* Tracy McVeigh and Tara Sutton
* The Observer, Sunday 25 July 2010
Female circumcision will be inflicted on up to 2,000 British schoolgirls during the summer holidays – leaving brutal physical and emotional scars. Yet there have been no prosecutions against the practice
Like any 12-year-old, Jamelia was excited at the prospect of a plane journey and a long summer holiday in the sun. An avid reader, she had filled her suitcases with books and was reading Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban when her mother came for her. "She said, 'You know it's going to be today?' I didn't know exactly what it would entail but I knew something was going to be cut. I was made to believe it was genuinely part of our religion."
She went on: "I came to the living room and there were loads of women. I later found out it was to hold me down, they bring lots of women to hold the girl down. I thought I was going to be brave so I didn't really need that. I just lay down and I remember looking at the ceiling and staring at the fan.
"I don't remember screaming, I remember the ridiculous amount of pain, I remember the blood everywhere, one of the maids, I actually saw her pick up the bit of flesh that they cut away 'cause she was mopping up the blood. There was blood everywhere."
Some 500 to 2,000 British schoolgirls will be genitally mutilated over the summer holidays. Some will be taken abroad, others will be "cut" or circumcised and sewn closed here in the UK by women already living here or who are flown in and brought to "cutting parties" for a few girls at a time in a cost-saving exercise.
Then the girls will return to their schools and try to get on with their lives, scarred mentally and physically by female genital mutilation (FGM), a practice that serves as a social and cultural bonding exercise and, among those who are stitched up, to ensure that chastity can be proved to a future husband.
Even girls who suffer less extreme forms of FGM are unlikely to be promiscuous. One study among Egyptian women found 50% of women who had undergone FGM "endured" rather than enjoyed sex.
Cleanliness, neatness of appearance and the increased sexual pleasure for the man are all motivations for the practice. But the desire to conform to tradition is the most powerful motive. The rite of passage, condemned by many Islamic scholars, predates both the Koran and the Bible and possibly even Judaism, appearing in the 2nd century BC.
Although unable to give consent, many girls are compliant when they have the prodecure carried out, believing they will be outcasts if they are not cut. The mothers believe they are doing the best for their daughters. Few have any idea of the lifetime of hurt it can involve or the medical implications.
Jamelia, now 20, who says her whole personality changed afterwards."I felt a lot older. It was odd because nobody says this is a secret, keep your mouth shut but that's the message you get loud and clear." She stopped the sports and swimming she used to love and became "strangely disconnected with her own body". Other girls have died, of shock or blood loss; some have picked up infections from dirty tools. Jamelia's mother paid extra for the woman to use a clean razor. It is thought that in the UK there are one or two doctors who can be bribed by the very rich to to carry out FGM using anaesthetic and sterilised instruments.
Comfort Momoh works at Guy's and St Thomas' Hospital in London, in one of the 16 clinics up and down the country who deal with FGM and its health repercusssions. Women who have had much of their external genitalia sliced off and their vaginas stitched closed, but for a tiny hole, also come to be cut open in order to give birth.
There are four types of female circumcision identified by the World Health Organisation, ranging from partial to total removal of the external female genitalia. Some 140 million women worldwide have been subjected to FGM and an estimated further two million are at risk every year. Most live in 28 African countries while others are in Yemen, Kurdistan, the US, Saudi Arabia, Australia and Canada.
The UK Prohibition of Female Circumcision Act 1985 makes it an offence to carry out FGM or to aid, abet or procure the service of another person. The Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003, makes it against the law for FGM to be performed anywhere in the world on UK permanent residents of any age and carries a maximum sentence of 14 years imprisonment. To date, no prosecutions have been made under UK legislation.
"Obviously in summer we get really anxious. All activists and professionals working around FGM get anxious because this is the time that families take their children back home. This is the time when all the professionals need to be really alert," said Momoh.
"There is no hard evidence in figures about what is happening in the UK because it's a hush-hush thing. It's only now that a few people are beginning to talk about it, which is good because change will only come from within and the numbers coming forward are rising. But there is a lot of family pressure. When I first started in 1997 we had two clinics in the country, now we have 16."
One woman told the Observer how a midwife examining her had raced retching and crying from the room. She had no idea she was "abnormal" before that happened. There is a clear need for women who have suffered FGM to be able to visit health professionals who understand what has happened to them. Momoh said that for those who wanted it, some surgical reversal work could sometimes be done on women with the most severe FGM procedure, Type III. For those with other types, counselling and support is all that can offered.
"Periods are agony – you get a lot of women who are determined to have reversals while they are having their period but then when the pain has stopped they lose their nerve again," said Leyla Hussein, 29, who has had to have years of counselling to cope with her own anger and distress at what was done to her as a child. It has helped her forgive her own mother's complicity in the mutilation she endured, though the older woman could not understand why Hussein would not have her own child, now aged seven, cut. But Hussein has vowed that she will be the last generation of women in her family to suffer.
"It was my husband who said on our honeymoon, 'We are not going to do this thing to any child of ours.' I was quite shocked, I hadn't questioned it. But I now realise a lot of men are not in favour of FGM, not when you tell them the woman is not going to enjoy herself."
Hussein is among a slowly but steadily growing band of women who have reacted against what happened to them with courage and a determination to stamp out FGM. Hussein has run support and discussion groups for affected women and for men, and formerly worked at the African Well Women's Centre in Leyton, east London.
"I can really relate to some of the women who are very angry, but how do you blame your mother, who loves you yet planned this for you? There is a lot of anger and resentment. Many women blame themselves and of course there are flashbacks to deal with. I had blackouts – anytime I had to have a smear test, I would pass out because lying in that position brought it back to me, but the nurse is used to me now and allows a little more time with the appointment."
"The new generation, born and raised here in Britain, they are used to expressing their views and it will be a lot harder to shut them up. Last month was the first ever march against FGM [in Bristol where 15 to 16 mothers protested] and that is a sign of something new."
