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Hampstead PC James Day, co-founder of MAAMA (Mothers Against
Aggression And Murder) and Comedy School worker Jo Rouse,
with David Harkness, Joseph Hinds and Sean Nevin, friends
of Tommy Winston |
Teens admit: 'Knife deaths left us scared'
Play delivers anti-violence message
as pupils voice fear about safety on streets
TEENAGERS have spoken of their fear of being attacked in
the wake of two killings in Camden Town and Kentish Town this
year.
Melissa Cuff, 14, who watched the staging of an anti-weapon
play, It’s No Joke, at Parliament Hill School in Highgate
on Thursday, said afterwards that the knifing of Mahir Osman
and Tommy Winston, both 18, in separate attacks had left her
and her friends feeling scared.
She said: “Since the deaths of Tommy and Mahir we’ve
had discussions about it between friends. It doesn’t feel
safe any more. Anyone could carry a knife or get stabbed. I
definitely feel scared.”
After the play, staged by the Comedy School, a theatre company
supported by the police, friends of Tommy Winston warned youngsters
about the dangers involved in carrying knives and guns.
Leanne Nelson, 15, who attends Parliament Hill School, felt
the play’s message had hit home with its young audience.
She said: “One of Tommy’s friends said how three of
his mates had died and it just goes to show how many people
carry knives and have been hurt.” It’s No Joke, first
seen in Camden two years ago, has been touring secondary schools
in the borough. It uses humorous sketches to promote an anti-violence
message.
The company’s motto is “If they’re laughing they’re
listening”. Director Keith Palmer, a former stand-up comic,
said: “It is through humour we can communicate with young
people.”
Inspector Paul Peplow, from Hampstead Police Station, said the
recent killings had given the play a greater poignancy.
He added that posters warning against weapon use are to go up
on bus shelters and buses in Camden Town at the end of this
month. The posters were designed by pupils at Acland Burghley
School, which Tommy Winston attended.
PC James Day, who held a question-and-answer session after the
play, said: “It’s brilliant that they respect the
message about knives. If a knife is out there it can end up
getting used. The red mist comes down in the heat of the moment.”
Jo Rouse, who co-founded Mothers Against Aggression and Murder
12 years ago and now works for Comedy School, said: “It
doesn’t stop with a child who takes a weapon on the street.
There is a ripple effect. It stops with the knock on the door.
“Either your child has been murdered or has murdered someone.
Then both families start a life sentence.” |
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