South Yorkshire Police reopened hate crime investigation after Tell MAMA requested a review

July 7, 2020 Article

South Yorkshire Police has apologised to a taxi driver and reopened their hate crime investigation after Tell MAMA raised concerns regarding the unexpected closure of a case.

On June 14, the taxi driver, who has agreed to have his story told anonymously, described the threatening and racist behaviour of a man who, when carrying an open bottle of alcohol, confronted the driver over his face mask.

The man, who was not a passenger, asked the driver: “Why are you f****** wearing a mask for?” to which the driver replied, in a calm manner, that he was wearing it due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, as the man continued to be abusive, and using racist language like “P*ki”.

As the driver manoeuvred his vehicle to leave, which required a temporary pause to change gear, the racist male threw his bottle of alcohol towards the driver, as its contents splashed over both driver and passengers.

Speaking to Tell MAMA, the taxi driver described how the man had also punched his car and had not been able to drive off when he did, that the bottle may have been used as a weapon to cause him harm.

The police were informed of the attack when it proved safe for the driver to stop. A call handler took corroborative statements from the driver and the female passenger.

No officer, however, had followed up, so he began making enquiries.

But the update was unexpected: police had closed the report, as witnesses were now unwilling to provide evidence, which left the taxi driver disheartened given the physical evidence in his vehicle and his call to the police.

The taxi driver is self-employed and due to the alcohol present in the interior of his vehicle meant that he was unable to work for the rest of that evening. And, given some of the alcohol had been consumed before the attack, he feared the spread of coronavirus.

After approaching Tell MAMA for assistance, and, after providing written consent, our service requested that senior officers at South Yorkshire Police review the report which has now resulted in it reopening, and the police sent it to the Crown Prosecution Service to review.

Tell MAMA has continued to highlight the vulnerability taxi drivers face, in forms of violence, racist, and discriminatory remarks. A recent report on Islamophobia and anti-Muslim hatred in North East England, co-authored with academics from Newcastle University and Northumbria University, includes two focus groups with Muslim men and Muslim women, one of whom is a taxi driver.

You can get advice through our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

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Categories: Coronavirus, News, South Yorkshire, taxi driver

Racist neighbour threatened and abused Muslim family enjoying garden barbecue

June 25, 2020 Article

A Muslim family faced a torrent of racist abuse and threats from a neighbour who continues to ignore warnings from the police about their harassment.

The family was enjoying a barbecue in their garden when they could hear the male neighbour shouting (from within his property) “f*** off back to where you come from” and “f*** all of you.”

The male neighbour, described as white and in his sixties, then entered his garden and continued to shout racist abuse, which included statements like “f*** off out of this country” and “f***ing terrorist b*tch”.

A video of the racist abuse shown to Tell MAMA also shows the moment where the man continues to shout “f*** off” which such venom that he also screams it into the sky before growling at the Muslim family.

The footage also captures the moment the racist neighbour rushes towards their fence which he strikes it with his hand, as the sounds of upset children are audible in the background, fearing for their mother’s safety had she not moved away.

Threats of violence towards the Muslim woman, who wears the hijab, were also made. Speaking to Tell MAMA, the family have faced similar threats of violence from the neighbour before.

To protect the identities of those affected, we are not disclosing footage of the racist incident.

But we can confirm that it occurred in the Birmingham area on June 23 and West Midlands Police are investigating.

Tell MAMA has long documented the intersection between misogyny and gendered forms of racialised anti-Muslim abuse and Islamophobia, ranging from acts of discrimination (for their religious clothing) to violence and abuse.

A Muslim family faced a torrent of racist abuse and threats from a neighbour who continues to ignore warnings from the police about their harassment.

The family was enjoying a barbecue in their garden when they could hear the male neighbour shouting (from within his property) “f*** off back to where you come from” and “f*** all of you.”

A video of the racist abuse shown to Tell MAMA also shows the moment where the man screams “f*** off” which such venom and anger that screams it towards the sky and growls at the neighbour filming him.

