So now comes the difficult part. So I have an idea of what I want to do but now comes the part where I have to speak to people that my feature will rely on. If I have learnt anything this year, it is that sources are the most tedious part of being a journalist. It involves running after people and hoping that they will give you what you need, and for a control freak like myself relying on someone else dose not come naturally.
Another problem I found when looking for a source is that, if you have been following my blogs of this journey you will know that I am the visitor in this area and while some people are friendly and helpful a lot are weary of me being in the area, mainly as a journalist and all the questions that comes with that and then the topic that I have chosen, crime is not something that gets discussed with strangers.
Knowing all of this I decided to start where I would be most comfortable. On our first tour of the area we spoke to the Somali community leader Amir Sheikh. I decided to stop at his office to ask about a neighborhood watch member or a person involved in a community-policing forum. Again the hospitality of the Somali community towards the journalism students has been amazing and I am so grateful for all of their help. One of the members gave me the name of a member of the Somali neighborhood watch named Haji Mash.
What I found so interesting about this engagement was that the individual that gave me Mr. Mash’s name did not have his contact number but knew where his business, and guesthouse, was. He explained where I might find Mr. Mash. I went searching. As I walked up and down 8th avenue in Mayfair I looked for the elusive Mash guesthouse. , I would never have found Mr. Mash without asking the pedestrian, eventually a gentlemen I met guided me to his guest house. On arrival at the Guesthouse a group of men sitting outside told me that Mr. Mash was out of town but they did give me his contact details.
I called Mr. Mash and he explained that he had been part of the neighborhood watch for almost 6 years and would be willing to meet up on Thursday.
Although this was great news it was not enough, I decided to use the best advantage I have as a 21st century student…. Google. Online is where found out that the Mayfair community was part of a Community Policing Forum that worked closely with the Brixton police station to monitor the area.
I called the station and as it turns out the Community Policing Forum was holding their monthly meeting on Tuesday. Captain Saeed invited me to attend the meeting.
As the week progresses I am beginning to feel like I might just be okay at the end of the dreaded in-depth coarse.
But let’s not get ahead of ourselves just yet, every day brings on its new challenges and the best action is, deal with it as and when it happens.
I’ll reserve judgment for the end of this exercise.
Raquel De Canha 