Players Views
Danny Shittu
England
What was it like for you growing up in east London?
I grew up in Bow so there's quite a few blacks and a few Asians. It's a place where we had to try and learn to get on. Back then it was rough. You've got the white people living across the road but it was predominantly Asians. There were times when it did clash and it clashed in a big way. Those were the types of things we grew up seeing, which I really didn't understand at the time. That was when I was about 13.
Was it a clash of race or a clash of culture?
It was a race clash because I remember one time when the BNP were demonstrating and it was shown on the TV. We actually saw some of the guys that lived across the road marching with the BNP. That was a big deal and I know later on that night there were big fights going on. People were coming in from other areas into ours because there's a road that divides the Asian area from the white area. It was bad and it was something we needed to try and understand. Lucky I wasn't involved in it because me and my family got on with everybody.
Did you experience racism directly?
Because I had two older brothers that went to the school I was lucky when it came to that. I never had that much trouble but a lot of my friends did. I went to a predominantly Asian school with some of my friends who were black boys. They used to get a lot of racism, not just from white boys but from Asians as well. It was hard to deal with because a lot of my friends went through it and I had to go through it with them everyday.
What did you do to help?
I don't really see fighting as a way of solving things. There are times when you can't control yourself but my mum's always brought me up to think before you do things otherwise you'll regret it. So these are things I passed on to my friends, when they did get racist abuse I'd tell them to leave it, think before you do it. I was the bigger one so they did listen to me. And I knew the guys who were throwing the racial abuse as well, they were from across the road. We did know them and they got on with us. I used to ask them, "Why are you doing it, what do you get out of it?"
What advice would you give to a young person who was in that position and felt torn between the two?
You've got to talk to them and find out why the person that's doing it is doing it. Tell them that it's just stupid, that this guy's the same person, he's just got different coloured skin and comes from somewhere else. The person that's receiving the abuse is the more important one because nowadays there's so many people who do a lot of stupid things because of what is said to them or what they're going through. They just need to hear people tell them to think before you do things. I can say there have been a lot of times that I stopped a lot of people from doing a lot of stupid things. It's just about talking and luckily I had someone like my mum telling me the right stuff to tell my friends. I was lucky because I had my sisters and brothers as well.
How do you think football can play a part in embracing cultures?
It lets you know that a person from France is the same as a person from Africa. They're just from two different places and it's really nice because you get to meet different people. I see it as a good thing and footballers can play a big part in it by going to talk to people, kids and older people as well. Letting them know that there's no point in them doing it.
What message would you give to young people about the importance of celebrating and accepting different religions, cultures?
If you live in London you'll see it's full of people from all over the world. You've got to accept it, you can't go out and keep hating everybody you see. By you hating someone else, you're hating yourself. If you want to live a good life and feel good in your heart, you can't go out hating other people, you have to go out and do the best that you can do. Stop focusing on other people; focus on yourself and you work hard to try and get where you want to get to. That's what I work on; talking to kids about themselves. People who hate are too busy sitting at home hating other people and forgetting about themselves.
One of the myths about asylum seekers is that they sponge off the government. When given the chance what do you think about their contribution to society?
Most people who come into this country are coming in for work. I know quite a few asylum seekers and it's very hard for them. It's like being a new kid at school, they're just trying to fit in and get work. A lot of them feel they've got to do things they don't usually do because all they're trying to do is get work to look after their family at home. They're just trying to get on in life and help their family back home. You can't hate someone for that, there's people coming in from all over the world trying to do that. They're not coming here to make trouble. A lot of people don't like to listen or talk to these people. They don't understand. I think racists are scared these people are coming in to take their jobs or take what they should have. But I see it as, if you work hard yourself, you can get that.
Favourite music? I'm really into R&B at the moment. I like a bit of reggae, hip hop.
Favourite food? I eat a lot of Nigerian food; rice with stew.
What living person most inspires you? P Diddy. I play football but I don't just play football. I'm really into business and P Diddy's someone who came from nowhere and is at the top of his game, not just in the music world but other people respect him for what he's done. He controls a team of people now. That's me. I look at him and think, that's what I want to do.
