In my view, all of these men remain a continuing threat to the Sydney community and particularly to young women. One of Australia's most redneck outback parliamentarians, Bob Katter, is the descendant of Lebanese immigrants. [4] Some of the more notorious Arab mafia families include the infamous el-koura Younes Clan, the Shams Clan the Al Zein Clan[5] and the Miri Clan from Bremen. The girls had no idea where they were and were obviously terrified. The girl was just sixteen years old. There were a series of instances of forced oral intercourse by each of the accused men and H, as well as Y and the men in the red van. She was reading a book of English literature, when a group of men led by Mohammed Skaf surrounded her and commenced to assault her indecently. A lot of the racism against Lebanese people in Australia however dates to before 9/11. meadowbrook country club estates; michael mullen obituary; pamela gluckin obituary new york; antonio tonyboy floirendo jr biography Worldwide pandemic lockdowns have only made it easier for Lebanese expats to coordinate. This was a criminal conspiracy involving two groups of men, that was carefully coordinated by mobile phones. At no point, however, did he identify the men in the red van. Coronavirus Lebanese families across generations in both rural and urban areas, including changes over time in occupations, education, religion, community activities and family values. Without Bilal Skaf leading them, perhaps they will come to see that there is a way forward. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. My views on sentence were not those of the judges of the Court of Criminal Appeal, but their sentences prevail. #23. Bilal Skaf, however, elected to give evidence. The 1995 NSW Legislative Council standing committee on social issues reported that while Lebanese-Australian youth comprise 0.9% of . However, although these cases attracted some media attention while the trials were proceeding, they passed largely with little comment.'. They wanted wide publicity. It is also possible that there were other victims who have never come forward. Im Lebanese Australian and Im proud of both parts of my identity. They were an attack on society, but why? What they were asked to decide was whether these three men, or any one of them, had committed the criminal offences with which they had been charged and they could only decide the accused had committed those offences, or any of them, if they were unanimously satisfied of that beyond reasonable doubt. There is no concept in our law that there is a category of person called loose women who are deemed somehow to consent and certainly there is no law that merely because a young woman might give an indication that she was friendly with someone and didn't protest too much when they were laying hands on her that she therefore was consenting to anything. More discrimination was reported by Middle-Eastern males compared with females on dealings with the police, disrespect, name-calling, and distrust. The blast flattened the neighbourhoods closest to the port, such as Gemmayze and Mar Mikhael tourist hotspots and the heart of Beiruts famous nightlife, now as haunting as Stalingrad. Once Lebanese kids gets involved in gangs, theyre killed or in prison before they get a chance to grow up., There is no data available on the prevalence of criminality in Sydneys Lebanese community because people who are arrested are not legally required to give information on their ethnicity or heritage. If the Crown proved to the satisfaction of the jury and beyond reasonable doubt that it was done without consent, then the Crown case on that charge was established. 'There were other sexual assault cases I heard, some of children, some of adult women,' Finnane writes. The main center of Arab organized crime is Sydney, with a significant community of 120,000, followed by Melbourne. Little is known regarding the health and lifestyle behaviours of Australians of Lebanese ethnicity. Skaf and the other two men made their acquaintance by speaking to them politely in the shopping centre. (2001) The Lebanese . id send all the ones in Australia back to lebanon and then drop a bomb. The Skaf gang used cunning methods to lure young women during a terrifying rampage in southwestern Sydney which changed the city forever. World Source: AAP. Skaf clearly was the leader. Conviction of Skaf was inevitable. He also clicked his fingers towards my court officers, ordering them to get him water. Each of Ghanem and Hajeid's counsel put forward arguments that they had not been properly identified and were not present. Melbourne experiences a moderate crime rate and is generally considered a safe city for living and travelling. Russia The gang's ringleader, Skaf, denied his role in the crimes despite overwhelming evidence of his guilt and showed no remorse even after he was sentenced to 55 years in prison. 