issue80

A HARINGEY YOUTH PUBLICATION

free apr 06

ÂŁ0.00

issue 80

eastern promise

Bollywood Kung Fu Piercing Drums

is free and open to anyone between 14 and 21 living in or around Haringey.

• • •

write, edit, illustrate & design this magazine build your own website make a video

Projects • Exposure, Connexions and YMCA are getting together to drive an outreach bus round Haringey giving information about volunteering opportunities, basic skills training and support to young people.

• The Heritage Lottery Fund has agreed to fund a year's worth of supplements in Exposure magazine aiming to uncover Haringey’s hidden history, to begin in September.

• Exposure’s recent commission to film Haringey’s Clean Sweep project was the first to be managed and edited entirely by young people. Filming for Exposure’s horror film begins in April.

• Following massive press coverage of its fourth birthday issue, the next Junior Exposure (for 5-13 year olds) will be another spectacular bumper issue.

To get involved in projects like these, or to arrange work experience or a work placement, call Gary Flavell on 020 8883 0260, email gary@exposure.org.uk or just walk into the office.

The Bigger Shoe Box, Muswell Hill Centre, Hillfield Park N10 3QJ Tel: 020 8883 0260, Fax: 020 8883 2906, Mob: 07947 884 282 Email: editor@exposure.org.uk

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00 10.00

am am am am am

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7.00 3.00 7.00 7.00 3.00

pm pm pm pm pm

www.exposure.org.uk Regrettably our office is inaccessible to wheelchair users but we will nevertheless make every effort to include your contributions.

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sponsored by: social spider

issue #80 March 2006 compass and the mighty wheelbarrow.

aisha

Articles

shelley

Huw MacDonald, Joey Leskin, Pauline Nakirya, & Shelley Gray

pauline

Editorial Team

joey

The East has given us gunpowder and Ghandi; Bruce Lee and kung fu; Mario, Sonic and the dance mat revolution; sweatshops and sushi; paddy fields and Chairman Mao; yoga, zen, and extreme endurance gameshows. We might be very far apart, but we’re closer than we think.

huw

The West has been borrowing ideas from the East for centuries. We only count in tens because India invented the decimal system 1500 years ago.

India is also responsible for the first printed book. In fact, the seeds of the renaissance and the industrial revolution were sown with Chinese inventions like the printing press, the

sara

BOMBAY FLIX - 08 Aisha Malik talks up Bollywood.

niamh

AT THE SHARP END - 10 Sara Silvester gets straight to the point.

joey

KICKING FROM THE HIP - 12 Niamh Mallaghan gets her kicks from kung fu.

lackish

THE STICKMAN - 16 Joey Leskin bangs one out.

CONFIDENCE - 20 Lackish Jackson on sex and under-16s.

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AGONY -

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POETRY -

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DIRECTORY -

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• Huw Macdonald • Jing Cui • Josh Büyükyilmaz • Nick May • Sotira Giorgiou

amos

ZODIAC -

josh

• George Barrow • Amos Niamke • Barry Macdonald

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sotira

GALLERY -

george

Contributors

huw

Features

nick

IF YOU CAN’T BEAT THEM... - 24 Huw Macdonald, Lackish Jackson, Mitesh Sachania, Niamh Mallaghan, & Pauline Nakirya get it together.

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THINGS -REVIEWS...

VIMANAARAMA

GRANT MORRISON AND PHILIP BOND £8.99 Ali and Sofia, two teenagers waiting for their arranged marriage, wake an ancient evil imprisoned in a ‘buried city of wonders’ for 6,000 years.

They call upon Prince Ben Rama in an attempt to send the darkness back.

By centering the action on a Pakistani family, Grant Morrison tries to undo stereotypical roles for Muslims and is quite successful (despite the family owning a corner shop in Bradford). Philip Bond’s drawing looks eastern, modern and psychedelic all at once.

The plot is complicated for such a short story so perhaps comic newbies should look elsewhere.