Asha-Kin Duale is a community partnership adviser in Camden, London. She talks to schools and to families about safeguarding children. "Culture has positive and negative issues for every immigrant community. We value some traditions, and most are largely good.
"FGM is not confined to African countries. It has no basis in Christianity, it has no basis in Islam; none of Muhammad's daughters had it done. For some parents it is enough to let them know that and they will drop it completely. Everyone needs to understand that every child, no matter what the background or creed, is protected by this law in this land."
She said there needed to be an understanding of why FGM took place, although that was not the same as accepting that the practice had a cultural justification.
"FGM has a social function and until this is understood by social services and other bodies they will never stop it. It is a power negotiation mechanism, that women use to ensure respect from men. It prevents rape of daughters and is a social tool to allow women to regain some power in patriarchal societies. With girls living in the UK there is no need to gain the power – it has to be understood that girls can be good girls without FGM."
For Jason Morgan, a detective constable in the Met's FGM unit, Project Azure, the solution lies with those girls themselves: "Empowering youth, giving them the information, is the way forward. They are coming from predominantly caring and loving families, who genuinely believe this is the right thing to do. Many are under a great deal of pressure from the extended families.
"Sometimes it might be as simple as delivering the message of what the legal position is; sometimes we even give them an official letter, a document that they can show to the extended family that states quite firmly what will happen if the procedure goes ahead. The focus has to be on prevention."
Project Azure made 38 interventions in 2008, 59 in 2009 and 25 so far this year. For Morgan those statistics are just as important as getting a conviction. "We know it happens here although we have no official statistics, but we have seen very successful partnerships and we don't want to alienate communities through heavy-handed tactics.
"While a prosecution would send out a very clear message to practising communities, really it is very difficult and you would be relying on medical evidence, and in turn that would all hinge or whether the child consents to an examination."
But Naana Otoo-Oyortey is not so content with the softly-softly approach: "We have anecdotal evidence that it is being done here. So someone is not doing their job: it's an indication that the government has been failing to protect children. The commitment is hollow."
Head of the leading anti-FGM charity Forward UK, Otoo-Oyortey said people value the FGM tradition as something which holds a community together and gives it structure. "It's seen as a party, a cutting party because it's a celebration – people expect it as a way of welcoming a girl. A lot of women will mention to us that there have been no prosecutions here so why do we worry about the law? At the end of the day who will know?
"And we cannot just blame the women as the men are silently supporting it by paying for it. The new government's lack of a position on FGM is very worrying. We don't know what they will do, but we do know that the summer holidays are here again and we will be left to pick up the pieces in a few weeks' time."
And for those who will be "cut" this summer, the effects will be lifelong. Miriam was six when she had her cutting party at her home in Somalia, two years before war arrived to force her family out.
When she was 12, doctors were horrified to find that what they thought was a cyst in her body was actually several years of period blood that had been blocked from leaving her body. Unable to have children, she now lives and works in England and worries about other girls. "I'd seen so many people circumcised, all my neighbours, so I knew one day it was going to happen to me. We knew what was happening," Miriam said.
"The little girls who were born in Europe have no clue. They will be traumatised a lot more. The only thing they know is that they are going away – that's what they say, 'We're going on a holiday'.
"Then her life and her head are going to be messed up. It's amazing how many people are in mental health care because of their culture. Don't get me wrong, I have religion and culture and I love where I'm from and I love what I stand for. But culture should not be about torture.
"Why would anyone want to go and cut up a seven- or eight-year-old child? People need to wake up — you are hurting your child, you are hurting your daughter, you're not going to have a grandchild, so wake up."
Female genital mutilation: the facts
■ Female genital mutilation, also known as cutting, is practised in 28 African countries. The prevalence rate ranges from 98% of girls in Somalia to 5% in Zaire. It also takes place among ethnic groups in the Middle East, India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Australia, Canada, the US and New Zealand.
■ Until the 1950s FGM was used in England and the US as a "treatment" for lesbianism, masturbation, hysteria, epilepsy and other "female deviances".
■ A survey in Kenya found a fourfold drop in FGM rates among girls who had secondary education.
■ Reasons for the practice include conforming to social norms, enhancing sexual pleasure for men and reducing it for women, cleanliness and chastity.
■ No European country accepts the threat of FGM as a reason for asylum.
■ In Sudan, 20%-25% of female infertility has been linked to FGM complications.
■ In Chad, girls have begun to seek FGM without pressure from their immediate family, believing that to be "sewn up" proves they are virginal and clean. The fashion has led to uncircumcised girls being labelled "dirty".
Sunday, 25 July 2010
Friday, 16 July 2010
Facing jail, the refugee who lied about kidnap to get a bigger house
The Evening Standard
Paul Cheston, Courts Correspondent
16.07.10
A mother of five was facing jail today after trying to get a bigger house by making up a story that she had been kidnapped.
Yurup Ismael told police that her ex-husband had abducted her. But she was lying in an attempt to rise up Harrow's housing ladder.
It was even revealed in a costly investigation that the man she had accused of the crime was in prison at the time. She had simply wanted to be given a bigger house in a nicer, safer neighbourhood to keep her away from him.
Ismael, 48, has pleaded guilty to charges of perverting the course of justice and fraud by false representation. A further charge of fraud by false representation was not pursued. Prosecutor Dipan Vavsali said: “The case is being put that she used the allegation of kidnap in order to obtain a better home.” Ismael, originally from Somalia, was given refugee status by Holland and became a Dutch national.
In 1999 she left Holland. She arrived in Milton Keynes in 2000 and held a tenancy there. Then in August 2002 she applied to Harrow council as homeless due to domestic violence.
The council accepted a homelessness duty to her in October 2002 and she has been accommodated by the council since, moving to her current home in College Hill Road, Harrow Weald, in July last year.
