Local DJ left depressed after "Neanderthal racist" hurls abuse

Tuesday 16 January 2018

A 59-year-old local DJ, who now works as an assistant air-conditioning engineer, says he has been left depressed after he was racially abused by a worker on a construction site.

Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident, which occurred as Biko Bangs tried to enter a construction site on Friday at 07:45. A worker on site blocked his access and when he questioned why, Mr Bangs alleges that he was hit with "a barrage of unwarranted, nasty stuff."

The worker apparently told Mr Bangs "to go back to his country" - the irony, Mr Bangs said, is that he was born in Liverpool and has lived in Jersey for 35 years.

Mr Bangs, who is known by the local club-loving crowd as a "local DJ legend", said that the incident was completely uncalled for and it has left him depressed. He told Express: "Nothing happened to set off such a serious and hideous abuse. I was simply going in to a building site and was told I couldn't go in. When I asked why, this guy spewed out all this bile at me.

"I was hit by a barrage of nasty stuff that was completely unwarranted. This is not acceptable at any time, but especially not in the work place when you are just trying to earn your corn to get through the day. It just depresses me. I'm not a problematic person, I'm very happy, very nice, I don't give problems to anyone, if I can help it! I try to go to work every day and be my happy self but it's always going to be upended by a Neanderthal like this."

Pictured: Biko Bangs is a well-known DJ in the local scene who still travels to the UK to get behind the tables.

The incident took place in front of six other people and was reported to the Police - they confirmed to Express that they are currently investigating.

Mr Bangs hopes that the authorities "will follow it through and deliver a message." Ideally, he would like to see the individual heavily reprimanded. "He shouldn't... think he has the right to spew out all that bile to anyone, that is not correct."

Sadly, Mr Bangs says this is not the first time he has been the victim of racial abuse. While working in the management team at Mimosa, he says that he was even physically threatened by nightclub goers. His words echoed those of Joe da Costa, a nightclub bouncer, who was also the victim of a racial assault at the door of Tanguy's. "The abuse that front-of-house staff receive is horrendous. That's why we had to bring in body-cameras. It was racist comments, threats of violence, it's never ending. And it's only just the tip of the iceberg."

While he made complaints to the Police after each incident, Mr Bangs says they were simply brushed off and that no real punishment ensued. "I didn't see them get anywhere. They were not taken seriously enough and were swept under the carpet. Since 1981, I have seen more people of colour in Jersey but the way they are treated has not changed. People pay more attention to you when you speak out but the end result hasn't changed.

"It's almost as if racism was institutionalised. If anyone assaulted someone on the grounds of them being gay or in transition, they would be punished. I wish the same rules applied to me and any other black person. We need support and it feels like other communities get a lot more. I have seen nothing in the past 35 years that has made me feel it's otherwise."

Pictured: The police have confirmed they are investigating the incident, which was witnessed by six other people.

The DJ turned air-con engineer says he is speaking "for his kids more than anything." While his son is "old enough to handle himself", Mr Bangs also has an eight-year-old daughter, who he says will one day "have to go in the world and deal with bigots and racists." He also says his older daughter and his now ex-wife were spat upon and slapped in the middle of King Street in the 80's. While Mr Bangs was arrested, the man who assaulted his family was left free.

Mr Bangs also wants to speak out for anyone "who is of colour or different from the norm." "We shouldn't be hearing stuff like I heard on Friday in the 21st Century. This is stuff from 300 or 400 years ago. The world isn't flat!"

One of Mr Bangs' biggest supporters was his employer, Rob Panelli, Managing Director at Aston Engineering. As soon as he heard about the incident, Mr Panelli rushed on-site and contacted the main contractor to have the individual removed. He explained: "We take this kind of incident very seriously. We operate a zero-tolerance policy to racism and discrimination in the workplace.

"This outburst was outrageous considering that Mr Bangs was simply walking into a working site. It was an hideous abuse and it is totally unacceptable which is why we dealt with it immediately. This kind of incident sometimes goes unreported when it happens at night time but this happened during working hours in front of colleagues and traders."

Pictured: Mr Bangs hopes that the man who threw hideous racist comments at him will be punished accordingly by the authorities.

Mr Panelli, like Mr Bangs, hopes that a strong message will be sent to the individual and anyone else with similar views. "As employers, we have a responsibility to stamp this kind of behaviour out within the industry. There is always a lot of banter within workers of different origins but it's always very good-humoured and everyone knows where the line is. This was a hideous verbal attack from a racist who has no place in this industry, or any industry, if he feels so strongly about other 'races' so to speak. 

"There should be a warning to people who may think the same way that if they speak openly about their views they will feel the full weight of the law."

 The worker's company has confirmed they have launched an internal investigation in light of the allegations and suspended the individual from his duties while it's ongoing. They said they are "a responsible employer who takes its civic and statutory duties and the actions of its staff very seriously" and hope to complete the investigation in near course.