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Muslim father speaks out over family’s experience of racist abuse

Muslim father speaks out over family’s experience of racist abuse

Categories: Latest News

Monday July 11 2016

Wales Online and the Mirror report on hate crimes experienced by a Muslim refugee family in Cardiff over the last few months including having the words “Muslims are scum” daubed onto their front door.

The family, who hail from Egypt and have four young children aged three, six, eight and 11, described some of the incidents various members have experienced since April.

In one incident, the family’s front door was sprayed with the words “Muslims are scum” in red paint. Vandals also dug knives onto the lawn in front of the house in a menacing threat, leaving “one big knife and one medium-sized knife.”

The father, who asked not to be identified for fear of reprisals, said his family had retreated since the incidents began in April leaving their home feeling “like a prison”.

He described how his wife had been racially abused with taunts of “Muslim raghead”, “monster” and the “f-word”. He also described an incident in which his 11 year old son was “dragged from his bike and attacked by two children in the street.” He said all his children had been verbally abused at either school or in the street outside their home leaving them too frightened to go out and play.

The father, who moved to Wales in 2013 and was joined by his family last year, said “We have reported it to the police but nothing has happened. We feel unwelcome. We thought everything was equality here. We have come as refugees and we have not found it safe.”

While the incidents related in the papers predated the EU referendum vote last month, a spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Wales confirmed that there had been an increase in incidents since 23 June.

Mohammed Alamgir said the MCW “has seen increased reports of Islamophobia since the vote to leave the EU – including cases of women having scarves pulled from their heads.”

Of the refugee family and the hate crimes that have affected them, Alamgir said “They live in fear and anxiety. I met up with him [the father] and introduced him to local friends, the local church, and local neighbourhood watch to offer support.”

The south Wales race equality council, Race Equality First, had reported an increased in post-Brexit cases though it would appear many of these have not been reported to the police.

Superintendent Liane Bartlett of South Wales Police said: “We have not seen an increase in hate crime incidents reported to us in the past week. However that is not to say that abuse of this nature is not taking place.

“We urge anyone who has been subjected to any behaviour of this type to contact us on 101 immediately.

“South Wales has a long and proud tradition of strong, diverse communities and we will not tolerate any criminal actions that undermine this.

“All forms of hate crime are totally unacceptable in any circumstances and any victim can have confidence in reporting incidents to us so they can be fully investigated and robust action taken against those responsible,” he added.

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