At the time of her alleged abduction, jobless Ismael was in temporary accommodation at Exeter Road, Rayners Lane.
Ismael, who has two daughters aged 13 and 18 and three sons aged four, six and 16, is due to be sentenced at Harrow crown court by Recorder David Halpern, QC.
The case comes days after a family of former asylum seekers receiving £2,000 a week in housing benefit to live in a £2.1 million Kensington property were told they can stay in their home.
Somali refugees Abdi and Sayruq Nur and their seven children moved into the three-storey home last month — near neighbours including designer Stella McCartney and artist Lucian Freud — after saying they did not like a £900-a-week home in Kensal Green.
And mother of seven Toorpakai Saiedi, 35, has received £170,000 a year in benefits — £150,000 of it to rent her seven-bedroom house in west London.
Ealing council paid the £12,458-a-month bill, which is five times the normal rent for a similar home in the same road.
The £1.2 million house has three reception rooms, two kitchens and a 100ft garden.
Paul Cheston, Courts Correspondent
16.07.10
A mother of five was facing jail today after trying to get a bigger house by making up a story that she had been kidnapped.
Yurup Ismael told police that her ex-husband had abducted her. But she was lying in an attempt to rise up Harrow's housing ladder.
It was even revealed in a costly investigation that the man she had accused of the crime was in prison at the time. She had simply wanted to be given a bigger house in a nicer, safer neighbourhood to keep her away from him.
Ismael, 48, has pleaded guilty to charges of perverting the course of justice and fraud by false representation. A further charge of fraud by false representation was not pursued. Prosecutor Dipan Vavsali said: “The case is being put that she used the allegation of kidnap in order to obtain a better home.” Ismael, originally from Somalia, was given refugee status by Holland and became a Dutch national.
In 1999 she left Holland. She arrived in Milton Keynes in 2000 and held a tenancy there. Then in August 2002 she applied to Harrow council as homeless due to domestic violence.
The council accepted a homelessness duty to her in October 2002 and she has been accommodated by the council since, moving to her current home in College Hill Road, Harrow Weald, in July last year.
At the time of her alleged abduction, jobless Ismael was in temporary accommodation at Exeter Road, Rayners Lane.
Ismael, who has two daughters aged 13 and 18 and three sons aged four, six and 16, is due to be sentenced at Harrow crown court by Recorder David Halpern, QC.
The case comes days after a family of former asylum seekers receiving £2,000 a week in housing benefit to live in a £2.1 million Kensington property were told they can stay in their home.
Somali refugees Abdi and Sayruq Nur and their seven children moved into the three-storey home last month — near neighbours including designer Stella McCartney and artist Lucian Freud — after saying they did not like a £900-a-week home in Kensal Green.
And mother of seven Toorpakai Saiedi, 35, has received £170,000 a year in benefits — £150,000 of it to rent her seven-bedroom house in west London.
Ealing council paid the £12,458-a-month bill, which is five times the normal rent for a similar home in the same road.
The £1.2 million house has three reception rooms, two kitchens and a 100ft garden.
Wednesday, 14 July 2010
Summary of CLG report : 'The Somali Muslim Community in England - Understanding Muslim Ethnic Communities'
The Somali community report builds on the existing evidence base on the community, with a focus on population distribution, identity, links with the country of origin, and Somali Civil society in England.
© Crown copyright 2009,
Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission
of the Controller HMSO.
Ø The most recent Somali migration started in the late 1980s, with large numbers of refugees fleeing war and political unrest in Somalia. Since 2000 Somalis settled in other European countries have started to settle in the UK, particularly from Scandinavia, though the numbers of this group are unavailable. It is one of the top five largest Muslim ethnic communities in England with an estimated population of well over 100,000 Somalis. There are significant Somali communities in Birmingham, Bolton, Hull, Liverpool, London, Leicester, Manchester and Sheffield.
Ø The vast majority are Sunni Muslims, and predominantly followers of the Shafi School of Islam. The main language spoken is Somali, with small numbers of Chiwmini and Arabic speakers. Many Somalis have English language difficulties, especially women, which prevents them from gaining well paid employment and fully integrating into UK life. Somali born migrants have the lowest employment rate of all immigrants in the UK and levels of education within the community are also low, with 50 per cent having no qualifications and only 3 per cent having higher education qualifications.
Ø Somalis are traditionally tight knit with very strong kinship and family structures. Clans play a central role in Somali society, politics and identity formation and the system continues to have an impact on the community in England. However, there is evidence of increasing family breakdown, with more women taking on single parent roles. Youth crime and vulnerability to negative influences is a key concern.
Ø Most Somalis in the UK have been parted from family due to war and there is an ongoing concern about the political situation, and how the lack of peace and stability in Somalia impacts on the welfare of family, friends and others left behind. Many Somalis abroad are the main providers for their relatives left behind in Somalia.
Ø Despite a long historical presence in the UK, Somali community organisations lack the capacity of the more settled community organisation, with whom they have to compete with for funding and support. There is also no strong collective voice for the significant Somali communities across the country and the impact and influence of organisations does not often extend beyond their local area. Engagement with public authorities is low and thought to be worsened by the perceived tendency of authorities to only involve the older and better established black and minority ethnic communities in community consultation and involvement processes.
Specific recommendations arising from interviews with community respondents include:
· Targeted funding and capacity building support which organisations can access without having to compete with the larger South Asian and black Caribbean organisations.
· Improving engagement by identifying and working with those community organisations that have the capability and understanding needed to communicate and can engage equally with both local authorities and Somali communities.
· Support for the development of a collective representative forum for the Somali community in the UK and for the development of stronger partnerships and networking between authorities and communities.
· Direct recognition of Somalis in local consultations and decision making forums without being ignored in the broader ‘black and minority ethnic’ label.
· Educational opportunities, facilities and premises for young people.
· Funding and support for the establishment of Somali women’s organisations.
