This Friday morning, 27th April 2007, a few minutes after I left the area for a hospital appointment, a young female Asian care worker arrived by taxi at Melling Street to collect an elderly lady who attends a local day care centre. I spoke with relatives of the elderly lady, one of whom accompanied the victim to hospital and remained with her until her family arrived, and they told me that it would seem that a man had followed the care worker in his car. When her taxi was approaching Melling Street the man who was following jumped out of his car and launched a frenzied knife attack against the woman. She suffered multiple stab wounds to her back, neck and side. It is alleged that the attacker was her ex-husband and that due to his behaviour since the divorce three years ago she has a restraining order against him preventing him coming anywhere near her. Several people tried to come to her aid and three of our street wardens managed to restrain the man until the police arrived. He has been arrested and charged with attempted murder.
I asked the police how seriously injured the young woman was and they informed me that she should make a full recovery in due course. I am sure we all wish this poor young woman a speedy recovery.

I have since heard that when she is discharged from hospital she will be taken to a safe house in case any male relatives of her ex-husband decide to try to complete the despicable act that he failed in.

A male Asian friend told me that back home so called “honour killings” are against the law, but that these men get away with it because of bribery and corruption. If you have enough money then the authorities turn a blind eye. These same men believe that if a woman fails to comply with their idea of how a woman should behave then they will be able to get away with it in this country too. Well, they are wrong.

None of us expect this type of violence to occur so close to home and certainly not just after nine in the morning. It was only a few minutes earlier that I was standing at the bus stop watching children walking along Northmoor Road on their way to Stanley Grove Primary School.