Otherwise, another brilliant comic from Morrison’s mad head.

SARA SILVESTER

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‘N’

STUFF

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STUFF TO DO Tottenham’s Stylisters Children and Youth Voluntary Performing Arts Group will be performing Childwars, their shocking play about children living in war zones, at RADA. Saturday 13 May at The Vanburgh Theatre, 62-64 Gower Street, WC1E 6ED. Tickets £6/£8. Box Office: 020 7908 4800

TKC youth magazine

is looking for young journalists aged 15-23 who are Turkish, Kurdish or Cypriot to write for the magazine, which aims to help unite people and prevent conflicts.

Call 07702 708 696 or 07999 468 254 or email tkc_youth@hotmail.co.uk

Haringey Pheonix Group provides activities, services and information for partially sighted and blind people in and around Haringey. For everything from gardening, arts and crafts, Braille and computer classes to weekend trips and home visits.

Call 020 8889 7070, email haringeypheonixgroup@yahoo.co.uk or visit www.haringeyphoenix.org.uk

Reach For The Sky Young Journalist 2006

‘N’

IN THE NEWS...

• A device being tested in Hertfordshire uses a high pitched noise to scatter gangs of young people.

The Mosquito Alarm has a range of up to 20 metres and can only be heard by people under 25.

• According to a report by UK Children Go Online, 82 % of young people have at least one games console, 70 % play games online and the average young gamer spends as much time X’d out on their play-box as they do on homework.

• Chancellor Gordon Brown wants to give decent, well behaved young people up to £25 a month in vouchers for staying out of trouble. The ‘youth opportunity’ cards will be piloted in ten test areas in England as part of a range of measures to improve services for young people.

is a competition for budding journalists who are 14-19 years old. Use print, radio or television to create a news report on a topical event or issue that’s important to you for the chance to win amazing prizes and the prestigious title of Sky Young Journalist 2006. Closing date 5 May 2006. www.reachforthesky.co.uk

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THINGS BANGLAS AND MASH

Bangladesh

Exposure

In February Monira and Marzia came to visit Exposure all the way from Bangladesh! As well as being students at university, they are also project coordinators for an organisation called Working for a Better Life (WBL).

“WBL is a debate programme,” says Monira. “We work with the age group 12-18. We go to different schools all the time to discuss issues like religious tolerance, drought, domestic violence, early marriage, and environmental pollution.”

We came to London as part of an exchange programme to share our thoughts, views and what we have done the last two years,” says Marzia.

“We’ve been staying in Brick Lane so it isn’t much different from Bangladesh,” says Monira (seriously!). “London is neat and clean compared to Bangladesh, but where do young people play here? There are so many buildings there is no room.”

They’d spent a lot of time travelling on the Tube. “In our country it’s difficult to make underground trains,” says Marzia, “Because the tunnels would fill with water. So it’s very difficult to move around on the streets and the roads are filled with cars, buses and people.” Imagine Oxford Street on a Saturday but with rickshaws!

Monira and Marzia were fascinated by the cultural diversity here. Bangladesh has a religious government but plenty of places to go and modern stuff like music and the internet (in places). “That’s a big difference between us,” says Marzia, “Everyone here has the internet.”

PAULINE NAKIRYA

QUOTE UNQUOTE

“

Ride your horse along the edge of a sword. Hide yourself in the middle of flames. Blossoms of the fruit tree will bloom in the fire.

The sun rises in the evening.

Zen saying. Zen is a school of Buddhism.

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aisha

bombay FLIX

BY AISHA MALIK Bollywood, the Indian version of Hollywood, is breaking into the UK as quickly as curry turned into Britain’s favourite dish.

