SUBJECT: WIMBLEDON STATION
Author: WCF | Date: 16 07 08
I have just come across the Office of Rail Regulations' figures for station usage in 2006/07 on the Internet at: http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/server/show/nav.1529 After a bit of sorting of their spreadsheet, I was intrigued to see that Wimbledon Station had the 14th highest usage of our country's 2,519 stations. The only busier stations in the UK were 9 London termini, Glasgow Central, East Croydon, Clapham Junction and Leeds. And these figures are for entrances, exits and interchanges, so exclude all trains that don't stop at our station. So why does it seem that Network Rail and SouthWest Trains don't appear to want to invest in, and improve, Wimbledon Station? A recent Wimbledon Civic Forum public meeting noted the station as an matter of concern and for future focus - could these ORR figures help perhaps? Andrew Robinson Merton Park

SUBJECT: WIMBLEDON VILLAGE FAIR 21 JUNE
Author: WCF | Date: 17 06 08
This Saturday 21 June 2008 , 10 am - 5 pm at Southside Common - hundreds of stalls, food village and horse show... a great way to celebrate our living community.

SUBJECT: KNIFE CRIME- 10 JUNE, 7PM AT VESTRY HALL, MITCHAM
Author: WCF | Date: 09 06 08
Operation Blunt 2 is a London wide initiative to stop the killing of young people by weapons, primarily knives. As you will be aware from the increased media reporting, this issue together with the carrying of weapons by a minority of young people is a major concern to us all. Police are seeking to gain the support and commitment of the whole community to increase police activity to create a safer environment for young people. This will be achieved through a number of tactics, including the highly visible use of search arches and search wands at key locations such as transport hubs and routes where intelligence indicates the use or carrying of weapons is likely. Before these tactics will be introduced, police officers in schools will explain to young people the reasons for the operation and the extent of police stop and search powers. Police will also use intelligence to focus activity on known criminals who carry weapons. To help explain the problem we all face and how we intend to deal with it I am calling a public meeting on 10th June, 7pm at Vestry Hall, Mitcham (next door to Mitcham Fire Station). I would like to invite community members to attend this meeting. It is vital that police have the support and understanding of the community as a whole to tackle the deadly menace of knife crime. We must not allow it to become an issue that divides police from the community or any section of it, such as the vast majority of law abiding young people. Chris Bourlet Borough Commander Metropolitan Police

SUBJECT: MUSLIM GHETTOISATION
Author: Iftikhar Ahmad | Date: 25 05 08
Muslim Ghettoisation We live in a shrunken world and millions of people are on the move; one of our biggest challenges is how we learn to live in proximity to difference – different skin colours, different beliefs and different way of life. According to a study by COMPAS, Muslims born and educated were given the impression of outsiders. The perception among Muslims is that they are unwelcome in Britain is undermining efforts to help them integrate into wider society. Most of them say that they have experienced race discrimination and religious prejudice. Muslims and Islam is promoted a fundamentalist and separatist by the western elite, which have negative impact on community and social cohesion. The number of racist incidents occurring in London Borough of Redbridge’s schools have reached their highest levels since record begin. A City or a locality, where Muslims are in majority is a ghetto. There is a tendency for people of similar backgrounds to live together in neighourhoods. The term”ghettoisation” is inappropriate. The original ghettos in Europe during the middle ages were set up by law to confine the Jewish population to one area of a city. According to a research by an Australian academic that Muslim communities in Britain are being increasingly ghettoized in a trend that set back hopes of assimilation by years. Britain has now eight cities in the top 100 most ghettoized cities. The people from the Pakistani community in Bradford and Oldham and Leicester had trebled during the decade. A report by an academic Dr Alan Carling, that Bradford risks becoming a front line in the global clash between the West and Islam. But Islam and Muslims do not clash with the concepts of pluralism, secularism and globalisation. The native flight from Bradford’s inner-city wards showed clear evidence of an increase in segregation in the city since 1991. Native parents are avoiding sending their children in state schools where Muslims and other minorities are in majority. The dominance of Pakistani Muslims in the city has meant that Bradford has become bi-cultural. Immigrants are the creators of Britain new wealth, otherwise, inner cities deprived areas could not get new lease of life. The native Brits regard such areas as ghettoes. Integration is not religious and cultural, it is economic and Muslims are well integrated into British society and at the same time they are proud of their Islamic, linguistic and cultural identities, inspite of discrimination they have been facing in all walks of life. According to UN, 80% of British Muslims feel discriminated. They are less burden on social services. Immigrants made up 8.7% of the population, but accounted for10.2% of all collected income tax It is often quoted by the Western media that Muslim schools ghettoizse the children, and even lead to their radicalisation if they are not integrated. There is no evidence that faith schools lead to a “ghettoized education system. In British schools, pupils are encouraged to focus too much on their similarities rather than their differences. The integrationist approach merely results in Muslims feeling that their faith, language and culture is not respected. Iftikhar Ahmad www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

SUBJECT: LINKS
Author: Michael Pollard | Date: 16 05 08
I see from your forums page that nothing has happened since 2005 with the Health Forum. You may know that the Patient & Public Involvement Groups are now being replaced by Local Involvement Networks (LINks). Is WCF involved or planning to be involved in the Merton LINk? WCF response: We\'d really like to be involved if a member wishes to represent us!