'Skaf and the members of this gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had done.'. Deputy Commissioner for Investigations and Counter Terrorism Dave Hudson.Daniel Munoz All three men put pressure on her to agree to have sex with them but she refused. Some people believe that Melbourne gangs are behind the new wave of crimes, but the numbers tell us that most unique offenders are Australia-born youths between the ages of 15 to 25. J., Noble, G. Poynting, S. and Tabar, P. (2000) Kebabs, Kids, Cops and Crime. live broadcast Bilal Skaf was the eldest and was about 21 years of age. Skaf is now in Goulburn's Supermax prison serving a 31-year sentence with a minimum of 28 years. (MORE:The Ones That Didnt Make It: Australia-Bound Refugees Languish in Indonesia), In the last few decades unfortunately we have not had peace in Lebanon, Pierre Semaan, of the Australian Lebanese Christian Foundation, tells TIME. 'I have thought of this over the years,' Finane writes. Our initial goal was 10,000. Bikie gangs such as the Nomads recruit heavily from among Lebanese Muslims, as have jihadist recruiters. That much was confirmed by Lieutenant Colonel Rony Ghanem of Lebanons Internal Security Force. My understanding was that the relevant agencies would report back to Australia, either through our UN office in Geneva or New York, how they spent that money, and the government would see that as being accountable to the Australian taxpayer, he says. Authorities have stopped Australians and Australian-Lebanese dual nationals, including mothers with children, from leaving Lebanon. In Germany these clans mostly settled in Berlin, Bremen and Essen where they became involved in narcotics trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion, prostitution, illegal gambling, car theft, money laundering and armed robbery. Skaf was talking on a mobile phone to other people in Arabic. Why did the gang first of all go to a shopping centre at Chatswood? I cannot recall any other evidence being presented by him or on his behalf. The victim was then taken by car to a car park near the Bankstown Trotting Club where she was vaginally raped once and orally raped twice. None generated anything like the public attention these trials drew. This also caused these girls great concern. The existence of criminal activity among these communities is not the issue. As the French president Emmanuel Macron toured the devastated scenes in Beirut on Thursday, a Lebanese woman could be heard urging the president to not give money to the corrupt government. Macron replied, I guarantee you, this aid will not go to corrupt hands.. He put to me in submissions that the offences had taken place over a twenty-day period and I should impose a sentence that ensured his client spent no more than twenty years in jail. I had good reasons for doing this. Trad thinks the problem can be nipped in the bud by changing the way schools deal with Lebanese delinquents. Those who pleaded guilty, were given lesser sentences than those who pleaded not guilty, because the law provided for this. I thought she was a particularly brave young woman who refused to give in to any of these suggestions. What is still difficult for me to understand is why this serious criminal conspiracy involving so many young men was launched. As well as these men who went to trial, there were four other men who subsequently pleaded guilty to participating in this spate of sexual assaults. Shimbiris VIP In certain parts of the region, life is structured around extended clan families, a number of whom are active in criminal activities such as narcotics trafficking, kidnapping for ransom and car theft. Lebanese organized crime syndicates generally are active globally, largely due to the mass Arab population. Lebanese mafia is a Colloquial term for organized crime groups which origin from Lebanon and Levant. And these guys are well armed. Bourse From the outset, the City of Bankstown in south-western Sydneys sprawling migrant belt is a picture of multiculturalism. The damage is extensive, like all the other apartments in the area. My apartment, like others close to the blast, is . Finnane has compared the Skaf gang's depravity to outrages committed by invading armies in times of war. It seems that the police learned from him that the woman had stabbed his friend as well. Home News Video- A crime shocked the Lebanese in Australia.. New facts about the murder of Abboud Yazbek. In the third trial, the accused were Bilal Skaf, Mohammed Skaf, Mohammed Ghanem and Mahmoud Chami. USA There was no evidence that any offences were committed because of religious or