area said the dead men aged 20 to 31 were members of Birmingham’s South Asian communities who had been patrolling their neighborhood to keep it safe from looters.
He said no Jamaicans were reportedly arrested or injured during the mayhem.
He elaborated saying that with regards to the rampant looting and destruction Jamaicans were also unaffected because few own business in London.
“We are not a significant representative in the business community over here, which is a major problem. We tend to be people who hold down jobs of one sort or another, but we are not entrepreneurial,” Johnson said.
Nevertheless, allegedly some radio call-in programs blamed Caribbean immigrants for the source of the malcontent.
The political representative said he was aware of the allegations aimed at Caribbean nationals.
At press time he commented that “there has been no racial, cultural or regional ascription and the official statement from the police is not blaming any racial or geographical group. The high-profile Jamaican and Caribbean members of parliament have not made any such ascription. They are talking about it in strictly national terms, the problems of the area that might upset the people and criminality.”
The ambassador said it was suggested that it was mainly economic groups at the centre of the chaos. He echoed police reports that the profile of the rioters was the poor and unemployed and mainly a criminal element frustrated with recent cuts in grants from various state agencies.
The initial reason given for communities erupting surrounded a reported peaceful demonstration against a police shooting which turned rowdy.
“I want to ask everyone to be very careful. Don’t expose yourself and get into any problems.” Johnson pleaded to nationals. “With the danger out there, I’m just asking everyone to be as circumspect as they can be.”
