oD Today A weblog from the editors, staff and friends of openDemocracy.net

More explosions in London today

by Becky Hogge

Just to let all oD Today readers know after today's news, that the openDemocracy team is safe and sound. 

July 21, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

"London United"

by Karolin Schaps

When I went to Trafalgar Square just last week to witness London winning the Olympic Bid 2012 I encountered joy, happiness and excitement.

The contrast to what Trafalgar Square looked like yesterday evening could not have been any starker.

Instead of tears of joy people shed tears of sorrow. What struck me most was seeing London's mayor Ken Livingstone wiping his eyes with a tissue backstage right after he had made his speech. He must be devastated. I caught him having a refreshment after making his speech in the scorching sun to thousands of people.

Next to Ken there were speakers of different faiths, together with celebrities, such as newsreader Sir Trevor McDonald, calling Londoners to stay strong together, regardless their faith or ethnicity.

Everybody listened in silence, clapping every few seconds in agreement with statements of encouragement.

TV crews and photographers were running in between the crowd, stopping to interview and photograph the spectators.

Many had brought their own banners and posters. Others were holding white balloons as a sign of sorrow.

It was a touching an memorable event. Seeing thousands of Londoners shoulder to shoulder certainly proves that they stand united against the threats.

July 15, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

A Muslim culture of victimhood?

by oD_Guest

Rachel Bloul

A Muslim culture of victimhood? This is the wrong diagnosis of a political, not religious or cultural, problem.

There is a very popular argument which sees the popularity of radical Muslim activism of the kind which finds its most extreme expression in bombing attacks, as being fed by a ‘culture of victimhood’ among Muslims in various places around the world. Such a culture of victimhood, it is said, nourishes anti-Western sentiments, and can more or less easily become the breeding ground of violent expressions of resentment.

As I reflect upon the latest bombings in London and the sociological profiles of those Leeds young men implicated in the attacks, the possibly pernicious consequences of the assumptions behind the ‘culture of victimhood’ argument become clear. The ‘surprise’ and ‘astonishment’ upon learning the identity of the ‘homegrown’ perpetrators as expressed by various acquaintances, informed bystanders and the like were echoed all over the media. But what is so surprising or astonishing?

There are two points that I want to discuss here.

Continue reading "A Muslim culture of victimhood?"

July 14, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

From a concerned bystander

by oD_Guest

Aaron Rosenthal

We had to wait at the ticket barriers at London Bridge for a couple of minutes; we were told there had been a power surge. It’s not uncommon to wait to get down onto the tube at London Bridge, and we all rushed down to get a tube to work once they opened up. It was as busy as usual and a bit of a squeeze. I spotted an attractive girl on the train and was trying to make eye contact with her.

We were told the train was bypassing Bank because of the power surge. Then Moorgate. A few people grumbled; I was alright as I had to go all the way to Kentish Town. I was getting quite uncomfortable standing in the heat with little room to stand, but I swear the girl looked at me and smiled so it wasn’t too bad.

Continue reading "From a concerned bystander"

July 12, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The politics of denial

by oD_Guest

Allen Feldman

Throughout the 1970s and 80s the Provisional IRA set off bombs in London for one major strategic purpose: shifting the front line of warfare from the streets of Belfast and Derry to the streets of London-- in short these bombs were an attempt to deghettoize the Northern Irish conflict and to transform it into a UK wide issue and everyday reality for the British public.

For almost three decades, internecine sectarian conflict, state torture and shoot-to-kill arrests, and the suspension of common rules of law and civil liberties were facts of life in one part of the United Kingdom, which by and large were ignored, accepted or normalized by the rest of the British body politic.

The IRA strategy was a misguided and inexcusable attempt to confront this politics of denial among the general British public and to create a politics of collective accountability for what they perceived as the social suffering of the minority community in Northern Ireland.

The 7/7 attack on London effectively moved the frontline of the insurgency/counter insurgency in Iraq to the streets of London, just as the front line was moved into the streets of Madrid last year due to the Spanish military presence in Iraq. The attack has also mobilized a new politics of denial: that the London bombings were inevitable due to long-term Islamic fanaticism and have only an incidental connection to Tony Blair’s foreign policy in Iraq.

