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> Från: African Viewpoint <[log in to unmask]>
> Till: [log in to unmask]
> Ämne:
> Datum: den 10 mars 2000 11:35
>
> African Viewpoint Issue No. 8 (January-February 2000)
>
> EDITORIAL COMMENT:
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
> SECURITAS: PRIVATE GUARDS OR AGENTS OF BRUTALITY?
> ----------------------------------------------------------------
>
> As we write, Adonis Hocheimy, a 26 year-old African Swede, is lying at
the
> Neurological department at Karolinska hospital with a broken neck and
> injured arm after he was brutalised by two security guards at Västra
Skogen
> tube station because he had lost his train ticket. Adonis has difficulty
in
> moving his arms and legs while his Doctor says that it will take at least
> three months for Adonis to recover.
>
> Even then, the Doctor says that there is no guarantee that Adonis will
> recover fully. Adonis is the latest victim of fascist-like security
guards
> whom, in September 1997, killed a street singer who had been playing
music
> at the Central station in Stockholm. The innocent singer lost his life
after
> he was “arrested” and taken into custody. Adonis is reported to have been
> hand-cuffed and held by the guards for at least one hour before the
police
> arrived and rushed him to hospital.
>
> The case of Adonis is strange because the attention the case has received
> both in the mainstream media and the Swedish political establishment has
> been lurkworm, leading a cross section of Africans to allege that the
case
> is being brushed aside because Adonis is of African extraction. In fact,
> even the element of racism, which appears too obvious to many Africans,
is
> not being underlined. After the attack, the head of the security guards
> defended the brutality of his employees, arguing in the newspapers that
> Adonis is to blame for his broken neck.
>
> Had it not been for the effort of one journalist and a group of immigrant
> and Swedish organisations familiar with the character of
institutionalised
> racism in Sweden, the case could as well have been water under the bridge
by
> now. More than 35 organisations have signed a protest list, condemning
the
> brutality and racism that had manifested itself in this latest case. The
two
> guards involved have been withdrawn from service while Adonis’ lawyers
have
> filed a half a million compensation claim in the courts.
>
> >From the standpoint of African Viewpoint, nothing short of racism can
> explain the carnage, violence and disproportional amount of force that
the
> guards used against a citizen who has been described by those who know
him
> as “peace-loving, humble and non-violent”. It is a well known fact that
the
> Neo-nazi movement has infiltrated the police force and Trade Unions in
> Sweden. Security guards manning restaurants and discotheques in Stockholm
> are known to block Africans and other dark-skinned people from entering
into
> these social places because of racism and discrimination. The attack on
> Adonis is yet another consequence of the militarization of the tube
station
> using poorly-trained security guards whose methods of work are difficult
to
> explain without the element of racism coming into the picture.
>
> The guards are not accountable to the public but to their bosses. The
> brutality the guards employed against Adonis brings to question the
> screening and training of the guards because regardless of the
> circumstances, breaking the neck of an alleged offender is simply
> inexcusable. We take the position that the vicious manhandling of Adonis
by
> the guards is part and parcel of growing racism in Sweden, a trend which
> will not be easy to stop without a permanent fight being put up by the
> victims of racism and those who abhor it.
>
> For Africans and other targets of racism within the immigrant community
in
> Sweden, it is yet another warning that organised and co-ordinated
activities
> aimed at smashing racism is all the more paramount. Adonis belongs to the
> generation of Africans who were brought up in Sweden. The attack on him
by
> the racist guards is evidence that no dark-skinned person is safe -
whether
> immigrant or Swede. The colour of the skin has once again landed another
> citizen in hospital and disrupted the life of an otherwise active and
> youthful individual. Are security guards meant to protect people or are
they
> agents of racism and wanton brutality against innocent and law-abiding
> people in this country?
>
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