Taunts, threats surge in days following British referendum

[webfact]

Taunts, threats surge in days following British referendum
By RAPHAEL SATTER and PHILIPPA LAW

LONDON (AP) — Turkish tourists are heckled in the heart of London. An Eastern European family in Rugby finds dog excrement shoved through its mailbox. A Polish teenager in Gloucestershire is taunted with threats of deportation at her high school.

In the aftermath of the June 23 vote to leave the European Union, Britain has seen a surge in xenophobia expressed in taunts, threats and worse. For many, foreign- and native-born, the U.K. has suddenly become a much scarier place.

"Before Friday we lived in a tolerant society," said Oana Gorcea, a 32-year-old Romanian who has been in Britain since she was a teenager. "I've been here 13 years, but I've never felt like I had to hide where I came from. But from Friday, things completely changed."

Gorcea, who works for a multinational company in Rugby, about 85 miles (135 kilometers) northwest of London, told The Associated Press that her street was being patrolled by "English commandos who walk around and try to intimidate non-white, non-English people." The talk of the neighborhood was the dog feces shoved through a local immigrant family's mailbox.

Gorcea's story and others like it have been echoing across social media. Eastern Europeans, Muslims — even Americans and Germans — have reported acts of intimidation and harassment. Victims describe an emboldened, angry fringe emerging to crow over the vote; a T-shirt sported by a man at an Armed Forces Day parade in the working class London borough of Havering over the weekend seemed to sum up the new attitude:

"YES! WE WON! NOW SEND THEM BACK."

British reporters have seen the resurgence. Adam Boulton, an anchor for Sky News, said on Twitter that he and his family had witnessed three separate incidents of abuse aimed at Europeans over the weekend. Channel Four's Ciaran Jenkins said that within a five-minute span in the northern England town of Barnsley, three people had shouted "Send them home!" BBC reporter Sima Kotecha said she was in "utter shock" after having returned home to the southern town of Basingstoke and been abused with a racial slur she hadn't heard "since the '80s."

The incidents continued Tuesday a few blocks from Parliament, where a group of white British men wearing shirts calling for the "repatriation" of immigrants started shouting at a Turkish family visiting the capital's landmarks.

"We came to see family and to show our children some of the tourist sites," Adalet Abdullatif, 28, from Istanbul, told The Associated Press. "All of a sudden, these men come out of nowhere, shouting at us and telling us to go home. We thought they were going to attack us. It's frightening for us and for our children."

Police said there had been several cases of vandalism and xenophobic graffiti scrawled on London buildings overnight. Miqdaad Versi, assistant secretary-general of the Muslim Council of Britain, said "hundreds of hate crimes" had been reported across the country. On Monday, the National Police Chiefs' Council said there had been a 57 percent rise in hate-crime complaints in the past four days, compared with the same period last month.

Those who championed the campaign to pull Britain from the EU have condemned the attacks.

"I've never, ever, ever encouraged or condoned behavior like that, and I never, ever would," said United Kingdom Independence Party head Nigel Farage, a leader in the campaign for a British exit from the EU, popularly known as Brexit.

He added that "the real prejudice is the prejudice that's been there for a decade or more against anybody that dares stand up against the establishment, anybody that dares to say that we shouldn't be part of the EU."

Other politicians didn't buy it.

"The leaders of the Brexit campaign have engendered an atmosphere where some people believe it is open season now for racism and xenophobia," said lawmaker Harriet Harman, a former leader of the opposition Labour Party.

For the victims, the link between the referendum and the abuse is clear. Immigration was a key issue in the campaign, with Farage posing in front of a massive, truck-drawn poster carrying a photograph of hundreds of swarthy migrants under the words "Breaking Point." Many "leave" voters cited the influx of foreigners as a top concern.

"Just because of one referendum ... it's coming out like woodworms," said Julie Sauter Daoud, a French-German national who has lived in Britain most of her life. On Sunday, she said two men overtook her car shouting, "Go home, you (expletive) German."

