A t the crown court in Preston on August 10, a trial involving two Asian men
caused unusual interest across a number of cities in the north of England.
The defendants, Zulfqar Hussain and Qaiser Naveed, were each sentenced to
five years and eight months for abduction, sexual activity with a child, and
the supply of a controlled drug.
They had both pleaded guilty, and they were placed on the sex offenders’
register for life.
It seemed a shabby, seedy episode, probably typical of many cases down the
years that have involved exploitative men and naive women. Yet, until these
convictions, the police in over a dozen towns and cities, including Leeds,
Sheffield, Blackburn and Huddersfield, had appeared reluctant to address
what many local people had perceived as a growing problem – the groups of
men who had been preying on young, vulnerable girls and ensnaring them into
prostitution.
It was a very uncomfortable scenario, not least because many of these crimes
had an identifiable racial element: the gangs were Asian and the girls were
white. The authorities, in the shape of politicians and the police, seemed
reluctant to acknowledge this aspect of the crimes; it has been left to the
mothers of the victims to speak out.
Maureen’s daughter Jo was one of Hussain and Naveed’s victims, having been
groomed by them and a number of other Asian men when she was 14. Jo went
missing from her Blackburn home 90 times during the six-month period in 2005
that she was in Hussain and Naveed’s clutches.
“I was told by one police officer that he did not ‘want to start a race riot’
by arresting Pakistani men for sexual offences,” Maureen said. During the
six months that Jo was in the clutches of these men, they raped, beat and
abused her to the point where, says her mother, she did not even know who
she was any more. Eventually, after she was attacked by Hussain and Naveed
with an iron bar, Jo somehow found the courage to report them to police, and
they were arrested. The case took 16 months to come to court. In the
meantime, other pimps, undeterred by the impending trial, continued to go
about their business.
So what are the police doing? Lancashire police say that in the past few
months they have sent letters to 70 men who were believed to be spending an
unusual amount of time with young girls. The letters warn the men that the
girls are underage; the men are required to sign the letter, confirming they
have received and read it.
The details are left on file – but there is no guarantee that the police will
take any further action if the grooming continues.
Blackburn, in common with many northern towns, is experiencing a huge upsurge
in pimping, and it is an unpalatable truth for the authorities – and indeed
the police – that many of the newest wave of pimps come from within the
Asian community. Research, conducted in 2005 and involving 106 families
seeking help from the Leeds-based campaigning organisation Coalition for the
Removal of Pimping (Crop), found that in Yorkshire alone more than 30 girls
were sexually exploited, with some being forced into prostitution, by what
Crop says are predominantly Asian networks. As many as 200 families have
gone to the organisation for advice.
Many affected parents are unhappy with the police response. As this piece goes
to press, the families are meeting lawyers to discuss possible action
against the police. This could result in the biggest civil action ever
brought against police for failing to protect children from sexual
predators.
Alice Knowles, a chief inspector and the officer with responsibility for
Operation Engage, set up by the police and the local authority in Blackburn
to tackle the sex-grooming problem, insists her force takes a robust
approach to tackling the problem of sexual predators such as Hussain and
Naveed. “We work very closely with social services and other agencies to
educate and prevent young people becoming victims, and to target and arrest
offenders,” says Knowles. She believes the recent sentencing of Hussain and
Naveed reflects the serious nature of this crime, and that police will
“continue to work very hard to demonstrate that this sort of behaviour will
not be tolerated in Lancashire”.
The Mall in Blackburn is popular as a meeting place for the town’s young men
and women. Set on two floors, with over 100 high-street stores, it is
brightly lit and usually busy. It teems with young women with pushchairs,
elderly people window-shopping, and teenagers meeting up with their friends.
The crackle of security guards’ radios mingles with the cheesy piped music.
Not everyone is there to shop. Well-dressed Asian teenage boys can be found on
the lookout for young white girls, following them around those stores that
sell cheap jewellery and perfume. Meanwhile, older men sit on the benches,
watching their workers and potential recruits in action. The older men are
“employing” the boys to chat up the girls and eventually hand them over.
The Mall is widely known locally as the Lap because of the way young men and
girls circle around the arcade, seeking each other out. The girls, keen to
hook up with a boyfriend, call it “doing the Lap”. Young men stop to chat to
the giggling girls, teasing and flirting. To many, they look like any other
group of teenagers. One security guard, asked if the men are pimps, said he
neither knew nor cared. “It’s the girls,” he says, “they love the Pakis. We
can’t get a look in.” Nearby, a young man takes two of the girls into a
shop, where he buys them make-up and perfume. Later on, the groups of men
move on to the Vue cinema complex near Blackburn station. The younger men
are on bicycles, the older ones in expensive-looking cars, sound systems
blaring out bhangra and gangster rap. Girls begin to approach them, and are
soon driven away in cars by the older men. It is possible that they are
taken to “slag houses”, where they will be sold for sex.
Meanwhile, at the Lap and the Vue, the young men swagger up and down the road
wearing gold chains and diamond earrings, and clicking their fingers at
girls hovering close by.
Gemma cannot remember ever being happy, although her mother, Anni, says she
was a contented child until she reached the age of 13. That was the day she
fell out of puppy love. It was the day that Amir, her 24-year-old boyfriend,
chose to brutally rape her.
Gemma had been introduced to Amir by a 15-year-old boy at her Blackburn
school. A shy girl with little confidence, she was extremely flattered when
she was charmed and actively pursued by the boy, who was thought of by many
of the girls at her school as a “dish”. When Gemma became enamoured of her
new boyfriend, he introduced her to his 24-year-old “cousin”, who began
plying her with cannabis and alcohol. She initially enjoyed feeling
“grown-up” and rebelling against her parents. Soon, Anni noticed dramatic
changes in Gemma’s behaviour and appearance.
The date Gemma was raped was important – Amir, a seasoned pimp, was well aware
of the law. If anyone has sex with a girl under 13, there is a strong risk
of being arrested for having sex with a minor. Once they reach 13, however,
unless the victim makes a complaint to the police, nothing will happen.
