Farooq Siddique: A Muslim in Bristol
When was the last time you walked through Easton? Or drove through, except along the arterial Stapleton Road, and even then with the doors locked and as fast as possible?
It's true, Easton has a bad reputation; a destructive concoction of drugs, prostitution and a host of other ailments, affecting the aspirations and self-worth of the people living here. A side the media focuses on.
Last week, Common Purpose invited me to take a group of BBC TV and radio journalists on a tour of Easton, to see a side of Easton they wouldn't normally; challenging their perceptions, hopefully making them think about how they cover the area in their news reporting.
I have lived in Easton nearly 40 years. In that time, cosmetically, it has not changed that much. What has truly endured, though, and what has certainly served to mask some of the problems, has been the spirit of the people that live here.
You can still walk down the street, anywhere in Easton and smile at a complete stranger, and they smile right back. Heck, you would even be expected to say "morning" or "afternoon"! If I tried doing that in say, Clifton, I'd get a confused "are you feeling OK?" look! By the time the appropriate response was figured out, I'd be halfway down the street!
Communities here in Easton do get along. Yes, different communities! We talk to each other. We work together. The jewel in the crown of Easton is certainly St Mark's Rd. One journalist described it as a "hidden secret of Bristol that looks like a film set". In a few minutes walk, you will come across businesses run by Moroccans, Chinese, Bangladeshis, Indians, Pakistanis, Kenyans, Afro-Caribbeans and yes, of course, white Anglo-Saxons! If you haven't visited one of Easton's many cafes and restaurants, you're literally missing out on the world at your doorstep!
Nearby, Stapleton Road, once a long depressing road of boarded-up shops that no one would touch with a barge pole, is now in such demand that retail rental rates, in some parts, are equal to that of the city centre!
Some things could only ever happen in Easton; the mosque opposite the church, or the synagogue around one corner and a temple around the other. Muslims and Christians regularly talk to each other, as do Muslims and Jews; the two communities even built a radio station together, the first of its kind in Europe, broadcasting to the world from right here in Easton. The city's Multi-Faith forum is also based here. One of the quirkier sights is the anarchist community cafe, which actually displays opening and closing times! In Easton, even the anarchists succumb to the sense of community!
Easton has the highest concentration of Muslim communities living in the city but is also home to the city's highest concentration of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities – no one even bats an eyelid! We're Eastonians!
We are not all the same, we don't have to be, I wouldn't wish it to be; it's what makes "us" special.
There is vibrancy and a genuine sense of community in Easton that I don't see or feel elsewhere. It's no coincidence either that Easton is the street-party capital of the UK!
At the end of the day, having witnessed all this and more, one of the touring journalists asked: "In Bristol's recent bid to be the European City of Culture, don't you think Easton could have won the accolade all on its own?"
The fact the question was even asked spoke volumes!
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by Sean, Bristol
Tuesday, October 13 2009, 8:55PM
“I wwould hazzard a guess it isnt the only think you dont understand Ron.
Making a cup of tea would, no doubt, be a strain on your cranium.”
by Mike is Mad, Barking
Tuesday, October 13 2009, 12:28PM
“And answer this too freak.
You can spout but your rants are baseless, factless, ludicrous, poisonous and most of all pointless Mike!”
by Mike is Mad, Barking
Tuesday, October 13 2009, 7:19AM
“My, away for a day and nothing changes. Mike still doesnt answer questions directed to him.
Gosh, Xavier must be omnipresent as well as obviously omnipotent to cause such a stir. He hasnt posted in days but apparently all the delusional and paranoid racists (if I was being paranoid they are ALLLLLL Mike I tell you, alllll Mike!!) think he is around and is going to impose Sharia law or whatever. They need to get a grip of their faculties, instead of spending their friday and saturday nights in on the net, gripping something else insted of spending quality time with their familes. Friends, with Mike's attitude is only a dream apart from cyber chums but they tend to live miles away in their mums bedrooms scouring the internet on how to make bombs.
mark. you dont know the nasty little ineffectual weasil Mike as long as I have. He has no credibility or he would-
answer questions
not clam up when presented by facts
stop pretending to be two mikes when if you follow the thread through it is obviously only one.
Have you not noticed he avoids questions? Politicians with their own agendas deal with direct questions very well and skirt round them to their own advantage. Mad Bad Dad Mike on the other hand just blanks them out as though they dont exist...
Bruce, you are probably right. I am not some middle class student who niavely thinks its their calling to change the world and have a cause- before they settle down to become an accountant and drive an estate car.
I shouldnt spend so much time knocking back the slurry in human form that is Mike and his type. Tha type will become less and less prevalent in this country.
Look at the racism innocent people had to endure because of people like Mike 30 years ago. Murder. Arson. Everyday abuse both verbal and physical, lives a misery and prospects limited. The very same people like Mike, who think he is a good Christian, done that to other human beings. I doubt though mike now will get his hands dirty. he wont throw a brick through a window. Call out names ina street. petrol bomb a home. Stab, shoot and beat people just because the colour of their skin. But Mike gives support to it. Mike encourages it. Mike turns a blind eye because he hates people with a different skin. Mike is culpable in nasty crimes against people and I cant resist putting him down. The thing is he has kids, which makes his position even more riddiculous. When I had kids I gained a lot more understanding. A lot more empathy. Yet he is the type, and this isnt being dramatic, that causes significant misery to other peoples kids on a daily basis. Mike in short is scum.”
by Mike, Bristol
Monday, October 12 2009, 11:07PM
“By the way my little junkie friend, thanks for the honuor of changing you name to,"Mike is mad from Barking." You must consider my comments a threat so you know I'm telling the truth, even though you don't agree or may be you do and are trying to fight it.
Come on you know I'm right, feel free to join us with no hard feelings, love Mike”
by Mark, Downend
Monday, October 12 2009, 9:23PM
“Bruce, i dont think I am a loser putting down unintelligent freaks like Mike and gertsmallnob.
All it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing- and all that! And their evil views need consigning to the dustbin of history. Luckily the new generation is much more socially mixed than those old guys with old views.
Where is Mike, the floater in a sea of sewage?
The toad has disappeared for the day.
When you appear you ugly man (ugly by views) answer the questions asked
Your hatred seems directed towards the Asian community. Do you hate black people, Chinese, Polish etc?
How does your unpleasant views sit with your Christian beliefs? Are theyc compatible? Especially since Jesus was from the Middle East- the focus of yoir hate.
Show some credibility Mike. Stop hiding. Start answering”