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SA Archbishop pleas for understanding in Sudanese stabbing case
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Nov 17, 2008 - 7:02:23 AM

SA Archbishop pleas for understanding in Sudanese stabbing case

Monday, 17 Nov 2008
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by Jane Still

The Archbishop of Adelaide has pleaded with the community to avoid racial stereotyping after a 14 year old Sudanese boy was stabbed to death in Adelaide�s CBD last week in a brawl involving a number of Sudanese youths.

Archbishop Jeffery Driver said that such tragic events occur across all groupings in society, and none were immune.

�Having said that, we also need to recognise the special needs of the Sudanese who have come to us from appalling and often traumatic circumstances,� he said.

Archbishop Driver called for support for Sudanese refugees rebuilding their lives in Australia.

�The Southern Sudan was engaged in war for more than twenty years.  About two million people were killed. Barely a family was exempt from grief.  Many young people grew up in refugee camps,� he said. �We need to ensure that there is long term support for these members of our community, who have come from so much difficulty and who have their own vitality and contribution to bring to Australia�.

The Australian newspaper has reported police fears that in this case, others in the Sudanese community will seek reprisals for last week�s killing.

The incident bears echoes of the death of Liep Gony, a Sudanese teenager who was bashed to death in Melbourne last year. Two men in their twenties will face trial in the Supreme court for his murder.