By Prasun Sonwalkar
London, Nov 11 (IANS) The Greater Manchester Police (GMP) have received a second award within a year for their work in preventing racist attacks on nurses and medical professionals from Kerala working in the local National Health Service.
Several incidents of racist attacks were reported in recent years, particularly targeting the Malayalee community who had come to work in the Wythenshaw Hospital in 2000. The small community settled around the hospital, but soon became victims of racist attacks.
The police, housing and council officials took these acts seriously. They organised ‘open days’ at the hospital and encouraged members of the Malayalee community to become involved against the drive against racism.
A race incident steering group was set up, uniformed police patrols were increased and spy cameras installed. A number of people were charged and anti-social behaviour orders imposed on the culprits.
Police figures soon showed that the number of incidents had dropped significantly. The team formed to tackle the problems won the 2006 ‘diversity in action award’ from the magazine Police Review.
It has now been awarded the ‘First Among Equals’ diversity award, which is part of the National Public Servants Awards organised by the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy.
Anasudhin Azeez, editor of ‘Asian Lite’, a leading Asian weekly from Manchester, told IANS: “The GMP has set a precedent for other constabularies in the UK to follow. Victims should approach the police without any hesitation to stem racist attitudes.”
Azeez, of Kerala origin, said that the Malayalee community in the Manchester area numbered nearly 10,000, most of them nurses and medical professionals. He said there were reports of members of the community facing racist attacks from Glasgow, Belfast, Nottingham, Sheffield, Oxford and Cambridge.
GMP officials, along with colleagues from other local bodies, have managed to tackle the phenomenon of racist attacks on the Kerala-origin community. A Race Incident Steering Group was formed and regular police patrols were carried out in the residential areas.
Other measures included issuing tenancy warnings, anti-social behaviour orders and installing CCTV cameras in the hospital and nearby areas. The result was that soon offences dropped by 70 percent.
Recalling one of the incidents, the husband of a nurse said: “I was sitting with my 18-month-old son on my knee when someone smashed my window with a rock, showering us with glass. My son was so upset he screamed and didn’t stop crying for an hour. A week later, it happened again.”
Another nurse said: “We have had our car windows smashed, and fireworks and eggs thrown at the house. One of my friends’ daughters was targeted by people who tried to put matches to her hair. We came here to help people. We are not illegal immigrants. We pay tax and work at the hospital.”
Malayalee associations in Manchester and other parts of Britain have welcomed the work done by the Manchester police and other local official bodies.