Continue reading "The politics of denial"

July 11, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

A World Citizen

by Grace Davies

Today oD's London office received sad news from a friend and contributor to openDemocracy, John Adeleke, illustrating only too starkly the ongoing pain and suffering caused by Thursday's terrorist attacks. He writes:

"Glad you're recovering from the cruel acts of Thursday. We've just had some sad news. The son of family friends Marie and Alan Fatayi-Williams, it appears may have been killed by one of the bombs. Ironically his late grand-father was one one of our most respected Chief Justices, and a staunch moslem, from Lagos. We're all hoping that it might just be a case of mistaken identity."

Marie has travelled to London from Nigeria to try to find her son Anthony Fatayi-Williams, whom she describes as a "world citizen". The BBC carries a report on her story, as she calls for an end to "this vicious cycle of killing":

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4671367.stm 

July 11, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Who was behind the London attacks?

by oD_Guest

Peter Neumann

Just in case you wondered what the authorities are doing at this very moment: the police are reviewing 1800 hours of CCTV footage from across London, and the forensic scientists are piecing together the four explosive devices from tons of rubble. Both activities are aimed at finding out who was responsible for the London attacks: the viewing of the CCTV tapes will help to identify the individuals that carried the bombs onto the trains, whereas the reconstruction of the bomb will provide vital clues as to what group was responsible. (Bomb-making is a special skill that terrorist groups  entrust to a relatively small number of people. As a result, almost every bomb carries the ‘handwriting' of a particular individual or group.)

At the moment, everything you hear about the identity or the modus operandus of the possible attackers is pure speculation. Generally, though, there are two theories which should be taken seriously. The first is that this was an attack by a completely new group, which has little if any association with the existing networks. This would explain why the police had no indication at all that an attack was on the way. It would also make it plausible why there was no increased chatter or activity among known Islamists, which the intelligence services would have picked up. The second is that this attack is somehow linked to Al Qaeda. This would make sense given the nature of the attacks, which - with multiple, no warning bombings aimed at the transport infrastructure - are almost identical to previous Al Qaeda attacks, most prominently those in Madrid last year. It would also tie in with the two claims of responsibility that have been received thus far.

Continue reading "Who was behind the London attacks? "

July 11, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (1)

Nature’s Grenade

by oD_Guest

Nature’s Grenade

Candida Clark

Before we drove back to London ­
It was evening, late June, Dorset ­
We walked through the valley
Where breath came rising from seas
Of tall grass and the bracken grew curling
In licks like flames ­ we had to fight through;
A soft fight; the flames were waves ­
To get to a far point, bang in the thick of it,
Where, by the stream, there was a place to stop.
The bracken stayed rising, birds were in the high trees.
The night before, there had been a night-jar,
And we’d sat on a log to listen.

We found the spot, and you bent to pick up something
That seemed to have been cast off. You put it in my palm
Before I could see it. I shut my eyes.
It was the precise shape of a hand-grenade,
The weight not far off, the texture almost true;
Cold, too, and sticky as though held too long
Through nerves, or indecision, before being chucked ­
At just the right moment to cause maximum creation:
Nature’s grenade; a cedar cone. They take three years to make.
The thing is on my desk right now.
It's my favourite gift from you ­
The sap oozing, the scent rising, the life waiting.

Today, wishing myself back beneath that tree,
I read how Solomon, building the temple,
Asked Hiram, King of Tyre,
For Cedars from the forests of Lebanon.
The wood transplanted, the motive went full circle -  ­
Religion running always after life.

July 9, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Bring back reason ...

by oD_Guest

Lisa Appignanesi

Irony. I first heard that anything was amiss on the day, at around ten, from my daughter who was in a field somewhere in the vicinity of the G8. 'Secure' in a double cordon of police, she was worrying about those of us on the front-line in London.

I turned on one telly, then another, then a radio, all the time trying to get hold of my son whose tube-line could all too easily have coincided with the first of the devastated ones on the screen. There was no response. And no response. Numbness. An internal crossing of fingers.

The hospital rang, but it wasn't about my son. I was being told that my partner who had gone in for a minor op that morning of all mornings was being sent home. There were other priorities.

