Muslims report hate incidents in north east England

The Northern Echo reports on a number of hate crime incidents in the north east of England since last Friday’s Brexit vote.

The paper notes the reaction of local community groups and public officials, Police and Crime Commissioner for Northumbria, Vera Baird, and County Durham and Darlington’s Police, Crime and Victims Commissioner, Ron Hogg, to post-Brexit hate incidents in the region.

The paper notes several cases of alleged incidents involving Muslims, including one Muslim female who was abused while campaigning with her local MP, Jenny Chapman. In one case highlighted by the paper, a man outside a nursery in Sunderland on Friday shouted at a child: “The banana boat is coming to take you away.”

One victim, Shay Miah, told the paper he was “walking along a Hartlepool beach when a man approached him and told him to pack his bags.”

Miah said: “I was surprised and hurt, this is where I was born. I didn’t retaliate, I just ignored him and carried on walking.”

Days before the EU referendum, a young Muslim woman was told to “go home” while out campaigning with MP Jenny Chapman. Ms Chapman said: “I’m deeply shocked and saddened by the vitriol that a minority of residents now feel is acceptable to express openly.”

Another case reported in the paper is that of Darlington businessman Mussy Choudhury, who allegedly had a bottle thrown at him on Saturday night, 25 June.

He said: “This is escalating – I was born, bred and work here and don’t see why I have to put up with this behaviour because I’m brown.

“We must live and let live, love, learn and exist together.

“Stand up for each other, support each other and this will get better – it surely can’t get worse.”