Bristol traffic warden faces regular racism on street
BEING a traffic warden has never been a bed of roses.
Insults and dirty looks can be the daily diet in a busy city like Bristol, where parking is at a premium.
But for Clifford Windith the abuse has always had even nastier undertones.
The Jamaican has put up with racist name-calling, dog attacks and even been spat at by angry motorists since he joined the council's enforcement team.
But the hardy family man refuses to be beaten by the bullies and is urging anyone who is the victim of racism: "Always report it to police."
"I don't think anyone should have to put up with this when they're doing their job," he said. "Whether they're black, white, pink or yellow."
Recently, the latest driver to abuse Mr Windith was convicted, after trial, at Bristol Magistrates' Court.
Jason Ziyad was fined £125 plus costs for using "threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour" when his car was ticketed in a bus lane on the Wells Road.
Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Mr Windith came to the UK in 1991 as a semi-professional cricketer.
The batsman and wicket keeper who played for Bristol West Indians has lived in the city for a decade.
He became a traffic warden in August 2009, mainly to support his son and daughter.
In only his second week, when patrolling Unity Street near Old Market, someone called him the "N" word.
Not even a week later he was on Old Market Street when he was bitten on the leg by a dog set on him by a disgruntled driver.
The culprit got away while Mr Windith went to hospital for a tetanus jab. "That really shook me up," he said.
Racial slurs like "blackie" were a weekly occurrence in those days, leaving him on the brink of quitting.
On one shift in Clifton he was told "go back to your own country" as he tried to do his job.
The 39-year-old, of Whitehall Road, said: "To be honest, back then I was ready to pack it in. But thanks to SARI (Support Against Racist Incidents) and the help I've had from my supervisor and team at the city council, I've got through it.
"All traffic wardens get people coming up in our faces, giving us mental and physical abuse.
"I still get the racism, but I don't let it affect me as much and it doesn't happen as often.
"The important thing is to report every incident to the police, no matter how small."
Despite the slurs, Mr Windith still loves being a traffic warden.
"I'm always outside and apart from the one or two people who get angry and give me abuse, I do meet a lot of genuine, nice people.
"I'm from a tropical country so I couldn't be stuck in an office all day – even if it is quite cold in Bristol.
"It is difficult times at the moment and it's not easy to get a job. I need to support my family like anyone else.
"It's not a case of us going out in the morning and ticketing as many cars as we can.
"We try to keep the traffic flowing and stop people parking all day where they shouldn't, so that when people visit the city to enjoy themselves and spend their money they have somewhere to park.
"We're not out there trying to be a pain in people's necks, giving out tickets left, right and centre."
Mr Windith wanted to thank his colleagues, shift manager Paul Watt, his case worker at SARI and the police for their support.
During the recent court case, witness PC Stephen Olsen came up to Bristol from Minehead, despite his pregnant wife being three days overdue.
"If I had my cap on, I would have taken it off to that officer," added Mr Windith.
The council and police are continuing to take a firm stance on hate crimes against their staff.
Parking services manager David Bunting said: "Clifford is a professional and hard-working officer who is carrying out duties on behalf of the council.
"Abuse is unacceptable, and racial abuse cannot be tolerated in any circumstances.
"Civil Enforcement Officers (traffic wardens) perform an essential role in keeping the traffic flowing throughout the city by enforcing the parking regulations. It's pretty clear to most people that if Civil Enforcement Officers didn't take any action, traffic congestion in the city would be far worse. They also ensure that the regulations are applied to ensure fair access for everyone to the parking spaces available."
Sergeant Adam Bunting, of the Bristol Hate Crime Unit, said: "This case goes to show that we will seek to prosecute anyone involved in acts of racial abuse. I hope it will also encourage more victims to come forward to report this type of crime. We will not tolerate this sort of behaviour in Avon and Somerset."
Batook Pandya, the director of SARI, said: "We want to send out the message that Bristol is a multi-racial, multi-cultural city. It takes all of us to make Bristol a better place and stand up to the injustices that are happening."
Anyone who has been the victim of racism can call police on 101 or SARI on 0117 942 0060, or visit its website, www.sariweb.org.uk.