SUBJECT: MERTON'S INTERGENERATIONAL CENTRE - PUBLIC MEETING
Author: WCF | Date: 14 05 08
This meeting will be a chance to see early plans and ideas for the new building on the site of the old St Marks' Youth centre and Kickstart motorcycle track between Grove Road and Acacia Road Eastfields, Mitcham. Saturday 17th May, 10.30am - 12.30pm at St Marks Church of England Academy, School Hall, Acacia Road, Mitcham CR4 1SF. The meeting will involve presentations from the project managers and architects, plus performances from young and old.

SUBJECT: THE FUTURE OF WIMBLEDON
Author: | Date: 10 05 08
In the recent public workshop jointly held by the Wimbledon Society and Wimbledon Civic Forum, the breadth of resident/community representation as well as the depth of concerned expertise even at this brainstorming stage was remarkable. Most residents wanted Wimbledon to be rather like Richmond than Kingston or Croydon : with more streets reserved for pedestrians, more trees in those streets that look bare as compared with the Village landscape, and new buildings only allowed if they are aesthetically compatible with the surroundings. Merton Council will be pressed for these. And Network Rail will have to be vigorously lobbied to make the station rise to the heritage standards of Wimbledon. We hope all residents to join this initiative.

SUBJECT: 1-11 LYVEDEN RD. SW17
Author: | Date: 09 05 08
Having lived for more than 10 years near to council owned 1-11 Lyveden Road SW17 I have had ample opportunity to view the council\'s management of these flats. Since moving into this magnificent residential road (the council see it as an \"introduction\" to the borough of Merton) 1-11 Lyveden Rd. has gradually been filled by people who seem particularly antisocial. Last year four white men moved in. The whole street must have realised this because on the first day they spent their time sitting in, or lying in the gutter all day and evening. Recently another similar group moved into the flats. Again the whole area must have known about this as for days they played extremely loud music with their windows open and yelled at each other through the open windows. As a result there has been a growing number of comings and goings in the street by strangers outside the flats recently. Young men with bikes and others meeting for very short times outside the flats. Yesterday saw a culmination of this activity when one group outside nos 1-3 sat on the garden fence facing a resident\'s garden for a good half hour chatting very loudly with a group who seemd to belong to both 1-3 AND 5-7 Lyveden Rd. The resident of no 1 basement flat must have been terrified with a group sitting on and at his fence looking into his garden. Eventually the police arrived but too late as the antisocial activity had by then gone inside the flats. I should like to know what control the council are taking over their CHOICE of residents for 1-11 Lyveden Rd. Is their intention to move all the quiet residents out? Most are elderly or with young children who have enjoyed a virtually carefree life until the council chose THEIR block to dump people who must be obviously (to the council) antisocial.

SUBJECT: SUSTAINABLE MERTON
Author: John White | Date: 02 05 08
Sustainable Merton is just finishing a project of delivering two re-useable cotton shopping bags to over 3000 homes around Wimbledon Park. Local shops have put up some money and the Co-op on Arthur road have produced one of the bags on their own. They were delivered with the message that we hope people will resolve to use them and not ask for plastic bags. OK; this won't save the planet! But people were delighted that somebody is taking the first practical steps. Sustainable Merton is also working on other projects - if you Google our website you can find out more. If you fill in the form we will send you a monthly e-mail to keep you up to date. And if you have ideas of your own - perhaps you would like to start a local group - we would be pleased to help. Perhaps you have work skills (beyond those needed to deliver shopping bags!) that you would like to put to good use. It isn't party political and you don't have to sign up to anything; Sustainable Merton is friendly and informal. We hope to hear from you.

SUBJECT: END OF LOCAL EDUCATION AUTHORITIES
Author: Iftikhar Ahmad | Date: 22 04 08
End of Local Education Authorities Parents’ groups, charities, faith bodies, and mutual organizations will have greater role in delivering educational services under plans being drawn up by both Labour and Tory parties. Swedish system of independent state schools, financed by vouchers, is now inspiring the Tory Party to set British schools free from LEAs. The proposal will end 60 years of local government control of education, Since 1944, all schools have been under a statutory obligation to provide for the spiritual, moral, social and cultural development of pupils at the schools. All state schools have failed to help children to achieve such goals. This is the main reason why silent majority of Muslim parents would prefer to send their children to Muslim schools. Even OFSTED is unable to assess the spiritual and moral development of the children. There is ample evidence that state schools foster intolerance, hate and bullying. There is no evidence that Muslim schools indoctrinate children with values and endanger shared society. Primary Review reports on diversity presents a powerful attack on current educational discourse in relation to diversity and to bilingual pupils in particular. The schools and teachers see children’s use of languages other than English as a ‘barrier to learning’ instead of recognizing and respecting them. It is crucial that Muslim children should be surrounded with the languages, culture and faith. Faith is powerful element of both personal and community identity. They need state funded Muslim schools with bilingual Muslim teachers as role models. There are hundreds of state schools where Muslim pupils are in majority, in my opinion and in the opinion of the silent majority of Muslim parents, all such schools may be designated as Muslim community schools. Muslim schools are not only faith schools, they are more or less bilingual schools. Bilingual Muslim children need to learn and well versed in Standard English to follow the National Curriculum and go for higher studies and research to serve humanity. They need to learn and well versed in Arabic to recite and understand the Holy Quran. They need to learn and well versed in Urdu and other community languages to keep in touch with their cultural roots and enjoy the beauty of their literature and poetry. Bilingualism is brilliant for the development of intellectual ability and cultural understanding. The great diversity of cultures and languages should be the key to the development of Britain as a world leader in multilingual, multi-cultural integration and partnership, an example to every other nation of how people of all faiths and cultures can live, learn and work together in harmony for a more just and fair world for everybody. Iftikhar Ahmad www.londonschoolofislamics.org.uk

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