qatari schoolboy kicked to death in hastings

This is Mohammed al-Majid, the 16-year-old Qatari schoolboy beaten to death in an unprovoked attack by racist yobs in the southern English seaside resort of Hastings. The report of his death in the Daily Mail said he had come to Britain to "learn about its culture and traditions". The attackers were, according to the Mirror shouting "Saddam Hussein" and "Osama Bin Laden" and taunting Mohammed and his companions for being Arab. Amidst all the current pious talk of "Britishness" and PM Gordon's Brown's often-mentioned pride in "British values", boosted by Britain's Olympic successes in Beijing, it has to be admitted that mindless violence is a large, growing, part of the culture. Hastings, East Sussex, is one of those south coast English resorts that are packed with language schools and foreign, students. It has in recent years become notorious for its violence. Mohammed and a group of friends from his language school had been socialising inside the USA Fried Chicken Kebab House, and before the fatal attack took place outside the kebab house on Friday night, the Kurdish owner had told police in a police vehicle that a group of youngsters, including two girls, were drinking and causing trouble outside. The beating of Mohammed, took place an hour later. He died on Sunday in hospital.

Many British university students go to cities in the Arab world as part of their Arabic courses, and despite the political turmoil of the in the countries in which they study, one often hears them recall how safe they felt walking around in terms of crime, and how hospitable the locals were. Britain seems incapable of returning the favour. Really shameful.