North Belfast: Man speaks out after racist hate crime
- Published
Joe returned home in the early hours of Friday to find the graffiti on the wall of his north Belfast home
A man whose home was daubed with racist graffiti says people do not believe that this can still happen in Northern Ireland.
Joe, who lives in the Graymount Parade area of north Belfast, returned home in the early hours of Friday to find the graffiti.
He said he had never experienced anything like it.
"I just want this to get out to people so they understand that this can still happen in 2022," he said.
He said he had as much right to live in the area as anyone else.
"I can be here as much as anyone else. I have lived here for so many years," he told BBC News NI.
"People that I have talked to they are just like: 'You are lying!'
"They have to get me to send a picture because they don't believe me that this can still happen in Northern Ireland."
Joe said he now feared for the safety of his children.
Police believe the incident occurred between 09:00BST on Thursday and 02:00BST on Friday morning.
They are treating it as a hate crime and are appealing to anyone with information to contact them.
"There is no place for hate in our communities," said a Police Service of Northern Ireland statement.