· Employment training and language support for all adult members of the community.
© Crown copyright 2009,
Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission
of the Controller HMSO.
Ø The most recent Somali migration started in the late 1980s, with large numbers of refugees fleeing war and political unrest in Somalia. Since 2000 Somalis settled in other European countries have started to settle in the UK, particularly from Scandinavia, though the numbers of this group are unavailable. It is one of the top five largest Muslim ethnic communities in England with an estimated population of well over 100,000 Somalis. There are significant Somali communities in Birmingham, Bolton, Hull, Liverpool, London, Leicester, Manchester and Sheffield.
Ø The vast majority are Sunni Muslims, and predominantly followers of the Shafi School of Islam. The main language spoken is Somali, with small numbers of Chiwmini and Arabic speakers. Many Somalis have English language difficulties, especially women, which prevents them from gaining well paid employment and fully integrating into UK life. Somali born migrants have the lowest employment rate of all immigrants in the UK and levels of education within the community are also low, with 50 per cent having no qualifications and only 3 per cent having higher education qualifications.
Ø Somalis are traditionally tight knit with very strong kinship and family structures. Clans play a central role in Somali society, politics and identity formation and the system continues to have an impact on the community in England. However, there is evidence of increasing family breakdown, with more women taking on single parent roles. Youth crime and vulnerability to negative influences is a key concern.
Ø Most Somalis in the UK have been parted from family due to war and there is an ongoing concern about the political situation, and how the lack of peace and stability in Somalia impacts on the welfare of family, friends and others left behind. Many Somalis abroad are the main providers for their relatives left behind in Somalia.
Ø Despite a long historical presence in the UK, Somali community organisations lack the capacity of the more settled community organisation, with whom they have to compete with for funding and support. There is also no strong collective voice for the significant Somali communities across the country and the impact and influence of organisations does not often extend beyond their local area. Engagement with public authorities is low and thought to be worsened by the perceived tendency of authorities to only involve the older and better established black and minority ethnic communities in community consultation and involvement processes.
Specific recommendations arising from interviews with community respondents include:
· Targeted funding and capacity building support which organisations can access without having to compete with the larger South Asian and black Caribbean organisations.
· Improving engagement by identifying and working with those community organisations that have the capability and understanding needed to communicate and can engage equally with both local authorities and Somali communities.
· Support for the development of a collective representative forum for the Somali community in the UK and for the development of stronger partnerships and networking between authorities and communities.
· Direct recognition of Somalis in local consultations and decision making forums without being ignored in the broader ‘black and minority ethnic’ label.
· Educational opportunities, facilities and premises for young people.
· Funding and support for the establishment of Somali women’s organisations.
· Employment training and language support for all adult members of the community.
Monday, 12 July 2010
Police ask Somali residents for help as teenager killed in Bristol
Abdirisak Mohamoud of Fishponds died from a single stab wound in Stapleton Road last Thursday night.
Seven men arrested in connection with the incident have been released on police bail. One man has been released without charge.
Last night more than 150 people, mainly from the Somali community, attended a meeting at Trinity Centre at which the police outlined the steps they were taking to bring the killer or killers to justiceDetective Chief Inspector Phil Jones, who is leading the investigation, appealed to Somalis for help.
He said: "There were a number of people who were in the vicinity of Stapleton Road and Villiers Road Easton, Bristol, prior to, during and after the incident.
"I am appealing for these people to come forward.
"I would once again appeal for calm within the community and I continue to seek their support in bringing to justice the person or persons responsible for this tragic death."
Superintendent Julian Moss urged people at the meeting to have the confidence and trust to provide information.
He said: "At such times of heightened emotion, tensions can run high. This is a time when the whole community needs to come together and use its influence to prevent people taking the law into their own hands."
This was echoed by Easton Lib Dem councillor John Kiely who said: "This is very important. Two wrongs don't make a right."
Mr Kiely called for a review of policing in Stapleton Road, which he said had become a "containment area" where some criminal behaviour went unchallenged.
"We must tackle this once and for all. We can't have another wasted life and another needless death," he said.
But one young woman questioned how police could stop a retaliation attack when many young Somalis did not trust the police.
Superintendent Moss said officers had stepped up patrols in the area since the incident on Thursday night but were keen to strike a balance between allowing the community space to grieve and providing reassurance and preventing further incidents.
Sergeant Andy Welton said additional "stop and searches" would be carried out, which were likely to involve young Somalis who were not carrying weapons, but that this was necessary to try to drive out knives and guns.
Officers stressed that the searches would observe strict guidelines.
A shopkeeper who has had a business on Stapleton Road for 10 years was applauded when he told how drug dealing went on openly on the street and the police filled in forms but did not act.
He said many people felt the neighbourhood was ignored because it was mainly immigrants.
Community activist Nura Aabe said it should not take a tragedy to bring about work to prevent crimes.
Superintendent Moss said there had been 25 convictions of drug dealers thanks to a recent operation and Sergeant Welton said Easton had had more crack house closures than anywhere else in the South West.
Superintendent Moss paid tribute to the Somali people, who, he said, were proud, talented and resourceful.
"I think it says an awful lot about the local community here that we have so many people in this room who have come to ask questions, show respect and to look at how we can work together to resolve problems, " he said.
Are the problems between Somalis and other members of the Bristolian community new?
In short, the answer is an emphatic no!
Teenage girl 'stabbed Somalian man to death at carnival because he was lecherous nuisance'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1087025/Teenage-girl-stabbed-Somalian-man-death-carnival-lecherous-nuisance.html#ixzz0tV0d7mFJ
Teenage girl 'stabbed Somalian man to death at carnival because he was lecherous nuisance'
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 3:01 PM on 18th November 2008
A teenage girl stabbed a Somalian man to death at a carnival because he was being a 'lecherous nuisance' to her and her friends, a court heard today.