Recommendations following the Soham murders clearly state that police should
arrest in cases where older males have sex with a child under the age of 16.
However, police rarely take action unless the victim complains, thereby
allowing the pimps and their customers to act with impunity.
From Gemma, and other girls in her situation, there will be no complaint to
the authorities. They are afraid to give evidence, or refuse to.
“That is why I am so proud of Jo,” says Maureen, talking immediately after
Hussain and Naveed were sentenced. “Although she had been through the most
horrendous physical and mental torture at the hands of those two, she
somehow found the courage to go to the police.”
The pimps are, of course, highly manipulative. Ensnaring vulnerable and
unconfident girls, they make them dependent by giving expensive gifts and
constant compliments. After embarking on a sexual relationship with them,
the abusers begin to control them with threats and brutality, before selling
them to other men for sex. There are obvious signs for parents to look out
for, experts say. Girls transforming from childish and naive to angry,
hardened and overtly sexualised, and coming home drunk, smelling of smoke,
truanting from school and going missing from home.
“The abuse these girls suffer is horrendous,” says Aravinda Kosaraju, a
researcher at Crop, which has in the past been funded by the Home Office and
has recently received a large lottery grant in order to develop its work.
“The pimps even use pregnancy as a form of punishment,” says Kosaraju. “We
worked with two girls who were made pregnant by customers and then forced to
have backstreet abortions.” Crop was founded by the late Irene Ivison, a
mother of three who died during a routine operation. Her daughter Fiona, a
bright girl from a happy home in Sheffield, was lured by a pimp masquerading
as her boyfriend when she was 14. Having been successfully groomed, by the
time she was 17 she was dead, murdered by a customer.
Crop researchers have been tracking the pimping gangs for over a decade, and
have built up a valuable database of knowledge about the pimping gangs,
based on hundreds of stories from parents and victims. However, the pimps
are largely able to operate with impunity. “If we had not pushed and pushed
about this issue,” says Anni, “I believe that Hussain and Naveed would still
be out there, just like my child’s abusers are.”
Anni, along with other affected mothers, has put pressure on the police to
respond by using the local press to back their campaign for justice.
Blackburn is Jack Straw’s constituency, and both Anni and Maureen have visited
him to beg for help. “I have had two cases at my constituency surgery over
the past two years,” Straw said, “and have discussed this with the
police, council, community leaders and the Lancashire Telegraph.” The paper
launched the Keep Them Safe campaign last year, following an investigation of
several cases of Asian pimping gangs.
Under the control of the pimps, the girls develop something akin to Stockholm
syndrome, where they begin to have empathy and sympathy for their abusers.
Shirley Gorek, a former social worker employed by Blackburn with Darwen
Borough Council to advise on child sexual exploitation, has run support
groups for girls caught up with pimps. She found the girls can get
completely brainwashed by their abusers. “It is almost as if they are
programmed into a cult,” she says. “There is often no getting through to
them.”
The pimps’ methods of brainwashing often rely on making the victim feel
responsible for their welfare. “Amir got me into prostitution by making me
feel sorry for him,” says Gemma. “He said he was in debt to his landlord,
and I was the only way he could make money. I would have done anything for
him.”
Not all the girls are from disadvantaged backgrounds. A recent national survey
by Barnardo’s found that, of underage children selling sex, nearly half
still lived with their families, with only 14% being in care.
Pimping is lucrative. According to the Metropolitan Police Vice Squad, a pimp
can make £300,000 to £400,000 a year selling a 16-year-old girl. There is,
appallingly, no shortage of men who wish to buy them. The criminals often
use the girls themselves to recruit their neighbours and school friends into
the gangs. One mother, who used to drive around the town looking for her
daughter when she went missing, says she once saw an older teenage girl
apply make-up to two young girls in the street, while older Asian men, whom
she recognised as pimps, waited by their BMWs. “The girls then were told to
perform a ‘sexy dance’ for them,” says Jean. “But they were so young! I had
watched them skipping earlier.”
Despite evidence from rigorous research by organisations such as Crop that the
gangs are largely made up of men from the Pakistani Muslim communities, many
are determined to downplay this. “What we’re dealing with is gross
criminality,” says Kosaraju. “That should be confronted whatever the race of
the perpetrator.”
Mike Cunningham, an assistant chief constable with Lancashire police, says he
is aware that several recent cases reported to police in Lancashire have
involved Asian men, but that the issue of sexual grooming of young girls is
not based solely on race or culture.
“Offenders can and do come from a variety of cultural backgrounds,” says
Cunningham, “and we deal with each case on its own individual merit.” He
says he is not aware of “any accusations of racism from the accused or their
respective communities”.
Historically, many of Britain’s pimps have come from immigrant communities –
Jews in the early 20th century, Jamaicans and Maltese in the 1950s and ’60s.
White, British-born pimps have tended to operate as individuals, rather than
within criminal gangs. In recent years, however, young Asian men have been
operating in formal, organised networks in the north of England,
particularly in the impoverished towns with high unemployment and racial
disharmony.
Taxi drivers, shop owners and security guards who work in the shopping arcades
where the girls are recruited are also involved, one police officer (who
asked not to be named) told me.
“Police seem to be very cautious about this. They fear being branded racist,”
says Mohammed Shafiq, the press spokesman for the Ramadhan Foundation, a
Muslim youth education charity based in Rochdale. Shafiq recently tried to
address some imams and community leaders, but did not get very far. “They
all had a ‘no comment’ policy,” says Shafiq, “but our organisation is clear
that it is going on, and that it is linked to drug dealing. We can’t simply
blame the BNP.”
As well as simple opportunism, pimping of white females by black and
ethnic-minority men can be a type of revenge against whites. “My parents ran
a grocery shop,” says Hussein, who admits to being part of the pimping gangs
in the late 1990s. “They had hardly any money, even though they worked their
backsides off. White people treated them like shit, like they were their
servants.” Hussein says he took “great pleasure” in having young white girls
at his beck and call, knowing their parents would be out of their minds with
worry. Although Hussein was reported to the police, he was never arrested
for any crime, and is now working in Leeds.
