The Birmingham Riots: 2011-08-28

At least, in the loo I was alone.... I think.

One day, while walking to work, an image came to mind. It was a watercolor painting of the Birmingham City Council building with its flagpole placed on the dome and a CCTV security camera poised on top--in place of the flag--aiming down to Victoria Square.

There weren't many places in urban England where I felt unphotographed. Especially in Birmingham--after walking the same streets and through the same buildings repeatedly, I began to spot the cameras more easily.

I felt watched and exposed but, surprisingly, it didn't bother me much. Probably because I knew I had no option but to be filmed or to go nowhere other than between work and the hotel (where I was filmed in both buildings and on the street). And probably more likely because I knew I wouldn't be in England for long.

When the riots began, I thought about those cameras (like the ones in the photo, on the front of a casino near the Arcadian Centre) and how they could do some good in terms of potentially capturing the people stealing and damaging the property of others. Sure enough, the police began releasing online images of rioters.

12 Aug: Battening down the hatches

A common scene, especially days after the riots ended--businesses sheltering their unbroken windows and merchandise by shielding themselves in a coat of plywood.

Many had signs which said "Open as usual" or the like. This post office did as well though not with the same eagerness it would seem--look close and you can see two handwritten signs on sheets of standard printer paper--one on each plywood wall.

14 Aug: "We must come together and ensure some good comes out of all this senselessness.”


Photo from the article, linked at the end of the post.

"When Tariq was announced to the crowd, they applauded and chanted for over a minute. Modestly he told them: 'I am no one special. Just one of you.

'I’m no speechmaker. I don’t really know what to say but to see this coming together gives me strength in my heart. Forget about me. It’s about the three young men who have sacrificed their lives for this community. I hope you remember them.'"

On the Sunday following the riots, various community groups worked together to quickly organize a peace rally in Birmingham. The intention was to help strengthen the city, make a show of solidarity as a community and to pay homage to the three men murdered during the riots.

The father of one of the victims, Tariq Jahan, as well as a brother of the two others killed spoke along with community leaders both civic and religious but it was Tariq who served as a lighthouse of peace, for his plea for calm in the wake of his son's death is credited as being the greatest reason that the riots finally ended.

"The audience stood hanging on his every word, many clearly made emotional by his strength and humility in the face of such a terrible loss."

Read more from the Mirror article here.

9 Aug: A flurry of activity on Bromsgrove Street

Due to the quality once uploaded to the blog, it's hard to tell what's going on exactly. Here's an outline:

The cop cars and riot vans arrived to scatter the rioters breaking again into the Tesco on the corner to the right. The rioters then scurried down Bromsgrove Street (out of view due to the parking deck), then fled east up Pershore Street once they got to the intersection. At one point, you see a cop trying to block a rioter from passing, but the rioter throws a bottle or some such which bursts on the pavement. Other cops and the riot police then follow to the intersection. Once the sirens cease, at the end, the helicopter can be heard and I pan upward (you can see its spotlight in the sky).

10-14 Aug: Shuttered city

During the week after the riots, a shield of plywood covered Birmingham like a fad of homemade fake nails.

Cause and effect: a little information.

Birmingham has been known by nearly 150 permutations of the name we now recognize as that of England's second city. "Brummagem" is likely the most popular and still occasionally in use today, but its shortened version--"Brum"--is by far more common.

The Birmingham riots began in the wake of the London riots, which began in one of its suburbs after a marching protest of the death of Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old shot dead by police attempting to arrest him. The riots remained in London for two days before spreading to Birmingham and then to other cities. While emotion--specifically anger over the shooting death--fueled the beginning of the riots in London, the Birmingham riots seemed largely a copycat excuse to loot, apparently devoid of emotion other than an angsty thirst for excitement and an anger towards society, police and life in general.

Whatever the reasons for those individuals involved in the Brum riots, the emotions manifested themselves largely in the destruction of other people's property--the breaking of windows, the looting of stores, the torching of vehicles, trash bins and some businesses, and the general damaging of much of what lie in the path of the rioters, whose chosen "uniform" was black hoodies. Occasionally, however, there were greater shows of anger as in street fights, at least one incident of shooting at police, and the murder of three young men purposefully struck by a car while attempting to guard their property.

After the murders, there was much talk and expectation of a race riot ensuing on the third night due to the rioter(s) who had hit the three men being black and the victims being Pakistani. For whatever reason, the riots in Birmingham ended before such a clash began. There was a little activity that night but not much. Most of the credit is given to the father of one of the murdered men who'd pleaded for peace. Another factor might've been the fact that the police had been given greater power in their attempts to stop the riots.

But, for whatever reason, they stopped. During the riots, however, I began this blog on the suggestion of a friend. I've continued to post pictures, videos and stories since then but this, like the riots, will end. Soon. I've returned home from Birmingham now--its hard, grey face full of vigor and ragged-tooth charm still appearing before me occasionally wherever I go. As it always will.

From the balcony seats of the Bromsgrove Theatre.

About a half-dozen floors of apartments lie on the east side of Bromsgrove Street between Pershore and Hurst Streets in Birmingham, England. On the west side of Bromsgrove is the Arcadian Centre parking deck, with two floors above it comprised of hotel rooms, each with a balcony.

