THE long-awaited report into the cause of the summer disturbances in Burnley has been released, but has anything changed since June, when homes, shops and businesses were set on fire by gangs of rampaging youths and could it happen again?
Reporter DANNY BRIERLEY spoke to some of the people worst affected by the events of June 24, 25 and 26 and asked them if things were different and what they would like to see done to help them.
AS the trouble peaked on Sunday June 24, Arthur Wade's newsagents in Abel Street had its windows smashed. Arthur has been trading in Daneshouse for 17 years, and until that night had never had any trouble.
Arthur has not been to any of the Task Force meetings. He thinks that the reasons and problems for the disturbances were already known.
He said: "As far as I am concerned everything is back to normal, it was pretty soon afterwards.
He believes that "communication problems" led to confusion over how council money was spent and fuelled resentment between different parts of town.
Images of the firebombed Duke of York pub at Duke Bar became synonymous with the riots.
The pub is being renovated and life in the area is making some progress towards a return to normality.
Just behind the pub lies St Andrew's Church, where Father Peter Hapgood-Strickland is hoping that some good can come from what happened in June.
He said: "To some extent people are more aware of the problems of the area.
"Burnley has got a higher position in Government thinking and the underlying problems now stand a better chance of being addressed."
Father Hapgood-Strickland does not believe that the chances of repetition can be ruled out. "There is always a chance of something like this happening.
"What happened in June was not the first time something like this has happened in Burnley, but I hope that the chances of it not happening again are greater."
He said misunderstandings about different communities also played a part.
"There are many white people who believe that every Asian is a Muslim and a lot of Asians think that every white person is a Christian. We all know that is not the case and education between different groups of people must be improved."
Shopkeeper Mohammed Safraz was angered by the Task Force's decision to use the word 'disturbance' rather than 'riot'.
That meant that his shop on Oxford Road, which was firebombed, and was not insured, would not be eligible for compensation.
He said: "When you have gangs of people firebombing homes, businesses and cars, putting people's lives at risk -- that is a riot.
"Things are getting better, we haven't had any trouble and I think that things will probably get better still.
Mohammed had worked as a shopkeeper in Burnley Wood for four years, without ever having a hint of trouble. He said: "I have worked very hard with my family to build up a business.
"We have never been racist and we have always got along with our neighbours and customers.
"I want to see both communities, white and Asian, come together to make sure this thing never happens again."
The Task Force report questioned Lancashire Education Authority's admissions policies relating to white and Asian pupils and it was suggested that it sometimes acted 'unfairly'.
A spokesman for the Authority said: "We welcome the Task Force report and we are looking forward to working with partners at all levels to examine the recommendations that have been made.
"It is early days in this process, but discussions are ongoing and we are clearly treating this as a high priority."
Barden County Junior School in Abel Street, Daneshouse, close to some of the worst riots, has a 75 percent ethnic roll, who have English as a second language.
Headteacher Simon Smalley said its strengths lay in its diversity: "Following the disturbances there was a considerable disquiet within the school and the local community.
"Everyone was worried about it and how it was going to be resolved.
"Concerns have been discussed in an honest and open manner when children have expressed worries.
"We have always looked for ways to promote racial harmony and we are determined to do so with enthusiasm."
Bangladeshi Welfare Association member Muhammed Sher Ali Mia, maintains that the riot was racially motivated, having witnessed some of the events first hand. "I am happy to some extent but I think they could have gone a lot further.
"I feel they have not tackled the BNP or the racist element in Burnley.
"But overall I think that the report is fair and balanced."
Burnley's Deputy Mayor, and executive member of the Lancashire Council of Mosques, Rafique Malik said the disturbances were the result of three things, one being sensationalistic reporting in parts of the media.
He said: "Things are more or less back to normal. I am sure that things do not change themselves, we have to do something about the situation if we we want to see some changes.
"Everybody was looking to the Task Force report, though people like me know exactly what went wrong and why we had to suffer through that terrible week.
"Basically there are two or three issues coming out. One is the unfair distribution of Government funding, which is wrong on every count.
"First of all, from 1979 to 1999, including the first two years of the Labour Government, local authorities like Burnley have been starved of Government funding.
"The deprivation and disadvantage increased tremendously and the people who were at the bottom of the heap, black and Asian and white poor people, suffered tremendously and when some Government grants started trickling in, they were too little too late.
On the issue of race relations, Mr Malik said: "I think that up till now we have let race issues be dealt with by race relations bodies.
"The fact of the matter is that race relations will only improve if people make a contribution and stop passing the buck to the Equal Opportunities Board or the Racial Equality Council.
"We need to recognise that there is poverty and disadvantage in poor white as well as poor black and Asian communities, and that we can only win if we work against those issues together."
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