LONDON – Four days of rioting last August have cast a shadow over the neighborhoods where the world’s top athletes will compete next summer at the 2012 London Games. Some Olympic events will occur just a few miles away from areas hit by Britain’s worst riots in a generation.
Both London and the Olympics were irrevocably altered.
And so were the lives of those who live here. Sam Kato, 12, practices with the Newham All Star Sports Academy, an oasis in east London from the crime, gangs and drugs that helped fuel last summer’s riots. The program helps keep kids out of trouble and teaches them the value of teamwork.
“It’s like a family to me,” the 6-foot-1 Kato said as the gym reverberated with basketballs rhythmically hitting the wooden floor. “If there were more programs like this, I doubt there would be riots.”
Newham hosts the Olympic Park, center of the 2012 games.
Complex security plans for the Olympics have been altered after the riots, which shocked Britain and damaged London’s image abroad. Those plans were also updated after student demonstrations in London that included a spontaneous attack on Prince Charles and wife Camilla and the “Occupy London” encampment near the city’s financial district.
The
Read More from the Article Source: Full Article
