Walking down Holloway Road high street is probably the best way to get a picture of the cultural diversity, which makes the borough so unique. Women in traditional colourful robes, men intent upon a lively discussion in an Arabic language and then all of the sudden you notice the wonderful smell of piquant-spiced Indian or Chinese food. The 50,000 inhabitants of ethnic minorities in Islington, mostly Black African, Caribbean or Asian,
make the borough diverse, brightly coloured and one of London´s biggest multicultural communities.
Recent published crime figures by the Metropolitan Police darken this picture, showing an increasing trend of racist and religious hate crimes in Islington in the past 12 months. There were 395 crimes motivated by racism in 2011, compared to 464 in the 12 months that followed, showing a total increase of 21%.
As if this wasn’t bad enough, the Daily Mail reported, in September 2012, that two female police officers in Islington were disbanded after they were recorded in a changing room, likening black people to gorillas and monkeys. The Metropolitan Police have announced that there were 96 claims of racism by officers last year. If our police force has internal problems with racism, how do they expect to fight against racist assaults and abuse on the streets of London?
One company in Islington that is actively trying to reduce racism in the borough is the Arab Advice Bureau, Finsbury Park. Their work involves giving advice, advocacy and support for Arabic and North African communities. “People in developed countries sometimes have bad images of certain communities, which is a flint for racism. We try to contribute in the process of integration. Many of our clients faced discrimination through verbal or physical abuse. Our work is to break cultural and language barriers to prevent violent acts”, said a member of staff at the Arab Advice Bureau.
Despite the fact that racism is a prevalent topic in Islington, there are also those who have a different view: Ayobami Ovefeso, 24, has never had any bad experiences involving racism. “I was born in Britain while my whole family is from Nigeria. English is my first language and I visited a school in North London. Despite the fact that I have a different skin colour, I was never seriously confronted by racism. Britain is my home, and while I think that many others feel this way, we have to fight against racism and anti-social behaviour.”
Whether we like to eat Chinese food or just buy oriental spices in the supermarket: We all benefit in one or another from living in a culturally diverse society. It makes a walk down Islington high street much more exciting, and therefore, it should be in everyone’s interest to create a peaceful togetherness in our borough, abounding racism from our streets.