The issue of black and Asian men being labelled “pimps” is deeply contentious,
but not, say parents, a reason for police to turn a blind eye. It can, and
does, however, fuel racism. Black men and pimping are linked through popular
culture – from the African American Iceberg Slim’s classic autobiographical
novel, Pimp, to the glamorised depictions of pimping by hip hop and rap
artists.
In 2004, a controversial documentary on the topic of Asian pimps, Edge of the
City, focused on the mothers of two girls being pimped by Pakistani gangs in
Bradford, West Yorkshire.
But before it could be screened, a number of black and Asian groups, media
such as the newspaper Eastern Eye, and websites including Blink (Black
Information Link) organised an e-mail petition to pressurise Channel 4 into
pulling the programme, arguing that its makers’ sole purpose was to
perpetuate racism against Asian communities. The channel received over 500
e-mails in protest. The BNP capitalised on the row by hinting that all Asian
men were a sexual threat to white girls.
Originally due to be screened in May 2004, three years after the Bradford race
riots, the documentary was pulled from the schedule at the request of the
West Yorkshire Police. A spokesman at the time said police had found no
evidence of the alleged systematic exploitation, and the chief constable of
West Yorkshire Police warned Channel 4 that he felt the timing of the
programme could contribute to community unrest in Bradford and possibly even
provoke public disorder in the city.
A number of families affected by Pakistani pimping gangs have said that police
inaction and the refusal of white liberals to acknowledge the problem has
resulted in more girls being at risk than ever before. “We are still
battling to get recognition that what we are dealing with is organised crime
against children,” says Kosaraju.
Sunny Hundal, editor of the online magazine Asians in Media, has followed the
phenomenon of Asian pimping gangs. “Although it’s obvious that it’s young,
lawless Pakistani boys,” says Hundal, “it’s tricky to make this an issue
about race or religion when neither are contributing factors.” However, he
does believe some young Asian men “hold very disparaging attitudes towards
white girls, thinking they’re ‘easy’”.
Jean is a lively woman in her forties, living with two of her three children
in a neat terraced house in the east side of Blackburn. Her daughter Sally,
coming up to her 16th birthday, is now estranged from her as a result of
being brainwashed and abused by men from the Asian pimping gangs. “Sally was
a shy girl before this happened,” says Jean, “and dressed fairly demurely,
but all of a sudden she was wearing heavy make-up and dressed like a
prostitute. At that stage I had no idea what was going on.”
Jean’s eldest daughter, Sally, was targeted at school at 13 by slightly older
Asian boys. They were on the payroll of older men who run pimping operations
in the town. The modus operandi of the gangs is that pimps employ
school-aged boys to make the initial connection with suitable girls and
befriend them. The girls are then introduced to men they are told are older
relatives of the boys. The older men take them out in flash cars and buy
them gifts. Soon, however, it is payback time, and the girls are sold to men
from private flats, hotels and cars.
“All of a sudden Sally was only interested in hanging out with Pakistani
boys,” says Jean. “She started saying I was racist, and that is why I
objected to her hanging out with them.”
Jean was soon to find out just how indoctrinated her daughter had become when
she discovered Sally’s photographs and profile were posted on a website. She
was posing with the flag of Pakistan. There were 97 names of Asian men
posted on it who had made contact with her. She was asking for Asian men to
“date”. She said she hated white people. There were other girls’ photographs
on the site, one of whom Sally had recruited, as were other girls who were
being pimped. Jean’s boyfriend went online, pretending to be a girl. One of
the men asked: “Are you better than Sally?”
Preying on her shyness and vulnerability, the pimps told Sally she was
beautiful and would be treated like a princess if she showed them loyalty.
They also convinced her that her family did not care about her, saying her
parents would think she was a “slag” for having Pakistani boyfriends. “We
parents are doing more to investigate these criminals than the police,” says
Jean. “My husband and I have sat for hours outside hot spots, taking down
car-registration numbers. I have given the police dozens of names from my
daughter’s mobile phone, but they have done nothing.”
The pimps are adept at trading on teenage rebellion and use similar methods,
according to Crop, of convincing the girls all white people are racist. This
is part of the controlling process, to instil guilt in the girls. “Like most
teenagers, I was going through a phase of arguing with my mum,” says Gemma.
“Amir told me they didn’t understand me and were racist and ignorant. I
believed him.” Gemma was given an Asian name by Amir, and told she had to
read the Koran, a story support workers tell me is not uncommon. “They erode
the girls’ identities,” says Kosaraju, “to make them more compliant and
needy.”
Few of the girls know, or are willing to acknowledge, they are being pimped.
Because they claim to love the men, and think of them as their boyfriends,
police often see that as an admission from the girls of consent. “As far as
I was concerned, Amir was my boyfriend,” says Gemma. “When he told me I had
to sleep with his friends, I had no idea he was being paid for it. I was on
a lot of drugs and he said I had to pay for them.”
Where there is pimping, there are other forms of serious and organised crime.
Some Asian pimps in Rotherham are also involved in drug dealing and gun
crime. Although shootings in the town are rare, the girls caught up with the
pimps have disclosed that many of them carry guns. Pimps traffic the girls
between towns and cities. The United Kingdom Human Trafficking Centre
(UKHTC) has appointed Amanda Palmer, a detective sergeant, to investigate
trafficking within the UK. “There is no doubt that, according to current
law, these girls have been trafficked,” says Palmer, “but to date, there has
not been a conviction under this legislation.”
One of the many tragedies resulting from this phenomenon is how it is fuelling
racism and mistrust of whites towards Pakistanis where little existed
previously. Although racism can be rife in towns such as Blackburn, Jean
claims that before her daughter’s life was ruined she bore no animosity
towards the Asian community. Things have changed. When ordering a taxi, Jean
spends several minutes looking through the telephone directory, explaining
she is looking for a “white-run firm”. “If an Asian man came to my door, I
might have a flashback, and go mad,” says Jean.
In the meantime, organisations such as Crop continue battling with the police
to act on the intelligence they have built up. Progress may be round the
corner in the shape of the legal action the parents have started – and many
parents I spoke to are feeling cautiously optimistic after the convictions
of Hussain and Naveed. “This is just the beginning,” says Maureen, “but I
think it will have sent a message to other abusers that the net is closing
in on them and they can no longer get away it.”
