Sukhdev Reel fighting for Justice - Poetry in high emotion
Sukhdev Reel, since meeting you, hearing you tell your haunting tale, then reading your story I have gone to sleep at night thinking of your 25-year fight to gain justice for Ricky, I have woken each morning with poems swirling round my head.
I have mixed emotions regarding this:; on one hand, I feel saddened that your sad plight should be my inspiration; on the other hand, if my small skill can bring your courageous campaign to more peoples’ attention and in doing so bring your ordeal to swifter and just conclusion, then I have achieved a good ending.
I started the prose part of this blog https://www.communitynavigatorservices.org/2022-08-14-reel-fight-for-justice by saying how Manjit Sahota’s poem was my introduction to your story. So, it is only fitting that we begin this poetry selection with that poem.
Shine a light on the Truth
by Manjit Sahota (October 2021)
Racism and the river took Ricky
But he’s buried under the police and the state
They say don’t dig up the past,
they say let history just lie!
But we will not rest, so shine a light for Ricky
Shine a light so we can find the truth.
Because we asked for assistance, the police gave us bigotry and surveillance
You see they want our silence and not our anger
They want our compliance and not our resistance
They want our polite acceptance and not our rage,
They want their Law and order; we want our justice!
Yes, Racism and the river took Ricky
But he’s buried under the police and the state
Now the SDS spied and lied, that’s when you know the force is against you.
We’ve seen it before, so many times, buried under the lies is the truth
Yes, Racism and the river took Ricky
But he’s buried under the police and the state
So, look into our eyes and what do you see?
I don’t see victims, I see fighters
I see the Black Star rising, a memory of our youth and resistance
I see Jayaben Desai and the ‘strikers in Saris’ at Grunwick, Gurdwara collections for miners
Black and white fists against hate, I see Sukhdev Reel, fighting for Justice
That’s why when we march on the streets,
we are not alone, in our hearts we will always carry
Gurdip Singh Chagger, Blair Peach,
Stephen Lawrence, Ricky Reel and
All the victims of racism and the police.
Now, we don’t want your silence, we want your noise,
we want your voice, we want your rage
So, shine a light, shine a light on the truth for Ricky Reel
And say his name…. Ricky Reel. Say his name, Ricky Reel, Say his name…
What can I say about this poem and poet another brilliant poem from an inspirational poet and campaigner. Someone I am proud to share any platform and stage with. Prouder still to call him friend.
Now I come to my first poem. As I have already said I have been inspired to write a clutch of poems, “Making it Reel” which was based on my first encounter with Sukhdev on 3rd July 2022 at her Marxism book launch.
Making it Reel
From the moment I heard on that stage
Telling your story through a veil of tears
My heart went out to you
I know I must do everything in my power
Use my energy, time, and words to amplify your tale
I pledge in this poem, upon this page
To work to bring about justice for Ricky
We cannot bring your son back to life
We cannot give you back your lost years
We can ensure that Ricky’s legacy
Is that no other mother must go through
the same horror your family endured
The police must be brought to account for their role
They should be there to assist not resist
To bring the criminals to account in the courts
Not spy upon the victim's loved ones
Sukhdev Reel you are an inspirational woman
A caring and loving mother
A strong brave warrior, a modern-day Boudicca
Placed in the spotlight you did not ask for
Let us make justice real for the Reel’s
Finally give them a tiny degree of peace of mind
The next poem I want to share with you also came from hearing the speakers on that day, in that tent;, the poem speaks for itself, so I will say no more.
Judgement on Justice
Have we lost sight of justice?
What does real justice look like
What does true justice taste like
What does full justice feel like
Is justice handed down by learned lettered lawyers
In horsehair wigs and flowing gowns from on high
Or delivered from twelve true and honest citizens
Sitting in a jury room after considering all the evidence
Is justice in the head, heart, and hands of the victim
I think not
Is it carried out when the sentence is carried out
Written down the legal ledgers recorded for posterity
Is justice found in the crowded streets or the hallowed halls
Just justice treat the victim and accused equally
Or are the scales of justice tilted and unbalanced
The more I seek out answers, the more questions I uncover
Can someone help me discover
The ultimate judgement on justice
My next piece is called one week this poem covers the first devastating week between when Ricky went missing and when his body was found in the river Thames (14th October – 21st October 1997)
One week
One week that saw an innocent
Life taken from this world
Ripped from the bosom of his family
One week that saw an ordinary British
Working-class family shattered, torn asunder
One week that the London police force
The British legal system shows its callous, brutal, racist face
On the 14 October 1997, a yet unknown murderer(s)
Took the innocent life of Ricky Reel
A young Asian British man with his whole life ahead of him
Exactly one week later, while a young girl was talking
On the telephone to her mother
The police stormed the house
Ripped the phone from the wall socket
With malice aforethought they informed
the family gathered there that their brother, their loved one
Had been found dead drowned in the river Thames
When their parents arrived home shattered and distraught
They found a family devastated and destroyed by this news
As the kids struggle to comprehend the devastating news
Coppers collect in corners laughing at their own jokes
A mother enters her lost son's bedroom
Shattered and unsure if she can carry on
A voice from deep down tells her
Get up, fight on, get us justice
A meek mother entered that room
A courageous campaigner exited that room
For Sukhdev realised that is what Ricky wanted now
She recognised that is what her family needed now
The mother remains cloistered in that room
The woman wears the mantle of justice warrior now
All this happened in a week in October ‘97
The campaign continues to this day
The fight will carry on until justice is done
It was shocking how the police and the justice system treated the family like criminals and violated Ricky’s body throughout the inquest. The poem sums it up.
