WARY ON THE WAY: Indian and Somali women go about their work in Southall "We are law abiding citizens. But if pushed too hard, we will retaliate."

On the way home from school a couple of weeks ago, 13-year-old Mina was accosted by two young Somali girls. "They punched my daughter and took away her bag and cash. They also snatched her gold chain and bus pass," says Sadhu Singh, a resident of Southall. Mina was trembling when she reached home and refused to go to school for a week after that. "Now I pick her up every day. Southall has never been so unsafe since I came here in 1961," Singh adds.

The story has been similar for Joseph Canning, an Irishman who has been living in Southall for over nine years. Pointing to cuts and bruises on his face and arms, he says: "I was attacked last Sunday at 10 a.m. Three Somali youths jumped on me and stole my money, mobile and jewellery. I fought them and shouted for help but there was no one around."

According to residents of Southall, the number of attacks on locals has increased considerably in the last few months. Things got worse when Piara Khabra, MP for Ealing, blatantly blamed Somali asylum seekers for the increase in robbery and muggings in the streets. On the Radio 4 Today Programme, Khabra declared that because of them, Little India (Southall) has become unsafe for Indians!

PRESENT TENSE

"We are law abiding citizens. But if pushed too hard, we will retaliate." SADHU SINGH Asian resident of Southall

"We Somalis are marginalised and victimised. We have no voice." ABDIL GUROGE Member of Somali community

"With crime on the rise, people avoid coming out at night. Business is hit." BOBBY SINGH bartender, Glassy Junction

Authorities have condemned his words as being irresponsible or too harsh. Unwilling to put the blame for the rise in crime on a single community, a Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: "There is no evidence that Somalis are committing all street crime and nor are racial tensions on the rise. Mr Khabra's comments are based on nothing apart from anecdotal evidence. There is street crime in Southall, but all sorts of people are responsible for it."

Residents of the locality concede that not all robberies can be attributed to the Somali community. There have been incidents when bags were snatched by Asian youths. However, residents point out, young boys and girls from Somali families that are so poor that they have to live off food vouchers tend to embrace criminal ways. They often move in gangs and congregate on street corners rousing suspicion among Asians that they are potential muggers.

The rising tension between the two communities is palpable. "We Somalis voted for Piara Khabra and now he is speaking ill of us," charges Khader Khapdur, a Somali who lives in Southall. "Some Somalis may be into crime but that gives him no right to paint us all with the same brush."

The Somalis feel that they played a major role in bringing Khabra to power, and that instead of thanking them for the support, he was abusing them. "We want him to apologise to us for his remarks. If he stokes these racial tensions, there will be fights," warns Khapdur. "Khabra is everyone's MP, not just Indians'," he says adding that his stand was not helping immigration matters.

Abdil Guroge, another Somali of Southall, declares that Indians and Somalis do not have any problems. "In fact we have a lot in common, such as similar diets and cultural values," he says. Stating that Khabra's "senseless words" would create divisions in society, Guroge rues: "Somalis are a marginalised, victimised community in Southall. We have no provisions that Asians and other people have. We have no support system and no voice in Southall."

An estimated 5,000 Somalis live in Southall, west London, many of them among the poorest in the area. In Ealing borough, black Africans make up 3.4 per cent of the population while Indians and Pakistanis make up more than 21per cent.

The Somalis may well be in the same boat that Asians were in back in the 1960s and '70s. They do not get jobs in post offices, there is not a single Somali councillor in the council nor one Somali working in the bank.

"When we have to open accounts or fill forms, many Somalis can't communicate and do not receive any help from anyone," says Khapdur. Competition in business is another sore point. Some Somalis feel that Asians do not like them because they are competing in business. Other Somalis believe that Asians who wanted them to leave Southall are responsible for the fire in Liberty Market in 1998.

Indians living in the area view the problem differently, and many openly support Khabra. "He has said exactly what we have been experiencing," says Singh. "When we came here, we were always law abiding citizens. We were victims of racism. These people are terrorising us." On a more reactionary note, he adds: "But we are also Punjabis and if we are pushed too hard, we will retaliate."

Southall residents blame the police for not being vigilant enough. Pub goers who relish a glass of beer at the Glassy Junction-the only bar that accepts payment in Indian currency in London- fear that they may be made the targets of such attacks. They often leave early while others call cabs to the doorstep as they feel unsafe even crossing the street at night. "Our business is hit," agrees Glassy Junction bartender, Bobby Singh. "The incidents of attacks and robbery have increased here and people are wary to walk at nights. These days, robberies take place even in broad day light."

The authorities, however, have chosen to play down the tensions between the two communities. A spokesperson of the Commission for Racial Equality (CRE) says: "From our preliminary enquiries, we have found no significant evidence to back Mr Khabra's claims that there are tensions between the Somali and Asian communities in Ealing."

The rising tension holds the threat of street fights breaking out in the near future. "We want our young boys do the right things," stresses Khapdur. "But they need some support. They need mentors."

If the authorities continue to turn a blind eye to the appeal, there is a lot that could flare up.