Athlone native gives eye-witness account of London riot anarchy

AN Athlone man has this week described the anarchic and destructive scenes gripping the city of London in recent days. Freelance photographer Brian FitzGerald, originally from Auburn Heights in Athlone, lives in Hackney, one of many London areas to resemble a battlefield over recent days, and he told the 'Westmeath Independent' of the situation there. "I live about 500 metres from the area of Hackney that was worst hit by the riots. On Monday, the trouble flared around 3pm, during broad daylight, and in a very busy shopping area that's largely pedestrianised. It became more and more dangerous and anarchic as day and night progressed. You had people attacking riot police, throwing anything they could get their hands on, and they started destroying shops, cars and looting almost every premises," he added. Also a swimming instructor in London, Brian is a son of Leslie and Joan FitzGerald. Brian, who in recent days has also described events for the BBC, said he hasn't been in fear of his own well-being during the riots, but said he retreated home when matters got extremely out of hand. "I went home for a little while, primarily to charge my phone, as I was using it, like many others, to take pictures. When I returned later on, Hackney was like a war-zone." Riots have beset London ever since the shooting by police of Mark Duggan, a 29 year-old father of four. The death of Mr Duggan led to intense rioting in his local area of Tottenham in North London, but the anarchic scenes have since spread to other areas of London such as Hackney, Camden, Clapham, Croydon, Ealing, Enfield and Peckham. Ancient and landmark buildings have been burnt to the ground, and countless well-known stores have been vandalised and looted by rampaging youths. Since the death of Mark Duggan, sporadic rioting, looting and arson attacks have broken out across the length and breadth of England's capital, as gangs of teenagers fought running battles with police, making roadblocks from burning cars and ransacking shops. Brian said it's easy to attribute the latest bouts of destruction and looting to mindless thuggery, but insisted there's "a bigger picture" to be addressed. "Nobody can condone the actions of these people, and it's definitely well removed from the death of Mark Duggan in Tottenham," he said. "But the bigger picture is that the middle-class, and in particularly the lower-classes, have suffered here for a long time. There's no employment and little by way of stimulation or education for a lot of these young people. They're closing down youth clubs and youth facilities, and the kids are overlooked and ignored. I saw ten year-olds on the street yesterday, and they don't know about politics, but they know they're part of the overall problem and the hardship, and their parents were probably in the same position years ago. It all started with the incident in Tottenham, but it's got to the stage where it's just mindless violence and destruction now," said the 27 year-old Athlone man. Brian said on-street police presence was due to increase in London last night (Tuesday), with some media sources predicting police numbers in the region on 16,000 were to protect the streets). At time of print, Brian, a former Marist College student, said the atmosphere in London was "on the edge", and that he was unsure whether matters would improve in the short-term. Brian has been living in London since 2007 and is due to start his Masters in Web Design in September.