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A Syrian refugee has said he and his family no longer feel safe in Belfast and wish they could return to their home country after far-right mobs attacked their home.
Muhammad Soufi Baddour fled the civil war in Syria with his wife and two children three years ago and sought refuge in east Belfast, at a hostel for asylum-seekers.
However, the 29-year-old, who lives in a ground-floor apartment at the hostel, has been left terrified for his family’s safety after far-right rioters launched a brick through his living room window.
Recalling the harrowing experience which took place on Wednesday night, Mr Baddour told the Irish Independent it has left his wife wanting to return to Syria.
Muhammad Soufi Baddour, 29, has been left scared for his family after protestors launched a brick through his living room window
The father-of-two said: ‘It is scary.
‘We came here to be safe, but now we don’t have anywhere to be safe.
‘If I had a passport, I would change the country. I want to leave Belfast, but where can we go?
‘What do they want? Why? I don’t have any friends here and people don’t really even see me.
‘My wife is very scared. She tells me she wants to go back to Syria. Syria is not safe – and now here is not safe.’
Mr Baddour, whose children are aged five and eight, said that he and his wife and kids slept in his car after the attack because they feared ‘they were going to set fire to the house’.
‘I am scared for me of course, but I’m scared for my family. And the two children were inside’, he told BBC NI.
It comes as violent far-right protests – which were sparked after false information about the Southport knife attack suspect was spread online – ravaged across the UK.
Belfast has seen some of the worst disorder, with 22 people arrested in connection with the riots that have raged over several days.
Arrests were made on Wednesday night after bins were set on fire and houses attacked. Four men were charged yesterday of criminal damage, resisting police, rioting and throwing a petrol bomb.
A number of homes and cars were damaged in the Silverstream Road, Sandy Row, and Upper Frank Street region of east Belfast.
Cars in the area were also damaged by rioters who descended on the streets of east Belfast
Speaking of his fears going forward, Mr Baddour told the Irish Independent that he is scared for his children when they go back to school due to their Muslim background.
He added: ‘We are scared about our kids getting bullied.
‘My son is very scared, because he has never seen anything like this before.
‘People have been nice since we first came here, but last week and this week has been very bad for us.
‘My kids will be starting school again this month, and maybe there will be problems there for Muslim children now.’
When police attended the hate-crime incident, they advised the family to leave the area for the time being and suggested going to a hotel.
Mr Baddour said: ‘Police came and said I could go to a hotel if I had money, or go to a friend’s. We don’t know anybody around here. I have money, that’s OK, but it was one o’clock in the morning, everywhere was closed.
‘We would have had to pack all of our clothes and I didn’t know where we were going. This hostel is for refugees. There are families from Syria and Sudan living here and there is no security to protect us.’
