Quamari Serunkuma-Barnes was 15 year’s old when he was stabbed outside his school by someone younger than he was late last year. It was a case of mistaken identity after an argument on Instagram and yet another senseless knife crime. By all accounts he was one of the most wonderful people on the planet. What a tragic waste of a life and for what? If Quarmari’s young life can leave some sort of legacy, then perhaps his family will feel a little less bereft. If you want to know more about his life then I would urge you to read this brilliant Guardian article on the life of Quamari
I was incredibly moved to read about what his mother said after his killer was found guilty of murder yesterday. She had the grace to say that the killer had been “let down” by the system. The judge said: “It seems obvious to me that he is a highly dangerous young man”. Quarmari’s mother responded: “He was just a child at the end of the day – he’s not a very good child, he wasn’t thinking straight, but he should have had adults in his life. If not his parents, the people who were put in charge of him”.
She is so right and I feel so proud of her for being brave enough to see beyond the death of her young son. I hope she becomes part of the Met’s new task force, involving a group of role models, drawn from London communities to help persuade people not to carry knives. The group will be chaired by Neveille Lawrence whose son Stephen was stabbed to death in Eltham in 1993.
How do you reverse this terrible trend in carrying knives and try to understand the reasons behind it? Of course we can look at the “broken families”, but what about all the current cultural references? What about the music they are listening to? All the grime rappers that rap about knives, prison, drugs….? Can we not ask Stormzy (who is apparently moving on to hip hop) and Dave and some of the others to get involved? Kids look up to them and they can make a difference.
How do we deal with the drug situation? Many of the attacks are because of drugs. What if we were to legalise cannabis? Would that help?
Of course there is no simple solution, but Quarmari’s mother is right. Aside from counselling, there should be far more adult role models who are able to approach these young adults in a compassionate way, not just labelling them and moving on. It needs to be those that have relevant references and influence and I am hoping that this new task force, made up of a multi-agency intervention and partnership will have the funding and the right people to make a difference.
Something huge has to happen and quickly and I for one hope that Quarmari’s legacy, along with all the other young adults who have been murdered unnecessarily will see to this. No one should die in vain.
