Disorder in Leeds

[OrangeFurever]

Anyone watching the public disorder in Leeds? Bloody disgusting behaviour. Animals. AIBU to wish police had so many more resources to bring consequences to these absolute excuses for humanity?

People on Mumsnet when generalising fron their own very specific experience

Yes it’s my experience of people coming to a new country . The majority of immigrants do not set fire to vehicles and throw bricks in their neighbourhoods. Under no circumstances is that acceptable or a solution and only makes life tougher for others who live there. I don’t care how disadvantages, disenfranchised, misunderstood or whatever you are. Don’t shit in your own backyard (unless you have no toilet) and don’t terrorise innocent people around you to go about their lives. It’s not justifiable or acceptable . People are welcome to think otherwise. Anarchy will not solve the inequalities of society and never has,

Four children were taken away according to the Mirror:

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/leeds-riots-sobbing-dad-begs-33279665.amp

A community leader said:

”'We are persecuted at home and now here...The police should not have taken the children away, it is upsetting for the parents and family and children.”

Social Services don’t remove children from their homes for no reason. There was clearly evidence of risk to the children’s safety and/or well-being. Taking steps to protect those children is not persecution.

Also, this has absolutely nothing to do with the “community leaders”. The family need to cooperate with Social Services to have the children returned. I’m not sure what the father here is hoping to achieve by going on hunger strike.

I think one was in hospital

Sadly, we can't stop this from happening (in fact there will be more to come) because our governments have orchestrated this and allowed it to happen and now it's all got out of control. The police are expected to sort it all out but quite honestly I don't think they are paid enough to deal with this level of crime, would the MP's want to face them - NO they bloody well wouldn't!
They have got us into this mess and have ruined the country and making people, but mainly women, scared to go out.
I wonder what would happen if this "riot" took place in the middle east, they would deal with them swiftly!!

The Roma have been excluded in many countries in Europe, having to live outside town boundaries, unable to get their children into mainstream schools etc. Here in the UK they have access to housing (affordability related of course), healthcare, education. Pretty much everything the rest of us get.

Tensions have arisen because some have made little attempt to integrate. Noisy street gatherings, littering and rubbish dumped on the streets, and more.

In South Yorks the majority are from Slovakia. @Krupkrups this mentions the school. www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/nov/03/roma-tire-shouldering-blame-boiling-pot-communities

Are you joking? Seacroft is far safer than Harehills! Any day of the week. There are some estates which have higher crime rates but to compare it with Harehills is really something!

@justasking111

"Quick, Georgi, you speak English, tell the TV people how unfair this is while we sit here and practice some oscar performance wailing"

What should happen is that Leeds City Council will put out a no nonsense statement saying that child abuse is not tolerated in this country and that there WILL be consequences.

But what I expect will happen is there'll be lots of hand wringing and bland promises to "engage with the community" because something "diversity" and something "enrichment"

Which basically means social services will never dare to interfere in the welfare of their children again.

Carpets. Brooms.

So true where I am they are making life uncomfortable staring at females intimidating behaviour…they are housed in a v nice hotel in a nice area. They spit on women in summer clothes…it’s scary when you see every day the ones arriving by boats all young males which we seem hell bent on allowing to stay to the detriment of our own safety .

it’s a ticking time bomb and am v fearful …

I don't think it's fair to expect to go and live in another country and not obey the laws of that country. We have child protection laws here and we all have to make sure we follow them or we'll lose our kids.

I don't think segregated communities are a good idea as they don't promote integration. I think more education is needed for people coming here. I don't know if people are given education or just leaflets or even nothing at the moment.

Baby P
Baby P
Baby P

We have to let social services act in the best interests of the children, regardless of what the parents think is right.

I saw all that wailing and pretend roaring in the clip that @justasking111 linked.

What a load of shite. Surely the only reasonable response is to throw a bucket of cold water over him and the others forming some sort of banshee chorus around him.

I wonder if anyone who is allowed to go out on their own swallowed this nonsense. If they did, they should no longer be allowed out unless accompanied by a parent

I am a front line CP social worker in Leeds and have been for nearly 20 years. Leeds is an amazing city, although has areas of deprivation as all cities do. Harehills is one of the most deprived areas in the city (and country) but has several families and young people from many communities just getting on with their lives, somewhere that rent is affordable in times where rent is beyond lots of working class people. I used to work in the area and it vibrant and there is a lot of community spirit.

The media reporting (right wing press and tabloids) is sensationalist. It was a couple of streets, most people who got involved had nothing to do with the initial flash point but found some trouble and joined in. Respected community members de-escalated (yet posts on social media saying they were part of the violence). The police did the right thing and monitored rather than escalating things (as a city we have been using a restorative approach for several years. One of the reasons Child Services is Outstanding).

Talking about people in this community as being 'animals' or making statements about how they are 'just on benefits' shows a complete lack of understanding of what the most vulnerable and impoverished in our society lives look like. Well done for being born somewhere where you and your children are not at risk, had opportunities and there is (was) a basic safety net. Leeds has a history of immigration, it built the clothe trade. Both late DH and I come from families who came to the UK as refugees and have settled. However the hostility shown over the last decade is is shocking. I have met very few people who are 'just here for benefits', yet some how this keeps getting trotted out.

Just to add, sometime when we remove children police have to be involved. Wider family and community may arrive but usually it does not kick off to this extent. I have had to hang on until the tazer team is available before just in case if a family member is known to be particularly violent. This event is a result of people looking for a bit of trouble. not the immediate family. Of course families and connected people are upset, their children are being removed. Most are, the 'if you live here them accept the law/social services ' stuff is unhelpful. It kicked off because people came looking for a bit of trouble.

Around 12 or so years ago, in Glasgow, there were Roma children begging on the streets. It was a really shocking sight - probably not seen here in Scotland since the Victorian era.

