"They come over ere, fillin up our cemeteries…"

We know that the Post is often a hotbed of reactionary shit. And we know that its awful politics attracts the kind of crayon scribblers and backward bastards who fill the Post’s letters page on a daily basis. But if you really want a glimpse at the ultimate lowlife scum who are attracted to the Post’s daily serving of reaction, check the commenters at the paper’s website.

The murder of 35-year-old Somali Mohamoud Hassan by 18-year-old April Bright in a pub in St Pauls after last year’s carnival is a pretty sad indictment of our society. The case hints at issues of inner city youth alienation, alcohol abuse, community tensions and issues around the alienation of immigrant communities.

Following Bright’s conviction and sentencing the Post ran this report about the dead man’s background.

The victim of St Paul’s murderer April Bright fled war-torn Somalia only to be knifed to death in the UK city where he hoped he would find salvation.

. . .

Mohamoud Hassan was born in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, in 1972.

He had six brothers and four sisters and his father had a grocer’s shop.

His cousin Mohamed Ige, 30, who lives in Manchester, recalled how the African state collapsed into tribal civil war in 1990 and times were hard.

Mr Ige said: “His whole family was struggling, including him. It was difficult, there was no law and order. His tribe was Ashraf and Mohamoud was kidnapped by a rival militia at the beginning of 2002.”

Mr Ige said Mohamoud, then aged 30, was made to work for the rival faction and, though he was shot attempting to escape, he eventually managed to make a break for it and returned home.

Mohamoud had started a family with his wife Sainab, and had two boys and a girl, but at the end of 2002 he left his native country in search of a better life.

Mr Ige said: “There was no peace in Somalia, killing was going on and he sought asylum elsewhere. He went to Kenya and then the UK.

“He first went to Manchester, where he spent a year going through the asylum application process.

“He was living with his cousin in Moss Side and learning English.”

He first went to Kenya, then Manchester, and in 2004 Mohamoud came to Bristol where he worked at a warehouse in Emersons Green.

Living with friends at a housing association home in St Werburgh’s, he liked it in Bristol because he saw it as a place of opportunity.

“He was a very sociable person,” Mr Ige said.

“He was a friend of everybody, he would chat with any person and he had a good sense of humour.

“People liked him. His English was poor but he was learning.”

Here are some of the comments in response by Post readers.

Beats being a pirate

Gary, bristol

I couldn’t care less. Seems like he would have done better to have stayed in his own country.

Bert, Bristol

So he left his family behind in the war zone and went on his travels. nice. Should have gone somewhere safer but closer to home.

soarer, Bristol

. . . What concerns me more is that there were numerous complaints that Somalians, including the victim, were at best out of hand, and showing little (if any) respect for women in the pubs in, and around St Pauls that evening. When I hear this and am forced to the judgement, based on a lifetime’s experience, that generally speaking the Somalian refugees are the rudest, most arrogant, ignorant and generally unpleasant immigrants that it has been my misfortune to meet. I speak to many people and I have only had one conversation with a polite, respectful Somalian here in Bristol. I am old enough to remember the first black faces on the London underground in the 1950′s, and 60′s. It would do the Somalian community a great service if they remembered that they are our guests, many including myself are pleased to welcome them here, and behave accordingly: It is not their country and everyone has the same rights, privileges and responsibilities.

Patrick, Bristol

Patrick, Bristol neither of them are true english. This theory different cultures can live together has failed all over the world.

Mary, Bristol

Treat them as they would treat you if you were in Somalia. What that creature April Bright did was 100% out of order but please dont ask us to feel sorry for person looking for a better life, try the hundreds of countriys he flew over to get here, we are suckers

John, When in Rome

Perhaps Bristol should be left to the bristolians, great city, great people, ruined by outsiders

julie, wigan

I’ve come to the conclusion that our society simply isn’t compatible with Somali society. What’s normal in Somalia is rude or at worst criminal here. We therefore should not take any more asylum seekers from Somalia. Also aren’t asylum seekers supposed to seek safe haven in the first friendly country they come across. How can you travel from Somalia to the UK without going through about a dozen ‘safe’ countries.

Ian, Bristol

Did you know that TB has rapidly increased in Bristol due to the amount of people migrating into the city this is concentrated in Easton, St Pauls and approx 80% of known TB patients are somalian and a large amount of these entered britian knowing they had TB. Just one example of how the money is used…..

B, Bristol

Why the hell should we keep bending over backwards for these people when all they are doing is upsetting the harmony and making our country worse than the one they left?

John, fishponds

Its commonly known that Somalia is the most lawless and criminal country in the world (look at the neck of the Pirates there!) Lawrence Hill is now like Somalia they have a row of shops run by them for them! It is also common knowledge that there is no love lost between them and most Afro Caribbean’s either! They cannot come to this country and take it over with their hatred of women and rude and criminal ways! It is no wonder that people are becoming racist, this country is going down hill fast and any spare money there once may have been now provides for the vast amount of asylum seekers/immigrants etc. It was reported in a newspaper today that the Councils cannot cope with the drain on the services of these people………….so again we are left with hefty increases in council tax on their behalf……Charming! Coz you can bet your life that most of them dont even pay a penny of Council tax even though they are more than happy to accept everything going!

AJ, Bristol

Kayse Maxamed, easton, you mention grief to a house hold, get real, thay are not BRISTOLIAN, just more bad crap, let um swing

julie, wigan

Charming bunch, eh? What the fuck happened to the incitement laws?

Joined up journalism

From yesterday’s Evening Post (Tuesday September 23):

So, the love affair with our new shopping centre Cabot Circus continues ahead of Wednesday and Thursday’s openings; no surprise there. And whilst ordinary Bristolians face rising food prices, pay cuts, huge fuel bills, house repossessions and job loses, the Post uses another front page to promote a shop for the rich. But don’t worry, the Post has managed to secure EXCLUSIVE “sneak preview” pictures. It really is “luxury for all” isn’t it?

Inside, amongst the four pages devoted to “Cabot Circus” reporter Niamh Byrne gives us a tour of Harvey Nicks which reads like a corporate press release.

Finally we are introduced to three happy Cabot Circus workers. First of all Andrew Jenkins a 22 year old graduate who is apparently happy to be flogging shirts in Top Man. Sheila Biddle who is impressed that the company she now works for sells “ethical furniture”. Well, I wonder how ethical they are when it comes to workers’ rights, trade union recognition and decent pay. Good luck, Sheila. Finally we meet Nicky Mcleod, a security guard. He tells the Post that he was made redundant by the CEED employment charity around the corner in St Pauls when their funding was cut. Obviously the Post misses the irony.

We are told that there are 4000 jobs being created by Cabot Circus and how this is bucking the national trend for job cuts. But we are not told how many jobs will be cut as trade is lost from other shopping districts. We are also not told how many of these new jobs are just being transferred from branches closing in other parts of the city.

And what kinds of jobs are these? Retail, catering, security, cleaning; some of the lowest paid, least secure jobs going. Minimum wage McJobs. Is this the best our kids, our graduates, our unemployed can expect? Don’t expect the Post to ask.

On page 9 of the same edition, the latest in the Post’s “The Big Squeeze” series of articles which could be entitled “Economic Crisis for Kidz”.

Reporter Niamh Byrne, having finished her guided tour of Harvey Nicks, has nipped over to St Pauls (a poor inner-city area on the edge of the Cabot Circus development) to produce a story headlined “Shops suffering as credit crunch bites”. Are they taking the piss?

Update: Three excellent posts by the Bristol Blogger on Cabot Circus and the media.