Racist graffiti daubed on family home in Derry condemned

Racist graffiti daubed on a family home in Derry has been condemned.

The words 'local only' and a crosshair symbol were spray painted on to the home of a Sudanese family living in the Fountain estate on Tuesday night.

Police are treating the incident as a racially motivated hate crime.

Inspector Michael Gahan said: "What has happened is completely unacceptable. Everyone deserves to live without fear or intimidation.”

"As we investigate who committed this crime, I am appealing to anyone with information, anyone who witnessed this incident, or who may have captured dash-cam or CCTV footage from the area to call us on 101, quoting RM25072583." 

Condemning the incident, a spokesperson for the North West Migrants Forum said: “We are disgusted that the home of a Sudanese family was targeted overnight in Derry’s Fountain estate.

“This is a family well known to us and that has become firmly embedded in our organisation through their volunteering efforts. They are also well known and well respected within the Fountain community where they have been volunteering with the local youth club.

“This family – a mother, father and their two children – have lived peacefully in The Fountain since their arrival in Northern Ireland and were in recent days moved a short distance to this new property.

“They came to Northern Ireland having fled the globally criticised horrors being visited upon their home country where hundreds of thousands of civilians have lost their lives in the past three years.

“That they are now having to shoulder more worry and more stress in a place they thought they could depend on for sanctuary is just abhorrent.

“We will stand with the family in the days and weeks ahead and we encourage others to do the same. We also urge all politicians to join us in condemning this awful act.”

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United Against Racism spokesperson Karen McCole said the attack on the family is not representative of the area or the city.

DUP Foyle MLA Gary Middleton said he was appalled and branded the incident as “an act of cowardly intimidation”.

“To target a family home, a place where they should feel most safe, is an act of cowardly intimidation that has no place in our society,” he said. “This family has lived in the Fountain for some time and are involved with the local youth club.

“This behaviour is not reflective of the Fountain community or the wider city. The individuals responsible for this hate crime certainly do not speak for us.

“My thoughts are with the Sudanese family affected by this disgusting act.

“I would urge anyone with information regarding this incident to come forward to the PSNI immediately so those responsible can be held accountable."