Refugee helpline reports rise in attacks
Last Saturday three Iraqi asylum seekers found that they were not
safe even in daylight in Plymouth town centre. A gang of up to 12
white males chased them and shouted death threats as part of an
attack that left two of the refugees with head injuries.
Police say the attack was unprovoked and they are treating it
as racially motivated. One of the asylum seekers said it had revived
the ‘painful memories’ of the trauma he suffered in
Iraq. Darius Bahiraey, of the Plymouth-based group, Refugee First,
said: ‘I saw his face. It was all black and swollen. They
are terrorised by the attack.’
The weekend attack is far from an isolated incident, according
to an independent racial harassment helpline. The Monitoring Group
reports more than 1,700 complaints last year. Between January and
December the Monitoring Group received no fewer than 130 calls every
month from asylum seekers complaining of abuse, harassment or violence,
according to figures seen by the Guardian. …
Vikram Dodd, The Guardian, 24 January 2003
Classroom activity: News Board
From Iraq: war and peace online
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