Then, at last, the news that Josh was fine. He had arrived at the tube when it was already closed and ended up in a taxi. He was amongst the lucky ones. I took a very deep breath.

I recount all this because I'm certain it's a story that can be replicated with slightly different inflections over the entire map of london - and indeed abroad amongst the friends and relatives of visitors. One of its effects is that I find myself weeping (not something I'm prone to) over stories of people who are still searching for loved ones,  or who have suffered loss, or who have been damaged in the fray.

Continue reading "Bring back reason ... "

July 9, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Blog from America...

by Anthony Barnett

by Todd Gitlin

8 July 2005

Hearing the news, a pall came over America, and then:  solidarity, horror, memory, resolve, dark fatalism, and regrettably, some smugness (we got hit first so welcome to the club, New York Governor George Pataki seemed to brag while relaying good wishes to London).  Police poured into the subway cars.  Calls for spending money on rail safety, subdued for months, years, revved up.

And inevitably there were lunatic spasms.  Unimpressed by new fact, barking heads launched into messages that sounded prerecorded.  “Finish the job,” “stay the course”—these were among the cant phrases that spilled through the airwaves. 

Right-wingers lurched into rhetorical high gear.  Kimberly Strassel, a Wall Street Journal leader writer on public television tonight, thirsted for an expansion of the Patriot Act—this on a half-hour show whose entire cast of characters comes from the most right-wing editorial page in the United States.  Another Journal editor gamely maintained that the attacks proved that al-Qaeda is fading.  This had a bit of the aroma of Dick Cheney maintaining that the Iraqi insurgency is “in its last throes.”

Continue reading "Blog from America... "

July 9, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)

Yesterday at Russell Square

by Maryam Maruf

Yesterday the place where I spent four years of my life – a place which I have always associated with friends, the SOAS bar, naps in the library and even exams, but above all good times - turned into a place of uncertainty, fear and grief.

My local Tesco’s, directly opposite Russell Square tube station, was packed as usual. Tourists stocking up for the day, office workers taking all the fresh croissants, residents of the Brunswick centre doing early morning shopping (now that the Safeways has shut down) and other unidentifiable people, maybe people like me who live nearby, waiting in the line. Sometimes I recognise people, first years in my last year at SOAS, library staff, security guards. 

Yesterday morning was no different, except for the ongoing sounds of sirens, police cars, fire engines. I imagine them roaring off somewhere else, but they don’t. It comes right outside, suddenly a huge commotion at the station. Staff get out from behind their tills, shoppers hesitate but we leave the queue and our shopping. Soon after we are caught up amongst crowds of people, blue Tesco uniforms, men in orange suits, the police, fire engines, and we stood there, jostled, worried, panicked, watching people emerge from underground, and then stretchers. The police  cordon off the area. 

We all stand around waiting, not knowing what to do, or where to go. The tube staff are still saying it is a power surge. Tourists start asking directions. Some Irish students need to get to the Generator hostel off Judd street. For a second I contemplate giving directions but in the end take  them there myself. 

More fire engines go past me. I hear fragments of conversation. An explosion at Kings Cross, Euston evacuated. I get my mobile to call my best friend who lives just off Euston road, and I realise it doesn’t work. I quicken my pace, but I don’t know where I’m going.  I meet another cordon and am caught up in another crowd. This time we’re stuck. Somewhere between Marchmont street and Tavistock Place. Then just after quarter to nine, we all hear the explosion. Standing where I was, on a street I had been down so many times, I didn’t know where I was.

Suddenly something snaps. People around me  are terrified. People with wheelie suitcases and maps, not knowing where to go. Of course I knew where I was, but these people didn’t. A weird maternal instinct, a surge of protection of London and everyone around me kicks  in. The B & Bs on the street open their doors – people  are let in, given access to pay phones, and – something which made me smile and feel proud – provided with cups of tea.

A policeman who bizarrely enough I recognise tells me to get out of here and home, and not to leave my house. 

I finally get out and on to Guilford street, with throngs of other people. Instead of going straight down towards my flat, I take a right onto Lambs Conduit, then down Great Ormond Street to the hospital. People come with me and we wait in line to give blood.

