Attitudes have changed, but cuts threaten the good work

SITTING in a small unassuming office off Manningham Lane, surrounded by leaflets and posters promising a brighter future, Zirak Nafees talks quietly about the progress that has been made in the area over the past decade and the speed at which it could be undone.

The 30-year-old trained under the Bradford Youth Team Initiative, an organisation which helped transform inner city youngsters into community leaders. But despite being commended in the 2001 Ouseley report, it ran out of funding five years later.

He is now youth development leader at the Bradford Youth Development Partnership. which works with eight to 25-year-olds at risk of getting into antisocial behaviour and crime.

The organisation has emerged relatively unscathed as Bradford Council implements the biggest cuts in a generation – more than £30m of savings have been announced for the coming year alone. But like many in the city, he fears the prevention work that has taken place over the past decade could be tipped quickly into decline.

“I was on holiday in Turkey in 2001 and saw the riots on TV,” he says. “I couldn’t believe it was something the young people I knew, or anybody else, could get involved with. The majority of the young people didn’t fully understand the consequences of their actions. They were on the streets throwing bottles and they couldn’t comprehend the full extent of the disaster that they had unleashed.

“From 10 years ago until now there has been a lot of development in terms of community cohesion – the projects we have run have seen young people more comfortable in discussing differences. There has been a lot of money invested into a diverse range of youth projects, but over the years the funding has definitely decreased and we know next year we will be harder hit.

“If there is any anger a couple of years down the line, I worry we will not be able to stop it.”

His fears are echoed by fellow youth leader Sofia Mahmood. “The riots really destroyed the Asian community and the families who were affected,” the 28-year-old says.

“Last year we had community workers on the radio and on the streets saying the English Defence League are coming and don’t react. A lot of the voluntary sector across Bradford got together and said we are going to make sure something like this does not happen again.

“This next generation of young people is the first that didn’t experience the Bradford riots first hand and while intervention work in the past five years has been absolutely brilliant, it’s scary how many social dangers there are now from gang culture to gun and knife crime.

“There is more trust and belief in the police, but also not as much fear as there used to be of the system. When funding is cut from good projects, the young people are just left.

“Vulnerable young males, white, black or Asian are going to need support. If we cannot give our next generation of young people the motivation to make them community leaders, then how are we going to move forward?” Voluntary sector groups in the area say much of the new funding being made available comes from the Government’s multi-million pound Prevent scheme, which was set up to tackle violent extremism.

However, some, such as the Keighley Women and Children’s Centre, also commended in the Ouseley report but now facing a funding black hole, are refusing to apply for a slice of the cash saying it is not relevant to the work that they do.

Naz Kazmi, manager of the centre which helps teenagers into work, says: “The Government should invest more into the community, especially organisations that help and support young people.

“Home Office funding came to an end in March and at the moment we are getting Bradford Council funding, but it is not enough.

“The younger people now have a different perspective on life.

“When the EDL came around this time, because of the hard work of everybody, people kept away from the town centre.

“Everybody was against it and it showed that people have moved on. The people who were there at the riots 10 years ago are now adults and we have a new generation coming through.

“However, they still need a lot of help. Whether we are funded or not the good work carries on, but we need funding to keep the centres open.

“If that doesn’t happen, then it is going to hit home very hard.”