April Bright was just 17-years-old when she stabbed Mohamoud Muse Hassan, 35, in the neck with a knife during the St Pauls Carnival in Bristol on September 16 last year.
Bright, now 18, stabbed Mr Hassan in an alleyway next to the Criterion pub in Ashley Road at around 2.45am.
Earlier on in the evening, Bright, her friends and her sisters were in a takeaway next door to the pub where Mr Hassan and his friends were.
Crime scene: St Pauls Carnival in Bristol where Mohamoud Muse Hassan was stabbed to death
The group of Somalian men were making inappropriate comments and touching women in the pub - and then made inappropriate comments towards Bright and her friends in the takeaway, Bristol Crown Court heard today.
Richard Smith QC, prosecuting, told the court that this was a likely motive for the attack on Mr Hassan, who was well known in the community by the nicknames Tiger and Warrior.
'St Pauls' streets were full, the pubs, clubs and cafes were alive with music, people and movement,' he said.
'The pub was full of people enjoying themselves in a loud vibrant atmosphere. Mr Hassan was in boisterous, high spirits and had been drinking.
'To some, the group of Somalian men seemed to be making an inappropriate, unwelcome, lecherous nuisance of themselves.'
Bright, who had been drinking, was described as being 'moodily excitable, hyper and aggressive' and had come to the carnival armed with a knife in her tracksuit trousers.
Mr Smith said the pair had known of each other around the area and in the weeks before the confrontation Bright had threatened Mr Hassan in another cafe by telling him: 'You don't know my people, you don't know who I am, you don't f*** with us.'
Mr Smith said that while in the takeaway one of Mr Hassan's friends was touching women and making comments to them and both Bright and her sister Mandy slapped him around the face.
'Miss Bright and her group were somewhat annoyed at the contact with this group of Somalian men, including Mr Hassan.
'The reason that she ultimately took out the knife that she had taken to carnival night and stabbed Mr Hassan was her angry attitude to the way he had been conducting himself.'
Bright, of St Pauls, admits manslaughter but denies murder
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1087025/Teenage-girl-stabbed-Somalian-man-death-carnival-lecherous-nuisance.html#ixzz0tV0d7mFJ
War between gangs 'led to fatal stabbing of teenager'
bristol_evening_post
Saturday, July 10, 2010, 07:00
War between gangs 'led to fatal stabbing of teenager'
A TURF war between rival drug gangs led to a teenager being stabbed to death in a Bristol street, it has been claimed.
Friends said the 18-year-old man, named locally as Abdi Razak, was stabbed "six or seven times" during the fight in Stapleton Road at about 11pm on Thursday.
He was taken to hospital in a minicab where he later died.
Up to 30 young men were involved in the confrontation which led to the teenager's death.
Eight were arrested on suspicion of murder shortly after the incident. They include two 16-year-old boys, three 17-year-olds, an 18-year-old and two 20-year-olds.
Abdi, who used to go to Bristol City Academy, was one of eight children who lived with an aunt in Fishponds.
His mother was out of the country when she heard of her son's death and is thought to be travelling back to Britain.
People living and working in Easton said there had been trouble for months between drug dealers over territory.
Taj Uddin, 34, of Seymour Road, was watching TV when he heard the commotion and came out to see what had happened.
He said: "I knew him. I heard he was stabbed six or seven times.
"His friends were trying to take him to hospital in a minicab but the police were saying he had to go by ambulance."
Mr Uddin said some Somali boys had become involved in drug dealing and had clashed with Bristol-born black kids from St Paul's. They got jealous and came over and were saying things like 'You can't sell drugs in my yard'."
Amina Mohammed, 38, a close friend's of Abdi's mother, refuted claims that he was involved with drug dealers.
She said: "He was a good person, from a nice family. Someone told me he had been stabbed and I got here at about 12 o'clock but he had already been taken to hospital. When I got there they would not let me in."
A 17-year-old friend, who only wanted to be known by her first name Honey, said: "We were at school together.
"He stayed at our house for a while and he was a nice person. He always cared for me and looked out for his friends. He should be remembered as a nice person."
A local shopkeeper, who did not want to be named, said trouble flared at 6pm and there were angry exchanges all evening which he thought would have been caught on a CCTV camera in Stapleton Road.
"There were a bunch of kids, about 30 of them. They were arguing, pushing and screaming and fighting.
"If this was being monitored on CCTV you would expect something to have been done to stop it. The police came at about 8.30pm and of course the kids all disappeared so they went again.
"If they had remained or stepped up patrols it might not have happened. Police officers should be there to take care of the safety of the community."
Police sealed off part of Stapleton Road between Easton Way and St Marks Road and closed a number of other streets including Villiers Road, Walton Street and Tudor Road to carry out forensic examinations.
An underpass was also closed, as was the entrance to the car park of the Empire gym. About a dozen people who had been using the gym could not leave until 1.45pm until the police had collected evidence from the pavement at the car park entrance.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Jones said police were called to a disturbance at the junction of Stapleton Road and Villiers Road at 11pm and by that time the victim had already been taken to hospital by minicab with serious injuries.
He said: "A murder investigation has begun and eight people are in custody. We are still trying to ascertain the motive for the incident. We have a number of lines of inquiry and we are keeping an open mind as to what the motive might have been."
He said he realised the investigation had caused a great deal of inconvenience to residents and traders and thanked them for their patience.
DCI Jones said the victim had not been identified and he could not confirm his name.
He said officers were still searching for the murder weapon but could not say if it was a knife.
Reverend Dawnecia Palmer runs prayer patrols in Easton and other areas of Bristol.
She is was planning a safety conference in September to deter gangs from violence.
She said: "A grandmother begged me to go out and talk to these young people," she said. "Her three grandchildren were in a gang and she was worried.
"I am so distraught to hear of this. Only fools take lives, that's my motto. If you want to be cool you've got to respect life. What a waste of a beautiful life. We have got to teach young people the value of life."
