A RACIAL attack victim has been recognised at an award ceremony for promoting racial harmony in Dorchester.

The overall prize at the 2011 Dorset Criminal Justica Awards went to Bangladeshi-born Khalique Miah, who was a victim of a racially aggravated attack in the county town two years ago.

He has since worked tirelessly to promote multicultural understanding and has set up a major annual event in the county town to celebrate cultural diversity.

Mr Miah said he was ‘overwhelmed’ with the award.

He said: “I knew I was nominated for the Contribution to Diversity Award, but when they announced I had got the overall award I was amazed, my face just dropped.

“It is a reward for all of the hard work and for the support I got from everybody.”

Mr Miah paid tribute to the support he received from Dorchester Town Crier Alistair Chisholm and Inspector Les Fry of Dorchester Police, who wrote Mr Miah’s citation for the award.

He was also full of praise for the efforts of Kris Hallett from Dorset Community Action, who has helped Mr Miah with his community efforts throughout the past two years and was herself recognised at the Justice Awards with the Engaging in Local Communities award.

Mr Miah also said none of his work would have been possible without the backing of his wife Angela and the rest of his family.

He said: “Something bad happened to me and at the end of the day something good came out of it.

“The inspiration came from my son Khalid, who was three years old at the time, who came in after I was assaulted and said to his sister ‘you’re going to get into trouble’.

“My daughter was one year old and he told her it was because she was ‘daddy’s colour’.

“I thought this is not what I want my three-year-old boy to think, that his daddy has got beaten up because of his colour,” he added.

“I felt I needed to do something about it and wanted to see if I could make a difference.”

Khalique set up the Speak Easy Dorchester group to promote multicultural understanding in and around Dorchester, including running English lessons for foreign workers.

The group held the first One World Festival in Dorchester last year, which included a host of activities and entertainment inspired by diverse cultures.

The day proved such a success it was repeated this year and is set to become an annual event.

Mr Miah said: “I just feel good that I’m giving something back to the community I love.”