She said the verbal attack, which happened while she was driving on a residential street in the northern city of Sheffield, left her so shaken that she was scared to speak French to her youngest child at the supermarket.

"It's terribly sickening," she said in a telephone interview. "The first time ever in my life. Ever." She paused for a second. "Probably not the last time now."

The 44-year-old's story is one of hundreds on a Facebook group called "Worrying Signs," which is gathering examples of the recent surge in intolerance. By Tuesday, the site contained stories and photos of sinister graffiti and broken windows. Although the AP could not independently confirm the stories, it did speak with several of those behind them.

Polish-British national Natalia Nicholls told AP her 14-year-old sister was taunted by boys at her high school in the Cotswolds region of England who boasted that "now we can get rid of the Polish and the blacks." Corinne Abrahams, 24, said she was returning from a music festival when she nearly got into a fight with an inebriated man yelling anti-foreigner epithets on the London subway. An American said she was recently accosted by people calling her a "Yankee (expletive)" in a parking lot.

Prime Minister David Cameron, in his first appearance before lawmakers since the vote, sought to reassure Europeans and other ethnic minorities living in Britain that they would be protected."

"Let's remember these people have come here and made a wonderful contribution to our country," he said. "We will not stand for hate crime or these kinds of attacks. They must be stamped out."

___

Associated Press writers Paisley Dodds and Jonathan Shenfield in London contributed to this report.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-06-29

[Tatsujin]

With all of this anti-foreigner sentiment and actions, I'm ashamed to be "British".

What a mess. Take the "Great" out of the name, we don't deserve it.

[BuaBS]

The silent majority waking up , finally !

Should happen all over europe.

[Usernames]

"Just because of one referendum ... it's coming out like woodworms," said Julie Sauter Daoud, a French-German national who has lived in Britain most of her life. On Sunday, she said two men overtook her car shouting, "Go home, you (expletive) German."

She said the verbal attack, which happened while she was driving on a residential street in the northern city of Sheffield, left her so shaken that she was scared to speak French to her youngest child at the supermarket.

How did they know she was German? Was she flying a German flag on her car?

[pumpuy]

The silent majority waking up , finally !

Should happen all over europe.

Where are you ? In Thailand ?

[Laughing Gravy]

You will always get idiots from either side. Anyone who spends time in the UK in some towns and cities will see a racial tension. The leave vote in the referendum was an expression of that, for many voters. I don't agree with the racial slurs and they should be dealt with by the law. I also don't agree with the way the press have suppressed the rape and muggings of British citizens. The Rotherham case was a very good example of the way some towns and cities are covering up the cultural divisions and hiding the facts, which is shameful.

[Berty100]

The silent majority waking up , finally !

Should happen all over europe.

Let's hope they don't wake up in Thailand, because the future wouldn't look good for you.

Edited June 29, 2016 by Berty100

[ggt]

The whole world is awash with people drunk with mischief...soon there may be no place safe...

[Geoffggi]

In some ways it is easy to understand the bad feeling when immigrants who have never contributed to the British economy are receiving more benefits than British people who have become unemployed or retired following a lifetime of contributions; the responsibility for this is the government for allowing them to claim such benefits.

Surely it is not difficult to see that this type of action will upset the local population, refugees should be looked after, but not to the detriment of locals; after all if they are true refugees they should be issued with a refugee visa which would become invalid once the reason for the people leaving their home country has past, and they can be repatriated to their country of origin. Others who want to stay in the country would then have to apply and only be accepted if they meet the immigrant specifications as laid down in relative government guidelines.

The government should wake up and realise why people are so upset, but I agree the policing should be carried out by the authorities not vigilante groups, however, if the police fail to respond then this will no doubt lead to further groups being formed.

[Tchooptip]

The silent majority waking up , finally !

Should happen all over europe.

"Should happen all over europe."

