(Tuesday, September 26) Resident says he's lost count of race attacks
A Tyrone resident says he has lost count of the number of racially-motivated attacks there have been in the housing development where he lives.
At the weekend seven houses at Bleachfield in Moygashel, five of them occupied by migrant workers, were attacked.
Bricks with notes were thrown through windows of the properties early Sunday.
In one of the houses a four-week-old baby is believed to have been sleeping close to a window which was smashed by a brick only minutes after she was moved.
The accompanying notes are believed to have said that foreign nationals were not welcome in the Moygashel area.
However, the attacks, in which no-one was injured, weren't limited to foreign nationals. One of the houses was owned by a local businessman and another by 52-year-old Dungannon native Cecil Rea. He says he believes he has been targeted because he is friendly with his Polish and Lithuanian neighbours.
"It's either that or because I'm not from Moygashel but from Dungannon, only a couple of miles away," he said.
"These thugs are so narrow-minded. However, I'm not afraid to speak out," he said.
"I've been living here for about 15 months now and there have been about 30 different attacks. To be honest there have been that many that I've lost count.
"I've had my house attacked and also my car thrashed a number of times. Two of the houses on either side of me were occupied my Portuguese people up until about five months, but they couldn't take any more and moved out.
"The people that are being attacked are hard-working, good people who don't cause any bother whatsoever. I should know, I'm their neighbour."
Given the frequency of attacks in Bleachfield, Mr Rea has gone to the extent of having a CCTV system fitted at his home.
"I've the most recent attacks on camera and have passed the footage to the police. Although the quality isn't great, hopefully it might be of some use in catching those responsible," he said.
None of the migrant workers whose homes were attacked wanted to comment on what has become an all-too-common occurrence.
UUP peer Lord Ken Maginness, who lives a short distance from Moygashel in Dungannon, said he utterly condemned the weekend's events.
"The people who are the obvious targets of these attacks keep our poultry and beef factories in Dungannon going. Without them these factories could possibly leave the area which would have a massive impact on the many people who work there as well as on the local farming community," he said.
"But besides that, it just isn't right that these people cannot live in peace."
The former Fermanagh and south Tyrone MP added that he called on anyone with information concerning the attacks or the people responsible to contact police in Dungannon.
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Sunday 27 May 2012
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