Migrant taxi drivers left ‘traumatised’ after being set upon by youths
Migrant taxi drivers have been left ‘traumatised’ after they were set upon by a group of youths, who allegedly attacked them with knives and damaged their vehicles. Watch the videos.
Tasmania
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Migrant taxi drivers have been left ‘traumatised’ after they were set upon by a group of youths, who allegedly attacked them with knives and damaged their vehicles.
Videos posted by the Hobart Taxi Drivers’ Association show vehicles with shattered windows and broken mirrors after an incident on Wednesday evening.
A third video circulating on social media shows a confrontation between a group of youths and migrant taxi drivers.
“Yous wanna go, you f****** little Indians?” can be heard in the video.
Hobart Taxi Drivers’ Association president Li Joy said the drivers attended a gathering and were parked outside a house when the incident unfolded.
“A few teens were looking into the taxis, they were trying to get something from inside the car,” he said.
“The drivers came out and had a look, they asked them what was going on. Straight away [the youths] took the knife out and started attacking.
“Two taxis were damaged, they smashed the windows and the front windscreen.’
Mr Joy said it wasn’t the only recent incident. He said on Friday night, a young Pakistani taxi driver was the victim of an armed robbery at Claremont.
“He was asked for money and the passenger had a knife and tried to threaten him,” he said.
“They took some money, then they bashed him. He was sent to hospital and treated.”
Mr Joy said without their vehicles, the drivers had been left without a source of income and could not afford to pay the excess to have the cars repaired.
On top of that, he said, they’d been left shaken.
“They’re mentally very upset and traumatised, they’re worried,” Mr Joy said.
“[One driver] said ‘I’ve lost my money, lost my courage, lost my trust in the system, I’m traumatised and can’t sleep.”
Mr Joy said he did not believe the incidents were racially motivated, but there were elements of racism.
“They were using some words, racial comments,” he said.
Mr Joy was concerned about youth crime.
“They’re not scared, they can harm anyone,” he said.
“It’s not just taxis, it’s businesses too.
A group of taxi drivers will hold a strike from 7am to 7pm on Monday in Hobart.
A silent protest is also planned from 11:30 at Franklin Square.
“We’re trying to raise awareness, we have issues in the taxi industry and we have safety concerns in the workplace,” Mr Joy said.
Police say they’re investigating the incident on Wednesday night.
“Four youths were reportedly targeting a number of parked taxis in Culloden Ave when the victims confronted them,” a Tasmania Police spokesperson said.
“No physical injuries were reported however about a number of windows were damaged during the altercation.”
The spokesperson said Tasmania Police was not aware of an increase to racially motivated hate crimes reported to authorities.
“However we are committed to actively investigating any reports we receive,” they said.
“There is no excuse for any form of verbal or physical abuse in our community, and people are encouraged to come forward and report matters to police where they believe they have been the victim of a prejudice-related incident.
“All reports of crimes are taken seriously, and people are encouraged to contact police in a timely manner so matters can be fully investigated.”
Multicultural Council says more support is needed
Chair of the Multicultural Council of Tasmania Aimen Jafri said incidents were becoming more common.
“In the past fortnight I have heard about 4-5 incidents of hate crimes against taxi drivers
the latest being (Friday) night,” she said.
“There are drivers who are feeling unsafe and unsupported.”
Ms Jafri said more needed to be done to keep taxi drivers safe.
“We need to protect our taxi drivers, they are risking their lives when they go out on the road,” she said.
She also said more support needed to be available to migrant drivers.
‘They’re students they have limited knowledge about support systems available or if they can claim compensation,” she said.
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