We are fortunate that we have the social, emotional, and legal resources to help us speak up, but there are many who can’t.
We are fortunate that we have the social, emotional, and legal resources to help us speak up, but there are many who can’t
On May 17, my brother, a female friend and I were racially abused and attacked as we walked home in north London. Our abuser’s rage was triggered by our not speaking in English and his abuse initially began with shouts of “this is England, speak in English”.
He followed us, threatening in graphic detail what ought to be done to “Pakis bitches”. Worried, we called 999 for assistance. Before the police could arrive, the abuser called my brother a “Paki c*nt,” hit out and ran away, still shouting racist abuse. The police, when they arrived, compounded our shock, disappointment and sadness with condescending, rude and intimidating behaviour.
Since then, hundreds have reached out to tell their own story, both of experiencing racist attacks in London as well as of the difficulties in reporting them. The sheer number of lived experiences suggests that despite the city’s ‘multicultural’ PR image, racist attacks continue to be a part of our lived experience, and the emotional, cultural, and structural difficulties in reporting help keep these invisible.
The attack demonstrated to me that reporting a hate crime requires immense mental stamina and extensive cultural, emotional and linguistic skills. Moreover, few second and third generation non-white Britons report hate crimes, accepting that these will not be taken seriously. This adds to the informal knowledge base amongst recent arrivals that law enforcement bodies do not take racial hate crimes seriously.
At the same time, many who are visiting or have recently moved to the country may not be familiar with the processes of reporting. Even I instinctively dialled 911 before remembering the correct number. The curt ‘ambulance or police’ initial response further threw me, and still makes me wonder how someone without requisite language skills or in a more vulnerable state would cope.
The police responded quickly to our call but their attitude flags up a second layer of difficulties in reporting a hate crime. The officers seemed to lack sensitivity training and understanding of the difficulties of reporting a hate crime and appeared resistant to acknowledging it as such. It was only our insistence on explaining our experience of racial abuse in detail that eventually led to registering our complaint.
Since then, it is only our persistence that seems to be pushing action on the case. Few victims, either non-white Britons or recent arrivals, and even fewer tourists, would be willing or able to continue against such structural resistance.
Amongst many who are in the UK on student, tourist, or even highly skilled visas, there is an additional fear that insisting on reporting a hate crime, and flagging up the institutional resistance to these, may result in being penalised by immigration authorities who may refuse to extend work visas, or reject a future application for such a ‘troublemaker’.
Furthermore, increasingly I see similarities between suffering racist abuse/attacks and sexual violence as both engender a deep sense of shame in the victim. The humiliation, shame, and agony of being reduced to one’s biology and then attacked for it, is often overwhelming for many victims.
Many of us who didn’t grow up in the West have an intellectual knowledge of racism but no personal experience. It can take us years to even begin articulating that we may be victims, or to even accept it can happen to us, that all our education, hard work, achievements can be rendered meaningless by biology. Often it is easier to not report a racist hate attack, if only to maintain the semblance of a human self.
Experience of racism also comes with a sense of victim-blaming, even by the victims themselves. Since the attack, many non-white Britons have told us that ‘this is normal’, and that they accept it as a part of their lives. They tell us the ‘precautions’ they take, including living in minority dominated areas, curtailing quotidian activities, and most importantly, ‘not making a fuss’.
In the past week, we have been negotiating this minefield of emotional trauma and institutional resistance. We are fortunate that we have the social, emotional, and legal resources to help us speak up but there are many who can’t. And that knowledge is the worst part of our recent ordeal.
Sunny Singh is a novelist and academic. Her new novel, Hotel Arcadia, will be published by Arcadia Books in 2015
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15 Responses to “Despite London’s multicultural image, racist attacks are still a reality”
Terence Sommer
Don’t worry about it.
Terence Sommer
I am so sick of people complaining about ‘racism’. It means nothing. It goes in one ear and out the other.
swatnan
Its worrying. That ‘Racism’ is still as strong as it was in the 80’s according to a report out tioday, particularly amongst the white working class manuals and professionals.
Its a coincidence that ‘911’ was mentioned, because 9/11 is the exact reason why racism is on the rise again, after falling in the 90’s. Until we tackle Islamofacism and people like Chowdray and Abu Hamza types head on, we are not going to see a decrease.
Dave Roberts
Having thought about this more and had a good look at the article I am more and more unhappy with the whole thing, it’s just not right.
There is no explanation of were the alleged events took place except very vaguely “north” London. There is no time of the day or explanation of what the three people were doing there. The aggressor, who we have to assume was white and must have been sober because we aren’t told otherwise, seems to have, out of the blue, decided to abuse the writer and her two companions because they stood out as Asians in the area they were in. There are many other assumptions we could make but let us deal with these first.
First of all where?The photo doesn’t help because it is a stock shot of the Notting Hill festival. Nowhere in London are Asians unusual.
Neither are any one of dozens of nationalities that live in the capital. From her appearance Ms Singh could well be Spanish, Portugese or Italian. Possibly also one of the thousands of south Americans who have made London their home. Could it be that the incident occurred because she was speaking Hindi? Unless she and her fellow female companion were dressed in saris or salwar camise how could her abuser know what the language was that was being spoken?
We come now to the number that was dialled to call the police. It is claimed that there was difficulty in initially contacting the police because she ” instinctively dialled 911 before remembering the correct number”. A google of Ms Singh does not reveal that she has lived in any of the countries which use those numbers for emergencies.
Te most famous of course is the USA but also featured are Canada, Fiji, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Panama, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Her own country uses 100 and Spain where her bio says she as lived for some time 112. Even the Catalan police Los Mossos de’l Squadra use 112. Why 911?
The article continues with more statements which require explanations. ” The attack demonstrated to me that reporting a hate crime requires immense mental stamina and extensive cultural, emotional and linguistic skills”. Actually all it requires is a command of the English language and the right number but you can’t get high flown rhetoric out of that!
She continues. ” Moreover, few second and third generation non white Britons report hate crimes, accepting that these will not be taken seriously”. No evidence is produced for this statement and that there is massive reporting of this type of offense. The 2004 British Crime Survey sowed 87000 ethnic minorities and 92000 white people reported these crimes ten years ago just as she did recently.
Somehow this non reporting is then communicated to people that these generations have never met, listen to this. ” This adds to the informal knowledge base amongst recent arrivals that law enforcement bodies do not take racial hate crimes seriously”. How has this been communicated, telepathy?
The whole article is littered with these contradictions, I could go on for an hour but I don’t have the time. There are a few points I will leave you on. Ms Singh’s CV claims that, amongst other things, she won a Spanish literary prize the Mar De Letras in 2003 for her book Nani’s Book of Suicides. The web site of the organisation has no record of either her or the book.
At the beginning of the article after describing her and her friends run in with the racist on May 17th she says, ” Since then, hundreds have reached out to tell their own story, both of experiencing racist attacks in London as well as the difficulties of reporting them”. Who are these hundreds of people, how does she know of them, what is the source of her information on these attacks in just over a month?
James Bloodworth. Your site is a valuable source of information and discussion but a simple look at the racial psycho babble of this article should have alerted you to the fact that there is more to this than meets the eye.
otis
there is still racism in the london and its sad but in general the uk is more tolerant than many countries especially india. i spent 6 months there mostly in west bengal but i travelled everywhere. the racism towards the people of the south east- sikimese/tribal states as well as the few african people i saw and even darker skinned indians was truly awful. please to pretend to be ignorant and think that being judged on your biology or skin toned is western phenomenon as its far far worse in india and if you’d like me to give you details on what i heard/saw let me know.