The footage captures the moment the neighbour rushes towards their fence with such anger that he strikes it with his hand, as the sounds of upset children are audible in the background, fearing for their mother’s safety had she not moved away.

Threats of violence towards the Muslim woman, who wears the hijab, were also made.

To protect the identities of those affected, we are not disclosing footage of the racist incident.

But we can confirm that it occurred in the Birmingham area on June 23 and West Midlands Police are investigating.

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Categories: Birmingham, Hijab, News

Emmanuel Macron condemns racism but rules out removal of contested statues

June 14, 2020 Article

French President Emmanuel Macron has vowed to stand firm against racism but also praised police and insisted that France would not take down statues of controversial, colonial-era figures.

It was the first time Mr Macron has spoken on the issues since George Floyd’s death in the US unleashed protests around the world, including several in France, where demonstrators have expressed anger at racial injustice and police brutality, particularly toward minorities from France’s former colonies in Africa.

Unusually for a French leader, Mr Macron acknowledged that someone’s “address, name, colour of skin” can reduce their chances at succeeding in French society, and called for a fight to ensure that everyone can “find their place” regardless of ethnic origin or religion.

He promised to be “uncompromising in the face of racism, anti-Semitism and discrimination”.

However, he insisted that France will not take down statues of controversial, colonial-era figures as has happened in some other countries in recent weeks.

Amid calls for taking down statues tied to France’s slave trade or colonial wrongs, Mr Macron said “the republic will not erase any trace, or any name, from its history … it will not take down any statue”.

“We should look at all of our history together” including relations with Africa, with a goal of “truth” instead of “denying who we are”, Mr Macron said.

He did not address accusations of police violence but said forces of order deserve “the nation’s recognition”.

Mr Macron also announced that France will reopen nearly everything starting Monday after three months of virus confinement measures.

The president promised an internal audit into how his administration handled the virus, notably compared to other countries like Germany.

That was in addition to a parliamentary inquiry already under way.

Despite having one of the world’s best health care systems, France was dangerously short of all kinds of masks and testing capacity as coronavirus patients overwhelmed intensive care wards in March.

More than 80 lawsuits have been filed accusing his government of manslaughter, neglect or otherwise mishandling the virus crisis.

Mr Macron sent in the army to help and ordered strict lockdown measures that slowed the spread.

But nearly 30,000 people have died, about half of them in nursing homes, and more than 150,000 have been infected.

More than 200 new virus clusters have emerged since France started reopening May 11, according to the national health agency.

Meanwhile, his government is facing growing pressure to confront racism and police violence.

At least 15,000 people demonstrated in Paris on Saturday, the latest in a string of French protests galvanised by George Floyd’s death in the US and the Black Lives Matter movement, but increasingly focused on France’s own tensions between police and minorities.

In response, the government banned police chokeholds and vowed to stamp out racism among police — but that has now angered police unions, who say they’re being unfairly painted as white supremacists and staged protests of their own.

Calls are also mounting to reassess France’s colonial legacy, causing division within Mr Macron’s own camp.

Over the past two days, the culture minister denounced the decision to cancel a Paris showing of Gone With The Wind, a film long criticised as romanticising slavery, as contrary to freedom of expression.

And he firmly condemned activists who tried to take a piece of African art from a Paris museum dedicated to artwork from former colonies.

But government minister Sibeth Ndiaye, a close Macron ally and the most prominent black figure in current French politics, wrote an unusually personal essay Saturday in Le Monde calling for France to rethink its colour-blind doctrine, which aims at encouraging equality by ignoring race altogether.

“We must not hesitate to name things, to say that a skin colour is not neutral,” she wrote.

She called on the French to “confront our memories” about their history and find a “shared narrative” with former colonies.

Mr Macron’s office firmly denied a report last week that he was considering resigning and calling a snap election, but the rumour reflected the gravity of the French mood.

