Monbiot: getting into the Olympic spirit
London is getting into the Olympic spirit - by kicking out the Gypsies - Guardian Comment
George Monbiot notes on the recent eviction of Gypsies and other Travellers from their sites in east London to prepare for the Olympics of 2012 - something which, he says, is a recurring theme in recent Olympic history, from Seoul in 1988, through Barcelona, Atlanta, Athens, Sydney, to Beijing and now London. City authorities invariably use Olympic games to mount their own local versions of "drive out trash", removing everyone from street traders to the mentally ill, the homeless and other "undesirables" from the streets and destroying people's homes and amenities.
(I've always opposed having the Olympics in east London precisely because of the effect it is likely to have on the long-established Asian - and Muslim - community there. If there is a "failure of leadership" among the Muslims in London, it is the failure of the MCB and others like them to mobilise Muslims against the games and let the mayoral candidates in 2004 know that the idea was bad for their people. However, it was not seen as a major issue among Muslim voters then: everyone was too concerned about Iraq.)
Comments
Hey, what's with singling out the Olympics for its detrimental effect on the East London Muslim community? Aren't there enough other causes for concern, such as the arrival of a large regional casino in Newham and the current row over the TJ's "mega-mosque"? I'd suggest that in contrast to the above, the Olympics would represent a pretty good opportunity for local residents to profit handsomely from incoming visitors without difficult questions about immoral earnings or religious strife coming into the picture.
I'd suggest also that the reason Olympic Games tend to result in compulsory purchases is that they mostly require large contiguous areas of land, which is easiest to do where the land belongs in the majority either to the State, is sparsely populated or where the population has thin legal rights of ownership. It's just a fact of life that people who live on State land or with dubious housing tenure tend to be the marginalised parts of the community anyway. I'm sure the IOC is open to suggestions about how to avoid this issue in the future...
Posted by: Dal Nun Strong
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June 13, 2007 11:43 AM
I wouldn't surprise me if the Muslim community are saving up their anger for the day when the Olympics finally arrive. Detonate a few explosives nearby and the whole show could end up being cancelled. What a shame it will be for London.
Posted by: M Risbrook | June 13, 2007 10:01 PM