Letters to the Editor

This is my city - but no more mine than yours - and I do resent people whose behaviour unsettles what could be a relatively acceptable place to live.

But let's be quite specific here: Many Asians are good - but how the many Indians in Bradford must rightly resent being lumped together with law-breakers who are so well balanced they have chips on both shoulders.

The solution: Let's try intolerance; let's not accept bad behaviour, and let's uphold the law for everyone - regardless of colour, creed, etc.

The irony: If the rioters are as ill-educated as Lord Ouseley states, there is little chance that they will read this or any other letters in the T&A!

John Tempest, PO Box 163, Bradford 3.

SIR - If attitudes such as Amir Rashid's prevail (Letters, July 11), there will never be any hope of racial harmony in this country.

He is not ashamed of the riots by the Pakistani community (his words). Does he really believe that these mainly teenage thugs represent his community?

He should apologise to his brother-in-law in the police front line. I know a policeman in the front line who had two helmets shattered, and was badly bruised by the missile onslaught. It must have been hell for him and his colleagues.

How easily these criminals are offended, and how quick to take revenge! The white community didn't riot because four Asians assaulted a lone white women on Saturday morning. Only her judo skills saved her and she managed to beat off the cowards. Yet attacks on white people by Asian gangs are reported almost daily in the T&A.

Mr Rashid should be thankful that he lives in a civilised democracy which allows him to voice his opinions. In his homeland he would not have the same privilege.

Peter Blyth, Alexandra Street, Queensbury.

SIR - I've only lived in Bradford for 18 months so feel less qualified than many locals to comment on racial intolerance in the city, but would urge people to look beyond Bradford for ways forward:

l to multicultural cities like Wolverhampton where there are strong and effective policies promoting racial tolerance.

l to London, seat of our House of Commons.

Could it be that extremist groups such as the BNP and NF thrive in an atmosphere where people feel unrepresented - witness the lowest ever turn-out in the recent General Election?

We are living in an increasingly closed, dictatorial society where people find it more and more difficult to find politicians willing to listen to, consider or act on day-to-day problems.

Do things have to get worse before they get better? I hope not, otherwise the barricades will multiply.

I would ask local MPs to present our Prime Minister with facts and arguments and refuse to be content with glib half-truths and evasions on local and national matters.

Clive Boothman, Springfield Road, Baildon.

SIR - I think that the National Front's presence in Bradford was the key element to what happened on Saturday. Asians, especially the young, became very frustrated and angry because of this.

However, there was no need for such appalling behaviour. I feel very ashamed. Islam has no part in what happened on Saturday night. These were young people acting like idiots.

The police are not to blame as they were protecting the community and doing their job.

Ziaullah Khan, Beech Grove, Undercliffe, Bradford BD3

SIR - There is a lot of talk at the moment about deprivation in some areas of Bradford. Large families can lead to deprivation - small families are easier, and cheaper, to care for. Educate the mothers to their full potential and you educate the child. A long-term solution but a valid one.

Denise Musk, Fernbank Drive, Baildon, Shipley

Sir - The recent mob violence was perpetrated by mindless yobs who are damaging the hard work of many in the Asian community. These people have no place in a civilised society and their only support comes from other ignorant uncivilised human beings.

Worst thing about all this is that they are actually proud of what they have done over the weekend and do not realise the long term damage it has done for their own community.

Also the parents/guardians of these sick young boys (men they certainly they are not) need to have a good long look at how they have brought up their children and start addressing the problem.

Most involved were of Muslim background, but that's all they are Muslim by name only. If they had any respect for their religion or the teachings of our beloved prophet they wouldn't have been petrol bombing at four in the morning but actually doing the first pray of the day.

Jamil Rehman, St Michaels Road, Bradford BD8

SIR - After the violent acts of last weekend, it is time to realise there is no way of looking forward to the future for Bradford.

The fact of the matter is this violence will never end regardless of who caused what.

Local councillors, MPs, the police, and church leaders all know the reason: the two cultures have very little in common, if anything.

We tolerate one another, that's all.

