BRITAIN-SECURITY/EXTREMISM SCHOOLS Family of 7/7 victim takes fight against extremism to the classroom

Record ID: 135934

  • Title: BRITAIN-SECURITY/EXTREMISM SCHOOLS Family of 7/7 victim takes fight against extremism to the classroom
  • Date: 1st July 2015
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (JUNE 30, 2015) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) MIRIAM HYMAN'S SISTER, ESTHER HYMAN, SAYING: ''It saddens me to hear about the steady stream of young people that are going down the path of radicalisation. Maybe our work is a drop in the ocean, but collectively we can make a difference. The aim of a terrorist is to terrorise and I refuse to
  • Embargoed: 16th July 2015 13:00
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  • Story Text: Ten years on from the London bombings of July 7, 2005, one family has moved on from the grief of losing a loved one and is taking the fight against extremism to Britain's schools.
    31-year-old Miriam Hyman died after the number 30 double decker bus she was travelling on was blown-up by suicide bomber Hasib Hussein at Tavistock Square in the centre of the city.
    The attack was one of four coordinated bombs detonated by militants on London's transport system, killing 52 people and injuring hundreds more.
    Following Miriam's death, her family set up the Miriam Hyman Children's Eye Care Centre in Odisha, India and are now attempting to use their daughter's story to educate children about the attacks and to discourage others from extremism.
    Her mother, Mavis Hyman told Reuters in her North London home, how she had dedicated herself to preserving her daughter's legacy.
    ''Our reaction to 7/7 was a determination to do whatever we could in our very limited power to prevent this happening to other people. This is so avoidable. This distress is so intense and so avoidable that it became our life's work,'' she said.
    The programme, called Miriam's Vision, is a collection of lesson plans developed by the Miriam Hyman Memorial Trust in conjunction with teachers, designed to educate British secondary school children (aged 12-16) about the events of the London bombings.
    Esther Hyman, Miriam's sister said she was surprised to discover that many young people today didn't know about the attacks.
    ''Although many of them are aware of 9/11, actually the events of 7/7 do seem to have slipped out of the public's consciousness. We don't want to brow beat. We're not feeling sorry for ourselves but it's worth remembering an event like 7/7 and learning lessons from it, so that it didn't happen in in vain,'' she said.
    On Wednesday (July 1), The Hyman family officially launched Miriam's Vision at an event at University College London, just streets away from Tavistock Square.
    The curriculum-based plans include elements of History, Citizenship, Geography, Business Studies, Art and Dance, which the plan's authors hope will dissuade children from extremism and prepare young people to think rationally.
    Thousands of people have left the west to pursue jihad in Syria and Iraq, many of whom are British.
    In March, three British schoolgirls from east London travelled to Syria to join with Islamic State fighters.
    Jane Beaumont, the headteacher of Copthall School in North London, where Miriam studied and which was the first to trial the lesson plans, said that schools had to be part of the solution to dissuading young people from extremism.
    ''It's not just for schools, but schools have an important role to play in terms of how we are educating our young people, but also in how we are supporting parents and our relationship and partnership with parents to ensure that their children are safe both within school and outside of school,'' she said.
    Miriam's vision hopes to change perceptions about race, religion, tradition and culture, as an antidote to the violence and radicalisation which has seduced some young people.
    Rabia Dilawar, a 14-year-old Muslim student from Norbury Manor Business and Enterprise College in South London said that it's helped to change her classmates' perception of Islam.
    ''There are a lot of stereotypes about Muslims being terrorists and Islamaphobia and seeing as I'm Muslim, I get quite offended when people say that. These lessons have helped those other children in my class understand that Muslims are not terrorists, it is just a stereotype that people have been making up. Just because one person, the bomber, has decided to do something like this, it doesn't mean that everyone else who follows the same belief as that bomber, has the same intentions as him as well,'' she said.
    The programme's release comes at a time when more young people are turning to jihad with other radicalised westerners and taking up arms with Islamic State.
    Esther Hyman said that the fact others are turning to radicalisation saddens her, but believes her sister's memory can help to make a difference.
    ''Maybe our work is a drop in the ocean, but collectively we can make a difference. The aim of a terrorist is to terrorise and I refuse to lay down and be beaten,'' she said.
    The tenth anniversary of the London Bombings takes place on Tuesday (July 7).
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