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)

Responsibilities

by oD_Guest

Naima Bouteldja

“The crucial question is to know what is the support for Al Qaeda amongst British Muslims”, a BBC reporter was quick to comment on TV last night. He went on to claim that 8% of British Muslims supported the efforts of the so-called enigmatic organisation ‘Al Qaeda’ and its mysterious, almost mythical subterranean leader, Bin Laden. These comments were, of course, cunningly mixed with others from the familiar faces of mainstream press and politicians alike stating that these attacks had nothing to do with Islam, and that the vast majority of Muslims vehemently rejected violence.

It is still very hard to forecast how the ‘British public’ will react although it has largely shown in the past a greater degree of tolerance and wisdom than its ruling class. However there is a great fear that the British government could use these terrible and totally unjustified attacks to push forward its assault on civil liberties, with its anti-terror legislation and the probable introduction of ID biometric cards, inflicting even more suffering on innocent people at home and abroad.

When the IRA was committing attacks on British soil, a few courageous politicians such as former ‘Red’ Ken Livingstone, continued to lobby for the withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland, seeing the violence as a manifestation of a political situation of Britain’s making.

It is now the responsibility of the anti-war movement and the British people to take the streets again and to demand, “troops out of Iraq and justice not vengeance”. It is also the responsibility of all Muslims not to isolate themselves and to keep working jointly with all the many progressive forces at a grassroots level, as they have been doing over the last four years. Finally, it is the responsibility of the journalists and media not to fuel fear and anger amongst ordinary people, but to perform their duties with accuracy and independence for the sake of community cohesion.

Continue reading "Responsibilities"

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

The Real Thing

by Anthony Barnett

I had a call from Sam in the office warning me not to get the tube as there had been a power surge at Liverpool Street. Then a shout from my partner, "its the real thing".

I had left my computer at the office! Unlike Bill Thompson (see below) I had to fall back to the steam age and watch television. I saw a police officer tell me he was in operational control of my city and everyone should stay where they are.

The mobile phone connection went dead. It was terrible over the course of the morning to know that people were dying below ground. There was one advantage of watching TV. You could see how the broadcasters were eager to stir, seeking sensation, demanding to know about panic and alarm! Despite this, even when shaken and bleeding, eyewitnesses were careful and matter of fact.

This morning, I went down to catch the tube. I missed a train. Saw it pulling out in front of me. Usually I curse at the prospect of a wait for the next one, as London Transport is not famous for its frequency and reliability. Today, as I saw the carriages pass, my heart filled and I smiled. There were full. Everyone was behaving - no, was choosing to behave - as normal. On the next train too. We were all there, the ugly and the attractive; the resigned and those with hope; even those with haliotosis - I was glad to see them all.

A friend said when she walked out this morning she saw buses with more people on top than below.

Deciding to go about your business as normal is not the same as everyday normal. It makes the everyday a small act of freedom. Fearless? No, it isn’t rhetorical or exaggerated. It isn’t war. It is simply choosing to live.

And I did not have to wait too long for the next train either.

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Brick Lane in the morning

by Elinor Zuke

I never realised how busy Brick Lane always is until it wasn’t. I was sorely aware this morning on my way to openDemocracy’s office that I had no tikka touts, courier bicycles or even asymmetrical haircuts to bustle past. I guess all London is still slowly returning from the shadows, but something about a quiet Brick Lane was particularly potent.

Brick Lane has long been a first generation immigrant community; from Huguenots to Irish, Jews to the current Bangladeshi community. Traces from all these groups are visible all around in architecture, shops and cafes, but something’s changed recently. Nothing tangible, but the air somehow hardened when a van of riot police drove up Hanbury Street, in anticipation of violence, on 5 May.

Continue reading "Brick Lane in the morning"

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

The phantom of Madrid

by oD_Guest

Ivan Briscoe, Editor English edition of El Pais

The scenes of deformed, twisted metal are all too familiar in Madrid. So horrifying and upsetting were the images of the March 11 attacks last year that newspapers and television stations agreed with victims' groups to stop showing them. But 15 months later, the images come back, like a phantom visitation, yet this time in a different, bigger city, a place that madrilenos look to and adore. Words are inadequate to describe how this feels; a numbing despair, perhaps

Madrid, however, has generated its lessons. The first is obvious, but very hard to digest: this is not over yet. If they were not suicide bombers, then they may be ready to continue the campaign, just as the March 11 ring sought to do with an attack on a high-speed train. Second, avoid at all costs politicizing the bombings, for the dispute will wrangle on and amplify and end up turning corpses into cheap arguments - which is what the terrorist themselves maintain.