cultural or racial reasons and, in fact, there had been no mention of religion at any time in the trial. Significant numbers of their families served in Australian forces during World War I. Each of them also denied agreeing at any time, in the van or in the park, to oral sex with these men and the men in the red van. By Counsel for each of the other accused, as well as the Crown, then attacked Bilal Skaf in cross-examination, suggesting he was a liar. . The law provides that a discount of up to 25 per cent is appropriate to be given if the plea of guilty is given at an early time. wouldnt think twice tbh. 34. Once you got into the zone where you are powerful and people are scared of you, you dont want to stop. Why did those who joined him, become involved? This was evidence of incriminating phone calls between him and Chami. The jury considered this very carefully and were out considering their verdicts for a number of days but, when they came back, they convicted the three accused on all charges. Life cannot. Skaf was a small man, rather thin, with black hair and a sharp face. Those accompanying Bilal Skaf on 12 August, perhaps ten, perhaps eleven men, have not been brought to trial and many of those involved in the horrific spate of sexual assaults on 30 August 2000 have not been brought to trial. I remanded all of them in custody. The largest wave of migration from Lebanon occurred between 1976 and 1981 during the Lebanese Civil War. There were others who have never been brought to trial. They were followed by other groups of criminals of Lebanese descent, many of whom, in contrast to their predecessors, preferred to remain in the part of Sydney where Keep Reading Tri Minh Tran Impact Lebanon has raised over 5m (A$9m) since it launched its disaster-relief fundraiser immediately after the blast. This was also the position for the assaults and the robberies committed on the two victims. Bilal Skaf and up to eleven other men who were never identified, then turned up in a van sometime later. entertainment One of the dead was Sarkis Abboud, 61 years old, and the second was his friend, Tony Yazbek, two years younger. Australia In Sydney, Disaffected Lebanese Kids Caught in Spiraling Gang Violence Facing racism at school and pressure at home, children from Middle Eastern families in Australia are dragged. Compared to the Arab population in Australia, a much larger number of Arabs are in Germany and have traditionally settled in large numbers in Lebanese regions such as Tripoli, the Beqaa Valley and Beirut where they have integral part of the country's Sunni community. The Triple Frontier, a tri-border area along the junction of Paraguay, Argentina, and Brazil, is often used by Lebanese groups connected to political parties but also by Arab Mafia groups as a heaven for smuggling and money laundering. What made this trial startlingly different from most rape trials of which I was aware were four matters: 1. Police Recorded Incidents and Hate Crime: Australia 105 Police Recorded Incidents and Hate Crime Overseas 106 Immigrants as victims of crime 109 Bias in the Criminal Justice System 112 . The evidence of the two girls was given in closed court hearings but I permitted the press to have access to the transcripts of the evidence on the basis that the names of the two girls were not revealed and no photographs were taken of them. If you live in Melbourne, you are at moderate risk of theft and breaking. Still, the enormity of the tragedy requires a monumental effort to rebuild the shattered city. 5 Brian Lipscomb With all of us getting used to working on Zoom and Slack, its become easier to work with people from different cities.. Arab Book A 44-year-old woman killed two Lebanese residing in Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria in the southeast of Australia. Hamzy, 44, was gunned down in the . The crime shocked the small town of Ashford and devastated the Australian South Sea Islander community of Elizabeth. Those involved in these crimes committed them between 10 August and 30 August 2000 on three separate occasions. Australia's law defines rape as "unlawful sexual act with another person by force; without their consent." He remained the dominant figure and was the person who directed everything that later happened on that night in the park at Greenacre. That is not the law. and Lebanon were processed at a higher rate than the Australian-born in each of the five years. Unidentified thieves broke into the headquarters of Lebanon's state news agency and stole a server containing its photo archive, officials say. Im still in a state of shock. This reflected his complete contempt for the court process and his rejection of any notion of contrition or remorse. Mr Inbetween (2018-2021) TV-MA | 30 min | Crime, Drama 8.6 Rate this If a person who is guilty, pleads guilty, anxiety and stress to the victims is removed and it is reasonable to give lesser sentences. Many months later he pleaded guilty to a series of sexual offences that included the events of this night. Criminal organizations however often transcend religious and cultural barriers, with members of the Sunni communities all involved in the same criminal organizations.