REDRESSAL FOR RACIAL ABUSE

Dear Friends,

It is almost a decade since we started to migrate in to this country of great history, well being and prosperity.

It is almost a decade since we braved the cold whether, alien culture, broken families, difficult working atmosphere and the nostalgia of friends and family left behind.

It is almost a decade since we cherished the high hopes of a better, safe, secure and prosperous living in a country of great opportunity, were merit and hard work was given its due place in the society, were family values are held in high esteem and Human Rights was the bulwark of the society .

And finally, dear Friends, it is almost a decade since we started dreaming of a better future and education for our children and loved once in this country.

Thus Dear friends started a journey of an enterprising hard working group of people from the remotest part of the sub-continent called Kerala, in a journey of hard work, great sacrifices, nostalgic feelings, and difficult transformation in to a country with alien culture, language and customs.

However, Dear Friends, on recapping the past decade, most of us, if not all, would agree that, while this country has catered to most of our dreams it has failed in one and the most imported arena of our day to day living in United Kingdom. This arena, Dear Friends, is the protection and security to our life and family in this country.

When we look back, we can recall that we have been subject to one form of racial attacks or threats, either to our person or to our property. Dear Friends, no day has passed by without a member of our community been subject to either smashing our vehicles wind shields, cutting vehicle tyres, burning our vehicles, calling us paki b*******, threatening our children as they go to their schools, painting abusing languages associating to our race and inflicting physical injuries as we walk the streets of Britain.

In this context, I would like to draw your attention to some of the basic rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights 1950. According to these pieces of valuable legislation, catering to the protection of basic Human Life in this planet, to which United Kingdom is an active subscriber, we are legally, socially and politically guaranteed some basic rights. These Rights are referred to as the Convention Rights; some of the rights which are relevant to the current context are as follows.

ARTICLE 2 - RIGHT TO LIFE

Everyones right to life shall be protected by Law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally.

ARTICLE 4 - RIGHT TO LIBERTY AND SECURITY

Everyone has the right to liberty and security of person. No one shall be deprived of his liberty save in certain cases and in accordance with a procedure prescribed by law.

ARTICLE 8 - RIGHT TO RESPECT FOR PRIVATE AND FAMILY LIFE

Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.

ARTICLE 10 - FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION

Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.

What is Racial Harassment?

Racial harassment is abuse suffered by individuals, families or groups of people because of their colour, race, nationality, or ethnic or national origin.
The abuse may consist of one incident or a series - it may include attacks on property as well as on the person.
It may include:
verbal abuse
physical abuse
written abuse threats
racist graffiti
damage to property

We at Liverpool Malayalee Cultural Association,

1. Are of the utmost opinion that it is our bounden duty to bring all the Racial Attacks that has been heaped on our community during the past decade to the attention of the appropriate authorities,
2. Co-operate with the appropriate authorities to find a way of bring these attacks to an end.
3. Help the families affected by these attacks to recover from the scares of these abuses, by obtaining appropriate relief from the authorities.

Therefore, Dear Friends, if you believe that either you or any of your friends or family have been abused or that you have witnessed something involving a racist motive, then please sign this online petition and provide us the appropriate reference number such as the Crime number or the Log Number, if this has been reported to the Police, or any other description which can be valuable, while presenting an official petition to the appropriate authorities.

Please do not hesitate to contact Mr Thomaskutty Francis (PRO Liverpool Malayalee Cultural Association) if you have any further queries.