{"id":120921,"date":"2023-11-28T16:49:06","date_gmt":"2023-11-28T16:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogcamlodipine.com\/?p=120921"},"modified":"2023-11-28T16:49:06","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T16:49:06","slug":"i-fled-albania-but-had-to-form-a-gang-as-london-was-way-more-dangerous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogcamlodipine.com\/world-news\/i-fled-albania-but-had-to-form-a-gang-as-london-was-way-more-dangerous\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I fled Albania but had to form a gang as London was way more dangerous’"},"content":{"rendered":"
https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/jf6FzG5YybU<\/p>\n
When Rigels Rajku arrived in South London as a 10-year-old in the 1990s he was escaping life on the fringes of a warzone.<\/p>\n
The Kosovan War was in full swing and, even though Albania was not directly participating, being so close to the deadly conflict had an impact on Rajku – better known by his stage name Noizy – and his family.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were coming from a rough situation,\u201d the renowned rapper told the Express in an exclusive interview. \u201dThe whole year I was hearing gunshots and grenades. Kids were literally finding guns in the bushes. It was just horrible news everywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
In search of a safer environment, Noizy and his family hopped in a car and drove for six hours until they reached France where they boarded a train to their new home of Woolwich, south London.<\/p>\n
However, the situation in the UK was not what the family had anticipated.<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/strong> Beautiful European country with barely any tourists ‘much cheaper than Greece’<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u201c[There were no] guns and grenades on the floor, but [south London] was not safe,\u201d he explained. \u201cI was afraid to walk home from school without being stopped by gangs trying to rob my nice shoes or the small chain I got for my birthday. If you fought back you\u2019d get hurt real bad.\u201d<\/p>\n A shy boy who didn\u2019t speak English, Noizy found even the mild-mannered kids in the dinner hall had a problem with his presence.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t sit here you\u2019re a refugee, go back to your country we don\u2019t want you here,\u201d they told him when he tried to join their table with his lunch tray.<\/p>\n Faced with this hostility Noizy claims he had little choice but to develop a tougher exterior and harsher outlook.<\/p>\n \u201cCan I be real?\u201d he asked with a sigh. \u201cThe only way to survive in England is by being strong. The sad truth is there are so many cultures and races that it’s almost impossible to blend.<\/p>\n \u201cThe only way is to be the strongest then nobody is going to mess with you. It was how I found peace.\u201d<\/p>\n A keen trainer from a young age, Noizy began honing his fighting skills at St Peter’s Boxing Club in Woolwich.<\/p>\n Regardless of his ability to land a punch, the schoolboy knew bullies hunted in packs and as an individual he was still vulnerable.<\/p>\n So Noizy formed a gang. He called it On The Run, or OTR as the tattoo on his hand reads, and the members were all South London Albanian boys who had encountered similar issues to him.<\/p>\n Noizy continued: \u201cWe were the first Albanian group, formed in 2001, it was just 10 of us at the beginning, all of us boxers.<\/p>\n \u201cThe group got bigger and bigger as more [people came from Albania].<\/p>\n \u201cI was the leader because I\u2019d come at 10 years old and learned the small things [that were important]; how to dress, talk [and] be more English.<\/p>\n \u201cI told them \u2018unless you want to go through war we need to stick together. Go try to walk home alone and see what happens to you. You\u2019ll get robbed, stabbed and chased\u2019.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were in for the \u2018ride or die\u2019 because although we were outnumbered compared to other groups we stepped down for nobody. It became so we were untouchable.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\nHellbanianz \u2018feud\u2019<\/h3>\n
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