Post by LiteraryPiano on Dec 2, 2007 13:25:01 GMT 10
RACIAL tensions in Melbourne's inner suburbs are likely to be fuelled by a racist leaflet dropped in letterboxes that attacks African gangs and says Australian women are not safe.
The leaflet, headed No More African Gang Violence, claims that "never has Australia seen this kind of brazen, lawless violence on such a steady basis" since Africans started arriving five years ago.
The unsigned leaflet, believed to have been distributed between 11pm on Thursday and 8am on Friday, says Africans do not hesitate to attack police as well as the public. It says many come from child militia groups that train them to rape, kill and torture from as young as six.
Inspector Nigel Howard, of Moonee Ponds police, said the leaflet highlighted a number of incidents involving Africans. "People have had enough of it. Why are they (the Africans) behaving like this? What's causing the problem? We have to get to the bottom of it."
He said he had been working on the issue for two years and there was no end in sight, but there were also some great initiatives. "When hurdles like this come along, we work through them," he said.
The leaflet was passed to The Sunday Age by the warden of Trinity College, who found it in his Parkville letterbox yesterday.
"It's a vicious collection of cliches and stereotypes," said the warden, Dr Andrew McGowan. "It's disturbing as a dysfunctional response to genuine community concern.
"Anglo-Celts are responsible for far more violence in Melbourne. The Anglo-Celts have more to fear from each other than from Sudanese or Somalis, alienated and unhappy as they may be," he said.
Carmel Guerra, director of the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues and an expert on youth gangs, said the leaflet would fuel misconceptions already widespread in the community. "People who don't sign things are gutless. I hope it's just an individual rather than the racist groups found elsewhere in Australia but not so far in Melbourne."
www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/01/1196394689034.html
The leaflet, headed No More African Gang Violence, claims that "never has Australia seen this kind of brazen, lawless violence on such a steady basis" since Africans started arriving five years ago.
The unsigned leaflet, believed to have been distributed between 11pm on Thursday and 8am on Friday, says Africans do not hesitate to attack police as well as the public. It says many come from child militia groups that train them to rape, kill and torture from as young as six.
Inspector Nigel Howard, of Moonee Ponds police, said the leaflet highlighted a number of incidents involving Africans. "People have had enough of it. Why are they (the Africans) behaving like this? What's causing the problem? We have to get to the bottom of it."
He said he had been working on the issue for two years and there was no end in sight, but there were also some great initiatives. "When hurdles like this come along, we work through them," he said.
The leaflet was passed to The Sunday Age by the warden of Trinity College, who found it in his Parkville letterbox yesterday.
"It's a vicious collection of cliches and stereotypes," said the warden, Dr Andrew McGowan. "It's disturbing as a dysfunctional response to genuine community concern.
"Anglo-Celts are responsible for far more violence in Melbourne. The Anglo-Celts have more to fear from each other than from Sudanese or Somalis, alienated and unhappy as they may be," he said.
Carmel Guerra, director of the Centre for Multicultural Youth Issues and an expert on youth gangs, said the leaflet would fuel misconceptions already widespread in the community. "People who don't sign things are gutless. I hope it's just an individual rather than the racist groups found elsewhere in Australia but not so far in Melbourne."
www.theage.com.au/articles/2007/12/01/1196394689034.html
