London Diary: Sikhs living in fear after White man’s murder

The violent anti-Sikh backlash that followed the murder of a White student by a Sikh man using his kirpan has sent waves of fear and insecurity through the community in Southampton.

Community leaders told The Times that people are still scared to leave their homes after being at the receiving end of racial abuse and threats in shops and at work. Amid calls to deport them, many are afraid to walk to their gurdwaras or allow elderly residents out on the streets.

A memorial event for a Sikh community leader was cancelled after the organisers said they were worried “about the health and safety of our staff and the community”.

The Sikh in question, Vickrum Digwa (23), has been jailed for life after being found guilty of the murder of Henry Nowak (18), whom he stabbed with a 21 cm long Sikh ceremonial knife as he walked home from a night out.

Digwa’s assertion to the police that Nowak had racially attacked him was found to be a lie. Police body-camera videos released last week showed a dying Nowak being handcuffed and arrested for assault, despite telling officers: “I can’t breathe, call an ambulance.”

The incident has been seized upon by far-right groups to smear immigrant communities, sparking more violence.

A spokeswoman for Gurdwara Khalsa Darbar in Southampton said: “We are feeling victimised and people are scared to come out of their houses. The gurdwara is empty as people won’t walk here. This far-right movement has actually filled everybody with hatred towards Sikhs for no fault of ours.”

The community blamed right-wing politicians and social media for fanning the flames.

The Muslim community faced a similar backlash after the 2005 London bombings by a group of Pakistani-origin extremists. At the time, it struggled to find support from either Sikh or Hindu groups.

Summer of anti-immigrant riots

Anti-immigrant riots are spreading across the UK this summer. While Sikhs are facing intimidation in England, hundreds of miles away in Northern Ireland, African immigrants are being targeted by far-right groups after Sudanese asylum seeker Hadi Alodid was arrested for stabbing a White man, Stephen Ogilvie, with a knife on 8 June.

Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, saw several days of violence last week as racist mobs went round torching properties and attacking the police. Dozens were injured even as Ogilvie’s parents appealed for calm. Many migrants have made a “deeply valuable contribution to our country…” they said. “We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.”

Ogilvie, who lost an eye and suffered serious wounds to his neck and face, is in a stable condition.

Northern Ireland secretary of state Hilary Benn called the violence “racist thuggery” which had no place in modern Britain.

Whose “modern Britain”? The one we’re looking at seems to increasingly belong to hatemongers.

Brits leaving home for work-life balance

Britain may seem like a land of milk and honey to desperate job-seekers from developing countries, not least from India. But Brits themselves are scrambling to migrate abroad to escape a growing cost-of-living crisis.

Where previously they went abroad in search of sunshine and adventure, today they’re looking for greener pastures. According to figures from the Office for National Statistics, the number of people leaving Britain has risen sharply in recent years.

Two-thirds of British expats told researchers that working overseas offered a better work-life balance and they were happier than they were back home. One-third said life overseas made it easier to support their families and make savings.

Oliver Browne, the owner of a travel agency who moved from London to Albania last year, said he was now earning £3,000 to £4,000 a month more. “Better lifestyle, lower cost of living, more space, access to nature, the sea, a better climate and a country that feels like it’s on the way up,” he said.

Starry-eyed prospective migrants to Britain may do well to make a note.

World’s youngest MP

The self-governing British Crown Dependency of Jersey has made history for electing a teenager as a member of Parliament.

At 18, Gabriel Raimondo has become one of the world’s youngest politicians. Still a school student, he skipped his A-Level exams to run his election campaign. His social media profile declares him to be a magician. The magic seems to be working.

And, finally, a bit of English humour, as recalled by Paul Newman KC in a letter to The Times. A newly discovered sketch by late British cartoonist William Anthony Husband features a solicitors’ firm called Bastard, Bastard, Bastard, Knight & Bastard, in which a client tells the person sitting across the desk: “Nothing personal, Mr Knight, but I was hoping to speak to one of the other (Bastards).”