Rita Panahi: A trip to Tarneit is a must for head-in-the-sand Lefties
WE have enough crime in Australia without successive governments importing large numbers of people incapable of or unwilling to respect our laws, writes Rita Panahi.
Rita Panahi
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WHAT happened when a mild-mannered, soy latte-sipping progressive visited the Ecoville Community Park in Tarneit?
It didn’t take long for Herald Sun journalist Aaron Langmaid to become the target of abuse and threats of violence from a gang of African youths, who are terrorising local residents.
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TARNEIT RESIDENTS LIVING IN FEAR
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“You better not be trying to take our photo,’’ said one. “You don’t want to die on New Year’s Day. And I’ll f---ing kill you.’’
“What are we doing here?’’ said another. “We’re f---ing your grandmother, that’s what we are doing.’’
Aaron should consider himself lucky the interaction did not escalate beyond threats and having his grandmother’s character besmirched.
Many of those living around the trashed ruins of the community centre have seen and experienced much worse.
A playground was recently set on fire and homes and cars are regularly vandalised and robbed.
Tarneit is a growing, ethnically diverse suburb about 25km west of Melbourne, with new estates offering affordable house and land packages.
The usual head-in-the-sand Lefties eager to paint media reports of the ethnic gang crisis in Melbourne as “racist” or “bigoted” should visit Tarneit and speak to the locals.
Those who are living in fear are typically law-abiding migrants.
“They are out of control,’’ Paul Singh, 34, told the Herald Sun.“They should be punished or sent home. But here they are — not scared of anybody.
“It’s terror — terror for our kids, our families, and our wives. I always feel scared, and these guys are getting away with it.’’
“I went for a walk through the park and they were watching me,’’ Harish Rai said. “I heard them laughing and then they came from nowhere. They punched and kicked me. I used to walk every day. Now I know not to.”
“You just don’t know what to expect next because every time we hear noises, you are afraid to come outside,” Linah Simukai said. “We just stay indoors because we don’t know what is happening, people fighting. Mostly I see the South Sudanese guys — they are the ones that I see.”
We have enough crime in Australia without successive governments importing large numbers of people incapable of or unwilling to respect our laws.
Of course, most crime in this country is committed by Australian-born offenders, given that they make up the vast majority of the population. However, it is the extraordinary over-representation of some groups that needs attention.
In 2016, one in seven Sudanese-born Victorians aged 10 to 24 was charged with a crime.
Sudanese-born youths aged 10 to 18 are responsible for 13.9 per cent of aggravated robberies and 7.44 per cent of home invasions in Victoria, despite being only 0.11 per cent of the population, according to Victorian Crime Statistics Agency figures.
That means Sudanese-born youths are about 120 times more likely to commit an aggravated burglary.
People born in Sudan have the highest imprisonment rate in the country, according to 2014 Australian Bureau of Statistics figures.
That level of criminality is not something that can be ignored, nor can we continue to accept mealy-mouthed justifications from so-called community leaders and taxpayer-funded appeasers.
Meanwhile, Victoria Police command continues to send out mixed messages.
Only last week they claimed that there was a problem with African youth gangs.
Victoria Police Superintendent Therese Fitzgerald said: “We have problems with youth crime across the state and it’s not a particular group of youths we are looking into, it’s all youths. It’s youth crime.”
A day later, Acting Chief Commissioner Shane Patton admitted African youth gangs are a significant problem.
“The leaders in the African community readily and openly say they do have issues with a small cohort of African youth who are committing high-end crimes,” Mr Patton said.“We acknowledge that, we don’t shy away from that at all.”
Most migrants are law-abiding, productive members of society. Indeed many ethnic groups are underrepresented in crime figures and imprisonment rates.
Those who refuse to respect our laws should face severe consequences, including deportation where possible.
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