The domino effect

Three years ago, the murder of Azaan Kaleem caused outrage and outcry in Luton. With many people across the town shocked and petrified, and the many lives ruined through a domino effect no-one saw coming. You may be thinking the family of Kaleem is thought to be the ones devastated, but the story goes much deeper.

Azaan Kaleem was only 18 at the time of his murder, he had a strong future ahead of him and a loving family and girlfriend. In 2018 his life was taken from him by a group of boys – who I knew of personally, from the age range of 18-21. He was stabbed to death by those boys. One of which was a brother to a very close friend of mine. An aspiring police officer, now his dreams shattered by his brothers actions.

The death of Kaleem not only ended his life but ruined that of his family, with the heartbreak and misery of losing their only son and a girlfriend losing her partner. On the other side, the families of the four young men responsible, who all received long prison sentences, found themselves forced to live with the guilt over the consequences of their crime.

I wanted to get close and personal and speak about the life of my friend who has suffered the consequences of Azaan Kaleem’s fatal stabbing, someone who is completely innocent and didn’t deserve what was coming.

Mr Ellis (as I’ll call him to keep some form of confidentiality) a very close friend of mine and the brother of one of the offenders, saw his life fall victim to this domino effect. Witnessing his brother’s crimes through TV – a view no man should have to experience, changed his perspective a lot. He was an aspiring police officer but had to let go of his ambitions due to his brother’s crimes.

After the conviction of his sibling, everything around him seemed to take a fall, not only his dreams but his normal life. His mother was arrested for lying to police officers whilst trying to protect her son when police raided his home. She had the option to either hold a prison sentence or leave town and join a church offenders institute somewhere up north.

This resulted in the separation of his family as everyone was too young. His younger sister and younger brother and himself were all split up and spread across the UK to different parts of family, his home of 17 years was no longer his home and he was made to live in accommodation with a friend of his mother. 

With his family separated across the UK, and his father nowhere in sight, all he had left was his mother’s friend and his own friends. An introvert at heart Mr Ellis enjoyed his own company way too much, an aspect a lot of people could never master. So, he was never really out with his friends a lot of times, but when he was out it felt like a “special kind of day”, since he “has a personality unlike any other”.

He was seen as the complete opposite of what his brother was, a “kind-hearted gentleman” to be specific. The system failed him drastically, providing him no assistance and solely relying on his mother’s friend for shelter and care. Being a black male in the UK he found it hard finding jobs. His previous job at McDonalds started reducing his shifts during covid-19, so he was struggling for money, and jobs weren’t hiring especially with the circumstances he was placed in.

Three years on he’s reached new heights. He has proven how to break out a broken system and still come out successful. Currently working for a renowned estate agency within Luton he has proven a lot. He sets an example of no matter how rough it gets you can always pull through. But it’s just crazy how one person can create a chain of pain and issues for everyone around them.

Currently knife crime within Luton is at an increase with new stories coming out weekly most of which aren’t reported to mainstream news but discussed within the community. With stabbing and murders being prominent these past few weeks, with some stabbings go unheard of to the police. I just pray for a safer town and hopefully one day we could break out of this domino effect.