Cade Lucas
Members of Footscray’s African community are turning away from their traditional hub on Nicholson Street due to a rise in violence and drug use in the area.
That’s according to the Footscray Collective, a new organisation aimed at reviving Little Africa and making it safer and more welcoming.
Founding member Khaled Abdulwahab said the problems afflicting the Nicholson Street strip had intensified in the years following the pandemic.
“What we’ve noticed after Covid is that Footscray has changed and at the moment there are a lot of people with substance abuse problems, mental health problems and who are homeless,” said Mr Abdulwahab, a local resident and Eritrean immigrant.
“Footscray is becoming the centre for these type of activities generally, but also among the African community.”
Mr Abdulwahab said this was particularly distressing given the significance of Nicholson Street and Footscray to African migrants.
“Footscray, for a lot of the African community in Victoria, is our home. You’ve got Lygon Street for the Italians, Oakleigh for the Greeks and so on and Nicholson Street, Footscray, is like that for us,” he said.
“It’s a place where we can buy our own food, traditional clothes, spices, coffee, haircuts, where we socialise.
“Most of the African businesses in Nicholson Street are owned by women and they don’t feel safe.
“The cause and effect now is the Africans are afraid to go to Footscray. They don’t find it a safe space, especially mothers and children.”
A Victoria Police spokesperson said police would welcome the opportunity to meet with The Collective and were closely engaged with local traders on Nicholson Street.
“Everybody has the right to feel safe and to this end we conduct daily patrols of the area as well as regular operations to target drug trafficking,” the spokesperson said.
The Collective is distributing surveys to local traders and residents in order to develop solutions to problems affecting Little Africa.
Details: footscraycollective.org/
