Graffiti busters target racism

By Naoibh O'Connor-Staff writer

As a six-foot-two-inch, white male with a shaved head, Joseph Maskell occasionally attracts "Heil Hitler" salutes from racist skinheads hanging out near Terminal Avenue close to his Chinatown office.

"They think I'm one of them," says the 36-year-old.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Not only is Maskell Jewish, but his graffiti removal company, Point Grey Industries, just made a deal with the Canadian Anti-Racism Education and Research Society to clean racist, anti-Semitic and homophobic tags off Vancouver buildings for free.

His staff also plan to compile a database of the offensive graffiti, collecting digital photographs to add to the research society's files.

The service is available free to residents, business owners and the city as a public service.

"I think there's a lot of [racist graffiti] out there but most people don't recognize it," Maskell said, explaining not all the markings are as obvious as swastikas or SS lightening bolts.

Some are more subtle-"88" signifies "Heil Hitler" (H is the eighth letter of the alphabet, hence HH or 88), while "GHF" stands for "God hates fags."

Crossed hammers and cog is the symbol for the Hammerskin Nation, a racist skinhead organization, and C18 or Combat 18 refers to Adolph Hitler's initials-A equals 1, H equals 8. Celtic crosses are also sometimes used by those in the white power movement.

Maskell said his 15-member graffiti removal team, which covers 114 square kilometres in Vancouver each week, is currently undergoing training to recognize the range of offensive markings.

Allan Dutton, executive director of the Canadian Anti-Racism Education and Research Society, said the symbols are intended to incite hate and help recruit followers. Although the tags are all over Vancouver, downtown, the Downtown Eastside and the West End are particular targets. "The vandals who post these symbols are marking their territory, communicating to local residents and trying to recruit," Dutton says. "Hate group activity has always been a problem in Vancouver. You have a lot of middle class kids gravitating to racist groups."

Maskell said he has no illusions that the initiative will stamp out racism, but everything helps. "We're just trying to get rid of their billboards."

Since August 2001, Point Grey Industries' graffiti team has removed approximately 50,000 square feet of graffiti from public property for the city on a contract basis using environmentally friendly solvents.

Anyone spotting the offensive markings can call 604-331-0033. Maskell said the team's goal is to remove them within 24 hours of a complaint.

For more information about racism issues, check out www.antiracist.com or www.recomnetwork.org.