LETTER:Bradford riots: stereotypes, harassment and policing

From Mr and Mrs J. Brown

Sir: As residents of an inner-city area in Bradford we feel that we must write about some of the incidents of racial harassment that we have suffered from over the last two and a half years. These involve graffiti daubed on our property and almost daily verbal abuse by gangs of youths warning us to "get out of `their' area", the area that we have lived in for the past five years.

We have also suffered from people urinating up our doors, a threat at knife point which was racially motivated and damage to our car and garden. Recently we have had a brick thrown through our front room window whilst we sat watching the TV.

Due to these and other incidents we live in fear of further attacks which the police, although sympathetic, appear unable to protect us from, and we now avoid venturing on to the street at night. Living like this is awful and we have finally conceded that the best thing to do is to sell our house (at considerable financial loss) and move away completely. Being forced out of your home by bullies is a stressful and deeply upsetting experience which does nothing but drive a wedge between the Asian and white communities in Bradford.

Most people are aware that racial violence exists within our inner cities but the assumption is that this harassment only happens to ethnic minorities. Both my husband and myself are white and we have suffered not because of our intolerance towards our Asian neighbours but because of their children's intolerance towards us and our wish to live peacefully within Bradford's multicultural society. Until all aspects of Bradford's mixed-race society accept that it is their responsibility to confront the racists, whether they are black, white or Asian, and deal with them together with the police, then there will continue to be further disturbances on our streets and innocent people will be forced out of their homes.

Yours sincerely,

J. BROWN

B. BROWN

Bradford

12 June

The writers are using pseudonyms