PARANOID ANDROID

I was on the tube a few days ago and a scenario played out that I felt I had to recount. It was mid afternoon and I was riding the northern line train to central London. I sit down next to this asian man (he looked pakistani or sri lankan). He was about my age in his late twenties and had on a pair of jeans, shirt and a jacket. He also happened to have a backpack on. Unfortunately for him, he didn't look like the friendliest of fellows. I wouldn't say he was antagonistic per se, but he just appeared quite vacant. You know, the kind of guy you can't quite place in the good or bad box. Anyway, i'm sitting next to him and admittedly did notice his appearance and likeness to the notorious 'suicide bomber' look. Sadly, I am but a human and such auto stereotyping, even if just in the mind, can no longer be helped in this day and age. Next thing, a white middle aged man sits opposite us holding a newspaper. No sooner has the man taken a seat, he focuses on this young man next to me. He doesn't even try to hide his glare. From his paper, back to the man, his gaze bounced constantly. Each stare lasted a good twenty seconds. It got very bad. He almost sneered with each oogle. His brow contorting ferociously as if trying to force a reaction from his target. The man next to me was clearly nervous, the irony being he was the one causing the other man concern. So we then proceed to have this three way staring bout. Asian man looks at black man, black man looks at white man, white man looks at asian man and black man. No one says anything. Tension. Whirring noise of train tracks and steel wheels careering through the tunnels. I thought to myself, I have to break this ridiculous situation, so I did the only thing I could think of at the time...I asked the asian man next to me for a look at his tube map. He says 'sure' in a low accented voice and as soon as we exchange those few words, the man opposite looks back down at his paper and doesn't look up again till I get off the carriage and we go our separate ways.

REMEMBER THE 52

The 7th of July terror attacks came as a shock to a great many londoners. When the bombs exploded two years ago, we were reminded that the war on terror could, and had, come home. Fifty two citizens lost their lives that day, and one of them was my cousin Anthony Fatayi-Williams. He, like myself, was only twenty six years old when the attack occurred. I said to myself at the time, no matter what happens, London will never forget this. London is a city of tradition, respect and reverence. It will not forget it's citizens lost this day. Sadly, things quickly began to unravel.

Within a few months of the attacks, a number of things deeply concerned me. The fact that families were shut out of the closed door inquiry into the bombings was scandalous and a real slap in the face for want of a better description. This was compounded by the lack of real support and adequate compensation for victims and survivors families. It was all very disappointing. I think I can speak for the families here when I say that we felt let down and forgotten. On a personal level I believed that my cousin, and all those who lost their lives in the attacks, deserved more. They deserved the respect of having a public and open inquiry into their deaths so that lessons could be learned from such a mindless massacre. Most of all, these people deserved to be remembered, if not everyday, at least on the day that these atrocities took place.

Fast forward two years and we have the second anniversary of the attacks. My family and I went about our business, making preparations and organizing a private remembrance for Anthony. I tried to ignore it, but we were aware that for some reason, no less than three major events were taking place on that very same day. We had the Wimbledon women's final, the Tour de France and the Live Earth concert all placed on the seventh. Why did they do this? I try desperately hard to stay away from conspiracy theories and conjecture, but would I be wrong for sensing at least a mild whiff of cynicism at play?

Every single one of these events could have been moved to allow the day to be clear for the july 7th remembrance. Rain alone can cause a Wimbledon match to be shifted, so it can be done. To add insult to injury, there was this unusual emphasis on a 'low key' memorial in the news, almost implying this is what the families wanted. That was not the case. There was no cast in stone reason for all this entertainment to be scheduled on the seventh. In fact, has there ever been a situation with such a line up of major events on a single day in London? I can't recall one. The one day we could have sat back and taken stock of the effects and policies resulting from the July bombings, we were diverted by events that, in themselves, held no more importance than being what they were for the day; diversions. A few weeks ago a burning van was crashed into an airport in Glasgow. Some days before that, two car bombs were found in London with enough explosives to level buildings. If ever, now is the time to really think about the problems we are having in the society in which we live. There is no time for diversions and fleeting entertainment when the future of ourselves and our families are at stake. This is not to be simplified as the percentage chances of being killed by terrorists. That probability is small. The real effects are the paranoia, stereotyping, fear and polarisation that we have seen cement itself into our lives with every islamic suspect apprehension and failed terror attack.

There shouldn't be such a rush to pull wool over our eyes on a day that we could all, as a country and nation, stand together and think about where we stand in this new war. That energy pumped into Wimbledon promotion, that marketing media push for the Tour de France, the tv spots for the Live Earth concert; these resources could all have been directed at remembering the 7th of July and what the day stands for. I lived in New York through and after 9/11 and I can tell you that trying to place any major event in the week of the anniversary would be met with not only ridicule but ardent derision. I even remember the furor over movie releases around that day and the clearing of major movie openings because studios knew no one would care about anything else but remembering the lost at that time. To this day six years later, it is the same every year in America. September eleventh has become symbolic and more than just a memorial. It is a focus point when a nation comes together to take stock of where they stand. Can you imagine the Super Bowl, the US Open women's final, and the MTV music awards all being scheduled for september eleventh? Yes we are different nations with different sensibilities, but we are also allies against the terrorism that took our citizens. As we stand together in the fight, we should also be together in tending to the fallen.

I appreciate my personal loss is not, and should not be, similarly felt by those that did not have a personal relationship with my cousin. Sometimes bad things happen, and I have to live with that fact. When he got on that bus, he was one of thirteen that did not come out alive. One of thirteen in a city of millions. As much as I may try, I can't argue with fate. The key question is what one life is worth. What did each of those lives lost mean, not on an emotional level, but to the social development of the nation? The 7th of July is special, and the lessons we can learn might prevent revisiting the horrors that some of us have already had to face. Remember the 52.