About 1000 movies are produced in Bollywood every year (compared to around 250 in Hollywood) and 15 million people worldwide watch them every day. You can see them at most local cinemas all around the UK. Production companies have moved quickly to build bases in India to profit from the massive Bollywood boom. Bend it like Beckham, East is East, Bride and Prejudice, The Guru, and Monsoon Wedding were all produced by British or American production companies but written by Indian people. And two recent Bollywood films starred British actors: Lagaan and The Rising which broke

But what is it about Bollywood that we can’t find in Hollywood?

Bollywood films usually have a love storyline where a fit guy falls in love with a beautiful girl. The girl is usually going out with someone else and it turns into a desperate love triangle.

In fact, practically every Bollywood film has this plot somewhere in the movie.

You’re probably wondering ‘Why would you want to watch Bollywood films if they’ve all got the same story?’ Well it’s not the only storyline in the film and it’s not the only thing that Bollywood movies are famous for: it’s all about the singing and dancing.

The actors and actresses in Bollywood movies don’t really sing the songs: they’re sung and

“The girl is usually going out with someone else and it turns into a desperate love triangle” British box office records for a Bollywood film.

And it’s not just Bollywood movies that are becoming popular in the UK: there are clothes, shoes, jewellery and, of course, the food.

And Indian music is being listened to more and more as artists such as Jay Sean, Raghav, Rishi Rich, and Ms Scandalous break into the British charts. American artists and producers are being influenced by Indian beats and are using Indian instruments in their tunes. Redman, Missy Elliot, Jay Z, Timbaland, Beyonce, and Truth Hurts are just a few who are influenced by the whole ‘Indian thing’.

composed before the film is shot by professional singers and the actors just mime the words on screen. But what is extra unique is that they sing and dance in the rain.

Yep, the rain. It’s been a tradition since Bollywood started making movies. Without rain scenes, no Indian movie feels complete. For centuries rain has been the central theme of romance literature in India.

So if you thought it was all about Cameron Diaz and Will Smith, well make way for the hottest new acts of the movies - Aishwarya Rai and John Abraham.

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At The Sharp End

BY SARA SILVESTER

Pierced eyebrows, navels, noses, and lips, and ears are a common sight in classrooms. The chances are that at least half of your friends will have put themselves through the agony of getting a piercing.

Jess, who’s 15, from Tottenham, says: “When I got my navel pierced my mum came too. I wanted it done because I liked the way it looked and it’s different.

I’m not going to get any more though; a lot of teens are going over the top, getting them in every possible place”.

“I got my eyebrow pierced about a year ago,” says 16-year-old Christian from Highgate. “I’ve had no problems with it

It seems like a lot of paperwork but if people don’t look after their piercing properly, or a piercer breaks specific hygiene rules, it can lead to infections, allergic reactions or worse. In Sheffield, a teenage boy was rushed to hospital with a heavy fever after getting his lip pierced. He later died from blood poisoning. This is a very drastic case so don’t worry, but be wary.

An allergy to nickel, which some cheap jewellery is made of, could cause severe headaches, nausea, vomiting and dizziness. You may have healing problems if the jewellery isn’t the right type for the pierced area: too thin or

“If you’re under 16, you need to drag a parent or guardian along to give their permission. If you’re over 16 you’ll need to show some ID, like a passport” because I cleaned it every day. I was cautious because it’s right next to my eye.”

Before you step into any piercing clinic you need to make sure it has been inspected, so look for the proper certificates on the wall. If you’re under 16, you need to drag a parent or guardian along to give their permission. If you’re over 16 you’ll need to show some ID, like a passport.

In Camden - piercing and tattooing central - you have to show a photocopy of a parent or guardian’s credit card to prove they’re taking responsibility for you.

You then fill out a form, outlining any health issues you may suffer from. The form explains the procedure and how to look after the piercing once it’s done.

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heavy and your body might reject it, causing swelling and pain.

Navel piercings become infected very easily. Like most other piercings, you should just mix salt with boiling water and use a cotton bud to clean the area around the piercing. Simple right?