Gemma’s pimp tired of her when she turned 16, but she still has a drug habit
and is irrevocably damaged from the sexual torture and degradation she
endured. Although many young women do escape the clutches of these predators
and go on to repair their lives, some will be drawn into street
prostitution, violent relationships and self-harming lifestyles.
Jean’s daughter Sally is in foster care, but is still being picked up
regularly by pimps and raped by men who do not even know her name. She is
now totally estranged from her mother, whom she recently threatened to stab.
“I keep having nightmares about what they have done to her,” says Jean, “and
about what her life has become. I want to kill them. I have told police to
go and do something, or I might lose control and do something myself.”
In all of these cities, victims such as Sally are facing an explosive mix of
brutality and denial – from the authorities and the Pakistani community. It
seems easier for many people to pretend it is not happening. The girls
involved just don’t have that choice.
All of the names of victims and their relatives have been changed to protect
identities
well if law enforcement won't do anything then its up to the citizens to take action. Your police & politicians either serve the decent law abiding public or they don't.
Christian, Shreveport,
I don't see why some people are trying to capitalize on this tragedy for political agendas? The point of the article is that the criminals be brought to justice, not some rant against multiculturalism. Stopping immigration won't change a thing... only harsh punishments against criminals will.
Jagger, London,
Read your "holy" book, their you will find it.
"take the women of the unbelievers as your slaves."
Sex slavery is an elemantary part of islam (i.e. marriage in time).
We germans bear many things, but if you goes over the line we're beating harder back then any other.
Marc, Gießen, Germany
How can you say it is a muslim problem?Are you suggeting islam encourages forced prostitution & rape of non muslim females?When you read about the increased numbers of peodophiles in the media, do they highlight their religion? do they suggest it is commonly white males? Evil exists everywhere.
azra, wimbledon, england
Much said already I agree with and don't want to repeat. One issue I'd like to highlight is the inaction of the police. In this particular instance their claimed prime driver for inaction may be fear of accusations of rascism, but they are generally very very reluctant to act whatever the theme or context of crime under consideration.
They don't seem to realise that the momentum of a situation is important and that if you allow a problem to fester for the odd decade or two, they won't simply be able to launch a five minute "initative" further down the line and mop things up. Long term damage, and irreversible damage will have happened and this twisted sitaution will be firmly entrenched in what is left of England's society.
Although I hate these criminals with all my heart I do believe they are partly right when they blame white English parents, the police and this sad government that are masquerading about lately pretending to be adults in control of their responsibilities.
Paul Reeder, Croydon, Surrey
This is a Muslim problem and not merely a Pakistani one. The same kind of behaviour- soliciting young non-Muslim girls, and rape of non-Muslim women, is evident in Europe, and particularly the Nordic countries. As usual the police is not keen to investigate or prosecute, for fear of the charge of "racism". The fact that these men in the UK are of Pakistani origin is merely a consequence of the fact that Pakistani Muslims predominate in the UK. In European countries, it is the Turks, Somalis, Iraqis, Kurds or whatever, and the same pattern is prevalent.
Just transferring the charge from "Asian" to "Pakistani" is just another device born of fear, to avoid naming the real problem - Islam.
DaveP, Beverley, UK
In time England will burn but by then it will be too late....
Dave, Burnley, UK
I am becoming extremely irritated and impatient with comments such as those from "Fatimah" of London, trying to pull the wool over our eyes and con us into believing that their is some civilised merit in Islam and shift the blame for these atrocoties onto "someone else". Islam does NOT teach respect of non-muslims, particularly non-muslim females; quite the opposite. We all have access to "appropriate" quotes from the Qu'ran these days, and we all know these are being preached on and acted on in the excessive number of mosques litterring our green and pleasant land. Stop insulting our collective intelligence.
John L, London
John Light, London,
police should do more. ive seen it loads of times, getting stopped because ur asian. yet the police wont arrest these groups? howstupid. people i know have been stopped in the street just because they're asian, the police are suspicious of them, yet the police cant do anything about these groups?
alll thiss is just completely stupiddd... theres a thing called P.U.N.I.S.H.M.E.N.T.. ethnicity has got nothing to do with it! if some one commits a crime then they should be punished..
why cant these people just be arrested and locked up straight. personally i think we need the death sentence.. what these peopel are doing are disgusting..
and what i hate is the fact that they are being described as asian... because its just giving all asians a bad name.. and encouraging racism! because people are going to blame all asians! ..duhh.. ?....
Jatt, London,
Something not commented upon is the fact that these children are clearly from single-parent families because the parents in these cases are all mothers. Clearly the main role for the school-age scouts of these rings is to identify which girls have no father around that might put these feeble excuses for "men" in their place.
It makes your skin crawl to think that these organized networks use school-age children from their own community to monitor which girls have no father at home and thus make suitable prey for these rings because they know the State has abandoned them.
Left-wing politicians in particular should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves for promoting the single-parent lifestyle and then hanging the single-parents out to dry when they need protecting from predatory paedophile rings.
J Mathers, Bristol, England
I am a Muslim Asian but not from Pakistan or any of the "stans". I agree with Pam, from Birmingham that the word Asian and Muslim should be taken out of context. It should be referred to Pakistani men. Their culture of looking down and treating the female badly is well known even in their own country. I know what they have in mind every time they see a white female, that is sex, sex and sex. They think, just because these girls are non-moslem and white, they shouldn't be respected as much as the non-white moslem ones. They are wrong and Islam teaches its' people to respect everyone beat it Moslem or Non-Moslem as long as they don't treat the Moslem community in a bad way. I don't know how badly the whites have treated them, I know some white people who act and think as If they were God and act ignorantly, maybe this is a lesson also for them to at least treat other non-whites people with respect because what ever goes around comes around and f not today maybe tomorrow or one day.
