We spent some time this morning in Blackheath speaking to traders about the last week of riots and what it had meant to them.
Listening to Michael who owns Raffles was shocking. He told of how cars were turning up one-by-one with mobs who used everything including sledge-hammers to break into his shop. Fearful residents watched at the sheer ferocity and scale, not knowing how they could help without putting their own lives in danger. He spoke of arriving to confront looters,and using what he had, the window shutter pole to protect himself, but then realising that faced by a looter with a knife, he was powerless to defend his shop.
He called the Police at 2:00am via 999 to tell them his shop was being robbed and that he was being threatened with a knife, because of the sheer scale of attacks the Police did not arrive until 5:00am. He doesn't blame the police, but he was left with no options. He has a young family and this is the way he provides for them. He then spent the next two nights sleeping in the shop to try and protect what he has worked so hard to establish and build.
The hoardings remain nearly a week on - he's been told there's a shortage of glass. For a business selling clothes and other accessories, there can be no harder task than trying to attract custom when all your main natural-light sources are gone.
The most amazing thing was that he wasn't talking like a victim, simply as a small business owner who knows he has to do what he can to get through this. We were amazed by his resilience and his fortitude in the circumstances.
Step a few doors down to one of the many restaurants forced to close for at least one evening and it's a similar story. They may have escaped broken windows and fire, but they still lost around £4,000 worth of takings that evening, plus all the staff related costs. When asked why they closed they replied 'we had to make sure our staff got home safely, that was all that mattered.'
Speak to any trader and you get similar stories, those who were directly or indirectly affected by the looting and the riots.
A quick head count of the shops in Blackheath Village and it doesn't take long to work out that both the real cost of criminal damage, the loss of business and the other related costs, means this is going to cost Blackheath tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds. Granted we didn't have hordes of looters, Police in riot gear, burning buildings and camera crews - so it's easy to downplay the cost. Make no mistake, Blackheath was hit by these riots.
Our victims are not bankers, stock traders or those who have inherited wealth, these are hard-working middle-class traders. Many of them were once working-class but have worked hard to build small businesses that have created jobs, paid taxes and contribute to the local economy.
We went into these business today and tried to make our contribution to their loss by spending some money with them. In our opinion that's the best way a small community can respond to loss, rally around and support local businesses. You may only spend £10, £50 or £100 with them, but they will value it far more than a big brand right now. Not one person that we spoke to was looking for sympathy - just support.
One couldn't help think that with the polarisation of poor and rich in all the rioting debates, perhaps the hard-working middle-class business owners are one of the forgotten victims of this very sad episode in our nation's history?
Please support them.
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