No matter what happens in Moss Side, there are those who will always be proud of their neighbourhood. Last weekend, the Manchester Caribbean carnival took place in Alexandra Park, formerly the Moss Side ward of Manchester. The first day of carnival brought more than 16,000 people to the area and, according to the Greater Manchester police, there wasn’t a single arrest.
However, this was followed by senseless shootings in the early hours of Saturday morning. Shots were fired at a street party, which was taking place approximately five hours after the carnival had finished. Investigators believe a shotgun was used, injuring up to 12 individuals – thankfully there were no fatalities. It was a disgusting act of recklessness. It also harmed the good reputation of Moss Side.
Charitable organisations like my own, Carisma, along with local residents, community groups, and voluntary organisations in conjunction with statutory organisations, have done tremendous work in maintaining the positive image of Moss Side – ridding the place of the negative stereotypes that were prevalent 10-15 years ago. It is unfortunate that we may still have people who decide to settle their scores using a deadly weapon. After almost two years without gun violence in Moss Side, we are asking the same questions: where are the weapons coming from? Why are such weapons ending up in the hands of people in inner cities? How are the weapons getting into the country? I implore those in central government with the power to put more stringent checks in place at borders and ports to stop weapons slipping through unnoticed.
There are questions too for our local authority. Why are people allowed to sell food and drink and play loud music on the streets until the early hours of the morning? Do they hold the appropriate licences? Such unchallenged behaviour can be a cocktail for disaster.
The residents in Moss Side are good, law-abiding citizens, yet after enjoying a great time at the carnival, we now find ourselves in the position of having to defend the good name of the neighbourhood.
Over the past 15 years in my work around peace and conflict resolution, I have found that conflict can often be present – it’s how we manage it that is important. We must learn the causes of the different types of conflict. What prompted the shooting? What were the latent tensions between those involved? When such tensions are not identified it can lead to violence on our streets, as we have seen. Such overt shows of force can in turn lead to power struggles that escalate. The challenge, therefore, is how to prevent the conflict in the first place. We need to investigate these tensions with the aim of resolving the problem and preventing violence. This is what Carisma has done, using many different models of conflict resolution, transforming destructive conflict into constructive conflict.
Despite the shootings, crowds of people were not deterred from attending the second day of the Manchester carnival. While the Sunday afternoon was wet – not unusual for Manchester – we all danced to the beats and enjoyed the food, the rum and the fun until the end. It was a memorable summer weekend for the right reasons.
Moss Side – Moss Pride!
• Dr Erinma Bell MBE DL is a community peace activist
