Thursday, June 19, 2008

Declan assaulted in the Manna Centre

After being robbed of all our money and documents yesterday morning in the Catholic Sisters of Mercy Dellow Centre, the same day Declan had intended submitting his second Request for Priority to the European Court of Human Rights by registered post, we made sure the document in question was uploaded to this blog before going back to the porch - where the City of London Police have been waking us of late to tell us to move beyond city boundaries or be arrested.

It was good we did so, because this afternoon Declan walked the two-hour round trip for lunch in the Manna Centre (whose building is provided rent-free by the Catholic Archdiocese of Southwark) only to be seriously harassed in the queue for food – this guy clipped Declan’s heels four to six times, while brushing up hard against him as the queue moved. Given that Declan already had a crime reference number on this guy for “racially aggravated harassment” in the Dellow Centre (see blog of 16 May “More racially aggravated harassment in the Dellow Centre”), the Metropotian Police wrote him up this time for “common assault”, and gave Declan a second crime reference number for the guy (3021917/08). I’m afraid this guy also likes to harass middle-aged women: on 11 April he indirectly informed me in the Manna that I would be found one morning with a knife in my back.

The police officer Declan dealt with at Southwark police station had a look at the computer and informed Declan that Brick Lane police officers had contacted the Dellow weeks ago for information on the guy but were refused. “They would need a warrant to get the information,” he said. “This is the way it is with homeless day centres.” In fact, he knows the Manna is particularly protective of its clients. Only in case of grievous bodily harm (GBH) would police be likely to get any cooperation, he said. “And in hostels?” Declan asked. The same, the officer replied.

The officer told Declan that he didn’t understand how day centres were getting away with it. So when Declan explained that we were barred last June from the Methodist Church Whitechapel Mission by the minister’s wife after I was assaulted in an unprovoked attack by a homeless woman, it was his opinion that it is outrageous that those working with the homeless are protecting the perpetrators of crime, and not their victims.