Tongue piercings are far more complicated. Until it’s properly healed, dairy products can cause infection, so you need to keep clear of them for at least a week. Worse, the bar can take chunks out of your teeth.

It sounds as if there are no upsides but teens get a thrill out of piercing. Just like a new haircut, it’s a change of image and helps us show how unique we are.

If you make sure it’s done in a safe place and look after the piercing, then there’s no need to worry about nasty side effects.

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sara

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niamh

cThekHiping KFromiicking

BY NIAMH MALLAGHAN It all kicked off at the train station. Me and my mates were having a laugh when a girl come up to me and started slagging me off. I wasn’t in a good mood anyway, and I wasn’t going to take any bad mouth from anyone, so I started mouthing back.

She pushed me away by my face and scratched it so I saw red and smacked her round the head. There was a lot of punching and kicking from both of us but I got her to the floor and started kicking her.

I know what it’s like being on the floor when you can’t do anything about it and you know they’re bigger than you and they’ll probably end up killing you.

You feel weak, like you can’t do anything. But when you’re in a fight, because you’re really angry, you just carry on.

My mates tried to pull me away but I just kept going back to hurt her more.

like karate and judo have lost their original concept and developed into a competition-based art. Wing Chun has stuck to its roots. It specialises in close quarter combat. It’s direct, simple and economical.”

For a while I didn’t like it because I was the only girl. For the first time I was really shy but then I got to know the other people there. They started to help me out and show me all sorts of sweet moves.

“Wing Chun is becoming more and more popular, thanks mainly to its most famous student: Bruce Lee,” says Seyfi.

“As a 13 year old I was crazy about Bruce Lee (I still am). But in the 70s the only people teaching Wing Chun were the Chinese in China Town. I was too young to travel, and they charged a lot of money to people who weren’t Chinese. But after doing Judo, Wu Shu Kwan and Taekwondo, I finally found a

“Wing Chun gives you a purpose and an aim.

It’s about self-expression” local Wing Chun class. Now I teach my When they did calm me down, and I started reflecting on what I had just done, I felt really bad. I didn’t mean to go that mad over a couple of words.

But I couldn’t do anything about it. I’d already done it.

That was my last fight. I was falling in with the wrong crowd, in trouble with the police and getting out of control so my mum moved us all to London.

When I found out there was no room for me in school I was back out on the streets, so my step dad had a little word with one of his mates, Seyfi, a master of Wing Chun.

“Wing Chun is about real street fighting,” says Seyfi. “Other martial arts

own students at my own school, Spirit Wing Chun, and I represent Jesse Glover, Bruce Lee’s first American student.

“Wing Chun gives you a purpose and an aim. It’s about self-expression. You learn that fighting is not something to show off with or use lightly: as you become more deadly, you realise how much damage you can do to another human being. I’m teaching violence, but not how to be violent.”

I really enjoy Wing Chun now, plus my anger has calmed down a bit. I’d think twice before I got into another fight because now I could really do some damage.

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GALLERY

Rock Apocalypse by George Barrow • Real Beauty by Jing Cui

Send your artwork to: The Bigger Shoe Box, Muswell Hill Centre, Hillfield Park N10 3QJ Tel: 020 8883 0260, Fax: 020 8883 2906, Mob: 07947 884 282, Email: jon@exposure.org.uk

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16 Photograph by Barry Macdonald ‘Stick man’ illustration by Huw Macdonald

joey

BY JOEY LESKIN Sitting there, waiting, watching them all.

Their eyes on you. I start the intro, feel the rhythm bouncing off the walls as the guitar whines into focus. The theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey rings out as I fill in with my booming bit. It finishes to limited applause. Oh dear. It’s not as simple as I thought.

It had been planned for several weeks a Battle of the Bands - and my friends Michy, David and I got together to make a band for the occasion. We decided to cover three songs: a David Bowie classic which we re-energised; an obscure REM song which we made our own; and a dance version of the Oasis classic She’s Electric.