I will never forget the first time I saw it, a young girl, no older than 10, and appearing to be on her own. I was not the only person to call the police that day. This wasn’t an isolated incident either. Young children were also being sent into restaurants and cafes to steal. I was with a colleague when her phone was taken. A young boy came into the restaurant with a card saying something along the lines of “I don’t speak English, I have no money and I am hungry”. He placed the card over my colleague’s phone for us to read. He then picked the card back up again and took the phone with him. I and many others working in the city centre received countless emails from our employers urging us to not leave phones on tables on our lunch breaks and to keep our handbags on our laps.

All this went on for quite some time and then it abruptly came to a stop, presumably due to police and social service involvement.

A subsequent report found that Roma children were not being sent to school and, if they were, they were being removed after their primary education was completed.

I don’t care what anyone says, that was child abuse. And in my opinion, it wasn’t dealt with quickly enough.

Which basicallv means social services will never dare to interfere in the welfare of their children again.

Community leaders calling this “persecution” shouldn’t be given the time of day. We have a duty to ALL children living in our country.

I don’t care what anyone says, that was child abuse. And in my opinion, it wasn’t dealt with quickly enough
I have to agree @Littlebluetruck
The parents didnt want the children to be educated they wanted keep them as dumb as possible so as to use them to beg & steal from others. Educated children might be able to see through the parents and get a better life for themselves.
Probably the parents just dont know any better😕

I really cannot let this hogwash pass.

You say most just found a bit of trouble and joined in.

So, when was the last time you came across a bit of trouble and joined in? You write as if this a common thing. Let me enlighten you...you may think it's a good night out to go looking for a bit of trouble and join in but most of us don't. So, please don't present this as if it is perfectly normal.
It is not.

Also you say respected community leaders came along and de-escalated?
Really-who is your respected community leader then? Alf from number 62? Doris the Chair of the Allotment Committee?Most of us do what we're told by, you know, the police. Why do these new arrivals need community leaders. It's bollocks and it needs to be discouraged.

These fuckers didn't listen to police-in fact they frightened the police so much, they-as you rather disingenuously say-they monitored it rather than escalated it.
Why on earth would trying to restore law and order be seen as escalating.

If the police stop you-say for a driving offence-do they have to be careful not to escalate the matter, fearful that you will kick off? maybe they do-you might be one to kick off but with most of us, the police don't have to worry about escalating matters when dealing with members of the public.

They should have escalated it by using water canon-on them and the buses but of course they didn't-they waited for a community leader, as these people will only listen to one of their own, not the police force of the country they have elected to live in.

You say you and your husband, as immigrants, were never shown any hostility and neither have I or my immigrant family. You say hostility it has got worse over the last 10 years. Do you think that might be because of attitudes of immigrants have changed?

You really have scored an own goal by saying you and yours settled and being puzzled as to why these people haven't.. Put your thinking hat on and ask yourself could it be something to do with the fact that you didn't ignore the police and set fire to buses?

I don't like calling people animals but if you behave like an animal, expect to be called an animal. Grown men, setting property that doesn't belong to them on fire and then roaring in the streets about the fact that this country cared enough to keep their kids safe.

Harehills is not a vibrant area-although the burning bus lit it up-maybe that's what other posters mean. It is a dangerous area and any who doesn't think it is, must be comparing it to Gaza but comparing it to many UK suburbs it is a dangerous area.

Finally, don't insult many people living in poverty. I'm sick of people whose only crime is not having money being condescended to by people who think they must be natural thieves and thugs who riot and scream. Most do not.

Cheap shot. Stop it.

@OlgaBracley well said. This pussy footing around by the police is pathetic and dangerous. The community leaders rule the roost and they know it.

@OlgaBracley Couldn't have put it better myself.

We always seem to be getting back to self-appointed "community leaders" setting the agenda, don't we?

Well said and spot on @OlgaBracley .👏

We used to live in Leeds and I’d go back in a heartbeat as Yorkshire folk are so friendly.

We have friends and still visit we were there only a few weeks ago.

I booked a manicure and it was in Harehills I thought it was in Roundhay as the address was Roundhay Road. Well, if I’d have known I’d never have gone I got the shock of my life I didn’t feel safe in my car and parking I couldn’t get out of there quick enough.

It doesn’t look like or resemble the U.K/England it was dreadful and felt very intimidating. Couches on the street with men drinking a nasty vibe and it was like a slum …sorry to say that. 😟

I parked and the salon I went to the girl was lovely just the location on the main high street Roundhay Road was the issue I half expected to return to my car and it be on bricks …it was so down at heel and beyond grim rubbish overflowing rubbish on streets houses boarded up with metal shutters …

I felt scared in broad daylight and it was horrible it’s not vibrant …it’s a hell hole is only way I could describe it which is so sad …😞

OlgaBracley

I totally agree. You can wrap this all up in fancy paper and put the behaviour on the streets down to attitudes to immigrants, deprivation, inequality, cost of living crisis, the pandemic, xenophobia etc etc - there is no excuse for what went down . It’s indefensible. There has always been inequality in opportunity and education, racism, poverty, lack of social mobility. There always will be. The majority don’t decide to pop out and set their sodding neighbourhood alight and throw missiles around.

@OlgaBracley Do you live in Harehills or Leeds, of so update on your understanding of local politics. There were several social media posts showing respected local youth workers, community leaders and a local concillor

@OlgaBracley best post on this entire thread and talking sense …we’ve pussyfooted around for too long and police need to get tough …no normal person torches buses and police cars. People trying to downplay it …🤬

I don't really care if they rolled out Ghengis Khan-why do they need community leaders at all. Is it because they will only listen to people of their own ethnicity?

Why don't they listen to the police?