WAGING WAR ON HATE CRIME PAGE 11
Cabbie tells of night-time terror ordeal by racists
A TAXI driver terrorised by racist passengers has spoken out in a bid to reduce hate crime.
Muhammad Saqib was working in Glasgow when a group of men got in the back of his cab after a night out.
They began making racist comments – but the cabbie did not report the incident as he believed it wasn’t serious enough to merit a police investigation.
Now, police have launched a campaign to highlight hate crime, especially among workers in the night-time economy.
They want the message to go out that racist abuse will not be tolerated – including during drunken nights out.
Muhammad, 49, told the Record: “My first experience of hate crime was really scary.
“It was in the middle of the night and they started threatening me, asking me how long I’d been here and where I came from. It almost got physical. There are no barriers in my car. I was driving around in the dark and I felt unsafe.”
Muhammad thinks more needs to be done to encourage hate crime victims to come forward.
He added: “After that incident I didn’t say anything.
“I just thought you only reported ‘big crimes’ like being shot, stabbed or punched. People now need to realise that any crime must be reported.
“Education is a big thing too. The next generation coming up need to know this behaviour won’t be tolerated.”
Running from today for three weeks, the campaign aims to get more hate crime victims to come forward.
The initiative is focusing on workers in night-time industries such as fast-food outlets, convenience stores,
taxi driving and door security as they are said to be most at risk of experiencing hate crime.
More than 6700 hate crimes were recorded in Scotland in 2017-18 and two-thirds of them involved people being targeted because of their race.
Chief Superintendent John McKenzie, head of Safer Communities, told the Record: “Those who work in the night-time economy include taxi drivers, shopkeepers, people working in pubs and bars, basically anyone offering a service to the public at night.
“It can have a devastating impact upon victims, their families and wider communities. It can leave victims feeling isolated and fearful of what might happen next. It’s important people know they can report it and how to report it.”
Muhammad is a member of the Scottish Ethnic Private Hire Welfare Association. It was established in 2008 and is one of Police Scotland’s third-party reporting centres.
It gives ethnic people a voice, raises awareness of hate crime and is a bridge between ethnic private hire drivers and the police.
McKenzie: “If you don’t want to go to a police station, go to a third-party reporting centre. You have to report any crime, especially hate crime. “Don’t just accept it.” If you have been a victim of a hate crime, contact Police Scotland on 101 or speak to an officer.
Find a list of third-party reporting centres at www. scotland.police.uk/ contact-us/hate-crime-andthird-party-reporting
Hate crime can have a devastating impact upon victims CS JOHN McKENZIE