Just minutes before the concert we found out each band was to be cut down to just one song due to severe late running. Panic spread among the

vocal heckling. Doubt fills my mind.

Michy starts the riff and I come in, moving my feet up and down, up and down, frantically in time with the stick on the snare drum: boom.. ts.. cha... ts...

“She’s electric, she’s got a –” …where are the rest of the lyrics, David? The mic isn’t working. I keep going, trying to fill the void. The guitar pumps noise. Lyrics, David, lyrics! I will him on until the chorus where, with practised timing, we break into our slower, less danceable but epic sound.

We bounce through two verses and two choruses towards a bursting finale.

David intermittently fails to sing into his microphone. Michy periodically climbs onto the bass drum and jumps off. I

“The mic isn’t working. I keep going, trying to fill the void.

The guitar pumps noise” keep the rhythm constant, perpetually bands who had already had difficulty cutting down to three. We stuck with She’s Electric, a song we knew would get the audience bouncing up and down (and which we hoped might not go wrong).

And so, after several attempts to announce our name right, we, the Cosmic Meeting of the Riverside Ninjas, make our way onto the stage: David on guitar, Michy on bass and me, twirling my drumsticks (well, in my head anyway).

As a drummer you expect to have someone in front of you deflecting attention. But there I was totally exposed to a predatory audience, a few hundred people just waiting for an error they could pounce on with practised

worried that everything will fall apart at any moment.

We scrape through to the end of our song and are met with rapturous applause from an audience treated to an original and entertaining version of one of their favourite songs. I climb offstage feeling triumphant. The rest of the bands play. We watch and admire the accomplished, the rehearsed, and in one or two cases, the awful. As the final band closes its set, we are announced not on the podium but a respectable fourth. I go home feeling tired but successful.

Of course, some still ask why we butchered a classic – but this is a democracy, and they sure voted us in.

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d i f n co CKSON

BY LACKISH JA ings look you see th u Ever ywhere yo azines... ag m s, eo vid usic about sex: TV, m of ea id e ople get th that’s where pe having sex.

Shona, 15, pressure,” says “There’s a lot of l your al t ge een. “You from Bounds Gr d sex, it’s ha e I’v ah ye h mates saying ‘O u’re n’t know what yo the best. You do be to nt You don’t wa missing out on’. t done it.” n’ ve ha u yo e us picked on beca they ve sex because ha le op pe hI Some hic (w it else is doing think ever yone t having n’ ai y od yb er ev know isn’t true and they’re too big sex). Others think at for th e lik ns io cis can make de how many of us themselves. But l about? having sex is al at wh d understan

ter to kill you, but af think she’s going to ing go ’s at wh she’s killed you, happen?” n get od that you ca In a way it’s go vice but on ad th al he al xu confidential se right to parents have a the other hand up to. g ttin e been ge know what you’v d of se cu are often ac “People like me have sex to le op pe g un encouraging yo yed it until er people dela but I would rath uences,” with the conseq they can cope ople felt pe g un yo er. “If says Dr Christoph steem, lf-e se e d had mor more positive an r he ot of ts lo e ar ere and realised th ar t from in the world ap exciting things We live in a t. bi a it r fe de sex, they might ing is sold society, ever yth very sexualised

Photograph of kissing couple (c) Jon Golds 2006

ty, everything is ie c so d e lis a xu se g people d a lot of youn “We live in a very through sex an rt of the pa be to x” se h g ‘I’ve got to do it : u ink ro th th r’.” lia ld cu so ey’ll think I’m pe

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out sex. t talk to me ab My friends don’ acher - or te HE - like a PS Teachers might but you’d , or ct do ur yo you could go to ur phoning up yo worry about them ur parents. Then yo g llin house and te uble. you’d get in tro on for out is a big reas ng di fin ts “Paren y mum m “If a. says Shon not having sex,” dad’s y m to e m nd se found out, she’d d my six feet under. An and then I’d be t.” firs up e m at mum would be ily is Head of Fam Dr Christopher : “One of ys sa e Sh gey.

