Ghettoes of the mind

Oct 3 2008 By Aidan Jones

"I stayed at home for a long time after the attack," says Reis Stanislaus, 19, recalling an incident two years ago when he and his younger brother Stacy were set on by a group of 15 youths.

"We were on the way home from the cinema, waiting at a bus stop when these boys saw us from the top of the bus. Bang, that was it."

"I'm not going to lie... I get scared on the road," adds 17-year-old Stacy. "Some kids out there decide they just don't like you. That's good enough these days for it to happen."

The "it" is inevitably means being stabbed, beaten or robbed.

With a grimace Stacy, who lives in east London but joins his brother every Friday night for the Pathways2Progress programme at the West Kensington Estate, in Lillie Road, explains how he has to 'represent' three postcodes; E8, E5 and E9 just to stay out of trouble.

"If I get stopped and forget to say one of those, that's enough for someone to kill me. It does my head in."

"You want to know why do they do it?" asks West Ken local Luke Angol, 17, with a wry smile. "Wrong area: stepping on their trainers by accident, making too much eye contact... anything. I've had someone say I'm wearing their colour. I was wearing white and white's 'their' colour. What can you say to that?"

From their size and demeanour they do not look like natural victims but Reis, Stacy and Luke have all faced harrassment and threats on the street.

They accept it as part of daily life and do their best to avoid conflict at the same time as looking capable of handling it.

Sitting in resident's hall office, the trio strike confident and articulate figures, determined to make a difference to themselves and their communities.

Reis, who admits to being a handful at school, recently passed his driving test paid for by overtime shifts at Tesco's.

Not to be outdone, his brother - who left school without any grades - wants to be driving next year. "I'll chuck away my Oyster card, when I get there."

Luke has just finished performing in 365 - a play shown at the Lyric, Hammersmith.

All three are training to become mentors to the younger children in the area. But they know all too well the grip gangs, drugs and fear has over local youngsters.

Enter Twilight Bey, a 38-year-old father of three whose knowledge of social intervention schemes was forged in the gang-ridden projects of his native Los Angeles.

As an 18-year-old he helped to bring together the warring Bloods and Crips gangs in LA's notorious Watts and Compton districts.