A new forecast last week from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development showed France’s economy will suffer more than most from the coming recession — and is not expected to improve much by the next presidential election in 2022.

The economy is expected to shrink at least 11% percent this year, pushing many out of work and torpedoing Macron’s goals of bringing down unemployment, rehauling the retirement system and making France more globally competitive.

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Categories: #BlackLivesMatter, Emmanuel Macron, France, George Floyd, News, Statues

Car dealership sacks racist employee filmed calling Muslim customer a ‘black c*nt’

May 21, 2020 Article

A car dealership in Doncaster has sacked an employee who made a racist comment about a Muslim customer, Tell MAMA can reveal.

The distressing incident only came to light after the Muslim man reviewed his dashcam footage after booking his car in for a routine service on March 18.

To protect their identity, we have declined to disclose the name of the dealership and anonymised their story.

Speaking to Tell MAMA, he revealed that the racist abuse occurred when the member of staff, described as being a white male in his forties, was driving his vehicle in the car and park and stopped to converse with a colleague. After discussing issues with the Muslim man’s vehicle to his colleague, he called him a ‘black c*nt’ and drove off further.

The Muslim man, who is South Asian, felt distressed by the racist abuse and made a formal complaint to the company and South Yorkshire Police.

After investigating the complaint, the company terminated the perpetrator’s employment.

Concerns, however, have been raised to Tell MAMA about the police investigation, including the length of time, and, that the matter would not be taken further, due to the racist abuse not occurring in view of the victim, from a legislative standpoint.

Tell MAMA is now liaising with South Yorkshire Police further on their behalf.

This example of racism and racialisation demonstrates how ‘radical’ forms of othering, concerned with power relations – be it in institutions, or, in this case, daily interactions, including on public transport or at places of business, harm Muslims.

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Categories: hate crime, News, South Yorkshire police

Mother and daughter racially abused and assaulted in changing room

April 14, 2020 Article

A woman racially abused a black Muslim woman and then assaulted her and her young daughter at a leisure centre in North London.

The Metropolitan Police are investigating the attack which occurred on February 7.

Tell MAMA can reveal that the mother and her young daughters were waiting in the changing area when a woman informed them to move their bags and to remove her hijab, and when the mother requested to know why, she received a torrent of racial abuse, which included statements like, “Go away, you’re not from here, you’re Muslim,” and “you’re black, you’re from Africa, you’re Somali, you’re smelly.”

The horrendous racial abuse soon morphed into physical violence, as the woman spat in the Muslim woman’s face on two occasions, pulling at her hair when she attempted to stop her from assault one of her daughters.

The family expressed their concerns about how management had handled their initial complaint, which, in their opinion, did not treat it with the seriousness required, including an initial claim from staff that there was no formal complaints process.

An apology, however, given over email following a written complaint, also confirmed that management is happy to assist with the police investigation.

There was a noted frustration with the prolonged reporting process to the police, as the family had been told on more than one occasion, to report the racist attack online instead, even after visiting their local station.

Tell MAMA will assist in the matter further when required, and to protect the identities of those affected, we have declined to reveal further details as the investigation is ongoing.

You can get advice from our confidential and free helpline on 0800 456 1226. Or through our free iOS or Android apps. Report through our online form. Or contact us via WhatsApp on 0734 184 6086.

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Categories: London, MET Police, News

Racist coughed in Muslim woman’s face and told her he had Covid-19

April 1, 2020 Article

A racist man coughed in the face of a Muslim woman and told her he had the coronavirus (Covid-19) before calling her a ‘raghead’ after she challenged him.

The Metropolitan Police are investigating the assault which occurred on March 18 in South London.

Speaking to Tell MAMA, the white Muslim woman, who wears the hijab, agreed to have her story told anonymously.

She described how she did her best to avoid him when walking in the high street, but the man turned towards her and got in her face.