Planning in Harin knows he t the GP is the worries abou going to ’s he , ily m fa e s th mum, he know realistic, ’s at th es Sometim tell ever ybody. a 4YP to ’t. If they come sometimes it isn y sta ll wi it d lk an clinic, we can ta young t I always say to confidential. Bu . If she um m ur yo t ou ab to people just think ing go e sh is ter, how discovers this la know you I r? he st tru ’t feel if you didn

crowd or th ings ople rush into th “Most young pe ly,” says er op pr h ug ro it th without thinking e th th wi e e right ther Shona. “If you’r say: t n’ uld wo u Yo rl. geezer or the gi al health to go for a sexu ‘Stop! We need out it ab le don’t think check up.’ Peop .” until afterwards out u should check yo y wh is Which health before al xu se d an n contraceptio ly active. you get sexual orge, 18, ppen,” says Ge “Mistakes do ha gh they ou th en n. “But ev from Wood Gree g people un yo l, ia nt de can keep it confi lves.” parents themse should tell their cold. is n io pt ntrace Sex is hot and co find out , ay aw ed rri ca Before you get y, condoms, about pregnanc clinic, d STIs at a 4YP an n io contracept P bus 4Y e th on or on 4YP drop-in sessi p27). (see Director y, Sponsored by

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e c n e

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ve to see is bully me! I ha and all they do they’re rls n gi ow e r ar ei s th in All my cous y grandma’s. On m they at t er gh th ni ge y to da when they’re them ever y Fri I do? to get on, but n em ca t se ha we W . d gs alright an rrible thin way me and say ho all the time. The just gang up on happen to me to or ed id us it sa n, ey ea th m at u wh I know what yo and show that me alone. Try s to ignore them bored and left t go I sorted it out wa on so ey Th e. m er th k. .u bo ’t co did just didn www.bullying.

0 7730 3300 or Kidscape on 02

My best friend died six month s ago and ever extremely depr since I’ve been essed. I’ve lost weight and I lo feel like there’ ok like a ghos s no one to talk t. I to because no really understan one will ever d what I’m go ing through. Ho me again with w will I ever be out my best fri end there besid You’ll never forg e me? et your best frie nd, but you have with life and ke to try to carry on ep communica ting with other your mum or da people. Talking d will help you to a lot, or you could (0800 11 11).

It’s free and yo try Childline u can remain an onymous.

22

If you’re feeling unhappy or don’t know what to do about something, there are plenty of places where you can get advice. See the directory, p27.

niamh

sara

sotira

I’m grounded and my mum hates me becaus e I got in troub le for something I didn’t even do. I feel lik e my mum has lost all respect for me. She do esn’t talk to me like she used to. I have tried to apologise so many tim es. I’m so depressed.

If you just do what your mum asks yo u to, soon enough you’ ll start talkin g like you used to and the air will clear a bit. It might take her tim e to trust you again but w hat did you expect? You have learnt that the thin gs you do have conseq uences.

‘No’ illustration by Nick May

My mum has a dri nk proble either ou m. She’s t drinkin g until 2 morning .00 , passed out on th in the floor or in e living ro th om talking to e toilet being si ck. her but sh and sho e just ge I’ve tried uts abou ts angry t me sto having a pping he ny fun. r from Cosmic (08 service fo 00 389 5257) is Haringey r families ’s affected You can by alcoh also get ol. free and advice fr confiden om the N tial SPCC Ch Helpline ild Prote on 0808 ction 800 5000 .

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Tel: 020 8489 3840

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BY HUW MACDONALD, LACKISH JACKSON, MITESH SACHANIA, NIAMH MALLAGHAN, & PAULINE NAKIRYA Participation is all about standing up for yourself, being part of things and getting your point across. But it can take a lot of confidence to get up and say what you think.

