Source: www.newsday.co.tt
By: Andre Bagoo
STAFF at the Trinidad and Tobago (TT) High Commission in London yesterday afternoon fled the building amidst police warnings over looting and another day of street violence in the beleaguered United Kingdom capital.
The developments came as TT nationals suffered losses in the ongoing riots, and many watched nervously as the UK Government moved to stem the tide of rising incidents of arson, thuggery and property damage. One woman described the scenes unfolding at London as “anarchy” and “like a war zone”.
Sources at the High Commission yesterday told Newsday that the more than 30-strong staff employed at the Commission, which is located at 42 Belgrave Square, closed the Commission’s offices hours before the normal closing time of 5 pm, UK time, and took a decision to leave the building amidst reports that surrounding businesses in the Victoria area had been warned over the possibility of looting.
“The police advised people to leave,” a source said yesterday afternoon, at about 3.30 pm UK time. “They told the shops to close-up and our staff has left. We are expecting this thing to get serious. Some staff members have a long commute and so we have decided to leave. Everyone has left.”
Questioned further, the source said, “I’m sorry, I have to leave right now.”
Repeated attempts to contact High Commissioner to London Garvin Nicholas yesterday failed as he did not answer calls to his mobile phone. Nicholas, who recently returned to London from a trip to Wales, was not at the High Commission yesterday afternoon, according to checks conducted by Newsday.
British Prime Minister David Cameron recalled the UK Parliament from its recess and announced that all police leave was cancelled, with 16,000 police officers to be deployed to man the streets of London overnight. A man was reported dead after succumbing to injuries sustained after being shot in his car at Croydon on Monday night.
There were also reports that 450 detectives being assigned to crack cases of looting using CCTV footage in what the UK Guardian described as “the biggest criminal investigation ever mounted by the Metropolitan police.” The Met reported that it had run out of free cells as arrests placed strains on the system of criminal justice.
One TT national, who had her flat in London completely destroyed after a jewelry shop in the building she resides in was looted and set on fire, described the shock of the developments.
“The worst thing about the situation is the fact that this is happening in London and to see what the city now looks like. It looks like a war zone. I am just thinking of the anarchy and it is really scary I am glad I am not there in that chaos. Nobody is really safe and the police are afraid to get involved,” Sherry Murray said. “Everybody is stunned. Everything is a mess.”
Murray, who arrived in Trinidad from the UK last Saturday for a visit, recalled the shock of seeing her flat completely burnt down on television footage.
“We were renting a flat. I could not believe the footage I saw on television. The building was completely gutted. It is now a shell. I am here and thank God.” Murray said she and her neighbours have lost all of their belongings.
“Whatever I have in my suitcase is what I am left with. We lost all of our belongings, worth maybe GBP 30,000; all my papers; certificates, a computer, clothes, televisions. I spend a lot of time at that flat whenever I visit the UK,” she said.
Murray said she has been in contact with many of her Trinidadian friends in the UK who are anxious over the developments.
“They are waiting nervously. Many live in places that could be affected. It is very surreal this is happening in broad daylight and nothing is really stopping it,” she said.
The scenes, for many, recalled the London riots of the 1980s.
As of yesterday, affected areas included: Tottenham; Enfield; Chingford Mount; Brixton (scene of riots in 1981); Oxford Circus; Walthamstow; Waltham Forest; Ponder’s End; Chelsea; Islington; Hackney; Peckam; Lewisham; Camberwell; Deptford; Birmingham; Croydon; East Ham; Ilford; Tooting; Streatham; Clapham Junction; Walworth, Colliers Wood, Notting Hill, Dalston; Camden; Ealing Broadway; Camden Town; Harringay; Fulham Broadway; East Bulwich; and more.
TT nationals in London yesterday afternoon reported dead quiet in several areas, including Walthamstow, Belgrave Square and Notting Hill and environs. Some, in areas outside London where violence has mushroomed, also reported a lull, as many stayed indoors. By yesterday evening, though, there were early reports of conflagration outside of London.
As the violence intensified, the Guardian reported last evening that a police station had been firebombed by a group of 30 to 40 men at Nottingham. Violence also flared at Manchester and Bristol.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Suruj Rambachan, said as of yesterday evening he had no reports of any TT nationals being hurt in the riots but said the TT High Commission “was monitoring it”.
Opposition Leader, Dr Keith Rowley, yesterday afternoon returned to Trinidad safely after completing a three-day visit to London where he spoke at a Carnival event. He did not respond to calls and a text message from . Residents and businesses across London were last night bracing for a further wave of looting and violence. Most violence yesterday occurred in the early hours of the morning.
Yet some remained skeptical over the riots, noting that many areas of London were as yet untouched by the events.
“I am okay. I shall be going out and about and have an appointment,” one Trinidadian living in Walthamstow told Newsday. Another reported “dead silence” at Notting Hill. Some Londoners, in an effort to fight back at the lawlessness, organised a clean-up “broom rally” holding brooms and cleaning the streets at Clapham Junction.
Damage to property at London has already been estimated at GBP100 million (TT$1 billion), with police authorities assuring that they will meet any obligations for damages under the UK’s Riots (Damages) Act 1886.
The riots and looting began on Saturday in the wake of the police killing of Mark Duggan, 29, last Thursday in Tottenham, north London, after armed officers stopped the mini-cab he was travelling in. After examining ballistics tests, the UK’s Independent Police Complaints Commission yesterday rejected initial police claims that Duggan had fired at police.
Broadcaster and columnist Darcus Howe, a nephew of CLR James, yesterday told the BBC that the riots were linked to a “serious” defect in British society.
“The police have been stopping and searching blacks for no reason,” Howe said in a video posted on You Tube. He argued that the problem lies with feelings of disconnection among “young blacks and whites”.
Others also reported a possible role on the part of the UK anarchist movement, as well as movements of random, opportunistic looters. Some have linked apparently slow action on the part of the Met in the initial hours of the riots on Saturday to a recent announcement by Cameron of spending cuts for the police.
Amidst reports that the violence has been organised using tools such as Blackberry Messenger and Twitter, China criticised the West for allowing free speech via internet sites. The developments also caused some to question London’s ability to handle disruptive activity ahead of the 2012 London Olympics.
The highly-anticipated England vs Netherlands football match, planned for today at Wembley, was cancelled due to concerns over the violence. Three Premiere League games on Saturday may also have to be axed