Over the course of past 12 last nights of violence, reporters have gotten closer and closer to hearing the thoughts of the young men responsible for so much destruction. Yesterday, there was a several page spread in the French paper, Le Monde. A reporter followed a group of 10 young guys (ages 17-25) through the night as they put cars and trashcans on fire. Why were they destroying their own schools and public spaces? Because to them it is all worthless, a symbol of the community’s failure. Declaring, “we are ready to sacrifice everything, because we have nothing”. All 10 of the guys finished school, yet not one could find a job. One calls out, “I sent out 100 resumes, I got 3 callbacks and still ended up with nothing”. “Listen” another says, “we aren’t doing this because we want to, it is because we feel we have to. No words can express our frustration, our rage.” Another explains, “yeah, I even put my buddy’s car to flames”. The buddy steps to the front, replies “yeah I was pissed, but I understood”. He then pulls out his cell phone to show the reporter a picture of his own doing, a police car burnt to smithereens. “When we throw the Molotov cocktails in to the window of these cars, it is our cry for help” says another. “Fire is our voice, symbol of our rage. You can only pin a dog to the wall so long before he becomes aggressive, we are not dogs, but we are animals”.
Another article features a group of young girls, all sisters of young rioters, who say their brothers are chameleons. “They are so respectful and sweet at home, then they go out on the streets and terrorize”, says one. Another adds, “my brother would never do this kind of thing if he was acting alone. There’s a lot of pressure from les grand-frères. (“big brothers” or gangs of the banlieus). It becomes a pride thing… if they don’t do it, they are called chicken. Even girls provoke them. They all nod with approval when one of the girls comments, “and things got a lot hotter when Sark (nickname given to the Interior Minister) addressed them all as racailles (thugs). The French politician’s insensitive and war-like talk is believed to have spurred many more rioters to action all over France. These so called “thugs” are mostly minors, even as young as 10 or 12 years old.
People of the community are understandably disturbed, but refuse to just sit around and endure the destruction. Many have signed up as volunteers to patrol schools, gymnasiums and commercial centers. “We are not the police, but we can’t just stand by and watch our children’s schools go up in flames” says one with fire extinguisher in hand. “Where are these kids parents?” screams another.
One parent makes a poignant comment. “Our Arab dense communities are often stigmatized as Islamists, our young men as potential terrorists. But the guys committing these acts are not doing it in the name of religion. They are like their other French compatriots; they just want to be consumers. They want to make some cash so they can buy all the stuff they see on t.v. Their poverty is accentuated by the inability to access the lifestyles constantly thrown in their face.
There is something positive in all of this… as one statesman remarks “it’s unprecedented, for the first time, the message of misery in the banlieu has been heard”. In fact, the Prime Minster went on the national news yesterday and told the public the State has decided to consecrate 5 billion euros to rehabilitate the banlieus and to reinstate all funding to local associations. With government assistance progressively cut over the last 2 years, many programs had ceased to exist. This is excellent news for my association because we too were on the list of organizations with unsure futures. The Prime Minister acknowledged the very important role youth centers, social workers, mediators have in these communities as the go between for inhabitants and elected officials.
And to finish with one more positive thought… I was also happy to hear a number of guys have gone on the streets to dissuade their angry co-residents from using violence, advocating them instead to get involved in their communities, use their voice through their vote.
Another article features a group of young girls, all sisters of young rioters, who say their brothers are chameleons. “They are so respectful and sweet at home, then they go out on the streets and terrorize”, says one. Another adds, “my brother would never do this kind of thing if he was acting alone. There’s a lot of pressure from les grand-frères. (“big brothers” or gangs of the banlieus). It becomes a pride thing… if they don’t do it, they are called chicken. Even girls provoke them. They all nod with approval when one of the girls comments, “and things got a lot hotter when Sark (nickname given to the Interior Minister) addressed them all as racailles (thugs). The French politician’s insensitive and war-like talk is believed to have spurred many more rioters to action all over France. These so called “thugs” are mostly minors, even as young as 10 or 12 years old.
People of the community are understandably disturbed, but refuse to just sit around and endure the destruction. Many have signed up as volunteers to patrol schools, gymnasiums and commercial centers. “We are not the police, but we can’t just stand by and watch our children’s schools go up in flames” says one with fire extinguisher in hand. “Where are these kids parents?” screams another.
One parent makes a poignant comment. “Our Arab dense communities are often stigmatized as Islamists, our young men as potential terrorists. But the guys committing these acts are not doing it in the name of religion. They are like their other French compatriots; they just want to be consumers. They want to make some cash so they can buy all the stuff they see on t.v. Their poverty is accentuated by the inability to access the lifestyles constantly thrown in their face.
There is something positive in all of this… as one statesman remarks “it’s unprecedented, for the first time, the message of misery in the banlieu has been heard”. In fact, the Prime Minster went on the national news yesterday and told the public the State has decided to consecrate 5 billion euros to rehabilitate the banlieus and to reinstate all funding to local associations. With government assistance progressively cut over the last 2 years, many programs had ceased to exist. This is excellent news for my association because we too were on the list of organizations with unsure futures. The Prime Minister acknowledged the very important role youth centers, social workers, mediators have in these communities as the go between for inhabitants and elected officials.
And to finish with one more positive thought… I was also happy to hear a number of guys have gone on the streets to dissuade their angry co-residents from using violence, advocating them instead to get involved in their communities, use their voice through their vote.
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