Everyone wants young people to have their say, but it isn’t always easy. For a start, how do you know whether other people will really listen to you or just laugh in your face and call you an idiot?

Well, it goes both ways: if you want people to listen to you, you have to listen to them. You have to give it to get it, and that means respecting other people’s views, even if you don’t agree. Everyone’s got different ideas - that’s the whole point of giving everyone a chance to say what they think - so participation is as much about listening as it is about speaking.

Participation is also about more than just saying what you think. It’s about getting involved and actually doing things. There are loads of things we could be doing in

pauline

niamh

mitesh

lackish

huw

IF YOU CAN’T

BEAT THEM...

Instead of just letting things happen, and then complaining about it afterwards, we should be helping to make the decisions that affect us. Even if we don’t get what we want, at least we’ll know the reason why. We might even change our minds because when you’ve helped decide something, you don’t mind so much if it’s not exactly the way you wanted. It feels like your own and you want to make it work.

Participation is not about any free stuff you might get out of doing it. It’s about feeling like independent individuals, instead of like little kids. It’s about making our own decisions and getting just a bit more control over your own life. (And you can still get the free stuff if you use your cunning and street smarts.)

Our views are valuable and other people need to hear them. We’ve already got a voice. We shouldn’t be afraid to use it.

“If you want people to listen to you, you have to listen to them” school to make things better. We could help organise after-school clubs or big events like sports day; put together a yearbook; start a debating society; or raise money to do all this stuff. If you don’t like something, change it!

There are loads of ways to get everyone involved - questionnaires, votes, a comments box, a youth forum, class representatives, a school council - and loads of ways to let people know what’s happening - newsletters, a school website, in assemblies, by text message or even MSN messenger.

This article is based on participation workshops organised by Haringey Children’s Fund Participation Project which took place at the Safer Solutions conference organised by Haringey Children’s Service and Haringey Community and Police Consultative Group.

Thanks to Connexions North London Young People’s Partnership Board and Rise Up for providing the following young people to run the workshops: Althia Grrinon, Asha Vangella, Cassandra Graham, Celestine Best, Ekow Oliver, Praim Singh, Rediet Asseku & Robbie Jones.

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Crucifixion and apple illustrations by Huw Macdonald The devil’s behind me I can feel his presence.

I wish back to being a child Thinking about Christ dying So at Christmas I could get presents.

But if he did go on the cross And suffer for you and me, How comes this life holds no l-o-v-e?

Money’s power so we all follow People motivated by greed.

So why should we live through the night If by dawn we’re set up to bleed?

The devil’s behind me I feel him breathing like Kanye West.

Makes me think back to ‘96 Still asking why Pac was told Not to wear his vest.

So many questions but still no-one to ask.

I thought I was grown But I can’t move on ’Cause I’m still vex at my past.

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Broken home and council flats Didn’t set me on the right path So I tried to make my own way To get to the greener side of the grass.

The devil’s behind me And he don’t seem to want to leave.

Choking the truth back into my throat So now I can’t breathe.

I’m still going round in circles ’Cause I should’ve listened when I was told: ‘It’s a hard knock life, but go ahead If you want to pave your own road’.

The concrete’s splitting under my feet Into more problems I’m getting stuck deep.

I can’t even seem to learn the hard way History just repeats.

But now it’s intensified And the strain makes it hard to sleep.

I won’t sell my soul to the devil But I know the price would be cheap.

I can’t bite into the apple like Eve But it does look kinda sweet.

DEVILISH, 17, WOOD GREEN

Send your poetry to: The Bigger Shoe Box, Muswell Hill Centre, Hillfield Park N10 3QJ Tel: 020 8883 0260, Fax: 020 8883 2906, Mob: 07947 884 282, Email: editor@exposure.org.uk

Directory YOUTH CLUBS Muswell Hill Youth Centre 020 8883 5855 Bruce Grove Youth Project 020 8808 1604 Wood Green Area Youth Project 020 8489 8940 / 020 8489 8942 SEXUAL HEALTH 4YP Haringey Tuesday 2.30-4.30pm St Ann’s Sexual Health Centre 020 8442 6605/6536 4YP Drop-in Sessions: Northumberland Park Monday 3.30-6.30pm Aspire Youth Project, Kenneth Robins House, 240 Northumberland Park Rd, N17 0BX.

