You have to stop knife crime, teenage victims tell Mayor

Katharine Barney, City Hall Reporter
18.09.09

Victims of knife crime have told Mayor Boris Johnson of their ordeals and demanded action to stop attacks.

Two people affected by stabbings told Mr Johnson of their experiences at his first young people's question time.

Sami Ibrahim, 18, a youth worker from West Hampstead, was about to sit his GCSEs when he was stabbed four times. He suffered internal bleeding.

He said: "What I want to know from Boris is if he is going to start taking this seriously. I have no gang affiliation, no record, but my case was completely dropped. I felt more stressed as a victim than a criminal.

"Someone needs to listen and it needs to be soon. I feel the police brushed my case under the carpet. How many more people is that happening to?"

Another audience member was Ziona Donicor, 19, a teaching assistant from South Woodford whose cousin was stabbed to death last year.

She said she had been trying to find funding to set up a self empowerment course for young people but had been refused at every turn.

"I'm hoping Boris can make a difference," she said. "There are so many people who don't know who they are or where they come from so they turn to gangs for self worth. I wanted to make my point to Boris that there are all these young people who want to do something but then we hit a wall."

A questionnaire filled in by the audience at the O2's Indigo venue found 64 per cent did not think knife crime had lessened in the past year.

The Mayor said he wanted to give young people a say in how London was run and learn from their experiences. He will appoint "young mayors" to advise his ambassador for young people, James Cleverly, on matters such as carrying knives, participation in sport and ways to find employment.

Kymberley Otchere, 17, from Dagenham who is studying health, social care and nursing, asked Mr Johnson whether he would consider having a young person on his team.

She said: "It's great that there's James Cleverly, but I'd like to see a young person alongside him.

"Politicians think they're in touch, but they don't really know what it's like for us. People talk about us being the next generation of doctors, lawyers and politicians, but why not start now? We still have a lot to offer."

Mr Johnson said he agreed with her and promised it was being acted on. He said: "I'm 45. It's all over for me, but there is a plan to introduce young mayors and I've got to say I'm very worried about being re-elected."

The Mayor also said he would like to repeat the event.

"Tonight has been fantastic. There's been everyone from someone who wants me to ban cattle farms to the man whose bin hasn't been collected for three weeks in Brent,

"We want to consult with young people and when I came home from New York to find the Thames had been expunged from the Tube map I was deluged with young people outside my house shouting 'Boris, give us our river back'. By 2pm the next day we had. If that's not consulting with young people, I don't know what is."

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