In Spain, the timing of the attacks three days before the elections served to polarize political opinion on a multitude of issues (there is no agreement any more in Madrid). This will not be London or Britain's problem.

But in other ways, venom, as Ken Livingstone warned, will seek its way into the body social and politic. This is the other phantom waiting to reappear.

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Extraordinary London

by oD_Guest

Huda Jawad
http://www.forwardthinking.org

I feel shock, anger, dread and intimidation. I and my friends have individually shed personal tears yesterday for what happened, all those innocent individuals who chose London as their home, place of work or tourist destination  - believing it (and rightly so) to be one of the most unique cities in the world with much history, character and above all a place where everyone can be, can belong - were randomly and callously caught up in the carnage.

I remember when I was a young girl living in Damascus, hearing adults talking about London being a city where you can be anything, wear anything and eat anything without people batting an eyelid. I used to sit listening in wonderment at such a magical place where dreams and wishes were realised if you really worked hard. And above all, this is why I think multi-cultural London was targeted. The bombs were not planted near or targeted at government institutions, financial blocks or politicians. The target was the extraordinary Londoner, who easily and skilfully manages to walk and sail through the complex and confusing actual and imagined boundaries of London, where you gain your uniqueness and ‘extra-ordinariness’ by giving and taking from living in the city.

Targeting the extraordinary Londoner was a way to strip us and take away from us the wonderful gift of being a people of multiple identities, cultures and interests and our ability to be united in our love and loyalty to London. The sheer number of people that turned out to work in quiet defiance this morning dashes the hopes of these criminals who thought that they could disable our resolve to stay true to our London heritage, that of valuing difference, seeking respect in diversity and loving others through tolerance and acceptance. Oh what little they know about London and its people.

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

"It didn't seem like London"

by oD_Guest

Louisa Hart, 21, Sales Analyst

"I work right next to Aldgate tube station. Luckily, I was already safe at my desk when the bomb here exploded. At first noone here was sure of what was going on.

We were all viewing the happening from the window. There were hundreds of police, ambulances and fire engines pulling up outside the station. There were also a few unmarked cars with sirens which were making people suspicious about the fact that it was only supposedly a power surge.

After the third bombing we were then asked to stay in the building and all the streets around were closed off.

This morning on my way to work it just didn't seem like I was in London. I walked from Bank to Aldgate and the streets were really empty. The streets are still all closed off and it is extremly quiet around the office. It will take London a while to get back to normal as now anything slightly suspicious is going to be taken as a serious concern."

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

"We heard the blast of the bus"

by oD_Guest

Melanie Clements, Researcher, University College London

"Yesterday was a long-awaited day in London and my over-riding view is that it was not in any way as bad as I expected it to be. Although we have no idea of the final numbers of people involved and my thoughts go out to them, considering the numbers of people who move through London every morning the devastation caused could have been so much worse.

I was on the northern line tube when the tunnel blasts went off and we were all informed that due to a power failure our train was not stopping after Euston on the Bank branch. I got off at Euston so wasn't worried but was concerned when thousands of people were trying to get out of Euston station and was just contemplating what a disaster there would be if there was a fire at that point in time.

Continue reading ""We heard the blast of the bus""

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

"It brings back memories"

by oD_Guest

Nieves Gutierrez, employee at the Spanish embassy

"I deeply condemn these atrocities. As a Spaniard I can only sympathise with Lonoonders at the moment, having lived through a similar experience last year.

Luckily, I wasn't directly affected by yesterday's bombings, but safe in my office. However, when I wanted to go back home in the evening, my travel time took me about three times as long as it usually does.

It does bring back memories, but I think that the British media handle the situation a lot better than the Spanish did. I am glad they are not publishing as many horrifying pictures as we had of the Madrid bombings."