Fatimah, London, UK
I am an Asian girl but a non-Muslim (Hindu Indian), (known as Kaffir (non-believers of Islam) to Muslims). I was pursued for quite a while, but came to my senses very quick. My friends have been less fortunate and are missing since the age of 15 (I am now 32). It has been rumoured that they have been taken to Pakistan on the view of marriage by their boyfriends but are now working in Brothels in Pakistan. They are being kept against there will. There parents have disowned them because they have brought shame to their family. Therefore are not pursuing there wherebouts with police. This use of Asian should be taken out of context. These men are Pakistanis and have been victimising, raping, abusing and violently kidnapping others (non Muslim children)i.e English and girls of Indian origin for up 15-20 years. It has been kept quiet in the Indian communities as girls find it difficult to talk out openly and admit what has happened, trying to prevent bringing embarrassment to there families
Pam, Birmingham, UK
I never knew it has been a problem. I do believe it and the muslim or pakastan gangs who are doing it, obviously are very organised. The goverment certainly needs to create a special task force and try to tackle the situation. Although, this may take forever for the authorities to do something. The only way, is for most problems concerning youths, is the parents. If parents kept a close enough eye on their children, could things like this happen? Am not suggesting its the parents fault, however, most issues to do with teenagers certainly are? The parents are responsible for their own children. Of course the pakastani people are in the wrong. But parents play a part too.
James, Burnley, Lancashire
I am a 25 Year old asian man and the amount of white girls that are underage and wanted sex with me is more than I can count with my hands I have rejected them all because I wouldn't wanna sleep with a young girl. The White community tell their children don't go near asian & black men and obviously they rebel against that & are fascinated by it which has the opposite effects, I knew so many white girls who didn't like any race except asian due to their parents racist views. The asian or black men should be punished for their crimes because the law is made to be followed but its parents themselves that drive them to have a fascination for the asisan and black men.
S xx, bradford, england
Zulfqar Hussain and Qaiser Naveed got 5 years 8 months (so 2 years 10 months) for abduction rape beating and abusing/pimping girls (The case took 16 months to come to court?) oh and dealing class A drugs(no deportation?) . Nice to see the British justice system is protecting its own. Imagine if white gangs were pimping "asian"/Pakistani
13 year old girls it would be headline news. Edge of the City was pulled because Blink and Eastern Eye launched a campaign to stop it. In 2003 West Yorkshire police set up a special unit to deal with the problem, but that was shut down without explanation.The police are too afraid to tackle the issue.Nothing seems to have changed the abuse is carrying on, and the police seem powerless and has done little, and neither have the so-called community leaders.The PM and Jack Straw seem happy to pretend it is not happening as do the liberal (head in the sand) blame the parent brigade, through their "isn't multiculturalism fantastic " views.
Sam Owen, Bristol/Lyon,
Stage 1:
Start immigrating - move into a country quietly
Stage 2:
Begin starting churches: "learning centers" community helps: food etc.
Stage 3:
Political activism: demanding rights, denounce derogatory comments/press etc.
Stage 4:
Get elected, pass laws favoring rights etc. move toward political majority
Stage 5:
Political control, Sharia Law
One has to wonder what the hell is wrong with the UK......are they now lost to muslim extremism?
Cindy, Aguanga, CA, USA
Pardon me, but the article and much of the comment is hysterical and delusionary. I think the police have their feet on the ground. How exactly does a parent lose control of a teenage daughter to such an extent? They are not 'victims', they are cooperating. None of the parents seems to have instilled any prior values or self-respect into their daughters which might have protected them. Yes, the men should be prosecuted where they are breaking the law but where a girl can even consider agreeing to sleep with many men to pay for her drugs and her boyfriend's, something has gone wrong long before. And she is wifully breaking the law too. There is nobody over the age of four in the UK who doesn't know that drugs are illegal. They are risk-takers, thrill-seeker, irresponsible and foolish. They will learn or not.
Ruth, London,
The Bahraini Minister of Labour, Dr Majeed Al Alawi, said recently
" In some areas of the Gulf you can't tell whether you are in an Arab Muslim country or in an Asian district. We can't call this diversity and no nation on earth could accept the erosion of its own culture on its own land"
Well Dr Majeed I regret to say that you're wrong, successive British governments have done exactly that since the first wave of immigrants in the 1950's.
john, dubai, UAE
From the data in this report those who call themselves 'Police Officers' in these areas are, quite simply, racist by their neglect of duty and even by their own published statements.
In the enquiry into the murder of Stephen Lawrence the sheer incompetence of the Metropolitan Police was described as 'Institutionally Racist'. They weren't then but they (and other police forces) are now!!
Brian Vallance, LEFKIMMI, Hellas
The destruction of young innocent lives is clearly a major phenomenon, and our race relations industry is clearly a major factor preventing justice being done.
And indeed the 'white liberals' are more than happy to see poor working class whites sacrificed in their altar of political correctness.
Utterly outrageous.
No doubt well outside the BBC comfort zone
Police should be prosecuted for their collusion.
Jake, Banbury, UK
But this is an absolutely integral part of the vibrant diversity we are called on to celebrate. Anyone who supports immigration (and such support is invariably on "economic" grounds too), is implicitly supporting this too. On a meta level, anyone who supports immigration is pimping his own culture and making his country a prostitute.
S Gret, London,
This is vile
Something has to be done about this now.
I'm Asian Hindu (not muslim).
These men should get the death penalty for exploiting under-age girls.
vikram patel, London,
I live in Kreuzberg, a borough of Berlin where Turkish immigrants form a large part of the population. The problems here are quite similar to those described above. 90% of rapes are committed by Muslims, while 100% of the victims are ethnic Germans or, from time to time, unveiled Muslim women. Muslim representatives totally ignore the problem and accuse anyone who speaks up of "racism". Local politicians don't dare to say anything because they are afraid of being labelled racist, too. It is just a matter of time until the victims start forming vigilantes because the government ignores the problem. Multiculturalism might lead to civil war one day.
