Newzealand: Hindu centre under attack

Hindu centre under attack
By WILLIAM MACE - Manukau Courier | Wednesday, 17 September 2008

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BEN CAMPBELL/Manukau Courier
SOLUTION NEEDED: Hindu Heritage Centre trustee Pravin Patel and manager Amita Karandikar are asking for help to stop incidents of wilful damage and vandalism at their Mangere premises.
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Members of the Hindu Heritage Centre in Mangere are fed up with repeated vandalism and what they feel is a lack of police concern about it.

http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/sundaystartimes/auckland/4696048a6497.html
The Gadsby Rd centre has been under weekly attack from neighbourhood vandals who break windows, spray graffiti and enter the property unlawfully.

Hindu Social Services Foundation manager Amita Karandikar has reported three instances of wilful damage to police since late June which have been recorded and investigated.

She says the police who attended the last callout indicated they would not return for similar calls because the centre is insured.

But Mangere community constable Nico Ng Wun says the Manukau Courier’s inquiries are the first he’s heard of any problems at the centre.

He has visited in the past and says he’s more than willing to help.

"It saddens me that they’re saying the police are not willing to do anything about it because we’re quite willing to help," says Mr Ng Wun.

Centre trustee Pravin Patel says he welcomes any support from police, the council or community organisations.

But he says initial contact with the police has been discouraging.

The trust which runs the centre must foot the increasing repair bill from vandalism because of a high insurance excess, he says.

Already thousands of dollars of damage has been done to the property and a lack of security means it is likely to continue unless a solution is found.

Mr Patel suspects the perpetrators are teenagers with nothing better to do. They don’t appear to want to steal anything, he says, but "they just see glass and want to break it".

However the live-in security guard says an Xbox console, a bike and a torch have been stolen from his residence.

Mr Patel says the voluntary nature of the organisations on the site means they don’t always have someone fulltime at the centre and can’t afford full security.

He is appealing for the vandalism to stop although he understands it might be a symptom of bigger problems in the community.

He says speaking to young people and offering help to parents in the area could be positive steps forward.

"We are not to blame the children who do these things," says the father of two.

"We need to address the crime itself and educate these kids to say: ‘Hey, that is not on’.

"I’m sure these kids are in a very tormented situation and we need to address that."

Mr Ng Wun says he will be trying to identify those who committed the crimes and would welcome cooperation with the Hindu centre.

He says Mangere residents should report any problems to their local community constables.

"Mangere is our area, it’s our priority and we like people to know that we can be approached to resolve these issues."