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

London will recover soon

by oD_Guest

Daniel Kramb, 22, German student living in East London

"When I got into the office at around 9.30am yesterday morning there was talk about a power surge at Aldgate East (5 min away from where I work) and that therefore a lot of people would not be able to make it in. From then onwards we watched the tragedy evolving on TV and relevant websites.

As soon as we realised what had happened we called relatives and friends to tell them we are fine and to make sure that they are safe too.

At around 12 o'clock we all decided to go home, most of us by bike, others walking, but most importantly on our quickest way home.

The most bizarre experience was to see Brick Lane, a usually vibrant street in East London, completely deserted and quiet. It was a very strange day.

I think that London will find its way back into normality quite easily. On the one hand because London was in a way prepared for the attack and can therefore deal with it much better and on the other hand because the damages were a lot smaller than what happened in Madrid or New York.

I believe that the British government will use yesterday's attack as an argument to support the War on Terror and probably as a new way to promote ID cards."

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Londoners KBO

by oD_Guest

James Crabtree

I missed Edgware Road station by around only 10 minutes in the morning. Then we couldn't find where my dad was most of the morning. Its terrifying not knowing where your family are; the imagination runs away with reason. But he turned up, found himself stranded in London, and in the end we two walked the three hours to my house. This was heartening. Thousands walked; people offered lifts; water was handed out; people were nice to each other. It gave the first glimpse, I think, of what we must take out of this: the worst things people do bring the best out of people too.  I've come back to my parents in Oxford today; though I went through a fairly eerily empty tube this morning to get here. But there and elsewhere I sensed no great anger. People will not blame Blair, nor ought they. Instead Londoners are resigned, in the best possible way: we are sad, we understand that these things do happen, and we are keen not to let it get in the way of life. Which is the right reaction, to my way of thinking. They got us; but they won't get us down. As Churchill said, we must KBO: “Keep Buggering On”.

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (1)

On the "long expected" attacks.

by oD_Guest

Roger Scruton

The attacks that London has suffered have been long expected and were well prepared. Moreover we know very well what caused them. Long before Britain's involvement in the war in Iraq, long before September 11th, the Wahabite loonies have been preaching murder and resentment in our mosques, and the ghouls of al-Muhajiroun have been recruiting young men and women to the cause of mass murder. Our government wishes to criminalise 'religious hatred', but is blind to the real form that it takes - not the legitimate criticism of Islamic extremism that most of us would wish to make, but the incitement to holy war in the name of Islam. It is time for law-abiding Muslims to get together and expel the haters from their midst. If they do not do so, then they will irrevocably damage the image of their religion, and maybe even justify our government in its latest attack on our freedoms.

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

What I have to say...

by oD_Guest

Allen Rasek

"I think that anyone would condemn these atrocious acts, no matter which community they belong to. Why did innocent human beings have to be targeted? As a living person, this leaves me deeply shocked.

I am sure this day will stay in people's minds for a long time. You can tell that everybody feels very insecure when travelling. I am glad that I don't have to travel on the tube.

On the other hand, the Islamic government in Iran has done many more horrible things by killing hundred thousands of political prisoners. This is why I haven't returned to my home country since I first came to London to study."

Allen Rasek, 64, is an Iranian case worker at London's Iranian Community Centre.

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Middle East media reactions

by Alya

The Middle Eastern media has been quick to condemn the London bombings.  The Gulf-based dailies have all filled their editorial pages with condemnation of the attacks, with al-Hayat insisting that such attacks will never work in favour of Muslim interests.

Last night, al-Jazeera aired a panel discussion in which some commentators insisted that the bombing was a response to the "massacres in Iraq".  Other voices on the programme reminded the audience that terrorist attacks were taking place well before the war with Iraq and we should be careful about "cause and effect" theories.

The editorial in Lebanon's Daily Star offers an interesting perspective, arguing that the perpetrators weren't Muslims (even if they claim to be) and the victims are Muslims around the world.
 

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Friends and readers write

by Sarah Lindon

After yesterday’s calls and messages from family, friends and colleagues, this morning I arrived to messages from openDemocracy’s friends and readers around the world. Many voiced sympathy and solidarity. A number expressed more complex – and sometimes less generous - emotions.

So far, they come from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Egypt, France, Germany, India, Israel, Italy, New Zealand, Palestine, South Africa, Spain, the UK, the US and Venezuela.

