Belfast Mob Traps Ugandan Carers for 4 Hours as Homes Burn – "It Was Terrifying"

Two Ugandan care workers, Sumayah Nakazibwe and Stella Ariokot, spent four hours trapped in their home near Crumlin Road in north Belfast as a far-right mob set fires and threw stones [170927]. The women watched from their window as the crowd, mostly young men wearing black and masks, burned bus tires and garbage containers. "We thought maybe it would stop," Nakazibwe said [170927].

The mob turned onto their street, where Romanian, Nigerian, British, and Irish families live together. "They set cars on fire and threw Molotov cocktails. Smoke went straight toward our houses," she said [170927]. Firefighters took 30 minutes to arrive because of multiple fires across the city. Emergency services told the women it was too dangerous to leave and suggested they put on their caregiver uniforms to calm any rioters who might enter [170927].

"People rioting don't know they are attacking someone who cares for their mother or grandmother," Nakazibwe said. "I left my own mother at home" [170927]. Nakazibwe fainted from fear when stones hit their windows. Ariokot stayed on the phone with ambulance dispatchers until she woke up [170927].

The women were rescued by Pastor Jack McKee of New Life City Church. When he arrived, he saw four fire trucks, riot police, and masked men holding bricks. A burned-out house blocked the ambulance from getting close. "About 20 masked men stood there with bricks. I begged them for ten minutes to get the women out," McKee said. "Some dropped their bricks. They gave me the time" [170927].

The women spent the night with McKee's family. "They were completely traumatized," he said. "I never thought I'd rescue Christians being attacked in a Protestant community" [170927].

Nakazibwe said she understands not everyone in the community supports the violence. But she added: "I wouldn't go out. It's not safe. This place was very peaceful until yesterday. It changed my mind completely. Maybe it's time to go home" [170927].

In another attack, a Romanian family was forced to leave their home on Shankill Road after bricks were thrown through windows and lit fireworks were pushed through the letterbox. A neighbor helped them escape after hooded men broke down the door [170927]. The family's burned car remains on the street. Their house and a neighboring Black family's home have broken, boarded-up windows [170927].

Across east Belfast, several houses are boarded up and burned debris covers the streets. Romanian and Sudanese families were among those who fled [170927]. A charity worker said police moved the families to safety and found them temporary housing [170927].

One resident said ethnic minority families were specifically targeted. Some Catholics from the mostly unionist area joined the violence. "This is the first time it's happened," the resident said, noting the two groups have been fighting for 30 years [170927].

A list of addresses targeting immigrant homes also circulated on social media in Belfast, sparking fear among the city's minority ethnic communities as violence erupted across Northern Ireland [170675]. The addresses, spread across dozens of streets, are reportedly houses of multiple occupation (HMOs) where immigrants live. Many residents believe they are being directly threatened [170675].

Joseph and Solomon, both refugees from Eritrea now living legally in Belfast and working full-time, reside on a street where one property is listed. Joseph feared his own home was the target. "It's obviously for us," he said [170675]. "My kids are crying," one resident told local media [170675].

The unrest followed a knife attack in the north of the city, which sparked a night of fire and fear [169804][170386]. Cars and a bus were set on fire, homes were damaged, and families were forced to leave their residences [169804][170093][170386]. Authorities are investigating the incidents as tensions remain high in the affected areas [170093].