Following the assault, she informed him, that after already experiencing Covid-19 and that she could not catch it again, he swore at her and used the racial slur ‘raghead’ before leaving.

This assault demonstrates how the racialisation of Muslims and their religious clothing, harms all Muslims, irrespective of their ethnicity.

The gendered nature of this abuse and violence demonstrates the intersecting influence of misogyny, given the gendered stereotypes of Muslim women who wear the hijab (or other forms of religious clothing) as being ‘meek and submissive’, are themes explored in various Tell MAMA annual reports.

She described the man as being white, who was in his mid-to-late thirties.

The assault has left the woman feeling anxious and fearful of a similar attack, though the lockdown has created a sense of safety.

Tell MAMA is monitoring the investigation and will continue to assist if needed.

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Categories: Coronavirus, COVID-19, hate crime, London, Metropolitan Police, News, racialisation

Racist threatened to ‘blow up’ Muslim woman and her family on a crowded bus

March 5, 2020 Article

A racist threatened a Muslim woman on a crowded bus in Newcastle, suggesting that he would ‘blow her and her family up’.

Other passengers were targeted with racist abuse, even after the driver had warned him to stop if he wanted to stay on the bus, following several passenger complaints.

The Muslim woman who contacted Tell MAMA, however, speaking on the basis of anonymity, felt frustrated that the driver did not do more to remove the racist man, even when she challenged their assertion that the man was merely ‘drunk’.

She also overheard radio instructions that the driver should ‘pull over’ after Northumbria Police were contacted, but he did not, alluding instead, to the volume of traffic.

The violent racist language took on a physical form, as he spat towards some black women, and called another man the N-word, and called the Muslim woman, herself South Asian, a “P*ki”. She and another male passenger prevented the racist man from enacting further violence as he soon exited the bus.

Since the police had yet to arrive, she left the bus at her usual stop and contacted them when home.

The racist incident occurred on February 24.

She described the perpetrator as being a white male in his fifties.

The police investigation is ongoing.

Tell MAMA continues to document how anti-Muslim hatred and Islamophobia harms the mobility of Muslim women, notably in public areas, accessing goods and services, and when using public transport. Discrimination remains a growing problem.

In the previous reporting cycle, almost one-fifth of verified reports (18 per cent, n=156) to Tell MAMA took place on transport networks.

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Categories: Hate Speech, News, public transport

Katie Hopkins: the viral power of an anti-Muslim falsehood on Twitter

February 24, 2020 Article

A viral tweet from the far-right commentator Katie Hopkins further demonstrates the need for Twitter to allow users to report content designed to deceive and pass as news.

Hopkins, was, for a brief time, suspended from Twitter for breaching its hateful conduct policies, but the ban was temporary.

The tweet, posted at 9:31 pm on February 23, begins, “Beautiful Indian lady punched in the face by Muslim man in racist attack in Birmingham.”

Credit: Twitter.

Hopkins then offers a partial unattributed quote from Meera Solanki (the woman assaulted), who described how the man, described as Asian in police reports, approached them during dinner, as he “seemed to have a problem with me being an Indian girl with a multi-racial group of friends”.

Ms Solanki was punched and briefly knocked unconscious after attempting to stop the same man from directing his anti-Chinese racism towards her friend Mandy Huang. This individual had followed the women after they had left the restaurant and made comments towards Ms Huang like “take your f****** Coronavirus and take it back home“ and referred to her as a “dirty c***k”.

Katie Hopkins, of course, provides no evidence to show this perpetrator is Muslim, but her use of the hashtag ‘#LittePakistan’ serves two distinct and revealing functions: it racialises and stereotypes that Muslims in Birmingham are Pakistani (despite 8,681 British-Indians in Birmingham self-identifying as Muslim in the 2011 Census); and, from an ideological position, seeks to foster divisions between Indian and Pakistani communities, given her pro-Modi posturings last year regarding Kashmir. She appeared outside of the United Nations in Geneva with David Vance according to an interview with ANI News last September. Some, however, have questioned the veracity of Hopkins claim of speaking inside of the UN building.