Do you mean should happen in Germany France Italy Spain Portugal against the British aliens ?

[mrwebb8825]

Hey Cameron, maybe this is why "The People" are pissedoff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ay0PQuIXZ4

This wouldn't happen in America as we still carry guns.

[Laughing Gravy]

Hey Cameron, maybe this is why "The People" are pissedoff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ay0PQuIXZ4

This wouldn't happen in America as we still carry guns.

Even if you are being sarcastic, I don't believe carrying guns will stop that. The amount of mass shootings is astounding and is linked to the very fact of the people carrying guns. The plan was always to allow muslims into Europe and the UK to cause chaos and eventually an uprising. The plan is working very well so far. The US your next.

[Mansell]

As usual we have the usual TV morons crawling out of the slime they live in.

Live in hate, die in hate. You make your own beds. Sleep well.

[MJP]

"Just because of one referendum ... it's coming out like woodworms," said Julie Sauter Daoud, a French-German national who has lived in Britain most of her life. On Sunday, she said two men overtook her car shouting, "Go home, you (expletive) German."

She said the verbal attack, which happened while she was driving on a residential street in the northern city of Sheffield, left her so shaken that she was scared to speak French to her youngest child at the supermarket.

How did they know she was German? Was she flying a German flag on her car?

Nope. She was driving a Volkswagen. The thick in Britain really are that thick.

My VW has gone into hiding.

[dick dasterdly]

"Just because of one referendum ... it's coming out like woodworms," said Julie Sauter Daoud, a French-German national who has lived in Britain most of her life. On Sunday, she said two men overtook her car shouting, "Go home, you (expletive) German."

She said the verbal attack, which happened while she was driving on a residential street in the northern city of Sheffield, left her so shaken that she was scared to speak French to her youngest child at the supermarket.

How did they know she was German? Was she flying a German flag on her car?

Two possibilities:

1) they recognised her car as they were neighbours (odd then, that she didn't recognise them)

2) she is lying.

[goldenbrwn1]

With all of this anti-foreigner sentiment and actions, I'm ashamed to be "British".

What a mess. Take the "Great" out of the name, we don't deserve it.

So a few idiots act like bigots and we need to take the great out of Britain because stuff like this never happened before brexit did it?

Everyone is getting hysterical . The only reason we are hearing more of it is because it's more news worthy after the brexit vote. At least the British people aren't going on marches declaring everyone has to convert to Christianity and all non believers should be beheaded. Which by the way has been going on for years by extremists from the religion of peace.

I voted to remain by the way.

Edited June 29, 2016 by goldenbrwn1

[dunroaming]

I thought the UK had left this sort of thing behind in the 1970s. The brain dead morons appear to be alive and well and obviously bullied up by the leave vote. True enough not everyone voting leave is a racist but you can bet all racists were voting for Brexit.

Fortunately immigration will continue as before and hopefully these thugs will realise soon enough that they have all been conned big time!

Laughable to read all the anti immigrant comments from the expats living in Thailand. Better not tell them that the locals in Thailand hate them as well!

You just can't cure stupid!

[Kiwiken]

In every Country these types exist. They just think everyone thinks like them atm . But hopefully this kind of thing should abate

[7by7]

In some ways it is easy to understand the bad feeling when immigrants who have never contributed to the British economy are receiving more benefits than British people who have become unemployed or retired following a lifetime of contributions; the responsibility for this is the government for allowing them to claim such benefits.......

Before making such comments, it would be a good idea for you to research the facts first.

Unfortunately, the ignorance you have shown is shared by many others; which is why they voted to leave.

A vote based on ignorant prejudice, not on facts.

[kingalfred]

Amazing isn't it. The racist abusers who have always been there get all publicity . The abuse dished out to vote leavers from "young liberal middle class " to working class older folk is not publicised. Don't believe most of mainstream media anymore!

