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Somalian teenager beaten

01 January 1991

Somalian teenager beaten
artdoc July=1991

A Somalian-born teenager was savagely attacked and left
unconscious on an east London estate by two white men wielding
a baseball bat.
Jama Hassan, aged 15, who lives on the Teviot Estate,
Tower Hamlets, suffered a fractured skull and temporary
paralysis on the right side of his face. He said, `This is not
the first time I have been beaten up. Others on the estate
have also been attacked; the situation is getting ridiculous.'
Despite the Teviot Estate's reputation for racial
violence, Somalian refugees continue to be housed there.
According to Jama Hassan who fled his country because of
political violence `It is like fleeing from one persecution
and finding another.'
Meanwhile, Council officers monitoring racial attacks say
that there has been an increase in racist attacks this year on
all council estates. North London's Camden Council has
reportedly moved 40-50 families from their estate homes this
year because of racial violence. Kanta Patel, Chair of the
Association of London Authorities Committee said, `Victims of
racial attacks often refuse to report attacks for fear of the
local authority not taking them seriously.' (Voice 4/12/90)

IRR Police-Media Bulletin no 66. Institute of Race Relations,
2-6 Leeke Street, London WC1X 9HS