Family moved home after neighbour's racist abuse

The couple said a neighbour shouted racist abuse outside their home

A mixed ethnicity couple who had to sell their home after racist attacks say they are not surprised by recent race hate on display in Northern Ireland.

The couple lived in east Belfast with their child at the time of the incident two years ago.

They said they had no option but to move after a neighbour targeted them with threats to kill and a restraining order was placed on him.

Alice, not her real name, said the man stood outside their home screaming racial slurs. "He said he wanted to end us," she said.

Alice and her husband Amir have told the BBC they felt the system was "stacked against" them.

The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) confirmed to the BBC that the "defendant pleaded guilty to and was convicted of threats to kill and disorderly behaviour" in 2022.

The restraining order was for five years, and it covered the neighbour and any associates of his, but within weeks the couple said it was breached by someone they believed was a friend of their neighbour.

Alice said they had an eyewitness and video footage of the breach, but it was not enough.

"The PPS told us our case did not have sufficient evidence to be taken further," she said.

"We tried to challenge that and got told no."

The PPS told the BBC, "all the available evidence was carefully considered, and it was determined that this was insufficient to pass the test for prosecution".

"We recognise the decision not to prosecute in the second case was disappointing to the victim," a spokesperson said.

"We do not underestimate the impact this offending had on the victim and her loved ones. However, we have a duty to put before the court only those cases in which the available evidence provides a reasonable prospect of conviction."

'Goes like a sewer rat'

On another occasion, Alice and Amir rang the police concerned because their neighbour was sitting on the street opposite their home with another man, drinking.

Their son was not home at the time, and they were worried about him being dropped off on the street near their neighbour.

"I was asked if there was another way into the house, and I said only the back alleyway where everyone keeps their bins-they said that was a valid alternative," Alice said.

"We realised then we were very much on our own. I will not teach my son that because of the colour of his skin, he goes like a sewer rat where bins are kept while racists walk the streets."

Neighbourhood policing inspector for East Belfast, Insp Moutray, said: "Hate crime has no place in our society, and any incident which leaves a victim feeling unsafe in their own home is unacceptable.

"We treat all racially motivated hate crimes exceptionally seriously and proactively investigate every report we receive as we seek to ensure that those responsible are held to account for their actions."

Alice said she was horrified by the riots and protests that took place in August, but it did not come as a shock.

"The current situation in NI... I'm not surprised to see the racists on the streets when the response to us as a family was to go by the back alleyways. We felt the whole system was stacked against us."

"We lost our home to this; we had no other option but to sell up and leave."

'Watch your back'

Amir said recent race hate has changed how he is living his life now.

"I've lived in this country for almost 18 years, but when I'm standing at the roadside waiting for the lights to change, I find myself taking a step away from somebody standing next to me because I don't know them-that's what started to happen," he said.

"This summer I wasn't comfortable going in to town on public transport. The recent incidents emboldened all the bigotry.

"We have a child, I don't want to raise him afraid of the world, but at what age can I make him aware of it, and, you know, tell him; 'watch your back'."

Alice said they would never leave Northern Ireland, and they want to raise their son here.

"There are more of us than them, more people who believe this is completely wrong," she said.

Amir said that despite this not being the only racist incident he had experienced here, many people have supported him.

"The moment the hate incident happened, our neighbours came through, people who we said hello to in passing suddenly became a source of comfort, a source of help."

'Terrifying'

Naomi Green, who sits on the Racial Equality Subgroup on behalf of Belfast Islamic Centre, said she knows of people who have experienced racial harassment, but said it's not all being reported.

Ms Green added that although the police have been "proactive" in making arrests over the past month, the "problem" is seeing the case progress further.

Northern Ireland has "a long history were people are not being prosecuted for crimes", she told BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"I think in the past there’s been a failure to really tackle that. We don’t have good legislation here."

Ms Green said that racial hate crime laws in Northern Ireland “lag” behind the rest of the UK.

She pointed out that victims may not always come forward to report crimes, because they do not want to "rehash" the experience in case "nothing" will be done.

"It’s terrifying that things have got to this level in Northern Ireland."