The Ghetto Rises Once More
Once again the neglected people of the Parisian Suburbs rise against the
continuing neglect and oppression by the French Government and the Police
Forces.
The following is from BBC News:-
When Ziad, 17, and Banou, 15, climbed into an electrical sub-station in the
Paris suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois last Thursday, they apparently knew they
were taking a risk.
The sole survivor of the incident, who climbed into the station with the two
teenagers and was badly injured in the incident, was quoted by police as
saying they had all been aware of the danger, which was clearly signposted
at the station.
According to this survivor's testimony, the three panicked after finding
themselves near the scene of an apparent break-in as police officers arrived
to investigate.
It was rumoured that the boys had actually been chased by police, a belief
which quickly spread and sparked rioting in Clichy-sous-Bois, a poor suburb
largely populated by North African immigrants and their French-born
descendants where there was already friction between residents and police.
A peaceful protest march last Saturday - during which one hooded youth told
French TV that the youths' deaths had been "not normal" while other
protesters, including relatives of the dead, wore T-shirts marked "dead for
nothing" - did little to dispel the rumours.
This and further incidents has once more sparked riots much like those of 1995
and various smaller ones since then. This is very much captured in the French
film made the same year named
'La
Haine', which tells the story of the friends of a youth that was beaten into
a coma by the police and shows what happens when one of them finds a gun during
the riots. I would defiantly recommend this film as it's a fantastic piece of
cinema. It's gritty and the reality of it all will strike you, especially with
the current situation.
For information on the current riots
see the BBC News
Report here.
Now all this basically comes from one thing. The problem is the rich and the
powerful in France seem to have this racist mentality. If you look at the
previous election France was so close to having a well known racist elected in
to run the country. As much as we like to think France is a nice place full of
art and culture it also has another side of racist discrimination. The National
Front a big political player in this country.
Interestingly enough as this community in the suburbs becomes more and more
isolated the hip-hop culture grows. As was once seen in the culture of the poor
black communities of the USA the youth of France embrace the culture. It seems
to be mirroring the US in so many ways as the youth of the country go through
the same experiences. If you look at the lyrics of Grandmaster Flash's 'The
Message' from 1982 you will see it is something the youth here in France who
live in the suburbs can very much relate to.
Broken glass everywhere
People pissing on the stairs, you know they just
Don't care
I can't take the smell, I can't take the noise
Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice
Rats in the front room, roaches in the back
Junkie's in the alley with a baseball bat
I tried to get away, but I couldn’t get far
Cause the man with the tow-truck repossessed my car
Don't push me, cause I'm close to the edge
I’m trying not to loose my head
It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under
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