S Wilby, Chapel Lane, Queensbury.

SIR - I think that although the police tried to handle the riots well, they did not do a good job. We the Asian community do not condone the work of the NF and our own people as they had to retaliate against the police who were being very heavy handed.

Bradford is a multi-cultural city and a very peaceful place to be. As we were just getting over the Manningham riots which rocked the city in 1995, we have to get to terms with the lack of co- operation between the police, and people within the community.

I believe that most of the city are against NF and therefore they shouldn't have the right of racism etc.

Now that we have been put in this situation we have to have better policing, more money for the youth clubs, schools doing more racism projects and most of all giving racism the red card.

Thornbury youth centre has been trying to solving these problems by making the youths aware and other areas should do the same. We will overcome this problem and we will become a nation of equality and peace.

Adnan Ahmed, Garibaldi Street, Thornbury, Bradford BD3

SIR - I was appalled to see the scenes of thuggery and destruction in the city I was born in. It's a shame the media reporting the issue are too scared to write what they know to be the truth.

They know the attacks were not by Asians, they were by Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. Where were the Indians? Probably in the pub having a nice quiet pint.

Why weren't they rioting? Why don't they feel disadvantaged? The Indians in the UK are tops in education and are probably the highest tax-paying community in the country.

Ravi Sharma, Whiteways, Bradford BD2

SIR - After reading the July 11 edition of the T&A, I thought: "What a breath of fresh air."

For too long, Bradford's suffering multi-cultural problems have been swept under the carpet. The frank admissions by all sectors of our community of the failures to integrate and the reasons why, will at last allow people to express their fears openly without being labelled racists.

The prime objective now should be to bring these dangerous thugs to justice and not hesitate to give sentences commensurate with the seriousness of the crime.

J Hargreaves, Dene Hill, Baildon.

SIR - I actually burst out laughing when I read the reader's letter about our "colonial mindset" (T&A, July 10).

The words clueless and nave spring to mind.

The contents of the letter were so obviously wrong, they were humorous!

Wake up and smell the petrol bombs.

Antony Allen, Ashbourne Way, Bradford 2.

SIR - I live in an affluent area of Manchester, I work in Liverpool, I have no Asian friends or neighbours, I know nothing of any culture other than white Christian but I love Bradford.

So what is the easiest single thing that people like me can do to help? It's simple, painless, takes little effort, and doesn't take much time: Spend as much money in the city as possible.

By all means work outside of Bradford but try to invest more of your money in the city. Next time you feel obliged to trot off to Meadowhall, White Rose, Trafford Park, Leeds, Manchester or anywhere, stop and ask yourself if you can get what you need in Bradford.

There are quality shops, cheaper prices and superb levels of service still to be found in the centre of Bradford, Sunwin House, HR Jackson and Pratts being just three.

You do not even need to be able to travel to Bradford to help. On-line shopping for goods and services means that wherever you live in the world there is no longer any excuse for not spending your money in Bradford.

Support local business for the benefit of all local people.

Kevin Hainsworth, Ferndene Road, Withington, Manchester M20

SIR - As chair of governors at Challenge College, I deplore the events of the weekend.

What has to be faced is that the Ouseley Report, which talks of our socially and racially-divided school system, is not saying anything new. Ten years ago, parents from Manningham sued the local authority over this very issue. Governors, parents, staff and children at our school all want a socially and racially-mixed school with the highest standards. We can and are delivering the standards, witness our SATs results.

However, the local authority defines our catchment area and senior officers have openly admitted that despite the wishes of governors, parents, and the community, they will make our school a virtually Asian-only school by defining the area we serve as Manningham and lower Frizinghall.

Until the local authority takes the lead, we will continue to create the conditions that led to the weekend. It is for this reason that our school wants to opt out, to be able to work with parents and communities who want to respect each others culture and beliefs.

How ironic that we have an over-subscribed school in the inner city which white parents want their children to go to, but cannot.

The cowardice on the streets is surely matched by the cowardice of city hall.

Rod Sawyer, Chair Challenge College, Beamsley Road, Shipley.

