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Search forWaddon mum of murdered youth calls on parents to teach their children respect
Saturday, August 16, 2008, 07:00
Leon Forbes was just 21 when he was shot in the back of the neck leaving his spine severed by the bullet.
As the deadline for a cold case review of the unsolved murder approaches at the end of the year she is living proof that time is no healer.
And she does not think the wave of youth violence in London shows any sign of abating.
Michelle, from Violet Lane, Waddon, says it is up to parents to make young people show respect for adults and each other again.
"It's worried me since Leon got shot," she told the Advertiser this week.
"Violence has just escalated and it's just going to get worse.
"After the shooting I had Leon's friends coming to me telling me about things that had happened that the police knew nothing about.
"The police did not know about half the shootings that went on.
"I didn't know until Leon got shot that someone had threatened him with a gun before."
Michelle sees misbehaviour and lack of respect in schools as a clear warning sign that gang culture is bound to continue.
"I don't think it has got better because I don't think the government is investing in our youth," she said.
"Most of the young people we need to reach are in to music, not things like sports, and they're not being provided for."
The latest nail in the coffin for anti-gun campaigners like her came a fortnight ago when the government refused to fund the Brixton-based Don't Trigger project which aims to stop young people using guns.
Michelle, 50, who has been heavily involved in the scheme since its inception, feels betrayed.
She says politicians are scared of community groups becoming too powerful and successful - as the project was previously praised by ministers.
And she says the government is to blame for a lack of discipline in schools.
She said: "They have taken respect out of the schools and even teachers aren't respected.
"When I was at school I wouldn't have dared answer back because the respect was there.
"I wouldn't agree with them hitting pupils but in terms of boundaries, young people have to learn.
"Parents are a bit soft I think as well. Society is soft in general. Young people are spoilt.
"When my children went on holiday with me they kept themselves occupied.
"That's how I raised my kids - with values. They were not selfish or envious.
"Unfortunately there are so many young parents having children who haven't been raised properly themselves."
Michelle also believes unaffordable play schemes only serve to alienate some sections of the community who aren't as well off.
"Young people from poorer families grow up feeling like they're not worthy," she said.
"There are a lot of angry kids out there who grow up into angry adults who feel sorry for themselves."
Michelle moved from Clapham, where Leon was shot dead, four years ago and is driven on by her memories of her son.
And despite the lack of funding she says she won't give up on Don't Trigger.
"We will keep doing something," she said. "I'm very determined, just like Leon."
*For more information on the project go to www.dont-trigger.com
GRIEF: Michelle Forbes still cries for her son Leon whose killer is still at large
Pic by On Demand Media
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