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‘Families have fled the country and will never return to Ballymena' – the fallout after a traumatic week in Northern Ireland
Marko Kolev said several members of the Roma community in Ballymena, Co Antrim, have left for mainland Europe after racist rioters burnt out their homes and smashed windows throughout the week.
Rioters also set fire to Larne Leisure Centre, which had earlier been used as an emergency centre for those forced out by the racist violence in Ballymena. The families had been relocated before the attack began.
Mr Kolev, a businessman and father of three, who is now understood to have left Ireland, spoke to Sunday Life before he and his family fled.
'It's a disaster. It's been really tough, my family has not been doing very well with it all, it has been frightening and stressful to see people from my community being targeted in this way,' he said.
'People's homes being burnt down and windows smashed, it's crazy. It has upset me and my child, who keeps asking me questions about it all: 'Why daddy? Why don't these people like you and me?'
'I don't know how to answer those questions, it's difficult.'
Mr Kolev, a former resident of Clonavon Terrace in Ballymena, said many frightened Roma people have abandoned the town and elsewhere in Northern Ireland.
'Lots of people have left, I think some have gone back to Europe, I am (in the process of) leaving too,' he added.
'Nobody from our community wants to stay in Ballymena now, everyone wants to get clear. I don't think the people who have left will come back. How could they after this?
'I work, my wife works, lots of people in our community work. I don't understand how these people see things so differently and imagine all these things about us that are not true. It is so say things like 'go home', 'go back', 'don't stay here any more'. I have lived and worked here for 12 years.
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'I left with my family about a week ago and I don't think I will ever return permanently.'
Violence broke out in Ballymena last Monday after a vigil was held for a teenage girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault at Clonavon Terrace. Earlier that day, two 14-year-old boys, who required a Romanian interpreter, appeared in court charged with attempted rape.
Masked rioters threw missiles at officers and a police car was attacked during the disorder, which the PSNI described as racially-motivated. It also said at least 63 officers had been injured.
It is an assault on the rule of law and those who put themselves in harm's way to keep us safe
The violence began to spread across Northern Ireland as the week progressed. In Portadown there was serious disorder on Thursday and Friday night.
Petrol bombs, fireworks, masonry and bottles were thrown at riot police in the Co Armagh town. Shortly before midnight on Friday, the PSNI used a water cannon on the crowd in an effort to disperse those gathered on West Street into other areas.
Alliance deputy leader Eóin Tennyson slammed the scenes as 'racist thuggery'.
'Those attacking police and terrorising our community have nothing to offer but fear, division and hate,' he said. 'Let me be clear: it is not protest, it is not legitimate. It is an assault on the rule of law and those who put themselves in harm's way to keep us safe.'
The Northern Ireland Housing Executive has said about 50 households have received assistance across the week, and 14 families have been provided with emergency accommodation.
Yesterday hundreds of people turned out at Belfast City Hall for an anti-racism rally, where crowds were told the rioting could end in tragedy.
Patrick Corrigan of Amnesty NI said: 'We're here because once again the ugly face of racism has show its face on our streets, this time in terrifying attacks. We're just one petrol bomb away from racially-motivated murder.'
United Against Racism Belfast chair Ivanka Antova added: 'Our communities will not be bowed by racism. The racist minority will not win.'
On Friday afternoon the police said they were actively investigating 'those posting hate on social media' as the PSNI put out an appeal to identify rioters from CCTV footage.
A senior officer said there would be a 'scaled-up' policing presence across Northern Ireland in anticipation of further disorder over the weekend. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said the mobilisation, which would include officers sent over from Scotland, was 'to reassure our communities and protect our streets'.
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said on Thursday that his officers would be coming after the 'bigots and racists' behind the disorder.
He also said that the young girl who was the victim of the alleged sexual assault in Ballymena had been 'further traumatised' by the rioting across the week.
The DUP leader, Gavin Robinson, said his party's call for 'honest action' on illegal immigration does not make the party racist or far right.
Mr Robinson also hit out at 'sneering commentary' from those in 'leafy suburbs' unaffected by the issue.
He said the scenes in Ballymena, Larne and Portadown were 'utterly disgraceful', and warned of the damage to the region's image a month out from The Open golf championship returning to Portrush.
'The DUP has long called for honest action to address illegal immigration and the pressures it places on communities and public services,' he said.
'That doesn't make us racist or far-right, it makes us realists.'
Taoiseach Micheál Martin said a 'zero tolerance' approach is the only way to deal with such attacks.
'No government is immune, no country or society is immune from this type of violence that is racially motivated, let's be honest and call it out for what it is,' he said.
'Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary of state, was in the homes, and saw a man coming along with boxes trying to collect belongings. But he said the place was charred and burnt out —these are scenes we cannot condone.'
'We must have zero tolerance for this and we must support the respective police forces, in this case the PSNI, the gardaí and others when they are confronted with shocking violence of this kind.
Ahead of marching season in the North, Mr Martin added: 'I think the violence will ease. The vast majority of people in these communities do not want this violence, do not want this type of activity.'
