Indians in Northern Ireland 'feel afraid' after a grocery store was burned down in 'racist' arson attack

Indians living in Northern Ireland "feel afraid" after a racially-motivated arson attack destroyed a grocery store in north Belfast. In the early hours of Saturday, a former gospel hall on the Shankill Road which had been empty for five years and was about to be turned into an Indian supermarket was set ablaze. As per the fire service, it had been caused by "deliberate ignition" of the roof, and the building had been "totally gutted."

The victim of the attack is an Indian-origin couple who have been living in the UK for the past 18 years, the last eight of those in Northern Ireland. He said the attack has left him "heartbroken" and "financially and emotionally drained."

“Me and my wife went there (to the building on Saturday), people were passing by honking. I don’t know how to explain, but that was not a good morning. People were passing by, celebrating, laughing and shouting, honking their horns,” he told the BBC.

He said there was no sympathy and said he did not expect it when he moved here. "It’s a racist hate crime. I started feeling the people’s reaction a few weeks ago. People’s reactions stemming from the other roads. They were not welcoming. I have found them very aggressive," he added.

He added that he had spent his entire life savings on buying the space and has nothing now. "I have two children. A small family here, we are on our own. We have nothing now, everything is drained. I have to think about how to feed my kids… I don’t know who is going to come out to help us, to protect us," he said.

Indians are scared...

Dr Satyavir Singhal, who is the chairman of the Indian Community Centre shared that "people are scared" after the attack. "People are calling and asking how things are," and "Is this area safe?" Singhal, who has been in the country for the past 25 years shared that the Indian community has been there since the 1930s and has never seen a problem like this.

Gerry Carroll, assembly member at People Before Profit shared that migrant communities are stockpiling food because they are "fearful of another summer of unrest."

A Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) spokesperson said that the building had been bought by legitimate business people who would have brought jobs to the local community. "As with any crime motivated by hate, we will be providing them with an enhanced level of supervision, investigation and support. As a Police Service, we do not underestimate the impact hate-related crimes have on victims, their families and wider communities.”

Ireland consists of about 90,000 Indians working in vital sectors such as healthcare, IT, engineering and more. While the country has long been known for its welcoming atmosphere, there have been cases of brutal racist attacks in recent years.