www.maidenhead-advertiser.co.uk
October 29, 2009
?RACISM IS A REAL ISSUE IN WHAT IS A LOVELY PLACE?
Maidenhead : Couple subjected to abuse speak out
By John Balson : [email protected]
Brian Moore,44, and his girlfriend Cecilie Enos are fed up with racist behaviour in Maidenhead and Marlow.
Racism is a rife in Maidenhead and Marlow, according to a black man who moved to the area earlier this year.
Brian Moore, 44, who lives in central Maidenhead, says since moving from London he has been discriminated against at least once a week, including being mistreated by police, abused by late-night revellers and barred from a restaurant. The journalist and film-maker said the problems have been made ?doubly worse? because his girlfriend is white.
?In the short space of time I have been here, it is quite obvious there is a real issue,? he told the Advertiser.
?We get unpleasant looks every time we go into Marlow and, to a lesser extend, Maidenhead, and sometimes people just stop and stare.?
The father-of-one added: ?It is a beautiful place but you have got to be careful because there are some people who will come up to you to try to start a fight just on the basis of your colour.?
Mr Moore, who moved to Maidenhead from Ealing in May, said despite being made to feel welcome by his neighbours, it was not long before wider problems surfaced.
The former RAF fighter controller finally decided to make a stand after seeing British National Party leader Nick Griffin?s hotly-debated appearance on Question Time on Thursday. And together with his girlfriend Cecilie Enos, he is hoping to raise awareness on the issue and encourage more debate.
?It is not just a feeling. There are examples, week in, week out, which highlight what I have felt,? he said. He referred to a stop-and-question incident with a police community support officer in Marlow Hight Street who, he said, targeted him because he was the only black man in the street.
Following a complaint to Thames Valley Police, it was agreed there was a case to answer because the officer in question had been unable to give a ?satisfactory explanation? to why he found Mr Moore ?suspicious?.
Another time, he said, a restaurant manager stopped him and his girlfriend having a meal together, saying the place was fully booked, when later Mr Moore discovered it was not.
Miss Enos, who previously lived in Marlow, said she had also been targeted by abuse. ?Guys have stopped me in bars and said ?what are you doing?? and ?if you go out with a black man you lessen your chances of going out with a guy in Marlow by 80 per cent,? she said.
?It sometimes feels like this place is in a bubble, which is unnatural and quite dangerous in many ways.?
Superintendent Paul Emmings, commander for Wycombe, said the incident in Marlow had been taken to the Professional Standards Department and would be overseen by the Independent Complaints Commission.
He said they would have to wait for the result of this appeal before any action could be taken against the officer involved.