Wachtmeister, Berlin, Germany
First of all please note these guys are produced in the same society and knows their escape routes. They do not truly represent asian culture and religion. Few odd bunch of guys like this do not represent all of us, and should be punished to the max limits to leave a lesson for others. They are not bad for white girls only infact sometimes they do the same with their own girls too. There are number of stories of such people, never been told to media, where these guys goes back home i.e. India or Pakistan, get married to innocent and poor girls for little time, abandon them and then never look back. Authorties should make no difference in punishing such criminals.
Salman riaz, Reading, England
can't you use the "M" tag!!!! as majority of Asia is not Muslim... its either Hindu, or Buddhist
Puneet Madaan, Eurabia, Eurasia
Every family who has contacted the police about a case like this, and received nothing in return should go to the IPCC, and take the complaint further.
Viv , Leeds,
These crimes against innocent girls should be dealt harshly, no matter it is done by Asians or any other race. It may not be a good choice to label all Asians. Not all Asian's would do these barbaric crimes.
Ibrahim Huzam, Male', Maldives
whats happened have white men every where lost all honour?this cannot be tolerated anywhere ,our people(white)have become the number one hate crime target group.if the government cannot or will not protect us then we must do this ourselves!we were ounce free men who lived without fear,well now we have no choice,but to fight be it in england or the usa or norway,werever no more!
joe, mahopac, usa
Unfortunately the police tend to turn a blind eye to certain crimes in the interest of community relations, especially when you have a minority who are prone to rioting. I lived in an area in which turkish kebab shop owners were terrorised out of business - one was even stabbed in his own shop. From what I could make out the police had decided to do absolutely nothing about the situation for fear of upsetting the local "community". But the police standing by and watching children being raped and killed is on a different level all together.
Chris, London,
The police in the UK are weak. Period. They've forgotten what they are for. Prevent crime - all crime. Apprehend criminals - all criminals. Crime is not a political issue. Crime is crime. It's really very easy. And if it causes riots, go for it. Rioting is a crime too. You'd only have to go for it a few times and the problem would go away.
Roderick Low, CREYSSE, France
In the USA if you have sex with a person who is under 16 years old, it is called statutory rape for which you can go to prison for, the police do not have to wait for a complaint from the girl, so long as they can prove the act, maybe we should tighten up the laws.
Nick, Camberley, UK
Do you still think your government looks out for your interests people?
Tim, Tampa, USA
I have three friends whos fathers respective grandfathers fought for the Axis powers in world war 2, two of them in Waffen-SS divisions. In hindsight, reading about the end results (like this) of liberal-marxist policies, I can say that they were truly fighting for their children and grandchildrens welfare. You brits should embrace your minorities, your grandfathers fought for this in world war 2.
D, Stockholm, Sweden
The British government sends armed forces to pacify foreign nations but is not even capable of protecting British girls from immigrant criminals within in UK. Wake up! Protect your own country, your own society! You are under attack from within, not from Iraq!
Marc, Karlsruhe, Germany
The UK has inhereited what goes on in the countries such as Afganistan and Pakistan and has been going on for centuries.
I also agree with Venkat and would like to mention that SIKHS are also a peace loving people not of the muslim character, the term Asian should not be used at all. The second disgusting thing here is the Police and the courts in taking such a long time sentancing, 5 years is nothing it should be life.
Narinder Singh, Gravesend, UK
This cruel episode highlights the need to revise the term "Asian" because the men are Muslims. As "Asians" even Hindus are included. The new term should be "Muslims; Hindus" and so on.
Muslims have always given bad name to Hindus. It is time this practise was stopped by segregating the discription "Asian".
Chunilal Velji Chavda, London, England
Milton! thou should'st be living at this hour:
England hath need of thee: she is a fen
of stagnant waters: altar, sword and pen,
Fireside, the heroic wealth of hall and bower,
Have forfeited their ancient English dower
of inward happiness. We are selfish men;
Oh! raise us up, return to us again;
And give us manners, virtue, freedom, power.
These are lines from Wordsworth's "London, 1802"
It was known to the English in that year that Napoleon
had begun to plan a cross channel invasion, "to put
an end to the destiny and very existence of Enland".
Robin Corkery, Spokane, Washington, U.S. A.
The first step is to stop all immigration from non-Western countries. Next, deport all illegal aliens. Third, anytime someone from a third world country breaks the law - any law -deport them. Fourth, make 18 the legal age of consent and enact draconian laws against adult offenders. Either defend your society or be complicit in its destruction.
William Doyle, Austin, Texas
"Decent" European/US/Canadian people are fools and the world is merely taking advantage of it. This has been going on for decades people -- wake up. Being politically correct and "afraid" to be called a name shows you are a coward. All of Europe and the US and Canada are being overrun by people who have no desire to assimilate into the local culture. This will continue. Nothing will be done. The world will be even more of a nightmare in 20 years if some natural phenomena doesn't stop this mass movement of humans -- bird flu anyone?
Brenda Harris, NYC, USA
Could people not include the peaceful Hindus into all these please by calling the rapists as Asians!!!!. It is a Muslim problem -- let us get that right.
venkat, London,
So much for the idea of happy multi racial multi cultural Britain. Let's talk plain language here. The races DON'T mix......Scotland and England's white communities have been rivals or enemies for a thousand years.......does anyone seriously believe "integration" of ethnic minorities who are also colour divided from the bulk, and are encouraged to retain their culture and religion at all costs, is EVER likely to happen? A culture comprises ones entire set of beliefs, atitudes, language and philosophy etc. It is impossible to have two unless you happen to be schitsophrenic (?spelling). The ONLY way this kind of appaling child abuse is likely to be halted is if those communites of essentially recent migrant decent A) discipline their own youth and B) stop isolating themselves culturally from the rest. Having the attitude that white girls ( as the author has heard said in the middle east ) are "white meat" is really just the forrunner to massive backlash. Change religion and belief set.
kevin, Melbourne, victoria Australia
Muslims keep saying that Islam is not the problem but the majority of rape in European countries with large Muslim populations are undeniably done by Muslims who have contempt for the infidels and believe it is their right to rape them.
Gamaliel Isaac, Highland Park, USA
It seems that the once proud nation of Britain has degenerated into a nation of sniveling cowards, unable to protect their own daughters from being raped at the hands of foreigners. Truly my English friends you have become a truly pathetic lot of people no wonder immigrants come to your country and pimp your children.
