independent photographer. So, when I heard press were descending, I felt I had to meet them and make some introductions and make it clear that I am not press, I just know some of them. And that I could be trusted to make sure their right were not violated (eg making sure the reporter identified themselves as such, etc). Talking about my previous work (the guy had recognised me from the area) I showed some work prints I’d made. It included a picture of a young boy who was shying away from the camera. The rioter picked that image out, he said he liked my work generally, but he picked that out and started speaking about how the boy should be smiling – he was opening up to me, telling me how kids should experience the world, that the boy in my picture shouldn’t have any reason to look sad or shy or wary. He was speaking with genuine feeling.

When we talk about the people who did this, they are animals, and they are humans. They have feelings, and yet they have none. It all depends. It is all tangible. The issues run deep and are complex, and I probably haven’t articulated this as well as I should. But, without wanting to sound like a ‘wet blanket liberal leftie’ don’t write them all off completely. Just try to understand as much as you can, and accept that there are going to be some things you can never understand. That’s what I have taken away from all of this so far.

Did it?!? Uh, I mean do it. I know I have a tendency sometimes to argue too strongly to make the point I want to make. Not just on that essay.

I’d just rather say it and be called to question for it, than not say it and no one ever have the discussion.

^^^sums me up entirely, probably ;-)

Final Update on riots – because I should have said this earlier but digressed horribly. 3 men were murdered last night in Birmingham. In response to the looters in London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, and other areas, communities banded together to patrol the streets and keep looters and trouble-makers away. In Birmingham, a large group of these local men were congregated and a car sped into them. 3 Sikh men were hit and died of the injuries. The father of one man gave a statement today on live television, and a crowd of youths tried to shout him down. He stood up and said he was grieving the loss of his son, and to go away. He silenced the youths shouting him down as the community applauded him.

RIP to these three men.

Whatever the real issues underlying any of what has happened in these days, and there are some genuine issues, nothing excuses the fact that the action has totally isolated the perpetrators from the wider community and also undermined whatever legitimate issues which fuelled this. There is no excuse for looting, for physical attacks on neighbours, or for murder.

BOB
I’ll get the oldest/bestest (again, a word, I swear!) bottle of red and stow it away to age until we meet.

You do like red, yes?

:-D