The Australian Human Rights Commission has chosen the Maitland “Racism: It stops with me” campaign as an example of positive power between the media and the community.

The catalyst for the campaign – spearheaded by The Maitland Mercury and Maitland City Council – was the story of Metford woman Butheina Kuku.

Read what the Mercury has to say here

After suffering years of racial abuse in Maitland, Mrs Kuku, a mother of three, found the courage to speak up and share her story with The Mercury.

This sparked the interest of the commission which then called on Maitland City Council to support its anti-racism campaign.

Maitland councillors stood united in a pledge to rid the city of racism.

“This demonstration of leadership by the council, and its public support, had the effect of bringing the community together,” the councillor behind the campaign Loretta Baker said.

“The Mercury also continued to publish positive articles and editorials with each publication and conversation building public support.”

Amnesty International Maitland branch members also stepped in to support Mrs Kuku and welcomed the commitment to stamp out racism across the city.

“I’ve lived in Maitland all my life and I would love to think that this is a place that treats everyone with equal respect, but I have to say that I see racism everywhere,” branch member Anne Horadam said.

“Nothing would make me prouder of Maitland than for us to be seen as a place that does not tolerate racism.

“Maitland has been marketed as a lot of things, but this would be the greatest.”

In June 2014 council took another stand against racism by opposing changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, including the removal of section 18c which outlaws public offence, insults or intimidation based on race or ethnicity.

Many councillors believed the proposal would give racists “a free pass.”

The Maitland Mercury supported council’s position with an editorial stating that (Cr Baker and Maitland Mayor Peter Blackmore) “should be applauded for saying, loud and clear, that the people of Maitland will not tolerate racism. We abhor insults, humiliation or intimidation based on ethnicity or race.”

“This is an example of what the media and the local community can do,” Cr Baker said.

“It may not be as strategic as some but you can’t underestimate the impact it has had.”

The racism suffered by Butheina Kuku and her three children came to a head in June 2013 when the Sudanese family became the victim of an abhorrent 

daylight attack.

The incident also sparked a landslide of blogs supporting Mrs Kuku and condemning the attackers who graffitied the family’s car with a racial slur while parked in their driveway.

Permanent marker was used on the windows and panels. The graffiti read: “Sudanese dog c ——-. Go back to your country c ———. We don’t want you or your cousins.”

The Kukus have been the victims of repeated vandalism since they moved to the suburb 15 years ago.

The family fled Sudan after seeing family and friends murdered in their homes.

“My cousin was shot in front of his house, I watched a man dying, his insides were coming out while he was still alive,” Mrs Kuku said at the time.

“We were told to go to Australia, they told us it was a safe country, a good country . . . but it’s just the same.”

July 1, 2015: The Australian Human Rights Commission has chosen the Maitland “Racism: It stops with me” campaign as an example of positive power between the media and the community.

June 24, 2014: Maitland City Council continues its stand against racism by opposing changes to the Racial Discrimination Act, including the removal of section 18c which outlaws public offence, insults or ­intimation based on race or ethnicity.

August 14, 2013: Maitland councillors pledge to rid the city of racism after hearing Mrs Kuku’s plight.

August 13, 2013: Members of the Amnesty International Maitland branch call for Maitland City Council to accept an invitation to support the Australian Human Rights Commission’s “Racism. It Stops With Me” campaign.

August 12, 2013: The racial vilification of Mrs Kuku and her family sparks the interest of the Australian Human Rights Commission with the collegiate body ­calling on Maitland City Council to support its anti-racism campaign.

June 18, 2013: The Mercury is inundated with messages of support for Mrs Kuku and her children with Maitland mayor Peter Blackmore describing the cowardly act as an “absolute disgrace and not a reflection of the wider community”. 

June 17, 2013:  The Mercury tells the story of Metford woman Butheina Kuku and her fight against racism in the Maitland community after the Sudanese family become the victims of an abhorrent daylight attack.