Immigrants in the North East targeted by hate crimes following EU referendum
Our region has seen a 35% increase in reported hate crimes against immigrants
Hate crimes against immigrants here in the North East have increased by 35% following the UK's decision to Brexit.
Just last week a Muslim woman was racially abused in the Bridges shopping centre in Sunderland, when a 55 year-old man ripped off her veil and told her:
"You're in Britain now, live by British rules". But recent figures reveal that sadly attacks like these are not a one off. Across the UK there have been 599 reports of hate crime, which is a 57% rise in the number of reports prior to the referendum.
Abu-Tayeb is from the Islamic Diversity Centre here in Newcastle he said:
"After Brexit we were hearing some ridiculous, outlandish statements like 'we voted to leave now you need to leave'. Now that is just such an ignorant statement to make"
Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner Vera Baird told us :
"If you criticise or shout at someone just because they're blacker or white or speak a different language to yourself, then you are committing a hate crime and that sort of behaviour will not be tolerated by our community and certainly not by Northumbria Police"
The PCC is urging victims of such crimes to come forward and report the incident but Abu-Tayeb say's some people are living with this sort of abuse on a daily basis:
"Pre-Brexit people try to refrain showing their overt racism but post-Brexit it seems they feel like they have a license to be outwardly racist. There's so much ignorance - sometimes we're talking about third, fourth or even fifth generation migrants. How long does a community have to be in a country before it is accepted?"