We are not racist

Evening Chronicle (Newcastle, England), Feb 3, 2007

Byline: By Sophie Doughty

Geordies have long been known as the friendliest people in the country.

But folk on Tyneside have now come under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

Former Big Brother contestant Narinder Kaur appeared in a BBC documentary in which she declared she would never bring her children up on Tyneside because the area is too racist.

She said that after recently returning to Tyneside and chatting to young Asians she discovered nothing had changed since she was a child ( and she asked what was being done to tackle racism in the area.

But her remarks came as a surprise to the hundreds of people who daily work tirelessly to promote racial harmony on Tyneside and believe the region is no more racist than any other.

Newcastle City Council's head of social inclusion, Simon Underwood, said everything possible is being done to improve relations between the races living in the city.

"Geordies aren't racist at all. It's just a small minority," he said. "There is racism everywhere, but we've been doing an awful lot of work to promote good race relations. What we have been doing is working to make Newcastle a much more welcoming and diverse city."

In the BBC Inside Out programme, Narinder, 34, who grew up in West Moor, North Tyneside, says she has lived in London and Leicester, but Newcastle is the only place where she has experienced racism.

Mr Underwood says: "In the last five or 10 years the population of Newcastle has changed quite a lot, and that does cause pressures. That's why we've been pro-active.

"Perhaps cities further south have more experience of diversity, but that doesn't change anything. Racism is wrong and we must do everything we can to stamp it out.

"We condemn all racism. We now have joint strategies so that all the agencies are working towards the same thing. And we've now got better reporting systems and better follow-up procedures if someone is a victim of racism. We're doing lots of community development and community support work.

"And many people we speak to in the ethnic minority communities say it's getting better."

Although Mr Underwood disagrees with Narinder's views, he is pleased she has brought the racism debate to our TV screens.

He said: "We respect her experiences and her views and respect her for raising the issue. Maybe we need to publicise what we're doing a bit more."

But Geordie Asian Raman Shegal is furious after hearing Narinder's rant.

The 25-year-old from Gateshead says he has never felt unsafe on Tyneside.

He said: "I was born and bred in Newcastle and I've faced bits and pieces of racism over the years. But I've travelled all over the world, and wherever you go you're always going to get minorities who are like that.

"This is someone who's trying to make a name for herself. I just think it smacks of desperation."

Neil Denton, of Newcastle hate-crime reduction group Arch, said: "It's is a sad fact racism exists in all parts of this country, but there's nothing to suggest this is more of a problem here than anywhere else".