Edited June 29, 2016 by kingalfred

[ozyjon]

Angela Merkel Calls Multiculturalism ‘A Grand Delusion’

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/angela-merkel-germany-multiculturalism_us_566f2e15e4b0fccee16f7757

[bangon04]

I had to look at the source - this article does sound more like an RT report than an AP report...

[nev]

Exact same things was happening before, now to suit an agenda suddenly getting reported.

The multi nationals and euro elite are not happy one bit the UK gravy train is being removed.

[7by7]

The silent majority waking up , finally !

Should happen all over europe.

"Should happen all over europe."

Do you mean should happen in Germany France Italy Spain Portugal against the British aliens ?

No , against non european "aliens " and maybe the club med's good for nothing crowd.

You appear as ignorant as the first interviewee in the following:

It has escaped his notice that no African country is in the EU; neither are Syria and Iraq!

Has it escaped your notice as well?

Brexit may, probably will, reduce immigration from other EU and EEA countries.

But, as the freedom of movement directive only applies to non EEA nationals if they are the qualifying family member of an EEA national, Brexit will have zero effect on immigration from all other parts of the world.

"What about all those refugees in Europe?" you may ask.

As the UK is not a member of the Schengen area (look it up while you're looking up the difference between the EU and EEA) then those people cannot legally enter the UK without obtaining UK entry clearance first.

Which is one reason why they haven't all crossed The Channel!

[7by7]

Amazing isn't it. The racist abusers who have always been there get all publicity . The abuse dished out to vote leavers from "young liberal middle class " to working class older folk is not publicised. Don't believe most of mainstream media anymore!

Abuse of Leave voters has been reported.

For example, from the BBC Young Leave voters abused online in days after European Union referendum vote

Maybe incidents such as this, which are equally reprehensible, do not receive the same amount of coverage as the racist abuse, hurled at not only Europeans but also British people who happen to be not white, because they don't happen as often.

[Andaman Al]

With all of this anti-foreigner sentiment and actions, I'm ashamed to be "British".

What a mess. Take the "Great" out of the name, we don't deserve it.

Or maybe it is just another manufactured press article from a newspaper trying to make more sales from publishing more scare stories and hate tactics while the opportunity is still fresh,. Carry on, be ashamed the next outrage bus will be along shortly.

[goldenbrwn1]

The silent majority waking up , finally !Should happen all over europe.

"Should happen all over europe."Do you mean should happen in Germany France Italy Spain Portugal against the British aliens ?

No , against non european "aliens " and maybe the club med's good for nothing crowd.

You appear as ignorant as the first interviewee in the following:

It has escaped his notice that no African country is in the EU; neither are Syria and Iraq!Has it escaped your notice as well?Brexit may, probably will, reduce immigration from other EU and EEA countries.But, as the freedom of movement directive only applies to non EEA nationals if they are the qualifying family member of an EEA national, Brexit will have zero effect on immigration from all other parts of the world."What about all those refugees in Europe?" you may ask.As the UK is not a member of the Schengen area (look it up while you're looking up the difference between the EU and EEA) then those people cannot legally enter the UK without obtaining UK entry clearance first.Which is one reason why they haven't all crossed The Channel!

Don't mock the man. You know exactly what he means. With Merkel encouraging all of the Syrians to come to Germany you are welcome etc but which also encouraged other people from the Middle East and North Africa to come also. Germany isi in Europe , the U.K. Is in Europe. Where do most of these immigrants want to go ? They have escaped passed through numerous safe countries long before coming to Calais. As soon as they apply for citizenship in Europe they can then apply to come to the uk. But they don't do they? Look at Calais, why won't they register asylum in France? Then apply to the uk like every other EU citizen has to just like a Brit wanting to live in Spain. Makes you wonder....

[goldenbrwn1]

Wow sorry for the triple post .

[Thaiwine]

http://www.breitbart.com/london/2016/06/29/police-hate-crime-not-surged-57-per-cent-since-brexit/

[kingalfred]

Wow sorry for the triple post .

one big yawn