Responding to a riot

In June this year, two nights of rioting in Manningham, a predominantly Asian district of Bradford, hit the front pages of the British press. The riots were sparked off by the arrest of four young men who were playing football in the street and the subsequent arrest of five more people who had gathered outside the local police station to protest the earlier arrests and the heavy-handed behaviour of the police.

It was at this point that an inter-racial group of women decided to intervene. CAROL RANK tells the story, and reflects on the effectiveness of this nonviolent women's intervention in community conflict.

<*> On Sunday night there were rumours that there would be renewed violence on Oak Lane in protest against the arrests of the previous two days. Some local residents, including older Asian men, went door to door in the neighbourhood during the day to try calm things down and dissuade the youth from going out on the streets again to riot. However, by about 10pm that night several hundred Asian men, including large groups of youth, had gathered outside the police station, and tension was high.

>>> The women's action

A group of eight women--four Asian and four white--decided to go out onto the street with a message of peace to try and calm down the situation and prevent further violence.

Most of us were members of an Interfaith Women for Peace group. This group is currently made up of Asian and white women from Bradford who have been meeting in each other's homes for the past year to discuss various issues, including how to promote cross-cultural understanding and racial justice at the local level. Having this kind of network enabled us to contact each other quickly and to be assured that we would all be in favour of such an action.

By about 11.30pm we had all met at the home of one of the women who lives very near to where the trouble first began. We made a banner from a sheet, with "peace" in English, Urdu, and Arabic and decided that would be our main message: we were making a plea to stop the violence. Our intent was not merely to "pacify" the Asian youth nor to deny that there was just cause for the disturbance, but to help calm the situation so that an investigation into the events could take place. We intended to call for an inquiry and for talks to get to the heart of the problem.

Because the crowd was all male, and because the violence on both sides (youth and police) had been perpetrated by men, we felt that women's presence on the street would be a powerful statement. We planned to walk up to the police station and back with the banner and see what effect we could have. We were unaware of how many people were on the street and that the media was out in full force.

As we walked up Oak Lane, we began to see just how large the crowd of men was. Several of the youth called out "You should be ashamed--go back home!" or "We respect you--but go home!" Other men took on the role of protectors, helping us to cross the street with the banner and opening the way for us. We saw a crowd of a couple of hundred Asian youth across from the police station, then suddenly the media descended on us and followed us on our short march.

For about half an hour the lights, cameras and recorders of the press were focused on us as we stood with the banner in front of the police station. By now it was after midnight, and when the media people had all the footage and interviews they wanted, they left. We looked across the street and discovered the crowd of mainly Asian youth had dispersed. The attention drawn to the women had taken attention away from the crowd, and they simply went away. It appeared to us that this action had dissipated the tension, at least temporarily, and there was no violence that night.

The next day we found ourselves briefly mentioned on the national news and on the front page of the local newspaper with the headline "We must heal these wounds." The image of women in the streets holding a peace banner clearly expressed what many felt. Though our action was brief, it did seem to have an impact, and it was personally empowering for all of us.

>>> Nonviolent intervention
in community conflict

Though this was a small action, lessons can be learned from it about nonviolent intervention in community conflict. Factors that made it successful are familiar from larger nonviolent campaigns and movements. These are:

• Women's role. In this case the action was effective because it was women carrying it out: men and women together holding a peace banner wouldn't have had the same effect. Because, up to that point, those on the streets were almost all men, the appearance of women had a dramatic effect. The silence of the women was broken. It was also of course very important that it was Asian and white women together, not just white women.
• Existing support network. The women who took part in the action were part of a support network akin to an affinity group. This enabled us to get organised quickly and get out on the street at the right time.
• Timing. As it happened, the action took place at just the right time. Had the violence been at the level of the previous two nights, we would not have gone out. We went out at a time when events could have gone either way; tension was building but had not yet exploded into violence.
• Spontaneity. The spontaneous nature of the action gave an element of surprise (even to us!) which worked in our favour. Like many nonviolent actions, this had little pre-planning--which could have caused problems as we had no contingency plans. It was also a very simple action and not part of a larger strategy.
• Context. The action took place within a context of many other people in the community trying to quell the violence, to get an inquiry into the situation, and to begin a dialogue between the youth and the police. The women's action was particularly effective because it was so visible.

>>> The aftermath

At a larger women's meeting held in Manningham after the riots, the suggestion that we organise a larger demonstration of women - - to prevent further outbreaks of violence--was immediately rejected. There was fear of outside groups like the British National Party coming in and making it very dangerous for women, particularly Asian women, to go out in that way. "It would be a bloodbath", one woman said.

In any nonviolent movement, direct action is only the cutting edge and there are many roles for women to play. Even just talking with sons, husbands, neighbours and friends, women can have an impact; they can also be vocal in community meetings and negotiations with the police. The Racial Equality Council in Bradford has now pushed for greater representation of women in meetings with the police, and networks of women are in rotating attendance at community meetings.

>>> Underlying issues

Although the situation is relatively quiet in Bradford now, there is a high level of frustration that calls for an independent inquiry into the situation have not been answered. The Police Complaints Authority which will investigate the cause of the riots will have a strictly limited brief and will not address the underlying issues that caused the violence.

Many Asian youth have said that the riots were a reaction to the behaviour of the police toward them, and that should be the focus of the inquiry. The police, on the other hand, have said that the youth are "beating out their frustrations on the anvil of the police" and that the police should not be blamed for the situation.

There is some truth in both points of view. Asian youth experience rough and sometimes racist treatment from the police and they want that kind of behaviour to stop. What the youth say they want is "respect and justice." Police who use too much force need to be checked, and charges of racism need to be investigated and addressed.

The causes of the Bradford riots, like those of other inner city riots, lie in economic decline, high unemployment and continuing racial discrimination and harassment. The unemployment rate for Asian youth is four times greater than that of their white counterparts and, nationally, there has been a rise in racially motivated attacks. Measures against illegal immigrants have widened the gap, and contributed to the public perception that ethnic minorities are trying to "take over" the country.

Muslims in particular are subject to this kind of attitude. Non-Muslim Britain's widespread phobia about Islam exacerbates the problems of Asian youth, who are becoming increasingly militant in response. Asian youth in Manningham have recently experienced a rising sense of power after being successful in organising nonviolent patrols to get prostitutes moved out of their neighbourhoods. The police crackdown which led to the riots was like a slap in the face to that newly-felt sense of pride.

>>> A temporary setback?

Up to this point, Bradford has had a good record in terms of race relations and there is much regret over what is seen as a setback in community relations.

At the same time, the riots have resulted in many meetings linking youth and police, and business and community leaders, which should bring about some positive changes. There has been a concerted effort not only to "heal the wounds" but to address inequities and find ways of meeting the needs of Asian youth and ethnic minority communities generally.

During the riots, the youth and the police were seen by some to be "mirror images of machismo" appearing to enjoy the excitement of confrontation and conflict. Meanwhile, women stayed at home and feared for their families. But women are now taking an active part in negotiations and community meetings. Women, getting together in networks that cross cultural and economic divides, can help prevent violence and continue to foster the kind of multi-cultural appreciation which is characteristic of Bradford.