‘We want justice’: protest takes message to MPs
About 200 dairies and small businesses from Wellington to Wairarapa closed as part of nationwide protests and silent vigils in response to the death of Janak Patel, a dairy worker who was fatally stabbed last week.
Vigils were held in front of Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern’s electoral office in Auckland’s Mt Albert where about 300 people gathered, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Grant Robertson’s electoral office on Willis St in Wellington, where cries of ‘‘enough is enough’’ and ‘‘we want justice’’ from the 100-strong crowd followed a minute’s silence for Patel.
Dipak Bhana, president of the Wellington Indian Association, said the closures spoke to just how serious the issue was.
‘‘We need a tougher stance with police,’’ he said.
‘‘The more they get away with the smaller crimes, they start doing larger and larger crimes and they get a lot more violent.’’
He said many felt they weren’t taken seriously by police when they reported crimes and wanted to see earlier intervention.
Manisha Morar, vice president of the NZ Indian Central Association, said many owners lived in fear because of an increase in ‘‘brazen’’ crime.
‘‘One day they’ll open the shops in the morning and the next there is a gun pointing at them or a knife,’’ she said.
Many business owners protesting in Wellington yesterday were reluctant to be identified or draw unwanted attention to their businesses.
A store owner from Raumati said he had been forced to park a van in the way of the entrance to deter ramraiders at night.
‘‘New Zealand has a name in the world as the safest country but not anymore,’’ the business owner said.
Urmila Bhana, who manages a Wellington grocery store, was ‘‘distraught’’ about Patel’s death.
‘‘That heinous crime is devastating. There has been a shift towards violence towards anyone on the frontline, from ED nurses and doctors, fire and police, teachers to [people] fronting retail and hospitality.’’
She wanted improvements in street lighting, CCTV coverage and more police on the beat.
Jagruti Desai, of Brooklyn grocery store Wing on Chang, said her businesses had endured years of break-ins and incidents but in recent times the threat had intensified.
‘‘Every day when you start working you hope that nothing goes wrong, and you don’t want to feel like that.
‘‘We are very exposed but we can’t do much about it. The Government can but we can’t,’’ Desai said.
Dinesh Patel, from Jimmy’s Fruit Mart in Newtown, said he was frustrated about police instead referring them to their insurers, which he said was driving premiums up.
He asked the crowd which of them had been affected by crime in Wellington, with most raising their hands.
Sukhdeep Singh said Patel’s death had been the tipping point of a growing sense of concern for the 30 dairy owners across Hawke’s Bay who also closed their doors.
‘‘Look, we know the justice system is not a simple thing, and to say it needs fixing sounds simplistic, but the message we want to send is very simple. If you commit a crime, you must be punished.
Singh referenced the recent sentencing of a man who badly assaulted a Hastings taxi driver and who got eight months’ home detention.
‘‘The victim is a 62-year-old man who is having to learn to walk again. I mean, we need to be real about this. Home detention for doing that is a joke,’’ he said.