The reverend believes there now needs to be a unified fight to stamp out the problem and get gangs talking to each other.
"It's all about ownership, it's about territory. The police have been trying through patrols, out-reach schemes and education, but we need to look at it holistically. Everything needs to be run together but to be honest they haven't been.
"I want to do a talent thing, to get them to use their talents, rapping or whatever, to do their talking through that. I will put up a prize for those who keep their cool.
"My prayers really go out to the family."
Any witnesses who have not yet spoken to the police or anyone with information is asked to contact the investigation team on 0845 4567000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
Saturday, July 10, 2010, 07:00
War between gangs 'led to fatal stabbing of teenager'
A TURF war between rival drug gangs led to a teenager being stabbed to death in a Bristol street, it has been claimed.
Friends said the 18-year-old man, named locally as Abdi Razak, was stabbed "six or seven times" during the fight in Stapleton Road at about 11pm on Thursday.
He was taken to hospital in a minicab where he later died.
Up to 30 young men were involved in the confrontation which led to the teenager's death.
Eight were arrested on suspicion of murder shortly after the incident. They include two 16-year-old boys, three 17-year-olds, an 18-year-old and two 20-year-olds.
Abdi, who used to go to Bristol City Academy, was one of eight children who lived with an aunt in Fishponds.
His mother was out of the country when she heard of her son's death and is thought to be travelling back to Britain.
People living and working in Easton said there had been trouble for months between drug dealers over territory.
Taj Uddin, 34, of Seymour Road, was watching TV when he heard the commotion and came out to see what had happened.
He said: "I knew him. I heard he was stabbed six or seven times.
"His friends were trying to take him to hospital in a minicab but the police were saying he had to go by ambulance."
Mr Uddin said some Somali boys had become involved in drug dealing and had clashed with Bristol-born black kids from St Paul's. They got jealous and came over and were saying things like 'You can't sell drugs in my yard'."
Amina Mohammed, 38, a close friend's of Abdi's mother, refuted claims that he was involved with drug dealers.
She said: "He was a good person, from a nice family. Someone told me he had been stabbed and I got here at about 12 o'clock but he had already been taken to hospital. When I got there they would not let me in."
A 17-year-old friend, who only wanted to be known by her first name Honey, said: "We were at school together.
"He stayed at our house for a while and he was a nice person. He always cared for me and looked out for his friends. He should be remembered as a nice person."
A local shopkeeper, who did not want to be named, said trouble flared at 6pm and there were angry exchanges all evening which he thought would have been caught on a CCTV camera in Stapleton Road.
"There were a bunch of kids, about 30 of them. They were arguing, pushing and screaming and fighting.
"If this was being monitored on CCTV you would expect something to have been done to stop it. The police came at about 8.30pm and of course the kids all disappeared so they went again.
"If they had remained or stepped up patrols it might not have happened. Police officers should be there to take care of the safety of the community."
Police sealed off part of Stapleton Road between Easton Way and St Marks Road and closed a number of other streets including Villiers Road, Walton Street and Tudor Road to carry out forensic examinations.
An underpass was also closed, as was the entrance to the car park of the Empire gym. About a dozen people who had been using the gym could not leave until 1.45pm until the police had collected evidence from the pavement at the car park entrance.
Detective Chief Inspector Phil Jones said police were called to a disturbance at the junction of Stapleton Road and Villiers Road at 11pm and by that time the victim had already been taken to hospital by minicab with serious injuries.
He said: "A murder investigation has begun and eight people are in custody. We are still trying to ascertain the motive for the incident. We have a number of lines of inquiry and we are keeping an open mind as to what the motive might have been."
He said he realised the investigation had caused a great deal of inconvenience to residents and traders and thanked them for their patience.
DCI Jones said the victim had not been identified and he could not confirm his name.
He said officers were still searching for the murder weapon but could not say if it was a knife.
Reverend Dawnecia Palmer runs prayer patrols in Easton and other areas of Bristol.
She is was planning a safety conference in September to deter gangs from violence.
She said: "A grandmother begged me to go out and talk to these young people," she said. "Her three grandchildren were in a gang and she was worried.
"I am so distraught to hear of this. Only fools take lives, that's my motto. If you want to be cool you've got to respect life. What a waste of a beautiful life. We have got to teach young people the value of life."
The reverend believes there now needs to be a unified fight to stamp out the problem and get gangs talking to each other.
"It's all about ownership, it's about territory. The police have been trying through patrols, out-reach schemes and education, but we need to look at it holistically. Everything needs to be run together but to be honest they haven't been.
"I want to do a talent thing, to get them to use their talents, rapping or whatever, to do their talking through that. I will put up a prize for those who keep their cool.
"My prayers really go out to the family."
Any witnesses who have not yet spoken to the police or anyone with information is asked to contact the investigation team on 0845 4567000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111 or via www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
Sometimes, Somalis do themselves no favours...
Somali asylum seeker family given £2m house... after complaining 5-bed London home was 'in poor area'
By Chris Hastings, George Arbuthnott and Matt Sandy
Last updated at 10:14 PM on 10th July 2010
Des res: Abdi Nur at the door of the £2million Kensington townhouse that he, his wife and seven children have moved into
A family of former asylum-seekers from Somalia are living in a £2.1million luxury townhouse in one of Britain's most exclusive addresses at a cost to taxpayers of £8,000 a month.
Abdi and Sayruq Nur and their seven children moved into their three-storey property in a fashionable area of London last month because they didn't like the 'poorer' part of the city they were living in.
Mr Nur, 42, an unemployed bus conductor, and his 40-year-old wife, who has never worked, are now living in Kensington despite the fact that they are totally dependent on state benefits.
They live close to celebrities, including artist Lucian Freud, singer Damon Albarn and designer Stella McCartney, and their home is just minutes from the fashionable Kensington Place restaurant which was a favourite haunt of the late Princess Diana.
