Family left 'emotionally broken' after race hate attack on home

The BBC is not using Jamal's real name

A Palestinian restaurant worker says he and his family have been left "emotionally broken" after suffering a racist attack on their home and then having to move 65 miles away.

Jamal – not his real name – has now lost a job in Belfast, where he has lived since 2019, because he could not get to work in time.

The 27-year-old was at work and his wife and one-month-old baby were at home when their home in east Belfast was attacked by three men shortly before midnight on Sunday.

Since the attack, which police are treating as a racially motivated hate crime, the family have moved to temporary emergency accommodation in Ballykelly, County Londonderry.

But this has put them out of reach of friends, work and medical appointments.

Jamal told BBC News NI the attackers were trying to get inside the house, and telling those inside they had to "go out of this place".

Two men shouted and banged on the front door while a third jumped on a plastic roof covering the garden at the back of the house.

Though the PSNI describe the damage to the property as minor, Jamal described coming home to find his wife hiding under a bed with the baby, and said his wife has not slept since the attack.

In the early hours of Monday morning Jamal and his family travelled to a friend's house, where they spent the night.

"I couldn't sleep in my house that night," Jamal said.

Damage to the family's house's window

MP for south Belfast Claire Hanna told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster that she was "absolutely gutted" to hear of the attack.

"Just to think of what type of person would jump on the roof. 'Low life' is probably as polite and broadcastable as I can put it.

"We are in the territory of pogrom. Nearly everyone with a different colour of skin feels vulnerable."

Ms Hanna said the victims of the recent violence in Belfast "have made a life here and are doing far more in the community than people behind the attacks".

"I don’t believe there are one or two people [behind the attacks]," she added. "I think this is organisational.

"I think this is being at the very least whipped up and accelerated by paramilitary organisations."

DUP MLA Edwin Poots said there may be individuals with paramilitary connections involved but "they are not being sent out by an organisation".

He urged those behind the attacks to stop.

"They’re damaging their own community, they’re bringing real trauma, it doesn’t represent what we think as unionist people.

"This has to stop. This can’t go on."

Naomi Green, a volunteer who works with the Muslim community, added that many are thinking about leaving Northern Ireland.

"We’ve come to the point where people are considering their options," she said.

"This is home but it doesn’t feel safe anymore.

"Yes, there are housing pressures. Yes, people are struggling in their daily lives. That’s not an excuse to take it out on Muslims or minorities or migrants.

"We’re all part of this society."

'I am not safe'

The day after the attack, Jamal spent hours at the Housing Executive, in the hope of finding somewhere safe to stay, but says they told him there "was nowhere in Belfast".

The Housing Executive, who have provided temporary accommodation to the family, said they were operating in "unprecedented" circumstances.

A spokesperson said: "The rise in demand for social housing and increased numbers of individuals and families who are homeless and require temporary accommodation has been unprecedented in recent times.

“We will always ensure that placements of this type are for as short a duration as possible and this placement location is reviewed on a daily basis.”

As well as losing his part-time job, Jamal says he and his wife have struggled to get to their baby's hospital appointments in Belfast since the move.

He told BBC News his wife is "emotionally broken" and that his daughter is crying all the time.

"I feel I am not safe. I felt the same as I did in Palestine."

"The problem is, I need to wake up at 6 o’clock in the morning to get to Belfast for appointments," Jamal said.

He told BBC News NI that he has had to spend hundreds on taxis in an attempt to make it to various appointments for himself and his daughter.

"I paid £150 for a taxi to get to Ballykelly. It was night, there were no buses.

"I am scared because I am a new dad, because I have a wife. I think, if something goes wrong, what will happen to my baby and my wife.

"On Monday, I lost my daughter’s appointment. It’s very difficult. My daughter is young. If something is wrong with her, I don’t know where I can go."

Jamal says he feels alone and scared in Ballykelly, and like he has "lost everything".

A man jumped on a garden roof during the attack at the family's home

The PSNI's Sergeant Jackson said: “I am appealing directly to the local community for information on those involved.

"It is absolutely shameful that these men should target a woman alone with her child and I know that the people of east Belfast will share my disgust.

“We will do everything we can as a police service to ensure that everyone, no matter what their background, feels safe in their own home.”

Jamal is hopeful that he and his family can find somewhere to live in Belfast. He says that, before the attacks, he never had any trouble in the city.

"My life was good," he said.

"It's a nice area. It's quiet. I never had any problems".

In Ballykelly however, Jamal feels cut off from his support network, and his friends.

"All my life in the UK has been in Belfast. All my friends are in Belfast.

"Belfast is my home."