St. Cloud graffiti may be investigated as hate crime

KARE
Saturday, July 10, 2010

In bright red graffiti the words "Go Home" had been painted on the windows of Hormud Meat & Grocery. 

"I don't know why," Jabril said Friday morning.

While Jabril was born and raised in Nairobi, he immigrated to the U.S. in 2001 and says has been a proud citizen of this country and St. Cloud ever since.

"Go home; this is my home," Jabril said.  Thankfully, Jabril says he can laugh it off but it is most certainly not funny.  Especially, since it happend in St. Cloud. A city that has over the years, been the stage for similar events.

"That it keeps happening is putting people on edge," Council on American-Islamic relations president Lori Saroya said Friday.

In 2002 a Somali store owner in St. Cloud got a similar message.  The back wall of his store had a graffiti tag that read "Go Home you (expletive)."

In that same year another Somali store owner got hit, more racist graffiti.  Fast forward to last winter, when anti Muslim cartoons were posted near the St. Cloud mosque

And, just this past spring, the U.S. Department of Education said it would investigate claims of racial tensions in the city's high schools.

"With St. Cloud, we see this constant series of hate crimes and something needs to happen to resolve it," Saroya said.

The St. Cloud police department says it has no leads on this most recent incident at the Hormud market and grocery.

Calls to the St. Cloud mayor were not returned.