'I didn't feel safe after race hate attack on my shop - but I'm glad I stayed'

Mr Ghabes says the people of Andersonstown in west Belfast have welcomed his new business

A businessman who considered leaving Belfast after a racist attack has successfully relocated to another part of the city.

Jamal Ghabes, 29, did not feel safe after his butchery business in south Belfast was among those targeted in a spate of racist violence in August last year.

A new start in west Belfast, and a chance encounter with a friend from his native Syria, have helped turn his life around.

"It's better now. I'm glad I stayed," he said.

BBC News NI first interviewed Mr Ghabes in the aftermath of last year's racist violence, as he stood outside the badly damaged Sham Supermarket on the Donegall Road, where he ran a butchery counter.

He said at the time his job was "finished", adding: "I don't feel safe here."

Fifteen months later, he is back in business on the Andersonstown Road in west Belfast.

He has opened a supermarket called Zain, an Arabic word which means beautiful.

Jamal Ghabes outside his burned supermarket on the Donegall Road in August 2024

Jamal arrived in Northern Ireland in 2021 from Syria and was granted asylum.

In the weeks after the racist attack, he bumped into a childhood friend from Damascus in Belfast city centre.

Garry Barakat, 26, now lives in Londonderry and they have kept in touch.

Garry said: "It's like a miracle... meeting a really old best friend of yours in a new country. How small a world is it?

"Things have turned out very differently (for Jamal). Now he's way better. I'm really happy for him."

Things have turned out well too for Garry, who arrived in Northern Ireland last year.

"I consider Derry home now. I call Derry home. That's it. All my mates are from Derry and I love them so much.

"Some of my mates say I sound more Derry than them."

Garry Barakat (left) and Jamal Ghabes

Are there more race hate crimes happening in NI?

Recent data from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) suggests race hate is at a record level in Northern Ireland.

In a 12-month period from June 2024, there were 1,329 crimes with a race motivation.

The figures included two cycles of street disorder in Belfast and Ballymena linked to protests over immigration.

Mr Ghabes said he feels welcome in west Belfast.

"I would like to thank Andersonstown because they helped so much," he said.

"They supported me and are so warm towards me," he said.

The new Zain supermarket specialises in halal meat, spices, fresh fruit and vegetables.

His business partner in the west Belfast business is Dr Raied Al-Wazzan, who is originally from Iraq.

He said Mr Ghabes had shown remarkable resilience in the face of adversity.

"The vast majority of asylum seekers and refugees want to work. They don't want the state to provide for them, they want to work hard for it," Dr Al-Wazzan said.

"Jamal is an example of that. Even after a racist incident and his shop was burned down, he stood up again and started a new business."

Dr Al-Wazzan said more needs to be done to protect ethnic minorities.

"People want to feel welcomed by local communities and that's why they are moving to different areas where they feel more safe than other areas," he said.