BIG INTERVIEW: Gun issue not so simple - Habib Ullah detached youth worker, Aston, Birmingham

The effect of gang culture on young people has always been an issue for Habib Ullah, a detached youth worker based in Aston, Birmingham. But the fatal shooting of teenagers Charlene Ellis and Latisha Shakespear at a hairdressers salon, just five minutes drive from his base, has had a huge impact on the local community. Obviously everybodys saddened, but this feels really close, says Ullah, who has been a youth worker for 12 years. Its affected everybody, with a lot of people saying It could have been me. It also happened at a prominent place in Aston. People are living in fear.Based at Aston Park Play Centre (see box), Ullah is well aware of gun crime. Over the last two years, he can recall 10 to 12 firearms incidents in Aston alone. The press and members of the Government have been quick to lay the blame for antisocial behaviour on rap music and hip-hop. But even if music and film do reinforce gangster culture, says Ullah, young people are rarely shown a positive alternative lifestyle. Nothing in their lives shows the harm it could do, says Ullah. Rap music or films dont make you commit violence; society needs to take the blame.And contrary to tabloid newspaper reports, Ullah says violent gang activity does not occur every day in Aston. There are loads of gangs not involved in guns; some might be involved in drugs, but the violence isnt there.The Government has reacted quickly to the Aston murders by pledging to tighten up gun law and increase sentences for gun crimes. Ullahs youth centre already has a policy of confiscating even replica gun cigarette lighters, but he isnt convinced harsher sentences work. Everybody is aware that being caught with a firearm attracts a long sentence, says Ullah. Someone whos going to commit murder knows they might get life, but they still do it.Despite the groups determination to support Astons young people, Ullah admits it cant help everyone.Its difficult to pull young people out who are already in that environment, says Ullah. You cant say Hey, put those guns down, stop selling drugs, come with us and do all these wonderful things. Its about targeting groups that are on the verge of making a decision and influencing them to make the right decision.Ullah says local youth workers act as informal educators, giving young people the information they need to wise up to the repercussions of criminal behaviour. We have to glamorise good education, raise aspirations and expose them to positive role models, says Ullah. Young people dont see enough positive people in their life.As well as delivering workshops with local careers advisers and health authorities, the centre works with schools targeting young people at risk of exclusion. It is also working with the police to curb a group near a local school, allegedly smoking marijuana and writing graffiti. Instead of going down there and getting a negative reaction, the police asked us to approach the group and offer an alternative, explains Ullah, who now takes the group on trips outside Aston once a week, using a police-owned van. Theyre not in the gun culture, but theyre vulnerable, says Ullah. Its about building positive relationships with young people.As a detached youth worker, Ullah encounters negative influences such as drug dealers and tries to discourage them from working on his patch.But the typical response is: If its not us selling, itll be someone else. And while Ullahs colleagues have avoided individuals with guns, youth workers have walked into unsavoury situations.In some cases, such as these, says Ullah, youth workers just have to walk away.FYI- On weekdays from 7pm to 9.30pm, Aston Park Play Centre welcomes up to 60 young people aged between 13 and 19- Astons Detached Youth Project is three years old -It receives funding from Birmingham City Councils Youth Service -Its aim is to work with young people in the Aston area, wherever they may congregate