Group that aims to win the peace

EIGHT years ago Oldham was making the headlines for all the wrong reasons as the borough was hit by three days of race riots.

But one multi-award-winning anti-racist group, which was established well before the outbreak of the trouble in May, 2001, claims problems existed long before they burst to the surface.

Reporter USMA RAJA spoke to PeaceMaker chief executive Raja Miah MBE about his perception of the riots and the work being done to spread the message of peace.

PEACEMAKER was born in Oldham in 1997 after a group of young British Asians who eagerly wanted change approached Raja Miah.

They were deeply concerned by the depressing slide into segregation witnessed by them and wanted to take action to reverse it.

PeaceMaker was set up with a small group of volunteers, who kicked off a range of community initiatives with simple aims: “To defend and increase the opportunities for others they themselves had enjoyed while growing up. And opportunities to meet and befriend other young people from different communities and ethnicity”.

The youngsters used their informal networks and youth club contacts to promote a climate of multi-cultural growth in their home town.

Meanwhile, poverty and economic stagnation, according to PeaceMaker, were seeming to conspire to create all the conditions for social breakdown, which came in the form of the Oldham riots in May, 2001.

PeaceMaker was already a voice in the community by then and had ideas which offered hope in the aftermath of what many northern towns were experiencing.

Over the years, the group has carried out a wide portfolio of work promoting racial diversity.

This has included visiting schools and running refugee and asylum-seeker projects to educate segregated groups about the different cultures, and mentoring young people.

PeaceMaker has offered a chance for dialogue between divided communities, who would usually not meet, by going out to areas which are either predominately Asian or white and giving these groups opportunities to meet and exchange ideas.

By 2006, PeaceMaker had emerged as a major player in promoting community cohesion.

Its projects have grown to include training and support for school children, young people and adults, and for organisations of all kinds throughout the country.

PeaceMaker’s work led to it being selected by the Government’s Futurebuilders programme in 2006 for substantial investment to support its next phase of growth.

Mr Miah explained: “PeaceMaker is always ready to engage at all levels with those who wish to ensure Britain never again sinks to the low point of 2001’s riots and work with anyone who wants to build an inclusive, multi-cultural Britain.

“At the beginning we found that people in different areas were competing with each other for Government resources.

“There were fallouts from that and the losers felt overlooked and left behind.

“The race riots didn’t arise in 2001, certain events that were taking place before triggered them, and we had a desire to help make a positive change.

“While people were trying to work out what to do, we had already devised a project. We targeted communities across the borough — from Sholver and Derker to Glodwick and Coldhurst.”

Mr Miah said their research found that people had issues that stemmed from frustration and not having an avenue to express them.

He added: “People were reluctant to engage with each other because of perception.

“We worked with young people from Sholver and other communities and have continued to run after-school citizenship and myth-busting sessions.”

But where is the town eight years on from the riots?

Mr Miah said: “Racism is fuelled by people’s beliefs and attitudes, and that simply holds them back.

“We have worked with thousands of young people who now recognise that they have more in common to unite them than to divide them.

“They have also realised that poverty is not exclusive to one group, and that the key is to work together to combat challenges rather than to blame one another.

“The race riots was a springboard for us, and ever since we have been training organisations across the country.

“We have also worked with between 40 to 50 local primary schools to develop an awareness about diversity.”

The group has had a partnership with St Augustine School, covering topics such as human rights, citizenship and equality and diversity.

On the group’s success, Mr Miah added: “We measure our success by looking at people and the difference PeaceMaker has made to them. We hope we have changed their opinions on diversity.

“What makes us successful is the young people who use our service. I am proud to say that young people who were beneficiaries of PeaceMaker are now delivering the work for us — which is brilliant!

“We have more than achieved what we set out to do back in 1997. Our work has now expanded into other areas such as training and advising organisations on extremism as it is a contentious issue right now.”

Laura Richardson (19) has attended PeaceMaker’s project since she was 12, and then worked for the group as a peer educator for several years.

She said: “PeaceMaker has provided invaluable opportunities for me that, growing up in Oldham, I would otherwise not have had.

“I have been able to make friends with and understand people from different cultures, not just in Oldham but from around the world. I, along with other young people, have also been able to influence government policy and help improve opportunities for other young people.”