Opening the door at Sankofa, seeing what mayhem greats us this time, waiting for the police to arrive. The police took several hours to come, and we spent almost forty minutes waiting on hold to speak to someone at the water boards' emergency call out team to turn off the water. All the time the level of the water was rising in the cellar as water continued to pour from the severed pipes that had previously connected the hot water tank, down the walls and into the cellar. When the police arrived they were lost for words. Well not exactly lost. They expressed some pretty strong feelings of disbelief about the chaos and damage. The police asked to see where the water tank had gone missing from. I pointed out that we couldnt really open the cupboard without getting drenched but he was a thorough police officer and not daunted by my caution. But he closed the cupboard door again pretty quickly as the water just sprayed out as it was falling so fast.
The back door had all the centre panels taken out and this gave those who broke into Sankofa just enough room to move freely in and out of the building, carrying, as they did, the washing machine, a full size cooker, the water tank and various other bits and pieces that they took a shine too. It is astonishing that the tenants in the building behind seemed to hear nothing at all, especially as they have been holding backyard fires all week. I would have thought that they had noticed a washing machine and a water tank going past, especially carried by people who were soaked to the skin quite possibly.
Its interesting that forensic police come the day after the incident. Feeling the need to repair the door each time, we can't wait for the police to arrive the following day. If we had not boarded up the door (again) we didn't feel that we could safeguard the things that remained. Although that seems an interesting point of view because in the circumstances there was no barrier to those who wanted to cause so much damage.
As a result of the theft of the hot water tank, so much water has poured down into the twin chamber cellar below the office that it must be just below the level of the floor. The waiting room/bedding store carpet and the hall carpet are sodden. In an effort to find the water tank, the intruders tore every thing out of the cupboards. I cant really believe that they were looking for the water tank when they pulled out boxes of baby clothes and childrens clothes, when they tossed them all into the centre of the room. A huge pile of damp, wet smelly clothing and bedding. No use to anyone now. At one time we would have tried to wash them and sort them out, but now that the intruders have come back for the washing machine the task is overwhelming.
Tash, documenting a photographic history of the project, has come back to photograph the latest damage http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/regions/nottinghamshire/2008/03/392793.html
We really dont want to leave this place. It is not about an attachment to the building . It is an attachment to the principle that intimidation and harassment of this sort should not disrupt the delivery of services. Sankofa has co-existed quite lightly in the Community, providing many services for individuals and families. On the one hand providing therapeutic support, on the other hand picking up the cast offs that the students have left behind and making them available to people who are denied the right to earn money, or even to have money.
It is ironic that Sankofa sits between two worlds in this way. yet this is also the nature of Sankofa - remembering the past, looking to the future. The traditional emblem of sankofa is the two headed bird, one looking back, and the other looking forward. Maybe its also an emblem of looking this way, and that.
As friends and service users have come together over the last few days in the office, packing up the extensive collection of language dictionaries that have been useful when we have had no translators, packing up all the research papers and box files, scooping up the toys and putting them into boxes I have reflected on all that has happened over the last two and a half years. It is impossible not to:
- remembering the early days when we first moved in, of getting the room ready in a hurry for meetings in support of young people (see the previous blog entry)
- remembering a young person who came by one day wanting to talk but needing to be useful, and had his first lesson with an electric drill! The memory of his satisfaction looking at the shelf that he put up with such pride.
- remembering all the cups of tea that were made in winters evenings as people came to the door at dusk, wanting a place to sit, and commiserate, reflecting on lives on hold, cases not proven, the demands of locating evidence from countries left long ago
- remembering all the stories that started in crisis - and particularly how several destitute women came together sorting donations of clothes that ended in torrents of laughter as they held up clothing that had lost its shape, or already seen better days and screamed "What have we done to have this inflicted upon us!!" Equally the shrieks of delight as they uncovered some nugget of designer clothing, discarded by someone else without ever having been worn.
- remembering the donations of tv sets, usually from the students. They came into the office one minute and were gone the next, smiles on the faces of people who would have something to do each day now that they had something to watch, taking away the eternal boredom of sitting in a house all day, separated from the rest of the community by flegling language skills, and no right to work, waiting for places on ESOL courses - maybe for a year.
- remembering all the therapeutic toys that were secreted away, not theft, no. A reclaiming of something that brings a significant and familiar memory, especially of donkeys and birds.
- remembering all the mothers and their children, the way that we found ways to talk while the children waded through the toy boxes.
- remembering the gifts that came from so many unexpected places: tree lights at Christmas, an artifical Christmas tree that turned up; the paper chains that were made in the waiting room and decorated around the hall, realizing that this was important to the people who wanted to make christmas special somewhere when they didnt have somewhere of their own.
- the child who stood on a chair in the waiting room, entreating men who couldnt understand her language, to join in with the chorus from a song in her school play, telling them off when they got the words wrong.
- the birthday parties we held for teenagers separated from their families, arriving with their friends, someone would be sent to fetch cakes and make tea.
- the garden fairy who began to create a Sankofa garden from plants found here and there!!
- the therapeutic garden - observing the different ways of being in the garden, the strengths that people found being back amongst the trees ( the therapeutic garden is still taking shape in capable hands, not touched by the destruction of the office)
- all the planning meetings, talk of extending the reach of sankofa, finding ways to include and extend
- the sadness when people were coerced to return to their country of origin, the afternoons and evenings when they thrashed out which was the lesser of worst choices
- the frantic attempts to prevent the removals of Sankofa Clients
So many memories of frantically busy times. referrals are still coming in and we are still talking with whoever will listen to try and find a place to carry on. We still need therapy rooms to meet our current clients, and we are still juggling begging and borrowing. Now we are beginning to regroup and discuss the ways that we are going to move forward, plans forming for bigger premises, perhaps with other community groups. People are ready to lend skills but we still have to find ways to raise the initial money. We have managed without money for so long it is almost bizarre to be considering how much we need to focus on this now.
In many ways I feel quite sad for the people who did this. I have no doubt that we will all find a way to regenerate Sankofa - but we could really use some ideas too!
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