The family's new home is believed to be one of the most expensive houses ever paid for by housing benefit, which is administered by local councils but funded by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The disclosure that a single family has been paid so much will embarrass Ministers, who last month pledged to rein in Britain's £20billion-a-year housing benefit bill.
Mr Nur said his former five-bedroom home in the Kensal Rise area of Brent, which cost £900 a week in housing benefit, was suitable for the family's needs but he said they had felt compelled to move because they did not like living 'in a very poor area' and were unhappy with the quality of local shops and schools.
He said he found the new house through a friend who knew the landlord, arranged to rent it through an estate agent, then approached officials at Kensington and Chelsea council who said 'it would be no problem' to move.
Rules allow anyone who is eligible for housing benefit to claim for a private property in any part of the country they wish.
The £2,000 per week is paid directly to Mr Nur and his family, who then pay their landlord.
Abdi Nur house
Smart: The Nur family's new home has five bedrooms, two bathrooms and a fully fitted kitchen as is nearby several celebrities' London homes
Property sources say the house was being advertised locally at a cost of £1,050 per week.
The house is owned by Brophy Group Business Ltd, a British Virgin Islands company whose registered address is a post office box in Liechtenstein.
No one from the firm, which bought the house for £2.1 million in 2007, was available for comment.
Mr Nur said: 'The new house is good enough and it is near the school and the shops. We need a house this big because we have so many children.
'The old house was good but the area was not so good. It was a very poor area and there were no buses, no shops and the schools were too far.
'The old house was four or five bus stops away from the primary school attended by two of my children.
'Soon, all three of our younger children are going to be at primary school and we can't take them all on the bus. Now they are going to a school which is just down the road.'
From September, his children will attend a school located just 20 yards from their new front door - which has been rated as outstanding by Ofsted.
They previously attended a school in Kensal Rise which was rated as satisfactory.
Abdi Nur
'Bad area': Mr Nur said their former home in Brent matched their family's needs, but they didn't like living in a 'poor' part of London
But Mr Nur said his neighbourhood also had other advantages. 'I like the neighbours and there does not seem to be much crime.'
He added: 'They have very full shops here and they are still open at 2am. Unlike at Kensal Rise, where they closed at 7pm or 8pm.'
Mr Nur, who lost his £6.50-an-hour job as a bus conductor 18 months ago, claims officials at Kensington and Chelsea council said they 'didn't care' about his decision to move into the borough, which they said was 'not a problem'.
The family's three-storey property, which dates from the 1840s, has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fully fitted kitchen and a garden.
The family's living room, which boasts a large bay window, is dominated by a 50in LG flatscreen TV. It also has two large black leather sofas, two elaborate rugs and lush houseplants.
Neighbours of the family last night expressed their shock at the amount of housing benefit being claimed.
Nigel Melville, 65, a company director, said: 'To be paying that much out in housing benefit is ridiculous - it's too much. I suppose they had to be housed somewhere, but it's an awful lot of money.'
Mr Nur worked for the Red Cross in Somalia and married his wife in 1993.
The couple subsequently fled their homeland because of civil war and were granted asylum in Britain in 1999.
The couple's four oldest children, who are aged between 12 and 16, were all born in Somalia. The youngest three children were born in Britain.
Mr Nur last night acknowledged the family was lucky to have the new home, but he insisted his family 'were no better or no worse off than anyone else'.
He also insisted he was doing his best to find a job.
'I am looking for a job. I am taking a course to train me in how to get a job. I would like any job. Anything in food production or warehouses would be fine.'
The current housing benefit system was overhauled by the last government in April 2008. Labour Ministers introduced new caps on the amount claimants could receive, depending on the size and location of the property.
But instead of bringing costs down, the new system encouraged many landlords to raise rents to the level of the maximum allowable.
The new government has announced further sweeping changes to the housing benefit system, which will come into effect next April.
The new rules mean claimants living in a four or five-bedroom house will no longer be able to claim more than £400 a week.
The changes have led to warnings that thousands of families will be forced out of existing homes into cheaper properties.
But critics say the changes are essential because of mounting concern about the size of some individual claims, particularly in London.
Earlier this year, it emerged that Essma Marjam, a single mother of six, was being paid nearly £7,000 a month so that she could live in a five-bedroom villa in Maida Vale.
In December, Francesca Walker, a mother-of-eight who also lived in Kensington and Chelsea, defended her £90,000-a-year housing benefit claims for a £2 million villa in Notting Hill.
She said the family were completely justified in living there because the council could not find a big enough property.
The London borough of Kensington and Chelsea last night declined to comment on the specific circumstances of the Nur family's claim.
The council said it had a responsibility to meet the needs of claimants who were eligible for benefits and was powerless to stop people moving into private accommodation in the area.
A spokesman said: 'We have been saying for some years now that the way in which the maximum level of housing benefit is calculated is flawed and we welcome the Government's new changes which begin next year.
'The sums of money that many families claim for housing in the capital and elsewhere is an example of an unreasonably generous benefits system which is open to abuse.'
A spokesman for Brent Council said: 'Households, whether they are claiming benefits or are in work, are able to make their own arrangements in terms of renting privately, as long as they can find a landlord with a suitable property.
'This includes decisions about where they live.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1293730/Somali-asylum-seeker-family-given-2m-house--complaining-5-bed-London-home-poor-area.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0tUxkJSZa
By Chris Hastings, George Arbuthnott and Matt Sandy
Last updated at 10:14 PM on 10th July 2010
Des res: Abdi Nur at the door of the £2million Kensington townhouse that he, his wife and seven children have moved into
A family of former asylum-seekers from Somalia are living in a £2.1million luxury townhouse in one of Britain's most exclusive addresses at a cost to taxpayers of £8,000 a month.
Abdi and Sayruq Nur and their seven children moved into their three-storey property in a fashionable area of London last month because they didn't like the 'poorer' part of the city they were living in.
