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Middlesborough
Evening Gazette Stand up and be counted Jul
9 2004 by Steve Dyson, Editor, Evening Gazette
Certain
Teessiders must today hang their heads in shame. We want your views
after the vile racist experience said to have been endured by an asylum
seeker in this region. In
yesterday's The Guardian newspaper, Kamwaura Nygothi, a successful
businesswoman from Kenya who originally came to Britain for her safety,
told how she wants to die because of the abuse she has received since
arriving on the Tees. Kamwaura
suffered rape and torture for opposing her government in Africa before
fleeing to what she hoped was a developed, broadminded nation in the
West. But
after initial calm in London, she was 'dispersed' to Middlesbrough where
she says appalling discrimination and violence has been inflicted on
her. Her
claims include everything from standard refusals of grown men and women
to sit next to her on buses, to being punched hard on the back by a
muscular man, yelling at her to go home. Young boys have spat and thrown
stones at her. Others dismiss her with 'monkey' taunts. All
this prejudice against a woman already suffering stress and suicidal
feelings; all from certain locals who appear to have shown Teesside in a
sickening, xenophobic light. Today
the Evening Gazette reprints every word from Kamwaura that appeared in
The Guardian. It does not make for pleasant reading on page 2, but we
make no apologies for that. Because
every single one of our 183,000+ readers must learn what a few bigots
have done to the reputation of a town we all love. We're
not talking about the rights and wrongs of asylum cases here. It may be
that Kamwaura's application for residence fails for perfectly equitable
reasons, but that should not concern us today. We
are not even talking about the specifics of what has happened to her, as
she is so scared of harassment that she is currently reluctant to go
into any detail with our journalists to enable us to verify each and
every claim. What
we are talking about are the actual human rights of a woman in desperate
need; a woman who appears to have been chauvinistically kicked into the
wayside; a woman who has been left in a state of misery and rejection by
the abject discrimi- nation she has experienced. And
how many others have endured similar experiences is almost too chilling
a question to ask. But we know that some have, the firebombing of
Iranian asylum-seeker Samad Kadkhodaei and his family in Grangetown in
January this year just one example. The
only way the good people of Teesside can now help Kamwaura and others in
her position is by letting the world know how appalled we all are. This
is the only way we have to recover the region's reputation. We
want letters, dozens of them - no, scores and scores - fervently
disassociating yourselves from the intolerance said to have been shown.
We want them from mums and dads, councillors, MPs and mayors,
businessmen, sportsmen and people from all walks of life. And we will
publish them all, both in our paper and on our icTeesside.co.uk website. For
now, we have a very bitter taste in our mouths over what is said to have
happened. For Kamwaura's and our own sakes we must show the world that
the vast majority of people in Middlesbrough and Teesside do care. And
if Kamwaura ever grows to trust us, the Gazette will formally welcome
her, will sit her on the top table at one of our community dinners and
will chauffeur her back home afterwards. Because this newspaper, our
readers and this region are surely better than what has been portrayed? Remember,
we must forget the ins and outs of her particular case for the moment.
Let's simply open our arms to welcome and protect a person some of our
own appear to have harmed. The
Evening Gazette is sorry for what you have had to bear on Teesside,
Kamwaura. And we believe our readers are too. Watch this space and we'll
prove it. *
Send your letters on this matter urgently to The Editor, Evening
Gazette, Borough Road, Middlesbrough TS1 3AZ or email editor@eveninggazette.co.uk
*
An archive of articles and letters on this subject will soon appear on
icteesside.co.uk/antiracism
There's
no place for race attacks Middlesbrough's
community leaders today expressed sympathy with an asylum seeker who
claims to have been targeted in a vicious race campaign in the town. But
they denied the damning description was typical of life experienced by
asylum seekers and refugees in the area. Local
figures have rallied round in support of the town to refute accusations
of widespread racism, verbal and physical abuse. The
backing comes after a report in a national newspaper written by a Kenyan
asylum seeker living in Middlesbrough. Middlesbrough
South and East Cleveland MP Ashok Kumar, who has lived on Teesside for
20 years, said he "cast some doubt" on her attitude to the
area. "That
is not to say I cannot understand her feelings," he added. "But
I do have to say equally that you cannot blanket an entire community as
racist and bigoted. "Of
course there is racism in our society. But it is not something that is
limited to just one part of the United Kingdom." In
the article in yesterday's Guardian, Kamuwaura Nygothi said she fled
Kenya after being imprisoned and tortured for supporting a group opposed
to the government in her home country. But
she claimed she had regularly experienced racist abuse since being moved
to the town from London by Home Office officials. Writing
in the newspaper she said: "Racism is not a concept I was familiar
with in Kenya and only now that I have been moved to Middlesbrough do I
properly understand what the word means. "Every
moment for me is fear." Pete
Widlinski, the North of England Refugee Service's Tees Valley area
manager, admitted a number of asylum seekers had experienced hostility. But
he added the majority of people in Middlesbrough were welcoming and the
service worked hard with local organisations to ensure refugees were
integrated into society. "It
is one of the better areas for refugees and asylum seekers to begin new
lives," he said. "After
all, Middlesbrough has a long history of immigrants contributing towards
the town's development." Daoud
Zaaroura, chief executive of the North-east service, added: "Any
level or act of racism is unacceptable and those working to support
integration in the North-east refuse to tolerate such attitudes." Councillor
Bob Kerr, Middlesbrough Council's executive member with responsibility
for asylum seekers and refugees, gave his sympathy but said the
experiences were not representative of asylum seekers in the town. He
added: "We won't pretend racism doesn't exist in Middlesbrough. "But
it is far outweighed by the practical support and immense goodwill
towards people who we look on as citizens and guests in a town that was
built on immigration." A
Cleveland Police spokesman said Middlesbrough's District Commander,
Chief Superintendent Mark Braithwaite, was a member of the Teesside
Coalition Against Racism Forum. "There
are many support groups for asylum seekers and police work closely with
them, giving advice at surgeries throughout the area," he added. "Generally
a good relationship exists between local people, ethnic minorities and
asylum seekers." Page
3: 'Every
moment for me is fear' - the report featured in The Guardian, by
Kamwaura Nygothi Other face of Teesside letter in the Guardian from the editor of Middlesborough Evening Gazette |