17 Comments
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by Irritable9
Thursday, November 10 2011, 1:37PM
“WhiteGeNOcide - and what do you think about people who move from our country to other countries? The reason immigration started was because we asked them to move here or we had created the conditions (by war) that made it impossible to live in their country.
You are simplifying the whole debate by saying they are as racist as we are. If we took people at face value rather than lumping them into a category we might all start to get on better. That's if they want to of course!”
by Truth24
Thursday, November 10 2011, 10:38AM
“North Somerset is currently considering taking over parking enforcement from Avon & Somerset Police. Hope this report does not deter them.”
by torysarecool
Thursday, November 10 2011, 10:24AM
“Clifford's job primarily revolves around systematically upsetting people for generally trivial reasons so again it's only expected that he'll occasionally receive a torrent of abuse. If I were to blurt out abuse to someone on the spur of the moment I'd look at them and think of something, anything to victimise them. Be it their weight, sex, age or indeed colour.
So sorry Clifford but if you're going to do a job that potentially puts you on the end of abuse, I think that whilst it's unpleasant and undesired, you should realistically expect to receive this kind of childish spew. After all, what's so different, repulsive and shocking about someone abusing you for your colour instead of your age, sex or weight? It's all just childish, ill-thought slander.
Racism gets far too much press. Especially (and ironically) in the right-wing press.”
by Alpin
Thursday, November 10 2011, 9:16AM
“@davidharris is not worth debating.
@irritable9 i agree racism is conditional. It stems from when Britannia ruled the waves and it was far easier to invade and subjugate overseas people to the english jackboot if we assumed other races were inferior to us. Unfortunately english nationalism has yet to reappraise its position in the world and swallow a bit of humility.”
by Irritable9
Thursday, November 10 2011, 8:01AM
“Racist abuse is conditioning. My children were brought up to see the person not the skin colour, it's as simple as that!”
by NotTheCouncil
Wednesday, November 09 2011, 11:38PM
“Maybe we shouldn't set them targets?”
by bristolgeoff
Wednesday, November 09 2011, 11:36PM
“in some cases the power goes to their head,but not all of them.they think themselves as police with a book of tickets instead of a gun”
by Diasporachild
Wednesday, November 09 2011, 9:52PM
“Let's look at the facts revealed in the report for a minute before we write off the blatant racist abuse that has taken place over a 2 year period with much of it happening in the first few months of Clifford's employment as a traffic warden. He was called racist names, set upon by a dog, spat on and (if this is not racist I don't know what is), told to go back to his own country in area that is supposed to have a high class reputation, you know the place where many aspire to live!
It's a real shame that only a few weeks ago, Mr Paul Stephenson OBE (and freeman of the city), launched his book 'memoirs of a black Englishman', which features the story of the Bristol Bus Boycott in the 60's and the overt racism that was prevalent in those days and still today 40+ years on black people still have to face that kind of abuse 'again', when they are just trying to make honest living and do right by their families. I too take my hat off to Clifford because I have also experienced that same treatment also whilst trying to do my job.
Black and minority ethnic people have contributed so much to this country including losing their lives so that this country and others around the globe could live the to the standard of living that is so often taken for granted, isn't it about time we all looked at grassroots level for a way of eliminating racism once and for all? We are so good at discovering what lies at the bottom of the ocean or pioneering new technologies but when it comes to basic human(e) interactions we fail miserably. The reason racism still exists today is because we simply let it, we encourage it by letting the boundaries of basic respect slip away from our everyday socialisation.
I suggest we take a leaf out Mr Paul Stephenson's book and try to make this city and the rest of this country a better place for everyone by making a contribution in your own way to eradicating that age old cancerous form of discrimination called racism.”
by Dannyddd
Wednesday, November 09 2011, 9:41PM
“This guy was rude as hell to me for no reason!”
by Alpin
Wednesday, November 09 2011, 5:31PM
“BUT @ dungtbob.. you know angry people turn into idiots.. so they are bound to use some choice nasty words. but i still suggest , this is not about race,, its angry idiots saying something nasty because they want to hurt another persons feelings. and we have all experienced this type of reaction.... So they are not being inherantly deliberatley racist, they are just being abusive...”