Bay family victims of hate

I H8 Dig Dig'z
These were the words crudely spray-painted across the Imam family's garage in Papamoa's Tuihana Drive in the dead of night. The attack overnight Monday is the latest in a series against the Bangladeshi family.
The Imams emigrated to New Zealand 10 years ago and moved to Papamoa from Auckland last year. On Monday night, they were asleep in bed, blissfully unaware of the vandalism.
Neither Kamrun Imam nor husband Hasan, 34 and 39, know the meaning of the term "Dig Dig'z" - but are hurt by the expression of hatred nonetheless.
"It's very upsetting. Personally I feel really scared," said Mrs Imam, a dental nurse who is pregnant with her second child.
"I asked the police if anybody comes in the middle of the night and broke the door off, what might happen."
Mr Imam is a dentist and also concerned by the attack.
When Papamoa Constable Mark Farrell knocked on the door just after 7am on Tuesday to alert the family to the damage, the couple was dismayed - but not shocked.
It was not the first time the Imams had been visited.
Mrs Imam recounted two separate incidents of someone ringing the doorbell late at night, and running off. Once, a negative slang message was written in the condensation on her car windscreen.
About seven months ago, her prized $150 flower pot was snatched from the front of the house, and about four months ago five-year-old son Zarif's scooter was stolen from the yard. But perhaps the most disturbing, was the verbal abuse thrown at Zarif in the street one day. Mrs Imam did not know the wording, but a neighbour reported hearing swear words with a racial undertone.
The young Bangladeshi mother was loathed to assume the attacks were associated with race, as Kiwis were generally welcoming and friendly.
"I never feel this way because New Zealand people are really gentle actually," she told the Bay of Plenty Times.
Meanwhile, police are disgusted by the incidents and report five other acts of vandalism in the Tuihana Drive area that night.
Mr Farrell said: "It was sprayed in really huge letters and I find it really offensive. While there is a fair bit of tagging in general, in that area it's certainly not a common one."
In each of the five incidents, the same silver spray paint was used.
Further down Tuihana Drive, a Mercedes Benz had "BMW" sprayed across the bonnet. The Mercedes emblem was ripped out and further damage caused.
At another property on the street, a wall was sprayed with "COAL" and a rotary car symbol. This "COAL" tag was repeated on a wall at another house.
In the same area, a girl's name was sprayed on a wall alongside foul language.
Papamoa painter Gary Davis spotted the Imams' garage door while driving past on Tuesday morning. He was so disgusted by the attack on the well-kept house, he returned two hours later with paint to cover it up.
"I know tagging is rife, but this is particularly nasty. To actually cross the line and go on to someone's property - that's invasion."
Anybody who saw suspicious activity on Monday night, or has information about the vandalism, is asked to contact the Papamoa police on 572 2440 or call 0800 SPEAK-UP.