Open Door 020 8348 5947 DISABILITIES Markfield Project Markfield Road, Tottenham 020 8800 4134 Haringey Pheonix Group 020 8889 7070 haringeypheonixgroup@yahoo.co.uk www.haringeyphoenix.org.uk

Wood Green Wednesday 3.30-6.30pm Sky City Community Centre, (Wood Green Shopping City), 65 Penwortham Court, 50 Mayes Road, Wood Green, N22 6SR.

www.alcoholconcern.org.uk

SCHEMES AND PROGRAMMES Duke of Edinburgh Award 020 8489 8941 / 07967 336 338 e2e 020 8889 0022 Keep It Simple Training 0871 200 2321 Prince’s Trust 020 8375 3420 BTCV Millenium Volunteers 020 7843 4292 / 7843 4291 mv-london@btcv.org.uk www.mv-london.org.uk Tottenham Connexions Centre 020 8808 0333 Revolving Doors Agency 07989 708 461 / 07779 098 269 www.revolving-doors.co.uk stephen@revolving-doors.co.uk or tracie@revolving-doors.co.uk

www.talktofrank.com

BULLYING

EMERGENCY HOUSING Shelterline 0808 800 4444 HELPLINES Childline 0800 11 11

Bullying Online www.bullying.co.uk

4YP Bus 0800 1613 715 www.4yp.co.uk

www.addaction.org.uk

NSPCC Child Protection Helpline 0808 800 5000 www.nspcc.org.uk

Young Mums To Be 020 8889 0022 Outzone www.outzone.org.uk Haringey Young People’s Counselling Service 020 8489 8944

STAFF Andreas Koumi Jon Golds Enrico Tessarin Luke Pantelidou

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL Step-Ahead 020 8493 8525 Cosmic 0800 389 5257 National Drugs Helpline 0800 77 66 00

DOMESTIC VIOLENCE

Kidscape 020 7730 3300 webinfo@kidscape.org.uk MENTAL HEALTH Antenna 020 8365 9537 www.antennaoutreach.co.uk info@antennaoutreach.co.uk

Hearthstone 020 8888 5362

Gary Flavell Ryan Alexander Mirella Issaias

Flo Codjoe David Warrington Vu Tran

is a registered trademark of Exposure Organisation Limited, registered in England no. 3455480, registered charity no.

1073922.

The views expressed in Exposure do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher. (c) 2006. All rights reserved. ISSN 1362-8585 AWARDS Purple Youth Award for best youth representation website London Electricity Londoner of the Year Award Nationwide Award for Voluntary Endeavour Phillip Lawrence Award Ed & F Man Award for Best London Youth Publication ADVERTISING If your organisation wants to get its message across to young people call 020 8883 0260 PRINTERS Miter Press Ltd, Miter House, 150 Rosebery Avenue, N17 9SR Tel: 020 8808 9776

DISCLAIMER Exposure aims to give young people an independent voice which can contribute to the democratic process.

We apologise for any offence caused by the way young people choose to express themselves.

While Exposure has done its best to check material contained within this publication, we cannot accept responsibility for inaccurate information provided by outside organisations.

Organisations mentioned are not necessarily connected with nor endorsed by Exposure.

Permission has been sought, wherever possible, for the use of copyright material. Where contact has not been possible we hope that, as a voluntary organisation helping to educate and inform young people, it is acceptable for Exposure to use such material for the benefit of young people. If this is not the case please let us know and any such copyright material will be removed from future publications with our apologies.

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Tiger illustration by George Barrow