We will be narrating the tragedy of the 21 teens who were killed in 2023 throughout of February. Every victim should be remembered as a young person with a family and their entire life ahead of them, according to our initiative, The 21. Our goal is to alter the culture that encourages children to carry knives and engage in violent behaviour.
Seven years have passed since a cherished son was fatally murdered while walking home from school in January of this year.
When Quamari Serunkuma Barnes entered Capital City Academy in Doyle Gardens, Willesden, on January 23, 2017, for the last time, he was just 15 years old.
A boy his own age chased him and stabbed him three times in front of a dozen scared schoolchildren.
His father, Paul Barnes, and mother, Lillian Serunkuma, were devastated. Now gone was their “wise” son, who was very popular and lively, and who loved and looked after his nephews and nieces.
His mother feels that not much has changed in the years to address the reasons behind youth deaths. She mentions service cuts, but there have been very few concrete steps taken despite several meetings and a lot of good will.
She is still ready to give it another go, though.
“As a mum it’s very disheartening sometimes when you realise you’re still having to read about parents going through the exact same thing you’ve gone through and there’s still no resolution as such,” Lillian added.
“For me, this is why I’m always open to talking about it, as much as can be said on the subject, even if it means I have to come out of my comfort zone, I always will.”
Unlike many yound people who are stabbed or killed, Quamari was not a gang member or linked to any illegal behaviour.
She continues to be grateful for the support the family received from the community and the understanding they received from the media about this.
She said: “We lived in an area that obviously was affected but at the same time who we are as a family and the morals that we stand for, I was just glad the media picked up on that.
“They knew he was not a member of a gang, he was not someone who went out there or did anything bad.
“At the same time, losing a child, whether your child is in involved in gang activities or not, it’s still the same pain.”
While Quamari did not fit the stereotype of the victim, her son’s killer was under local authority care and “red flags” pointing to a problem were ignored.
She admits she still wonders how he could be on the radar but not properly monitored, but says she has never sought simply to hold people to blame.
She added: “If we counteract failings with arguments it doesn’t fix the problem, so working with them to understand where the failings were was always at the top of my priority list.
“I’m thankful I’m not a reactive person. Time shows you a lot of things you didn’t see in the beginning.”
“It’s sad we’re still having this conversation how many years down the line.
“I meet parents who lost kids 15 years ago, 20 years ago and we’re still having the same conversations about safeguarding young people.”
Lillian believes the solution is education – how children are taught, whether it touches their cultural background or raises their self esteem.
Despite a lot of talk, she does not believe that the police or community have a handle on youth homicide, with services that need investment instead getting the opposite.
“I do believe everyone has good intentions and there’s a lot of discussion around the subject,” she said.
“At the beginning I went to a lot of meetings, consulted with a lot of different youth organisations, sat on panel hearings, spoke to the Mayor, deputy Mayor.
“It’s a bit sad to think that something that affects predominately young people in London is discussed but never actioned. There’s never a lot implemented, especially with a lot of services cut for young people, it almost seems like it feeds into each other.”
Nonetheless, she continues to speak at police functions, and also works to build the liaison between victims’ families and the police.
She also believes there should be better education and better psychological and trauma training for police officers.
“I’m very much invested in building that trust between the police and the community,” she added.
“When we’re dealing with a lot of pain and we’ve lost someone, we have to rely on that service, and improving that service is important to me.”
“When an incident happens a lot of people are affected. The services that go around that are non-existent.
Any work Lillian does now is based around policy and procedure, as she says “just talking about it doesn’t get anything done”.
She believes that by intervening in the right places, young people can be diverted away from crime and bad choices.
She added: “Celebrate the good young people are doing in the community while not forgetting the ones who need additional help.
“Children are not born evil. It’s based on the environmental things that happen to them.
“If you can make a difference in their environment that’s a little bit of a way of dealing with the problem.”
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