- 8th January
- Victoria Road
- just before 8 am
- walking to the station
Towards me, a woman walks alone from Bank Top. She carries her bag.
Ahead of me walks a man in his late 20's.
Suddenly, without warning the man collides with the woman - as if barging into her. She stops, distressed and looks shaken. She hurries away, passes me, but we do not speak.
Moments later, I pass the man. Within two steps he grabs at my work bag. I do not release it. But I turn with speed. I grab his hand and hold it. He struggles. He shouts in Arabic. A witness rushes to assist me. The perpetrator pulls free.
Within minutes, the matter is taken up by British Transport Police.
Later I speak of the incident, and share my feelings.
My close friends and fellow residents on the terrace show concern for me. Others - not my friends - are more concerned about the perpetrator - a migrant visitor to Darlington. "Was he is hungry?" More sinisterly, they seek to suppress mention of his ethnicity. But, with Cologne, Stockholm and Cairo - we may piece together wider issues arising from migration, especially the single young males whose attitudes to women, values and responsibilities may be in conflict with those of their host communities.
Migration has been a fact of life since men and women left their caves. Britain is a migrant country in both senses of the word - our gene pool tells one story, and our colonial times tell another. But now, the rape and pillage of our ancestors has as much relevance to current problems as had our transportation of criminals to Australia.We live in times of social collaboration - in which we trust in order, responsibility and freedom. That is the basis of our society.
Today at the World Economic Forum, French Prime Minister Manuel Valls stated, "the migrant crisis is putting the European Union in grave danger" and without adequate border control, "our societies will be totally destabilised". He added that any other message will, a few seconds later, be shared on the smart phones in the refugee camps in Libya.
As a supporter of the Darlington Walk for Peace, and as a Quaker, I seek not to make a comment with any racial motive, but simply to promote open discussion about that which those bringing migrants to - or accommodating migrants within our community, avoid. Humanitarian support for those in need of refuge is vital. But so is the necessity to ensure shared values, and respect for the host. We need to think through the social implications of migration.
A daylight attack by a migrant on two Darlington residents whilst they make their way to work within 300 metres of the terrace, is not conducive to integration or trust.For those that care to ask, I am alright. I know not whether his female victim bears a scar. But I sense that our community may, and if French Prime Minister Valls is correct, will bear a consequence unless we too, openly and without fear, think things through and speak about them without fear.