Let him rest
It was enough you trivialised his death
Treated it as an accident, never considered it murder
Treated him as a stereotypical Asian youth
Running away from an oppressive culture
Treating grieving family more like perpetrators than victims
You had to rub salt into an open bleeding wound
Not allowing his body to rest his spirit any peace
Stripping the skin from his body,
Removing any last sign of dignity
In doing so showing yourselves inhuman
No in the name of justice, just in morbid curiosity
Upon hearing this news, the entire nation
Cries out, loud in unison
Shame on you, Shame in YOU!
For my next poem I return to the subject of Justice. How the British judicial system is rotten to the core and needs destroying and replacing.
The Justice Tree
The justice tree is rotten
No longer fit for purpose, (if it every was)
Deceased and dying from the root to the leaves
We need to chop it down uproot it
Replace it with a species that serve today’s society
A tree that can give life, justice, and peace to all
Whoever you are, wherever you come from
Be you high or low rich or poor
Let us give justice its sight
So, it can see the injustice being delivered
down by her servants upon her people
Let us give justice its hearing,
So, it can hear the cries of the victims of crime
The next one is called “Only then...” it came from a single paragraph and centres on when Sukhdev (“I” in the poem) will be able to move on – This s torn at my heart strings, something difficult to do for a heartless soul like me... It also touches on the fact that the road to justice is not only the Reel’s responsibility, but also the responsibility of us all.
Only then...
The future looks dark and troubled
The road ahead rough and tough
My body is weakening under the strain
My mind is burdened by constant abuse
By those who should be assisting
Yet, still I march on, for I have no option
For the only destination of this train
Is justice for Ricky my lovely lost boy
No matter the strain, no matter the pain
I must endure along the track
Only then can the spirit of my beloved son rest in peace
Only then can my family move on,
with a small feeling of justice done
Only then can I look in my mirror
And say with conviction I have fulfilled
My promise made long ago
Ricky my darling boy
These are the thoughts and words of Sukhdev Reel
For Sukhdev's dreams to come true
We her supporters have a role to perform
We must shine a light upon her future
So, she can see the way forward
Make that rough tough road accessible
Keep that train track clear of barriers
Only then can she achieve justice for Ricky
Only then can her family move on,
can they move from the shadowlands
Back in the realms of reality
Only then can she put away the mantle of campaigner
Become a wife mother and grandmother again
Live out her days in a degree of peace
That must be our pledge to her plight to alongside her
I am coming to the end now (I promise ), but it only goes to show how Sukhdev, Ricky and the whole family’s story affected me.
The next two poems go together, when you see them, I hope you see why.
On this River
On this river someone took my son’s life
On this river somebody changed my life
On this river the tide constantly moves on
On this river time stopped dead for me and my family
Before that dreadful day I had a life
After that death- filled day, I only exist
To gain justice for our Ricky
On this river the tide continues to flow
But my pain never dies, never goes
Star
Every day when the sun falls from the sky
The star of my son shines down from the heavens
Illuminating the way, showing us the direction to search
Find the culprits who committed the callous crime
Took our Ricky from us far too soon
Bring these murders to justice
So, my lovely son, our beloved Ricky
Can finally rest in peace
I have written more and will continue to do so, but I am starting sound obsessed now.
So, I will sign off with a special poem one I wrote to make the 45th anniversary of Ricky’s birthday on Monday 11th July 2022. I signed this poem and sent it to Sukhdev. Happy to report she loved it.
From a rough diamond to a pure gem
A poem to mark Ricky’s birthday
Diamond
As a poet I perform for you
As a campaigner I communicate with you
As an activist I assemble with you
As an advocate I stand up, speak out with you
As a demonstrator I demand with you
Or demand against you
As a protester I want to charge with you
Or charge against you
All of these are facets and faces of me
Make me a diamond
If you focus on one facet I will shine
But it is not until you stand back
Will you see me in all my dazzling collective brilliance
This diamond was forged from the Earth, made by this world
To bring about natural and social justice
Sukhdev herself is a fine poet. So it is only proper she gets the last word here.
Verdict By Sukhdev Reel
I came with a heart full of anticipation and hope
The thought of justice gave me joy
But my heart froze as my son’s dignity
Was thrown around the courtroom like a broken toy.
My legs longed to stand up in indignation
My lips ached to protest
My arms cried to protect my son
And hug him close to my chest.
RIP. Ricky Reel my darling son. One day someone will stand up and tell me who killed you. Until then wait patiently my Ricky. Truth always comes out in the end.
From Silence not an Option By Sukhdev Reel PP. 163