SIR - After reading the July 11 edition of the T&A, I thought: "What a breath of fresh air."

For too long, Bradford's suffering multi-cultural problems have been swept under the carpet. The frank admissions by all sectors of our community of the failures to integrate and the reasons why, will at last allow people to express their fears openly without being labelled racists.

The prime objective now should be to bring these dangerous thugs to justice and not hesitate to give sentences commensurate with the seriousness of the crime.

J Hargreaves, Dene Hill, Baildon.

SIR - After last week's riots, I'm sick and tired of hearing how racist the people of Bradford are.

I'm all for racial equality, but it has to work both ways! Many times I have been the victim of racial abuse. I am white.

Bradford holds a policy where you have to employ a percentage of ethnic minorities. I would like to ask how many white people are employed by Asian businesses. I have never seen a white person working in an Asian restaurant.

I for one will be spending my money elsewhere. Equal rights, yes I'm all for it!

Miss R Earle, Airedale Crescent, Undercliffe.

SIR - I was born in Bradford, in the Manningham area. My grandfather and father would turn in their graves if they could see what is happening to our city.

I moved from Bradford four years ago, but I still have a home and family there, and I cried on Saturday evening when I saw the news.

I moved away because I felt my freedom of speech had been taken away.

You do not have to be racist to live in Bradford, you are made to feel it because you dare not open your mouth in case you say the wrong things.

Things will get worse, there are good and bad in every race, but Bradford is out of control.

It's the old people I feel so sorry for, like my mother and many many more.

Jean Padgett, Scarborough.

Sir - The Bradford riots are a knock-on effect of alienated communities living in clans throughout Bradford.

While Asians claim inner-city terraces at their territory, the white population claim the big estates as theirs. The main tension arises when these territories are crossed.

Shokat Ali, Folkestone Street, Bradford BD3

SIR - I am a person who has a reputation for always having plenty to say, but in the case of the recent problems in the city of Bradford, my only response is complete and utter feeling of sadness!

Janet O'Hara, Lane Side, Wilsden.

SIR - It really infuriates me to think that these youths, both Asian and white, have caused so much destruction and have irreparably damaged the reputation of Bradford, and for what?

The police need to stop pussy-footing around and get to grips with the situation without the worry of racial discrimination. If the disturbances on Saturday night had been caused by a majority of white youths, then the police would not have thought twice about taking a strong hold and making arrests.

Asian communities have worked for years to achieve racial equality, yet it seems that it is they who are hell bent on destroying these achievements and bringing the situation back to the drawing board.

I believe that the people of Bradford have, for many years, accepted the fact that the city is multicultural and have lived side by side fairly harmoniously until recently.

Frankly, I am at the end of my tether and am sick to death of hearing about equal rights and discrimination.

Where are our equal rights? If the police were to arrest a group of white youths for acting suspiciously and causing criminal damage, could they claim discrimination? I think not!

B Chapel, Storr Hill, Wyke.

SIR - Arriving in the city just after midday on Saturday July 7, I was immediately struck by the uncanny atmosphere. Usual shoppers were hardly to be seen.

Rather, increasing numbers of young, mainly male Asians, lined the pavements across and about Centenary Square. The square itself was sparsely peopled, except for a varying number of 20 to 30 folk listening to speeches by the main doors of the Town Hall.

A row of mounted police stood across the road opposite, facing colleagues in riot gear a few feet away. Others where about in large numbers.

Mingling, I overheard comments in the crowd: "They protect Nazis."

I hold that if the arts festival carnival was allowed to take place, joviality would have replaced anger, and the riots would never have taken place.

Roman Jagodzinski, Rishworthian Court, Halifax.

SIR - When are the Government going to do something about these hooligans? After all, the police were heroes standing up to all that was thrown at them.

Anyhow, if the Government did the right thing, they would have brought in water cannons. Also the water should have dye in it so these people can be recognised.

So come on Tony Blair, do the right thing for your own people and country.

D Burnett, Great Horton Road, Great Horton.