Mr Nur, 42, an unemployed bus conductor, and his 40-year-old wife, who has never worked, are now living in Kensington despite the fact that they are totally dependent on state benefits.
They live close to celebrities, including artist Lucian Freud, singer Damon Albarn and designer Stella McCartney, and their home is just minutes from the fashionable Kensington Place restaurant which was a favourite haunt of the late Princess Diana.
The family's new home is believed to be one of the most expensive houses ever paid for by housing benefit, which is administered by local councils but funded by the Department for Work and Pensions.
The disclosure that a single family has been paid so much will embarrass Ministers, who last month pledged to rein in Britain's £20billion-a-year housing benefit bill.
Mr Nur said his former five-bedroom home in the Kensal Rise area of Brent, which cost £900 a week in housing benefit, was suitable for the family's needs but he said they had felt compelled to move because they did not like living 'in a very poor area' and were unhappy with the quality of local shops and schools.
He said he found the new house through a friend who knew the landlord, arranged to rent it through an estate agent, then approached officials at Kensington and Chelsea council who said 'it would be no problem' to move.
Rules allow anyone who is eligible for housing benefit to claim for a private property in any part of the country they wish.
The £2,000 per week is paid directly to Mr Nur and his family, who then pay their landlord.
Abdi Nur house
Smart: The Nur family's new home has five bedrooms, two bathrooms and a fully fitted kitchen as is nearby several celebrities' London homes
Property sources say the house was being advertised locally at a cost of £1,050 per week.
The house is owned by Brophy Group Business Ltd, a British Virgin Islands company whose registered address is a post office box in Liechtenstein.
No one from the firm, which bought the house for £2.1 million in 2007, was available for comment.
Mr Nur said: 'The new house is good enough and it is near the school and the shops. We need a house this big because we have so many children.
'The old house was good but the area was not so good. It was a very poor area and there were no buses, no shops and the schools were too far.
'The old house was four or five bus stops away from the primary school attended by two of my children.
'Soon, all three of our younger children are going to be at primary school and we can't take them all on the bus. Now they are going to a school which is just down the road.'
From September, his children will attend a school located just 20 yards from their new front door - which has been rated as outstanding by Ofsted.
They previously attended a school in Kensal Rise which was rated as satisfactory.
Abdi Nur
'Bad area': Mr Nur said their former home in Brent matched their family's needs, but they didn't like living in a 'poor' part of London
But Mr Nur said his neighbourhood also had other advantages. 'I like the neighbours and there does not seem to be much crime.'
He added: 'They have very full shops here and they are still open at 2am. Unlike at Kensal Rise, where they closed at 7pm or 8pm.'
Mr Nur, who lost his £6.50-an-hour job as a bus conductor 18 months ago, claims officials at Kensington and Chelsea council said they 'didn't care' about his decision to move into the borough, which they said was 'not a problem'.
The family's three-storey property, which dates from the 1840s, has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a fully fitted kitchen and a garden.
The family's living room, which boasts a large bay window, is dominated by a 50in LG flatscreen TV. It also has two large black leather sofas, two elaborate rugs and lush houseplants.
Neighbours of the family last night expressed their shock at the amount of housing benefit being claimed.
Nigel Melville, 65, a company director, said: 'To be paying that much out in housing benefit is ridiculous - it's too much. I suppose they had to be housed somewhere, but it's an awful lot of money.'
Mr Nur worked for the Red Cross in Somalia and married his wife in 1993.
The couple subsequently fled their homeland because of civil war and were granted asylum in Britain in 1999.
The couple's four oldest children, who are aged between 12 and 16, were all born in Somalia. The youngest three children were born in Britain.
Mr Nur last night acknowledged the family was lucky to have the new home, but he insisted his family 'were no better or no worse off than anyone else'.
He also insisted he was doing his best to find a job.
'I am looking for a job. I am taking a course to train me in how to get a job. I would like any job. Anything in food production or warehouses would be fine.'
The current housing benefit system was overhauled by the last government in April 2008. Labour Ministers introduced new caps on the amount claimants could receive, depending on the size and location of the property.
But instead of bringing costs down, the new system encouraged many landlords to raise rents to the level of the maximum allowable.
The new government has announced further sweeping changes to the housing benefit system, which will come into effect next April.
The new rules mean claimants living in a four or five-bedroom house will no longer be able to claim more than £400 a week.
The changes have led to warnings that thousands of families will be forced out of existing homes into cheaper properties.
But critics say the changes are essential because of mounting concern about the size of some individual claims, particularly in London.
Earlier this year, it emerged that Essma Marjam, a single mother of six, was being paid nearly £7,000 a month so that she could live in a five-bedroom villa in Maida Vale.
In December, Francesca Walker, a mother-of-eight who also lived in Kensington and Chelsea, defended her £90,000-a-year housing benefit claims for a £2 million villa in Notting Hill.
She said the family were completely justified in living there because the council could not find a big enough property.
The London borough of Kensington and Chelsea last night declined to comment on the specific circumstances of the Nur family's claim.
The council said it had a responsibility to meet the needs of claimants who were eligible for benefits and was powerless to stop people moving into private accommodation in the area.
A spokesman said: 'We have been saying for some years now that the way in which the maximum level of housing benefit is calculated is flawed and we welcome the Government's new changes which begin next year.
'The sums of money that many families claim for housing in the capital and elsewhere is an example of an unreasonably generous benefits system which is open to abuse.'
A spokesman for Brent Council said: 'Households, whether they are claiming benefits or are in work, are able to make their own arrangements in terms of renting privately, as long as they can find a landlord with a suitable property.
'This includes decisions about where they live.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1293730/Somali-asylum-seeker-family-given-2m-house--complaining-5-bed-London-home-poor-area.html?ito=feeds-newsxml#ixzz0tUxkJSZa
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