Academics have documented, more broadly, how at around the same time, the European far-right had made solidarity visits to Kashmir, even after foreign journalists and politicians had been denied entry, following the scrapping of Article 370, which stripped the state of Jammu and Kashmir of its relative political autonomy, forcing it to abide by the Indian constitution.

This example of racialising Muslims, functions through the deliberate blurring of Asian and Pakistani communities, despite not all Pakistanis identifying as Muslim. In Birmingham alone, just over 6 per cent of British-Pakistanis self-identified with other religions (as 7,177 chose not to state their religion), including 597 Christians, 441 Sikhs, and 213 Hindus in the 2011 Census.

Credit: Nomis.

Racialisation, for other academics, concerns the process of identifying and stereotyping groups through cultural identifiers like religion and comes with spatial and geographic significance for discriminated groups. The idea of racialisation also “relies upon asserted inherentisms, and it reinforces cultural hierarchies and privilege.” Others argue that racialisation impacts Muslim men and women in gendered ways, as “Men are more likely to be viewed as if they are disloyal and a threat to national security.” Whereas for Muslim women, they argue, the hijab is ‘othered’ as a cultural oddity or threat, raising questions about national identity and loyalty. Discrimination in housing in education creates the racialisation of geographical space

Other examples of anti-Chinese and anti-East Asian racism following the coronavirus outbreak have included physical acts of violence, racial bullying in schools, discrimination (on public transport and in places of work), and microaggressions where individuals have moved away from them on public transport. Several universities have issued press releases condemning racism against their students.

A spokesperson for the Birmingham Chinese society has stated that abuse has always existed but some were using the virus as a pretext for racial harassment, abuse, and violence.

She explained: “We wear masks to protect others from our coughs and sneezes. Some wear them as protection against pollution. Some women wear them because they don’t want to be seen without make-up. We do it to protect others, not ourselves.”

Anyone with information about this ssault is urged to contact West Midlands Police by quoting the crime reference number 20BW/39330Q/20 if you have information about the assault by calling 101 anytime, or by using their Live Chat function (8 am to midnight).

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Categories: Fake News, Katie Hopkins, News

Football fans harass Muslim mother and daughter, pour beer on their car, near St Andrew’s stadium

February 12, 2020 Article

A mother described her terror after eight football fans harassed her and her teenage daughter, which ranged from pouring beer on their windscreen and sitting on their car bonnet, to mocking their religion and even attempting to enter their vehicle, as they drove close to St Andrews stadium following the Championship fixture between Birmingham City and Nottingham Forest on February 1.

Speaking to Tell MAMA, the mother, who wishes to remain anonymous, stated that throughout the incident, she beeped her horn, hoping to draw the attention of the home fans or the safety team of Birmingham City Football Club, but no individuals intervened.

The car was only able to move at a much reduced speed, due to the size of the crowd, and owing to a fault in one of the doors, one of the men had opened it, but was unable to enter.

She had driven in the area unaware of the closures, adding, that when the group of men saw that both her and daughter wore hijabs, some began to laugh and mockingly prostrated on the ground before sitting on their car bonnet.

After the group’s ringleader had poured his beer on their windscreen, she wound her window down and overheard a passerby chastise the action, not for its anti-Muslim and Islamophobic intent, but rather, for ‘wasting’ expensive beer.

Throughout this ordeal, the group of men filmed the woman and her daughter, compounding their fears and anxieties. She described all the men involved as being white and in their late teens or early twenties.

Tell MAMA continues to highlight more broadly, the often gendered dynamic of such abuse which demonstrates the importance of viewing such incidents through an intersectional lens.