[3]. The second trial had two accused only, Bilal Skaf and Mohammed Skaf, his younger brother. Facing racism at school and pressure at home, children from Middle Eastern families in Australia are dragged into world of organized crime and ethnic bloodletting, Lebanese youths are searched by Australian police in Sydney. , updated Skaf and the members of this gang clearly wanted public recognition for what they had done. But material losses, even huge painful ones, are things that one day can be replaced. It is across the street from the Lebanese central bank in Beirut, the Associated Press reported. For example, I had to explain that sexual intercourse was not, as many people might think, only penetration of the vagina of a woman by the penis of a man, but extended to penetration of any part of the body of a person by any part of the body of another. And those six included domestic violence, random breath testing, theft, robbery, assaults and motor vehicle theft - no drugs, organised crime, firearms, shootings, attempted murders or homicides. Instead of taking her to the Harbour Bridge, Mohammed Skaf drove her to a park in Greenacre. His attitude was the same throughout the trial. Taxpayers can be assured their money wont end up in the pockets of corrupt officials, according to Lex Bartlem, who served as Australian ambassador to Beirut between 2010 and 2014. Diaspora aid to Lebanon is meticulously processed to avoid funds falling into the hands of government officials and intermediaries accused of corruption, with support being sent directly to vetted NGOs, such as the Lebanese Red Cross. The theft occurred in a tightly secured area, further reflecting the cash-strapped country's continued decay. Latest news We started with 10-12 members, now we have 160 members and so many volunteering requests, Abbas says, adding that the membership has spread to diaspora communities in numerous countries, including Australia. He made and received most of the Arabic language phone calls, which were used to tell the men in the red van who he had with him and where they were going. That group, which became known as the 'Skaf gang' after their leader, Bilal Skaf, went on a 20-day rampage in which four young women were violated in three pack rapes shortly before the 2000 Olympics. Called next to him in the front seat, but she indicated that there was no evidence of his involvement in the crime, but only wanted him as a witness to it. Earlier we met Redfern-based Frank Hakim, the first major Lebanese criminal in Sydney, and younger men such as Louis Bayeh and Danny Karam. Result: gun crime in western Sydney and northern Melbourne often involves Lebanese Australians, as we saw with the murder last month of Hamad Assaad, himself a suspected hitman. Frank Hakim, who emigrated to Australia at the age of 20 or so, was the first prominent Lebanese criminal. In Australia crimes are legally classified as either indictable or non-indictable. These are questions that will probably never be answered. This trial concluded on 11 July 2002 and concerned events of 12 August 2000, only two nights after the attacks on the two girls from Chatswood. 'One thing was obvious to me - Bilal Skaf wanted the victims to talk about what happened, to pass on their terror. The three of them lived with their parents in houses in the suburbs surrounding Bankstown. The main difference is that Greeks & Italians want to live in Australia under Australian laws and love our way of life, they mix with Australian's, they want their kids to and they great people. By Each girl was questioned by the Crown prosecutor first and then cross-examined by each of the counsel for the accused. Frequently, whilst sitting in the dock, he clicked his fingers towards his counsel, summoning him over. Finally, the rural areas of Sydney are home to small-time gangs who act as enforcers for the bigger gangs in the city. The complainants clearly identified Skaf, whose counsel suggested to each complainant that she had consented to having sexual intercourse with him. SYDNEY (Reuters) - The children of refugees who fled Lebanon's civil war for peaceful Australia in the 1970s form a majority of Australian militants fighting in the Middle East, according to. His counsel acknowledged the force of what I had said but again said that he would be presenting