Wednesday, 27 November 2013

Why sense of community is important: the recent slavery case


Following the recent news about 3 women kept against their will for 30 years in the house of an elderly couple in Brixton, it raises concerns and questions: was there anything that could have been done to prevent it? If yes, then what?
In big and diverse cities like London it has become common to live for years without knowing our neighbours. Many of us find it easier to just ‘mind our own business’ rather than mixing and socializing with people as it requires more effort. But maybe sometimes we shouldn't ‘mind just our own business’ and be more open to our neighbours, our community and people in general.
The neighbours of the responsible couple were shocked to find out what has actually been going on under their nose for so many years. They never suspected anything and didn’t have even a tiniest clue about such a cruelty in their neighbourhood. It is evident, that this was the case of ‘minding their own business’. If the whole neighbourhood and community in Brixton were closer, it is much likelier that the neighbours of the culprits’ would have suspected that something was not right and maybe we wouldn't be reading about this story only now, after 30 years.

There has to be more focus on bringing local communities and people together. That’s what NeighbourBlog aims to achieve. Of course, it didn't exist 30 years ago when the women first lost their freedom, but it may be a starting point to prevent similar events from happening in the future. It is designed with YOU and YOUR NEIGHBOURHOOD in mind.

No comments:

Post a Comment