The targeting of Muslims for their religiosity has, as some academics contend, is an essentialist way to view Muslim identity (or Muslimness). Or, in short, it becomes a form of ‘othering’, as the visible markers of their faith are seen as embodying “all that is perceived to be wrong, problematic and threatening about Islam and Muslims”, or reflect enduring racialised and misogynistic stereotypes about the apparent ‘meekness’ of Muslim women.

Once home, the family contacted West Midlands Police, after turning their vehicle around and leaving the scene.

There are, however, some frustrations with the manner of the investigation thus far. The mother has expressed concerns about the ‘hostile attitude’ of one officer after they questioned why the family had not contacted them in the immediacy, which the mother challenged, stating that her priority was their safety. Nor were they aware that the force had flagged the incident initially as a racist, not Islamophobic hate crime until the Birmingham Mail investigated.

Since the incident, the mother has experienced blurred vision and felt extra tense and is taking paracetamol each day to reduce it.

A spokesperson for Birmingham City Football Club confirmed that the matter is being investigated further and told Tell MAMA: “As a club, we abhor any type of racism and anti-social behaviour, and we are very sorry that the family had to endure something like this.”

Anyone with information concerning this hate crime is encouraged to contact West Midlands Police, quoting reference 20BW/30467Y/20. Or, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Categories: Birmingham, hate crime, misogyny, News, West Midlands Police

White supremacist sticker removed from Sunderland bus stop

January 15, 2020 Article

A white supremacist sticker which appeared on a bus stop in Sunderland over the weekend has been scratched off by angry locals.

The sticker, which promotes the conspiracy of white genocide, is linked to an online autonomous group that encourages users to print and distribute their stickers.

Before and after removal. Credit: @SunderlandUnite/Twitter.

The Hundred Handers group originates in the UK, having first appeared on social media in May 2018 but the first evidence of activity appeared weeks later when photographs of two “Free Tommy” stickers appeared in unspecified locations in the UK.

For supporters, a favourite sticker is “It’s Okay To Be White”, which as the anti-Defamation League identifies, is a white supremacist slogan which pre-dates 4chan trolls and internet cultures.

Other stickers promote antisemitic and anti-Muslim narratives and conspiracies, including calling for the banning of halal and kosher slaughter, promoting the white supremacist conspiracy of the Kalergi Plan, and using a QR code to link people to the white nationalist hate site Red Ice TV.

Examples seen by Tell MAMA include broader anti-Muslim and Islamophobic narratives which link Muslims more broadly to rape and criminality.

The Hundred Handers borrow imagery from a poster designed by the Dutch Nazi propagandist Cornelius (Kees) Koekkoek (1903-1982), son of the famed painter Marinus Adrianus Koekkoek (1873-1944), promoting the Dutch Labour Front (Nederlandsch Arbeidsfront), a group created by Arthur Seyss-Inquart, an Austrian politician appointed as the Reich Commissioner for the Occupied Netherlands territory in 1940, which attracted around 200,000 members and excluded Jewish people.

In his capacity as Reich Commissioner, Seyss-Inquart oversaw the deportation of 120,000 of the country’s 140,000 Jewish community to Auschwitz, following a series of discriminatory policies, and forcing them to reside in Ghettos. His use of terror, extortion, and forced labour were part of his indictment for crimes against peace, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, of which he was executed for in 1946, following the Nuremberg trials.

For his part, Cornelis Koekkoek was found guilty of being a member National Socialist Movement in the Netherlands (NSB), following the end of the Second World War which resulted in fines, internment for 17 months, and a period of surveillance.

This particular propaganda image created by Koekkoek has featured in the propaganda of more notorious neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups globally in recent years.

Stickers attributed to the Hundred Handers have appeared in cities and towns in England, Scotland, Ireland, and parts of the United States.

As with reporting racist graffiti, members of the public can report illegal flyposting through their local council, which is searchable through the Gov.uk website. Others have produced resources for local authorities in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The police can be contacted through the 101 non-emergency telephone number or reported online through True Vision.

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Categories: Neo-Nazi, News, Sunderland, White Supremacist