no evidence. Australian society and government were mostly doing this until Bowen's speech. But when I was older and more Lebanese kids moved to my area, we formed a gang so we could protect each other and I started bullying back. The devastation has profoundly touched Australias 250,000-strong Lebanese community, with the immediate sense of despair now transitioning to a desperate urge to assist. Few crimes in recent Australian history have stirred more community anger and fear than a series of pack rapes committed by more than a dozen young Lebanese men in Sydney's west 18 years ago. It was non-stop, he says. In no sense were the members of this gang representing other Lebanese people. The first found that Middle-Eastern Australians reported more discrimination compared with non-Middle-Eastern Australians. they deserve nothing less and we'd be making the world a better place. It is a crime that assaults human dignity. In my time there, Australia gave millions [to aid efforts in Lebanon], he says, explaining that Australian funds are transferred directly through the head offices of UN agencies or humanitarian organisations. 11:06 EST 27 May 2018 In 1996, 72 per cent of Lebanese in Australia lived in Sydney. The victim managed to break free and run across the park to a telephone box. There are certainly criminal groups you could describe as Middle Eastern in origin but the lines are now blurring, he tells TIME. Fortunately she wasnt home at the time. Subsequent migration was steady until an influx occurred surrounding the Arab . years have drawn attention to Lebanese crime and to police searches for suspects 'of Middle Eastern appearance'.10 Lebanese Muslim clerics such as Sheik Taj el-Din al Al-Hilali, known as the mufti or spiritual leader of Australia's Muslims and imam of the Sunni Mosque in Lakemba,11 or Sheikh Abdul Salam Zoud, are often in the news in . [7], Last edited on 24 February 2023, at 19:36, Learn how and when to remove these template messages, Learn how and when to remove this template message, "Rising crime in northern Bekaa Valley hurting Hezbollah", "THE WORLD'S LARGEST DRUG FIELD -- (BY DENNIS EISENBERG) (Extension of Remarks - July 27, 1990)", "Schattenseiten der Einwanderergesellschaft - Brutale Familienbande", "Miri-Clan: Eine Familie, tief verstrickt ins Verbrechen - DIE WELT", "Terrorist and Organized Crime Groups in the Tri-Border Area of South America", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lebanese_mafia&oldid=1141378811, This page was last edited on 24 February 2023, at 19:36. Ghanem's convictions for his participation in the attacks that were the subject of the first trial, however, were confirmed. I said to myself, I cant see this anymore, theres nothing I can do here, Im just going to go to the hospital to give blood and see how I can help.. For thousands of Lebanese Australians residing in Lebanon, the opportunity to return to Australia at any point provides a psychological safety net. I was lucky; I got a second chance. Crimes under Lebanese laws may not be considered offences in Australia. National News Agency staff in Beirut found a broken . The children of refugees who fled Lebanon's civil war for peaceful Australia in the 1970s form a. majority of Australian militants fighting in the Middle East, according to about a dozen counter-terrorism officials, security experts and Muslim community members. What we found was that in a matter of weeks they were excelling the other kids in school. Lebanese move to west Africa, escaping the crisis at home A new wave of migrants has come looking for jobs Jun 10th 2021 W HEN BANKS started to fail and protesters began filling the streets in. Lebanon was still politically dysfunctional and rivalries had left it without a president for most of 2016. Corona He and the others who accompanied him then dragged the unfortunate girl to the middle of the park where they pulled of her clothes and proceeded to run their hands over her body. The aim of this study is to compare . The passion is there and so is the willingness to help, Rebecca Maakasa, a 23-year-old Melburnian, says. Lebanese Australians (Arabic: , French: australiens libanaise) refers to citizens or permanent residents of Australia of Lebanese ancestry. Finnane had been a judge of the New South District Court for a little more than a year when appointed to hear the Skaf gang trials, the first of which commenced on December 13, 2001. 26 May . His demeanour in the court room said that. The identities of the men in the red van on 10 August have never been established. 'All of them were examples of depravity and cruelty. UAE The Lebanese-born population of Australia stood at 70,325 persons in the 1996 census. 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