Of course you all whine and complain and then will go out and elect the same spineless politicians to lead you further into shame. Do yourselves and the world a favor and kindly just sink into the ocean.
Jason Browning, Toronto, Canada
Surely, young men with expensive cars, should be investigated by the Inland Revenue as to the source of their funds, I assume they do not have
"a proper job" to support their lifestyle?????
David Vinter, Louth, Lincs., UK.
I suggest you all have a look at this:
http://www.islamreview.com/articles/madinasuras.shtml
I thought at first that this was written 'tongue in cheek'. Then I began to realise - this is how these people think.
Incredible, but it does explain a lot.
Margaret Stoll, Rochford, Essex, England
I am really disturbed by the views expressed here. Islam does NOT encourage this kind of behaviour with anyone, white girl, non white girl etc. Rape is punishable in Islam, but then the freedom fighters detest the way in which the punishment is given crying out on human rights terms.
Islam is not the problem. You cannot take an aerial view of the problem; rather you need to carefully analyse the dynamics of the situation. What are the missing links in these that have made these people act in this way? Lack of education opportunities? Lack of good jobs? Feeling alienated? There are two type of people: 1. those that sit and moan and point fingers and 2. those who doing something about it. So far I have only read from the first type of people. If we all want a better and secure environment to live in, then lets join hands to fight such evils, not just sit and moan, because the latter will further excaberate the situation.
Huma Nawaz Syal, High Wcombe, Bucks
It is Islam that is the problem. These men can not treat Muslim women in this fashion . Yet islam tells them they can have their way with non muslim girls or women. I pray that England and Europe soon wakes up.
Joe, Wash. DC,
Will they be deported after serving their sentence? If now citiizens will they lose their citizenship and still be deported as a deterent to others? I doubt it. There is one rule for them and another for us.
Dennis, New York, USA
It is the fault of the politically correct racist politicians,civil servants, social workers, police and local councils. Justice should be for everyone regardless of race, religion or beliefs. By turning a blind eye to the nasty criminal activity, the police had made matter worse for everyone let alone the victims.
Carolyn, Surbiton,
Isnt rape against the Koran? Guess not....
Jamie Brown, Maidstone, England
How is it a crime to "groom" children for sexual purposes on the internet, yet no crime is committed when Asian men "groom" white girls in person?
As I understand it, if a victim or witness to a crime perceives that crime to be racist then the police must treat it as such. Or does this only apply in one direction only?
People are losing all respect for politicians, police and the judiciary.
When that happens the seeds of civil disobedience are sown.
Stephen Gash, Carlisle, England
Can someone give me a contact number/email address for 'Mothers of Prevention', please?
Richard, London, England
There are many groups with in the asian community such as muslims, hindus,sikhs etc from various background from India, pakistan other asian countries. All the communities have assimilated well in this country except the muslim community irrespective of where they come from. They are the cause of most of the problems in this country. The british people should try to differentiate the various asian groups from the asian muslim community who are the root cause of this probem.
pranit, Northampton, uk
The Bnp have been saying this for years, but yet again they were called racist for bringing it up.This just shows how far the police directed by this government will cover up anything that involves musilums in this country.There is trouble ahead how much more of this is on the cover up list of the pc police force its pathetic.
craig, camberley,
“I was told by one police officer that he did not ‘want to start a race riot’ by arresting Pakistani men....
GREAT.
S. SMITH, BOGNOR,
If you don't live in a northern ex mill town/city you have no idea. Do something before its too late. Where I live in Bradford there are no families with white teenage girls. They have long since moved to protect their daughters from these evil men. I have three boys and they have had to suffer disgraceful racist abuse. It is no pleasure to be white in a pakistani dominated area. We are detested. The government need to wake up soon and sort out the mess that lack of integration has caused.
Anne S, Bradford, West Yorks
Can the UK now return to giving Australians priority of entry and residency please?
(I promise you wont be flooded by Australians eager for the way of life for their kids).
inge, sydney, australia
This is utterly disgraceful. The situation that these girls are caught up is most definitely appalling and have the sympathies of all, irrelevant of their religion. What is sad is that it is Asian men who are the perpetrators, and I’m disgusted to read that they are of Pakistani origin. Not only are these people ruining the name of their family, but also exacerbating the belief that all Muslims of Pakistani origin are bad.
But if one looks at the greater picture then we see that there is so many cases of violence (including domestic), child pornography and the like, which I must stress are NOT done by Muslims of Pakistani origin. While I agree that these people must be stopped, I would also urge families to be vigilant. It’s not a matter of keeping white children away from non-white people and vice versa, but rather it’s a matter of keeping a close tab on your children. Since we are living in an era of freedom, it is now common to read of many cases of young girls reaching puberty and becoming mothers; any sane parent would also find that disgusting. It is this freedom that we must exercise with caution, lest our children fall into the wrong hands. My thoughts are with those families suffering.
Huma Nawaz Syal, High Wycombe, Bucks
This seems to me an extraordinarily difficult problem for the police to handle. Catching kerb crawlers is one thing; but apprehending an Asian youth with a white 'girlfreind' quite another.
Not that I am suggesting that nothing should be done by the police. It just seems to me that the 'economics of policing', i.e. devoting of resources, priorities, strategies and tactics becomes the downfall of any successful appraoch.
Maybe the 'policing' solution lies with the social welfare authorities? In South Africa an appraoch called 'social crime prevention' has been attached to the regular Community Policing Forums. However, there is no continuitity and experiences vary vastly from station to station. My opinion is that police are a professionals who deal with crime once it has happened, plus some visible policing and crime prevention. But too much of this all too aften undermines effective policing because it assumes that policing skills are similar to those of welfare officers.
Berend Schuitema, East London, South Africa
And how much time will these scum actually spend in prison? Prison? That is a laugh considering how felons are treated within so-called "confinement". No, soon they will be right back on the streets plying their trade while the police pitifully throw up their meek hands.
What is happening to my Britain? Has it given up its will to survive?
