Ameena Matthews roams the streets of Chicago. In her mid-40s, she has children of her own, but her mission is to keep other people's children from killing each other and taking innocent lives.
Chicago nurtured the ambitions of Barack Obama. It is also the city of Al Capone and violent drug gangs of the 1960s and 1970s that ruled entire neighbourhoods. Even as that city's notorious housing projects have been demolished and its crime rate has declined, its African-American youth still kill each other at an alarming rate. More of those youth go to prison than to university.
"Today, the perpetrators as well as the victims are much younger - that's the profound difference," Matthews says.
She is one of The Interrupters, a group that gave its name to a documentary film about violence in Chicago, and about efforts to reduce it. Working in a programme called Ceasefire, the group intervenes in potentially violent disputes on the street to prevent the worst from happening.
The men in The Interrupters are drawn mostly from the ranks of street gangs. Almost all are ex-convicts. Many are murderers. Matthews stands apart from them as a woman and a Muslim who's never been in prison. And she has deeper roots in the city's underworld as the daughter of Jeff Fort, one of Chicago's most notorious gangsters.
In 1987, Fort, now 64, was sentenced to 80 years in prison for conspiring with the Libyan government to commit terrorist acts in the United States. He got an additional 75-year sentence in 1988 for the murder of a rival gang leader. Fort's gang was originally called the Blackstone Rangers. It was renamed El Rukn after Fort converted to Islam in prison in the 1970s.
In the documentary, which plays like a reality show and opens in the UK tomorrow, Matthews says she came to Islam because of her father, after working as a gang enforcer. When she herself was shot, she decided to change direction. Her father called her, promising revenge on the young shooter. Matthews declined. "I valued life. I wasn't so quick to pull the trigger. Looking back, that was my first meditation," she recalls.
The Interrupters is co-directed by Steve James and Alex Kotlowitz. James also made Hoop Dreams (1994), an eight-year probe into the lives of two high school basketball prodigies in Chicago. Neither made the professional ranks. Few of the talented do. Each basketball star in Hoop Dreams has had a brother gunned down. One also lost his father.
James's aim was to study violence from the perspective of those risking their own lives to defuse it, such as the charismatic Matthews, who said her turn away from violence "was about the dash", referring to the punctuation mark between her date of birth and death. "It was about what I would leave between those two numbers," she says.
On camera, she chases, cajoles, lectures and comforts teenagers, speaking in street talk. (Audiences who haven't watched enough episodes of The Wire might require subtitles). Standing on the street with a child of 10, she asks a crowd: "If this brother catch a case and do a hundred years, whose fault is it?" (translation: if this child is convicted of a crime and sentenced to a long prison term, whose fault is it?).
Matthews's sermons against revenge clash with popular stereotypes in the US of Muslims as people of violence. So do scenes of praying, celebrating birthdays and roller-skating with her children and her husband, an imam at a local mosque. Prejudice, she says, "can be about Islam; it can be about that I'm a woman; and it can be about that I'm black".
"I would assume that my effectiveness comes from my past history, that I'm the credible messenger that I am because of what I did," she notes, acknowledging that the religious impulse that drives her work may not be viewed as religious by the teenagers on the streets who are desperate for her help. The grandmother who raised her is "a diehard Lutheran", she notes. "There's good and bad everywhere."
By adopting a street-level view in The Interrupters, James's mantra was "no experts". Yet the directors made an exception in interviewing Gary Slutkin, an epidemiologist who spent a decade in Africa before founding Ceasefire in 2000. Slutkin calls violence "an infectious disease".
"The Interrupters are disease-control workers," he maintains. "The Interrupters' role, like the TB disease-control workers' role, is to do this initial interruption of transmission. Most infectious disease epidemics are not treated with antibiotics. They're treated with changing behaviour," Slutkin says in the documentary.
Matthews put that theory into street language. "We were raised to think that if somebody hit you, you hit them back, that if you're hit by somebody bigger than you, you pick up something and hit them back."
That doctrine played out chillingly on television in Chicago in September 2009. In an argument, a high school student picked up a board and hit another, who died of the injury. A video of the beating was broadcast nationally and rallied the media and politicians. It is a poignant moment in The Interrupters.
For a moment, Matthews was encouraged: "We still look out for one another. For me, it's like, there's still some hope left."
Now, though, as those same politicians say they'll be cutting Ceasefire's budget, the work of The Interrupters may need a new infusion of faith.
Civil%20War
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Read more from Johann Chacko
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
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AL%20BOOM
%3Cp%20style%3D%22text-align%3Ajustify%3B%22%3E%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3B%26nbsp%3BDirector%3AAssad%20Al%20Waslati%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%20style%3D%22text-align%3Ajustify%3B%22%3E%0DStarring%3A%20Omar%20Al%20Mulla%2C%20Badr%20Hakami%20and%20Rehab%20Al%20Attar%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EStreaming%20on%3A%20ADtv%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203.5%2F5%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Scoreline
Saudi Arabia 1-0 Japan
Saudi Arabia Al Muwallad 63’
Naga
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THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ETerra%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202021%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hussam%20Zammar%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mobility%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-seed%20funding%20of%20%241%20million%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Most%20polluted%20cities%20in%20the%20Middle%20East
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MOST%20POLLUTED%20COUNTRIES%20IN%20THE%20WORLD
%3Cp%3E1.%20Chad%3Cbr%3E2.%20Iraq%3Cbr%3E3.%20Pakistan%3Cbr%3E4.%20Bahrain%3Cbr%3E5.%20Bangladesh%3Cbr%3E6.%20Burkina%20Faso%3Cbr%3E7.%20Kuwait%3Cbr%3E8.%20India%3Cbr%3E9.%20Egypt%3Cbr%3E10.%20Tajikistan%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%202022%20World%20Air%20Quality%20Report%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Concrete and Gold
Foo Fighters
RCA records
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes. Portland is a 260 km drive from Seattle and Emirates offers codeshare flights to Portland with its partner Alaska Airlines.
The car
Hertz (www.hertz.ae) offers compact car rental from about $300 per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
Parks and accommodation
For information on Crater Lake National Park, visit www.nps.gov/crla/index.htm . Because of the altitude, large parts of the park are closed in winter due to snow. While the park’s summer season is May 22-October 31, typically, the full loop of the Rim Drive is only possible from late July until the end of October. Entry costs $25 per car for a day. For accommodation, see www.travelcraterlake.com. For information on Umpqua Hot Springs, see www.fs.usda.gov and https://soakoregon.com/umpqua-hot-springs/. For Bend, see https://www.visitbend.com/.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWest%20Asia%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Bahrain%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Premiership%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Jebel%20Ali%20Dragons%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%201%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Harlequins%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20Division%202%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%20III%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Sharks%20II%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDubai%20Sevens%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EChampions%3A%20Dubai%20Tigers%0D%3Cbr%3ERunners%20up%3A%20Dubai%20Hurricanes%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
