If Stephen Lawrence had lived...
`The judge said he would translate Bengali himself, he didn't of course,
because he was white and didn't speak a word of Bengali' -
Seventeen-year-old Lauren Bari, from Galway, has been following another
racist case in England and poses the question as to what would have
happened had Stephen Lawrence defended himself.
If Stephen Lawrence had defended himself against the four thugs who
attacked him and had saved his own life, the chances are that he would be
behind bars today.
Such was the case of Satpal Ram who is currently serving a life sentence
for defending himself against a racist attack nearly 13 years ago.
On 16 November 1986, Satpal Ram was eating in a take-away in the Lozells
Road in Birmingham, an area with a large black population. A group of six
white men began to shout racial abuse at Satpal and his friends; the attack
soon became violent. One of the men attacked Satpal with a piece of broken
glass, stabbing him in the face and arm. Bleeding, and in fear of his life
Satpal, physically much smaller than the men, defended himself using a
small pocket knife which he used for work. If he had not done so the
incident could well have led to his own death. Both Satpal and his attacker
were injured and Satpal received medical treatment for his wounds. The
racist refused treatment and died hours later.
Satpal's trial was blatant evidence of discrimination within the British
legal system. Bengali-speaking witnesses were not provided with
interpretation while all the evidence of the white friends of the attacker
was acknowledged. The judge said he would translate Bengali himself; he
didn't of course, because he was white and didn't speak a word of Bengali.
all-white jury found Satpal guilty of murder and sentenced him to life
imprisonment, refusing to acknowledge that he was the victim of a racist
attack.
That was 13 years ago and Satpal Ram has been in jail as a `category B'
inmate since then, implying that he is a danger to society even though his
`crime' was to defend himself. During his imprisonment, Satpal has spent
the majority of his time in segregation, which means he is kept in solitary
confinement and stripped of all his privileges such as attending education
classes and being able to prepare his own food. After such a long time
Satpal should have been recategorised as category D, but the failure to
change his categorisation is further evidence of Satpal's victimisation by
the prison system.
The British legal system was exposed as being institutionally racist by the
Stephen Lawrence Inquiry and now, after a few minor changes within the
police, many think that it is a problem solved. But with Satpal Ram behind
bars and many other racist attacks all over Britain being ignored, it would
seem as though the exposure has amounted to nothing.
Lauren Bari
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