The few seconds before I got robbed at London riots. YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yv2CnuCeQPs Blog Beppe Grillo link: http://www.beppegrillo.it/2011/08/un_italiano_a_l/index.html ENGLISH text: "I want to share what I have experienced because it is more raw and terrifying than any photo or video that you see in the media. I am a filmmaker who lives in London for 4 years, in Peckham, one of the poorest neighborhoods and hostile. In the early afternoon, in the house I heard an unexpected noise, then voices, screams, and police cars. I saw a bus on fire, the 36, the one I usually get every day. I thought it was time to film, I went down the street and I have to admit that maybe it was not a good idea, it becomes difficult to remain a neutral observer, when you're in the middle of the course of events. I found some police officers who drive people away, after turning off the flames, they let everyone did their photos as if they were heroes. I felt the strong smell of burning plastic, hard to breathe. Not far away I saw a surreal situation. All the shops, chains of multinational companies, window shops.. all looted. In front of the public library in Peckham you were facing 50 policemen and a group of several hundred rebels, divided by a road. A few meters away clashes were taking place and the windows of a shop near me were destroyed. At one point I was lifted from behind and pulled away, finding myself struggling to not lose my camera. A group of young people between 15 and 25, covered with scarves on their faces, they were shouting at me, ordering me to stop filming at all costs. After a few seconds when I still did’t understand what was going on, and struggling to stand, I realized to be more alien than I thought to the reality of the neighborhood where I live for four years. I tried to give them explanations. I was threatened and have no other choice but to flee. I thought of my camera that had been taken and all the material and evidence of what had happened. The adrenaline rush made me forget the shock, only after I became aware of the risk involved. I called Tom, a friend of mine from London who drive his Honda Hornet 600 and I asked to take me downtown to Totthenam Court Road, where everything seems quiet, the people have no idea what's going on just a few miles away. My trip to the north of the city, where I was supposed to meet a colleague, continues. Tom leaves me to the metro; destination Camden Town. A billboard at the entrance warns such stops are not accessible because of the clashes, including Camden. For this reason I go further north to Chalk Farm. When he arrived, I began walking down when suddenly a man in a car with sirens blaring screams to escape. In the distance I see people running towards me, and, behind them, a group of hooded people who destroy the shop windows with clubs and iron bars. I run like crazy, without thinking, I run. I arrived when they were just about to close the access gate to the tube. Panic, many people are shut out, asking to be admitted. I jump in and run down to take the last metro. It’s 12am, I am going towards Elephant and Castle. When I got back in south I approached a taxi and asked the driver "Mate, could you take me to Peckham?" and he, without answering me, pulls up the window and goes away. Therefore I keep on walking for 15min in a ghost street, where there is only degradation. I have seen that road every day for 4 years and now you're afraid of who is behind and in front of you. I write while police sirens continue to sound. London does not burn as in 1666 and we are even to the levels of Brixton in the 80s at least for now. Certainly no one expected it, police in the first place it was caught unprepared." ITALIAN text: "Voglio condividere quello che ho vissuto perché è più crudo e terrificante di qualunque foto o video che vedrete sui media. Sono un film-maker che da 4 anni abita a Londra, a Peckham, uno dei quartieri più poveri e ostili. Nel primo pomeriggio, in casa ho sentito un rumore inaspettato e poi voci, urla, e volanti della polizia. Ho visto un autobus in fiamme. Il 36, l’autobus che prendo tutti i giorni. Ho pensato che fosse il momento per filmare; sono sceso in strada e devo ammettere che forse non è stata una bella idea; rimanere un osservatore neutrale diviene difficile, quando ci si trova nel mezzo del corso degli eventi. Ho trovato dei poliziotti che allontanavano la gente, dopo aver spento le fiamme, hanno lasciato che ognuno facesse loro foto, come se fossero degli eroi. Ho sentito il forte odore della plastica bruciata, difficile da respirare. A poche decine di metri ho assistito ad una situazione surreale. Tutti i negozi aperti, catene di multinazionali, negozi di elettrodomestici, di cambiovaluta, di vestiti.. tutti saccheggiati. Di fronte alla biblioteca pubblica di Peckham si stavano fronteggiando 50 poliziotti e un gruppo di diverse centinaia di rivoltosi, divisi da una strada. A pochi metri