Isabel Hilton’s letter, published in the afternoon, and the accompanying evening email, “Letter from wounded London”, attracted much support but also concern.

Continue reading "Friends and readers write"

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)

Watching from afar

by Bill Thompson

I didn't go in to London from my home in Cambridge yesterday. I didn't arrive at Kings Cross station and get on the Piccadilly Line down to Holborn and the BBC, or go round the Circle Line to Farringdon and walk through Clerkenwell Green to the openDemocracy office.  And so when my dad called just after nine am to ask if I was ok I was able to reassure him before asking what had prompted his call.

And then I turned to the web. I didn't want television or radio, didn't want to be consumed by the images and the sounds and the constant repetition of the few known facts coupled with speculation and uncertainty.  Perhaps it was about reasserting a sense of control in the world, about being able to make my own choices instead of relying on the editorial judgement of others.

Continue reading "Watching from afar"

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

From London to Gleneagles

by od editor

Isabel Hilton

Attention is divided in London today. At Gleneagles the G8 is coming to a conclusion of its discussions. In London millions of workers have made separate decisions about trying to come in or staying at home. Emergency workers, forensic experts and medical staff are working round the clock. In the hospitals the gravely wounded are fighting for their lives. On the buses and in the street people continue to exchange experiences on mobile phones. 

In the chorus of reaction there has been a strong and consistent message: that open societies are vulnerable, but  they must stay open, nevertheless. There is another message from yesterday. Millions of people marched against the war in Iraq, as Mary Kaldor points out. In the last two weeks, hundreds of thousands have demonstrated  against their political leaders over climate change and poverty in Africa, people who came out to argue their case, to try to change political priorities. They did so firmly, democratically and peacefully. Whatever the disagreements within our imperfect democracies, neither leaders nor citizens are divided in their rejection of the nihilism expressed by yesterday’s bombs.

However many victims terrorism claims, more die of hunger and disease. The devastating effects of climate change put the lives of millions at risk. The victims of such forces  -  more created and willed than "natural" - are of all faiths and none. World hunger and disease, poverty and debt, Africa and climate change are issues of serious politics and they claim our serious engagement. In their vast mobilisations, the G8 protestors, the Make Poverty History campaigners, and the Live8 audiences understood this; the London bombers saw what Mary Kaldor calls this "extraordinary period" in history merely as a means of maximising publicity.

July 8, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

London responds online

by Solana Larsen

Steve Clift at Do-Wire has set up a wiki link list for all the internet responses to the London bombings - especially first person accounts and images. Please update the page if you know of any other good blogs or websites, and check back again soon.

http://dowire.org/wiki/London_responds

There's also this new page on Wikipedia explaining the events of the day. Watch it morph throughout the week as more evindence turns up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2005_London_transport_explosions

July 7, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

Condemning attacks

by Solana Larsen

It's only a matter of time before the European press begins to chase down any Islamic organisation that doesn't publicly condemn the bombings in London - as if that in some way signifies endorsement of terrorism. How horrible to be suspected of agreeing with gross violence simply on the basis of religion.

Muslim leaders keep your statements ready, the journalists are coming.

Here's an early statement by email from The Federation of Student Islamic Societies in the UK & Ireland (FOSIS): "We are shocked and distressed by these incidents which has hit our country's capital and our thoughts and prayers are with all those who suffered injuries and the families of those who have lost their lives. We continue to condemn in no uncertain terms all such cowardly acts of violence."

Peace.

July 7, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (6) | TrackBack (0)

Today in London

by Becky Hogge

The contrast couldn't be greater. After scenes of jubilation yesterday at the success of our Olympic bid, come scenes of destruction.

openDemocracy is flying at half-mast today. Those of us that have made it into the office are struggling through a normal working day. A lot of us walked in today, some through the centre of the city, witnessing all. One of our interns arrived visibly shaken up by what she'd seen. Family members and former colleagues are keeping the phone lines busy.

I'm trying to leave unanalysed the morbid fascination which is making me refresh this thread over at metafilter every five minutes.

Isabel's just written this first reaction to the bombings and Tom has the Gleneagles response.

July 7, 2005 in The London Bombings | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)