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Families bereaved by violence back film to stop the killings
Rob Singh, Crime Reporter10 Oct 2007
Families bereaved by knife and gun crime united in Leicester Square at the premiere of a film designed to highlight the issue of violence.
Nearly 100 relatives of people shot or stabbed to death have backed Hip Hop Opera. The shoestring production was made in Brixton after a string of murders of young people.
The film follows a fictional shooting and the fall-out from the death, interspersing it with the testimony of mothers who have lost children.
Producer Raymond Stevenson said: "One day last year, we decided we wanted to do a campaign and we went and met some mothersand they told us their stories. By the time they'd finished, everyone in the room was crying, including myself.
"The sad thing is there are many young people out there who can get quickly seduced in 'the game'. You have to realise that these people are disillusioned anyway and then one situation, one piece of disrespect, one 'dissing' of that person can escalate, and before you know it, guns are involved."
One of the mothers at the premiere, Wilma Francis, lost her son Arian Julius when he was shot dead aged 22 in an East End nightclub last year.
"Every week, another mother has lost her son," she said."So I'm just hoping that when the film comes out, out of 10 people who carry a gun, even if just one of them sees the film and puts the gun away it will be worth it."
Also present were Mark Prince and Tracie Cumberbatch, the parents of Queen's Park Rangers youth footballer Kiyan Prince. The 15-year-old was knifed outside the gates of his school in Edgware last May.
Reader views (2)
In my opinion there is only one way to stop the violence and killings on our streets, and that is to bring back corporal punishment and the death penalty - we all know that before these were abolished our streets were safe to walk. But, have we the guts to do it - no, because there are too many do gooders in our country who are not doing any good at all, but in fact are doing the opposite. There is an old saying - "you have to be cruel to be kind", and if bringing back punishment to fit the crime means that many people will put down their weapons and not end up in prison, then it must be worth it! How many more people, young and old, are to be sacrificed because of the softly, softly, approach to crime.
- Wooram, Alicante, Spain, 10/10/2007 16:25
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Since my Son Westley's unprovoked fatal stabbing 12th September, 2005 in Colchester, I have been privileged to meet many victim's parents from around the UK that have met, not only through the grief of losing a child or loved-one to Gun or Knife Crime, but through the Don't Trigger Campaign. Everyone is united in their grief in an effort to raise awareness of the devastation caused to families and communities by Gun and Knife Violence. Grateful thanks to Raymond Stevenson and Lucia Hinton for giving 'Victim's Families' a voice.
- Ann Oakes-Odger, Colchester, United Kingdom, 10/10/2007 15:40
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