The wobbly and cowardly politicians who "lead" the country fear to offend either ethnic groups, their EU bed partners, and the Court of Human Rights that does nothing to protect the rights of innocent victims.
Instead, the political leaders are thumping their chests over spending millions of pounds to create a secret police to catch the horrid smokers. Meanwhile, the police send out the force to knock on every door in the city in order to charge one teenager with 670 separate "crimes" in keeping charity donations.
The country MUST regain its will to survive or forever be condemned under the fist of thugs and scum.
Bob Evans, Anaheim, California
Privatise the police - when the white mothers say jump, the police will soon jump - or they won't get payed.
john fitzgerald, bristol, england
The ill educated lower echelons have long had such problems. They are currently exacerbated by the grooming that popular culture provides without any help from the gangs. The question is whether we are prepared to eliminate the slums that have been a breeding ground for criminality since the industrial revolution, or just throw a few more police constables into the satanic reaches of northern England.
George, Edinburgh,
This and similar issues have been spoken about many times, but never by our mainstream politicians. It has always fallen to the likes of Enoch Powell, Nick Griffin and so forth to warn our society of what is around the corner. The media have to share some of the blame for not giving these people, (and a myriad of others like them), the publicity that is essential if we are to avoid more problems in future.
Either one aims to solve problems, or sweep them under the carpet. And we all know that problems of any kind must be tackled head on or else they are liable to rapidly turn a lot worse.
Phil, Shrewsbury, Shropshire
I am sickened to read that such an exploitation is going on and the prevailing action by the authorities is to kowtow to PC notions. These boys and men should be named and shamed in their own communities if the concept of 'honour' exists.
Surely these mens' families must be suspicious of the flashy cars if these boys don't have day jobs. If these men have an 'us and them' mentality then there is clearly a failure in integration, here some of the blame should be attributed to the families and communities that segregate themselves from the indigenous community.
Shame on these boys and men and shame on their families for allowing such crimes and miseries to befall other families. Those young girls will carry the psychological scars for a long time; I don't think the jail sentence received by the men was adequate enough.
If the situation were reversed, that charlatan Keith Vaz would be screaming the place down and Labour would be scrambling to punish the men.
H.Hasan, London, UK
It must have occured to many others readers, other than Amul Singh, that the oft repeated term 'Asian' is a terrible slur on the Chinese as well.
By and large this group is law abiding, and it's roll in organised sexual crime is close to nil.
Julie Bindel is yet another frightened example of those who fear to say the word Muslim and Islam.
mandeville, London,
Our Government goes to other countries to fight unlawfull things.. Seriously issues like these are home grown and should be abolished ASAP. Their punishment should be Deport them by the very next flight. Well done MUMs. People Power will work.
Daksha, Stanmore, Middx
Seriously what are the police doing??????
i feel so sorry for the girls and thier families is time these men where made accountable for what they are idong
jennifer, london,
Didn't Enoch Powell give a speech nearly forty years ago warning of the dangers of immigration. Seems from this story he has once again been proved right!
TL, London, England
If this had been the other way round & white pimps were forcing, coercing or targeting Asian girls into prostitution then police wouldn’t need Asian mothers or religious groups to ask them to investigate as they would have jumped in with both feet to bring the criminals to justice. Whats happened in this country where indigenous white people are treated in this way by police who, I suspect, will say they are working to government guidelines. The indigenous population are just as entitled to the protection of the law as the racial groups are. Can you imagine the furore there would be if Asians were told by police that they wouldn’t investigate crimes in case it upset the indigenous population who might not like it and thus they might riot. What rot. This is disgraceful behaviour by the police who are supposed to be impartial of race, creed or religion. Someone should be accountable and heads must roll in the police heirachy. Why no sound from politicians who must know about this
michael pickles, bournemouth, england
There are many of us Asians, Hindus, Sikhs and Jains, who wish to have nothing to do with these thugs, and you should indicate that these gangs are almost entirely of Pakistani origin. But the authorities and the press are terrified of pointing this out for fear of violence from the Muslim community.
But why not confront the very real issue here - that intercourse before the age of 16 is common in many islamic cultures? In his response to the 'Undercover Mosques' documentary, Imam Bilal Philips explained he wished to campaign peacefully for change in British law, to allow the Muslim rule of intercourse with your wives at 9 to take place. In many Islamic countries, such as Yemen and Sudan the onset of puberty is deemed servicable age with your partner. And Ayatollah Khomenei is famous for advocating the ancient practice of 'thighing' with child wives. We need to understand this as a cultural phenomenon, and work to eradicate it, as we happened with Sati in Hindu culture.
Amul Singh, London, UK
Possibly because the authorities are involved in similar things themselves within their secret masonic societies.
JE, London, UK
These people are dispicable. Decent people of all colours should get together and kick there arses.
John, London, UK
In the name of all that's holy, what is going on here. If the police wanted to give ammunition to the BNF and their ilk they could not be doing a better job. The imams and community leaders who Mohamed Shafiq approached should be named, and perhaps investigated - it wouldnt be the first time that pillars of the community and priests have been found wanting in these areas. Perhaps it is about time that Channel 4 showed the programme.
Bill Q, Derby,
My daughter was targeted by a group of Asian men, she was 14 at the time. We contacted the police who said there was nothing they could do as a crime had not yet been committed.
I live in Huddersfield and this happening on a massive scale. My daughters friend had to be dragged kicking and screaming from a mans house. He was 37 and a married asian man.
colin smith, Huddersfield, UK
The fact that known, identified to the relevant authorities, child abusers are not being stopped or prosecuted will come as no surprise to the individuals who have ever had to report that a child is being abused.
In this case it is known, identified, pimps who are grooming children for prostitution who are not being stopped.
There are also many known domestic child abusers who, despite being identified to the responsible authorities are just being left in situ ,with their victims, to carry on doing what they do, with impunity.
Inflicting abuse on children is not being treated as the serious crime that it is in this country.
Children are being very poorly served by the law and by justice.
It would be interesting to know what the NSPCC has to say about these known identified child abusing pimps not being stopped?
Darnthesafetynet, London , W11 1NR