COMMUNITY leaders in the Fountain Estate say racist graffiti daubed on the home of a Sudanese family was an isolated incident and not representative of the wider area.
Chief Executive of the North West Migrants Forum Lilian Seenoi Barr, Programmes Director, Manager of Cathedral Youth Club Jeanette Warke and Brian Dougherty, CEO of the North West Cultural Partnership, met with Hala Ahmed yesterday to offer their support.
In a joint statement, all three community figures condemned the attack which saw ‘Locals Only’, accompanied by a drawing of a target, painted on the front wall of the property.
Jeanette Warke said she was horrified by what had happened.
“It was a great shock to us because Hala and her family have become part of this community and have involved themselves in the various activities and programmes here at Cathedral Youth Club,” Mrs Warke said.
“We welcome their contribution to the community and the artistic talents they are bringing give us all a better understanding of their culture.
“We hope they will stick with us because the last thing we want is to lose them.”
Brian Dougherty stressed that the Fountain has become a diverse area where everyone is welcome.
““There is a wide variety of cultures here now and we do our best to make sure they all feel part of the Fountain.
“We do feel this was an isolated incident because it certainly doesn’t represent this area as a whole.
“It also further raises a concern of ours regarding the issue of broader community safety in the Fountain.
“The community has unfortunately been subject to a higher level of sectarian attacks in the past year which and we will continue to work with both the PSNI and CCI to ensure that long standing issues with CCTV cameras are repaired and that incidents are fully investigated.”
North West Migrants Forum CEO Lilian Seenoi Barr added that the support being shown for the Ahmed family was heartening.
“There has been such an outpouring of anger and condemnation at what has happened and no doubt that will be of comfort to the Ahmed family.
“Having spoken to Hala, I know how distressing this incident was for her, her husband and their children.
“But hopefully the support they have received over the past 24 hours will be enough to convince them that they are welcome here.
“They are such a lovely, private and humble family and I would just appeal to everyone to let them live in peace and let them continue with the good work they are doing in the Fountain.”
