Egyptian family suffer months of racial abuse in UK
Egyptian family suffer months of racial abuse in UK
An Egyptian refugee family endure verbal and physical racially-motivated abuse in the Welsh city of Cardiff where they were recently homed, as NGOs warn of rise in Brexit-related hate crimes.
2 min read
Local police said reports of attacks against the family were being investigated [Getty]
An Egyptian family in the Welsh city of Cardiff have endured four months of horrific racist attacks, with knives thrown at their home.
The Egyptian husband and wife - along with their four children - suffered months of verbal abuse on the streets and had knives and onions thrown at their house, UK media reported.
The Muslim refugee family - who recently moved into their new home in Llanedeyrn in Cardiff - saw "Muslims are scum" painted on their front door by racist thugs.
"We have reported it to the police but nothing has happened," the father said. "We feel unwelcome. We thought everything was equality here. We have come as refugees and we have not found it safe."
Attacks on the family increased after the Brexit vote, the father, who wished not to be named, said.
"We are very scared. My children are frightened of going outside. Our house is like a prison," he said.
"They threw knives on to our lawn - one big knife and one medium-sized one. The children have been abused at school and on the street. My wife was called 'monster' and 'raghead' and the f-word."
A Cardiff-based charity condemned the attack and rise in Brexit-related hate crimes.
"This case is horrible and shocking. We have been astounded and shocked at the level of racism that was hidden before. We have had a huge rise in racist attacks being reported to us," Race Equality First chief executive Aliya Mohammed said.
Local police said reports of attacks against the family dating back to May were being investigated.
A recently released report by monitoring group Tell MAMA revealed that hate crimes against British Muslims increased by 326 percent in 2015.
"Today we stand in unchartered territory with a 300 percent plus increase in Islamophobic incidents in 2015," said Tell Mama's chair Shahid Malik.
"The statistics paint a profoundly bleak picture of the explosion of anti-Muslim hate both online and on our streets with visible Muslim women being disproportionately targeted by cowardly hate-mongers."
Given the recent explosion of post-Brexit xenophobia, many among the UK's minority groups are increasingly concerned about what the referendum result means for them. They are also becoming increasingly vulnerable about their positions and safety in British society.
The Egyptian husband and wife - along with their four children - suffered months of verbal abuse on the streets and had knives and onions thrown at their house, UK media reported.
The Muslim refugee family - who recently moved into their new home in Llanedeyrn in Cardiff - saw "Muslims are scum" painted on their front door by racist thugs.
"We have reported it to the police but nothing has happened," the father said. "We feel unwelcome. We thought everything was equality here. We have come as refugees and we have not found it safe."
Attacks on the family increased after the Brexit vote, the father, who wished not to be named, said.
"We are very scared. My children are frightened of going outside. Our house is like a prison," he said.
"They threw knives on to our lawn - one big knife and one medium-sized one. The children have been abused at school and on the street. My wife was called 'monster' and 'raghead' and the f-word."
A Cardiff-based charity condemned the attack and rise in Brexit-related hate crimes.
"This case is horrible and shocking. We have been astounded and shocked at the level of racism that was hidden before. We have had a huge rise in racist attacks being reported to us," Race Equality First chief executive Aliya Mohammed said.
Local police said reports of attacks against the family dating back to May were being investigated.
A recently released report by monitoring group Tell MAMA revealed that hate crimes against British Muslims increased by 326 percent in 2015.
"Today we stand in unchartered territory with a 300 percent plus increase in Islamophobic incidents in 2015," said Tell Mama's chair Shahid Malik.
"The statistics paint a profoundly bleak picture of the explosion of anti-Muslim hate both online and on our streets with visible Muslim women being disproportionately targeted by cowardly hate-mongers."
Given the recent explosion of post-Brexit xenophobia, many among the UK's minority groups are increasingly concerned about what the referendum result means for them. They are also becoming increasingly vulnerable about their positions and safety in British society.
