A Sudanese activist believes trauma that African gangs may have suffered is not an excuse for their violent actions.
Nelly Yoa, 28, hit back at an ABC interviewer when she asked him if suffering in the war torn country was a reason for their actions.
‘That shouldn’t be used as an excuse,’ Mr Yoa, who fled war-torn South Sudan in 2003, said on Tuesday.
‘Whatever you’ve gone through in your own country … leave it there.’
A Sudanese activist believes trauma that African gangs may have suffered is not an excuse for their violent actions
Nelly Yoa, 28, (pictured) hit back at an ABC interviewer saying there’s ‘no excuse’ for violence
The Sudanese athlete and youth worker told the ABC the crimes the African gangs are committing across Melbourne is ‘appalling’
The Sudanese athlete and youth worker told the ABC the crimes the African gangs are committing across Melbourne is ‘appalling’.
‘A lot of them do use the excuse that they’ve come from a war torn country … doesn’t matter where you’ve come from,’ Mr Yoa said.
‘The fact is, you’re in this country, you need to abide by this country’s law.’
The footballer said the gangs, who have been tormenting Melbourne for years, are often bored, unemployed and aren’t enrolled at school.
The city has recently been hit with the so-called ‘Menace to Society’ gang along with the Apex gang.
‘A lot of them do use the excuse that they’ve come from a war torn country … doesn’t matter where you’ve come from,’ Mr Yoa said
African gangs, including the Apex gang, have been tormenting Melbourne for years
Properties have been trashed and severely damaged after the African gangs trashed them
More than 100 young South Sudanese people threw rocks at police forcing them to retreat
Last month, MTS trashed an Airbnb property in Werribee, west of Melbourne, during an out-of-control party.
More than 100 young South Sudanese people threw rocks at police while about 40 of the party-goers smashed car windscreens around the neighbourhood.
Photos taken from inside the house show walls kicked and punched in, mattresses thrown on top of furniture and pepper spray splattered across bedroom curtains.
On Boxing Day, a policeman was kicked in the face by gang members as he crouched down trying to arrest a 16-year-old boy for shoplifting.
Mr Yoa (pictured) said the gangs are often bored, unemployed and aren’t enrolled at school
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has blamed the Victorian premier Daniel Andrews for the African gangs running rampant across the city
Mr Yoa, who currently plays for Collingwood in the Victorian Football League, has been on the receiving end of gang violence himself.
In 2011, the then 21-year-old was hacked with a machete as a brawl broke out at a Sudanese beauty pageant.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has blamed the Victorian premier Daniel Andrews for the African gangs running rampant across the city.
‘We are very concerned at the growing gang violence and lawlessness in Victoria, in particular in Melbourne,’ he told reporters at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Monday.