It was from one of those balconies that I was able to view the clumsy ballet of the Birmingham riots. Dark-draped antagonists entered from the side stage emitting sounds of adrenalin-fueled anger and excitement, creating tension and interest in the otherwise placid plot that occurred daily on Bromsgrove in previous days, weeks, months.

So, we all drew close to our windows, stood on our balconies (or on the roof, like this fellow on the corner of Bromsgrove and Hurst) and watched, listening to the tuning of the distant oboe shouting, the violin sirens and the kettle drum helicopter blades as the house lights lowered and the next act began.

Spotlight on. Hooded figures wreck the set. "Good guy" dancers race across the stage followed by a parade of blue light. Actors spoke lines of an off-stage presence rising to dispel the terror in the wake of death. Stage empty, violins screeching, curtain drops uneven. No clear victory emerged from the resolution. Eventually, we all went home.

14 Aug: The glossy Bullring under wood.

There were many more stores damaged in the area--this is merely a small sample.

12 Aug: More post-riot damage

I took pictures of most of the damage I found in the city centre (and I found something new practically every day before I left) but I know there was a lot that I didn't see and there were some shots that I missed for various reasons.

19 Aug: The pretty royal bandage

I was listening to the radio at work one day when I heard that William and Kate were in town to meet with families and business owners affected by the riots. That's nice but it seemed like what mattered most to people regarding the visit was, oo la la, Kate's new outfit!

A Daily Mail article, for instance, features a picture of the royal couple talking to a man in a red shirt--presumably a victim of the riots. But Mr. Red Shirt is not identified in the caption. Why? Because the real news was that "Kate wore a silk blouse and matching pencil skirt by Alexander McQueen designer Sarah Burton."

(No, I'm not surprised by any of this; I just find it amusing.)

8 Aug: "A major disorder"

Two news reports: The first on the night of August 8th; the second from the morning of August 9th.

9 Aug: Guarding his post.

The neon-clad bobbies (cops) with their arms held behind their backs as they stood watch in the daylight hours became a common sight--as well as a fitting symbol. Like this man guarding the city centre post office, the cops essentially had their hands tied when the city needed them most.

British police typically carry no guns and were basically not permitted to interfere with the vandalism occurring the first night of the riots in Birmingham. Only if human life were threatened were they allowed to intervene. So, as in London--where the riots began--they most often could only watch as the destruction took place. Though they attempted to prevent and stop the rioters on the second night, it did little good (the riots grew worse and three people were murdered).

Only on the third night of riots in Brum were the police given the power to use rubber bullets. But, by then, the riots were over.

8 Aug: After the noise...

2.30 am. Kept busy with the swarm of rioters at the city centre from early evening until late in the night, the police finally arrived on battered Bromsgrove Street. They patrolled the city in large groups, stood watch on corners, but Birmingham is a city of many alleys and slender streets where a criminal--or a thousand--may hide. And by 2.30, it didn't matter--the wave of youthful, hoody-clad crime had already made its loud and furious way out towards the fringes of the city by then.

The wound and the bandage

A few "before and after" shots of some damaged stores in the city centre:

Santander, New Street, 9 Aug and 18 Aug

Supercuts, New Street, 9 Aug and 10 Aug

Cafe Rouge, near New Street, 9 Aug (2) and 18 Aug

Store on Hurst Street, 9 Aug and 10 Aug

8 Aug: Half-past midnight on the first night of the riots

I wrote an email to my project manager earlier in the evening, letting her know that my coworker and I were safe amidst the riots that had begun in Birmingham that day. A few hours later, I wrote another email, part of which is below:

The rioting reached our area well over an hour ago and continues to grow worse. The police are overwhelmed and there are too many streets, nooks and crannies in the city for them to effectively contain the destruction. Over 30 arrests were made earlier this evening, at least, but there are LOTS of people below destroying shops, etc.

We're hoping that we remain safe here but the potential for setting fires around the city is still out there, which is our greatest fear right now, of course. I can hardly hear myself think for the variety of sirens and alarms going off outside as glass continues to break and objects beat metal amidst the angry yelling from the hooded people. Whether we go into work tomorrow or how long we stay there if we go will depend on the situation here. The streets are owned by the vandals and their racing car counterparts right now.

9 Aug: Moving from one crime scene to another

The riot vans leave Bromsgrove Street headed towards the Bullring. The couples walking around the corner and the people in the cars were patrons of a nearby business (restaurant or theater) held there for safety until the streets were secured by the police.

14 Aug: Preventative measures at the Bullring

As a Sunday meal with a friend ended at the Bullring Cafe Rouge, I noticed workmen taking sheets of plywood out of a nearby, entirely glazed storefront. We walked to the store and asked if they were putting up the boards every night. They were.

There hadn't been any riot activity for four nights but many shops kept their unbroken windows boarded. In fact, though most returned their storefronts to normal the Monday after the riots, some businesses yet remain wary -- as I write this, it's been about two and a half weeks since the chaos ended but at least a handful of Birmingham's shops are still hidden under a plywood armor.