Angry
voices
By Mark Lankshear
Over
100 people witnessed angry confrontations and bitter personal accusations
at the ‘Voice of the People’ (VOTP) meeting on March
24th. Calls for respect and order allowed a few strong voices to
be heard, speaking of the ‘poverty trap’ and lack of
jobs and facilities, but the meeting drifted away with no clear
conclusion.
Burngreave
‘Ghost Town’
Owen Wright, chairing the meeting, spoke of the aims of VOTP, to
engage those not included and develop a portfolio of training, employment
and projects. Speakers Christine Ramsey, Mehri Takhvar, Ruggy Johnson
and VOTP spokesperson Ellisa Clarke said groups from ethnic minority
communities consistently failed to get funding, despite the resources
in the area; jobs and training still fail to get through and Burngreave
remains a ‘ghost town’ with no social life for young
people.
Ruggy spoke
of police brutality and said the VOTP had an endorsement from January’s
meeting at SADACCA to develop a voice for the wider community. Ellisa
said that she had experienced ‘systematic exclusion’
as a New Deal Community Rep and talked of legal action.
Bully
Tactics
After speakers had held the floor for over an hour, challenges from
the floor to the legitimacy of the VOTP began to surface. Newly
elected New Deal Community Rep. Aisha Special K slammed the organisers,
accusing them of bully tactics, closed meetings and pursuing high
salaries for themselves. She challenged Ellisa’s legitimacy,
calling her ‘disrespectful and unprofessional’ and asked
what she had done in her two years as a Community Rep. Special said
it was ‘delivery time’ for New Deal and that people
should give the new Community Reps a chance, ‘By suing New
Deal we risk losing it.’
‘Leaders
should listen’
Angry and confused exchanges erupted between speakers and members
of the audience. Some stepped forward trying to restore order, but
no one managed to prevent continuing outbursts, or avoid being drawn
into personal conflicts. Voices from the floor spoke of how destructive
disunity was, calling for leaders who would listen to people with
respect and understanding and an end to ‘pulling each other
down like crabs’.
Voices raised
in anger overshadowed the outrage expressed at the failure of New
Deal and services to allow the ‘vibrancy and life’ of
Burngreave to shine through. Inspector Brennan produced wry laughs,
saying the passion on display made this the best meeting he’d
attended in five years, but in the end, as the meeting broke up
amid claims it had been ‘hijacked’, no clear proposals
for future action were made.
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