Knife Crime Epidemic  

18:08... I receive a missed call...18:09... “Tino”... I ignore the message. Whilst  caught in my own fantasy, my mind is dismissive of my surroundings. 18:16... “Baptista is dead ??”... confused and shocked with horror,  I respond in a dismissive manner “what do you mean Baptista is dead, where did you hear that from?”. Entering my home, the deafening silence alarms me that something just isn’t quite right. Then it clicked.... 18:16.... “Baptista is dead”... a weight drops on my heart as I stare at my cousin, across the room. Her face gives me all the confirmation I need to understand that; Baptista is in fact dead.This concept of Baptista’s death is one that is so foreign to me that the feeling still hasn’t yet sunk in.During the funeral a close friend of Baptista described him as a “bundle of joy” constantly aiming to make others around him feel “elevated” throughout life. This statement was heavily reflected by the emotional atmosphere that commenced at his funeral.The Priest at Baptista funeral mentioned how Baptista was “everybody’s favourite”.  This was amplified by the masses of people that joined to mourn him, including the current Mayor Of Newham, representing how many lives he had touched in the short but incredible life he lived . The entrance from his mother and his younger sibling erupted emotions amongst the congregation, followed by the primary school choir who also triggered emotions throughout the funeral service. 

Baptista was a student who had outstanding characteristics that subjected him out of the conventional black Male. He was a hard working and intelligent  young male, who was supposed to have a work placement in a bank ! Baptista was studying at St Bonaventure's school in East London. His ambition was to become a professional footballer. For a number of years, he played for Flanders Football club. Coach Jeffery described him as a “Confident, respectful, fun-loving and talented young boy who had barely lived, yet evidently had impacted many during his brief life span”. Baptista projected a “thrilling energy” within the team and constantly brought electric energy. To celebrate his life, the club recently arranged a community football game and invited students from across London to gather and celebrate. On this day, it poured down with rain the whole afternoon, yet still hundreds of adolescents gathered in his name to acknowledge how important he was and how he will be missed and remembered.It was almost impossible to have any other feeling but that of happiness whilst in his presence. Baptista’s infectious legendary smile will forever be remembered by his loved ones.

May I remind you that Baptista was a  young 15 year old boy... an adolescent.... a minor.... stabbed to death by another 15 year old boy in response to a minor argument. This behaviour must be tackled. My generation, the generation of the 21st century has been involved... witnessed... reported.... suffered.... and have become victims to many deaths. 10 months into 2019, the total number of teenagers killed has risen to 25, from the recorded toll of 24 in 2018. Baptista was the 2nd youngest in London to be stabbed. An astonishing £1billion is being used towards tackling knife crime in the UK, mainly targeting London as 32% of these offences have occurred in this glorious City. This concept of ‘sanctity of life’ has been forgotten in our communities, which is evident by the increase in these figures that will only continue to increase.... How long until one of your loved ones are taken ? I’ve lost one and it’s shocked me deep in my heart. Imagine if that happens to your son... your daughter... your niece... your nephew... Nothing is ever impossible, one thing we must all acknowledge is that our streets aren’t safe. Our children aren’t safe. Therefore our future isn’t safe. How long will you continue to allow our future to be shattered ? What will it take for the leaders of this world to step up and fix the violence lurking amongst our youth ? 

In my school, we asked the year 7 and 8 students about their biggest concerns in the UK. Knife crime, unsurprisingly, was referenced countless times. If the most vulnerable adolescents in our society aged between 11-13 notice that knife crime isn’t being tackled enough, this projects the idle approach the government is taking towards tackling knife crime amongst our youth. We must educate the mindsets of our youth, before we all become victims of knife crime. Be it by death or loss. We will all be subject to this horrific form of violence, if something isn’t done to reach out to our youth, listen and guide them. Be the person to spare an adolescent’s  life, and make a change to stop this act of anger and revenge. Let’s save youth like Baptista and tackle this epidemic.