Man who suffered racially-motivated attack says he regrets moving to NI
Man who suffered racially-motivated attack says he regrets moving to NI
A man whose car was set on fire in the Rathcoole estate in County Antrim has said he fears the attackers will try to kill him next.
The victim, who is from Nigeria and wants to remain anonymous, said he regrets the day he moved to Northern Ireland to study as he has experienced years of direct and indirect racism.
His Mournebeg Drive home has been targeted three times in the last five months.
Police, who attended the scene along with Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS), are treating the latest incident as a racially-motivated hate crime. There were no reports of any injuries.
It is the latest in a string of racist attacks in Northern Ireland over the past week, including an attack on two homes in Belfast over the weekend.
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said, 86 households in Northern Ireland had presented to the Housing Executive citing civil unrest.
‘I don’t know whether it will be my life next’
Warning: Contains offensive language
The attacks on the man’s home have included graffiti sprayed on the wall, a brick being thrown through the window in recent weeks, and his car targeted in an arson attack on Sunday night.
“My biggest fear is burning the house,” he hold BBC News NI.
“I don’t know whether it will be my life next.
“Maybe they would want to come to kill me. Or stab me.
“I’m scared of the house, I’m scared of the street, I’m scared of the community. I’m scared of my neighbours. I don’t know who is who,” he said.
“They could set the house on fire. I can’t change their mentalities.”
He said his plan is to leave Northern Ireland for another part of the UK.
“Or probably go back to my home country, Nigeria. Seeing as that’s what they want, I don’t mind,” he said.
The victim said in the last year he’s been described as a “monkey” on the street by a man speaking to his own children.
In a statement, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said: “We are keen to hear from anyone who noticed any suspicious behaviour at the time of the report, or had witnessed a male on an e-scooter in the area.”
Families sheltered in MLA’s office
A knife attack in north Belfast last Monday night sparked days of disorder and what police said were racially-motivated attacks.
A video of the knife attack was filmed by a woman on her way home from work and appeared on social media.
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Less than 24 hours after the initial incident, hundreds of people came out for protests across Northern Ireland calling for a strict clampdown on immigration.
Many of those protests passed peacefully but, elsewhere, hundreds of masked people took to the streets and violence followed.
Homes, businesses and vehicles were targeted and police were attacked. More than 30 people were arrested.
On Monday, in a matter of the day debate in Stormont Opposition Leader Matthew O’Toole of the SDLP said he had opened his constituency office to shelter families who were put out of their homes during last week’s disorder.
“About 30 people including young families, including a one-year-old baby, who didn’t have nappies – so I had to go home and get my own child’s nappies to give to that family – sheltered in my constituency office,” he said
“They were there for hours, we brought blankets, we made them tea and toast.
“We talk about ‘legitimate concerns’, I have legitimate concerns when I have to drive children in the back of my car to a safe place because someone’s tried to burn their house down.”
‘People have left their homes’
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has insisted staff in his department and the Housing Executive are “working around the clock” to ensure families displaced by last week’s disorder are cared for and supported.
Lyons said that “nothing could excuse” the violence and he recognised many minority and ethnic families were “terrified”.
He said as of 17:00 BST on Sunday, 86 households in Northern Ireland had presented to the Housing Executive citing civil unrest.
Of those, 26 requests had been made for temporary accommodation, with 16 households resulting from contact between the Housing Executive and being supported by PPR, with 37 households supported by other organisations.
He said his department has also activated emergency financial assistance to councils so they can respond to recent events and allow for reimbursement to voluntary organisations who have assisted in supporting families.
‘Mixed picture’
DUP Leader Gavin Robinson said he was aware of some people who had left their homes in the past week who were “not willing to go through a formal process” when it comes to housing support.
He said some were receiving charitable help, but that there was a “mixed picture” at present.
He said events of the past week outlined why the Northern Ireland Assembly should reject a call to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14.
The DUP, TUV and Ulster Unionist leader Jon Burrows have backed a veto mechanism to try and block the move, known as the petition of concern, but it requires 30 signatures to be successful.
Robinson said there were 28 signatures at present, ahead of the debate taking place on Monday, and urged others to sign it.
“Consciences are being pricked as to whether this is the appropriate thing to be doing, particularly after last week when we saw neighbours attacked, people intimidated out of their homes,” he said.
The TUV’s Jim Allister said “if you burn someone out because of the colour of their skin, it’s not only wrong but it blatantly has that racist motivation”.
However, he said that for too long the government had allowed “unfiltered, unchecked immigration, to be overloaded into Northern Ireland”.
“When you have a Common Travel Area you need to be able to check that it is not being abused,” he added.
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What we know about Belfast attack and disorder
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