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Beckham begs British youths
18/08/2008 21:25 - (SA)
Watford - English football icon David Beckham on Monday pleaded with England's youths to end the wave of fatal knife attacks blighting Britain's inner cities, citing his own tragic experiences.
The international star, 33, joined forces with England goalkeeper David James and defender Rio Ferdinand - plus Prime Minister Gordon Brown - to urge youngsters to think twice about arming themselves with knives.
Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Beckham said he was 13 when the brother of one of his best friends was stabbed while trying to break up a street fight, and ended up paralysed.
"No-one wants to see the devastation I saw my friend and his family go through. We have to lend our support to this campaign," Beckham said at the England team's hotel in Watford, northwest of London.
'We have to help'
"You don't expect situations that are happening whereby people go to school in the morning and then you never see them again," he added, sitting alongside Home Secretary Jacqui Smith.
"We have got to help. We have got a voice that kids listen to. It is unfortunate it is part of life, part of culture, these days and this is why we want to get involved. We want to make a change."
There is widespread concern about the increasing number of teenagers killed by knives in Britain this year and fears about a growing violent gang culture among the nation's youth.
Saturday's killing of a 17-year-old boy was the 17th fatal stabbing out of 23 teenagers killed in London this year.
Manchester United star Ferdinand said he was from the same south London estate as Damilola Taylor and attended the same school as Stephen Lawrence, victims of perhaps the most notorious youth murders in the last 15 years.
"In the past maybe there wasn't a strong enough deterrent for carrying knives," said the centre-half.
"It is not always the person intending to hurt someone who gets injured. People carrying the knives also get hurt.
"Boredom can set in a lot of times, there is a lot of peer pressure and then something happens that everyone regrets."
Changing the way people think
In a statement, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said knife crime was a "serious problem" in many British conurbations.
"Young people need to understand that carrying a knife, just like carrying a gun, is dangerous and wrong," he said.
"But... government and the police can't solve this problem by themselves. We need to change the way young people think about knives, we need families and communities working together, and we need influential role models."
England's players were speaking ahead of their friendly match against the Czech Republic at London's Wembley Stadium on Wednesday.
- AFP
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