African Muslims In The Bronx Speak Out Against Alleged Hate Crimes
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A group of African Muslims in the Bronx says it is under attack after a string of violent incidents against members of their community. Thursday, residents held a community forum to take aim at the problem. NY1's Criminal Justice reporter Lily Jamali was there and filed the following report.It's been almost two months since Haja Hydara was shot in the eye with a pellet gun in her own kitchen, after entering through a window. She says she is still afraid to even be in the room.
Hydara's nine-year-old daughter was approached at school by four kids, claiming to have fired the shot.
"They said that they did this to my mom and they said that since they did it to my mom, they're gonna to it to everybody else one by one," her daughter Fatoumata Jawara said.
Hydara was one victim of what West African Muslims in the central Bronx say has been a string of attacks against them. A week after she was shot in June, Dembo Fofana and three other men were leaving their morning prayer at this Mosque when they were beaten by a group of about 25 people.
"I was passed out and I woke up in the hospital. It could have been a half an hour at least," said Fofana, who suffered a broken rib in the attack and still can't work.
African Muslim leaders say about 20 of their own have been attacked in the last year. They're banding together to ask the city, from the NYPD to the Housing Authority, for help.
"We are calling everyone to come and help us to address these issues. And these are not things that will be accepted and tolerated," said Ebrahim Dawood Ndure of the African Action Network.
They held a community forum in July asking for more police intervention.Community members are also asking for improvements to their general quality of life, like better building maintenance and more activities for kids. They say both those things could make a difference.
Thursday night, a second forum on the topic drew members of the NYPD, NYCHA and District Attorney Robert Johnson.
At this point, the attack against Fofana and his friends is the only one being investigated as a hate crime.
"That's not a prerequisite for us coming down hard and saying you can't do this," Johnson said. "You can't victimize people. If it turns out it was a hate crime, we'll still prosecute because they're crimes."
Johnson says if they're eventually able to show those crimes are the result of hate, they can seek tougher punishment for whoever's behind the attacks.