“Thugs set fire to my shop… now I live in my car”
Jamal Ghabes ran the butcher’s shop at Sham Market in Sandy Row, but the shop was destroyed two weeks ago during riots following an anti-Islamic demonstration in Belfast city centre and attacked again 48 hours later.
The 28-year-old fled war-torn Syria in 2022 and had worked hard to build a life for himself and his family.
But when the shop burned down, Jamal also lost his home and has been living in a dented Toyota Yaris ever since.
“Since the shop burned down, I have not been able to sleep anywhere at night,” Jamal tells us through a friend who speaks excellent English.
“I sleep in the car at night, but the engine is broken and I have no money to fix it. There is no heating, so it is very cold. I can’t sleep and I am in pain. All I have left are a few clothes in a suitcase in the back of the car.
Jamal Ghabes last week in the burnt-out shop where he worked as a butcher
“I want to stay in Northern Ireland because I like it here and it is not safe to return to Syria. I have a residence card and am legally allowed to stay here, but my wife Semia and my daughter (7) Sima are back in Syria and have applied for entry.”
Jamal is keen to show us the official documents proving that he has registered his butcher shop and pays taxes to the state.
“I worked really hard and paid my taxes. I didn’t want handouts. I was a butcher in Syria and my stall at the Sham Market did very well. The locals also bought from me.
“But I lost everything in the fire. I have absolutely nothing left. No job, no home, no money and no one is helping me. I am all alone.”
When we meet Jamal, his car is parked on a street near the nationalist side of Broadway.
He parked in front of a property where the Ministry of the Interior has housed other asylum seekers and refugees.
“I can use their toilet and wash myself, but I am not allowed to sleep there or they would get in trouble,” says Jamal.
“I’m very sad about everything and very tired. It’s been a very difficult few weeks. I had hope for the future, but now I don’t. I liked Sandy Row. The people were good people.”
“I want to open a new business and start working again to earn money for my family. I just need help getting back on my feet. I want to work.”
Jamal has to sleep in his car
Jamal says that since he only rented a stall in the supermarket, he has not received any financial support from the city government or anyone else. However, he hopes to quickly find an opportunity to open a new business elsewhere.
His friend Garry, who is helping to translate, says he has been phoning around to try to get the engine of Jamal’s car repaired but has been told it could cost £3,000, which is “more than the car is worth”.
“Jamal had a terrible childhood in Syria,” he says. “He was an orphan and had a very difficult life. Here he was successful, earned money and paid his taxes. He finally had hope for the future again.”
Violent riots broke out in many towns and cities across the United Kingdom after three young girls were killed at a Taylor Swift-themed dance in Southport.
Social media falsely claimed that the blame lay with someone who had entered the UK illegally.
Jamal with a suitcase containing all his belongings
Although mass unrest and riots have subsided following the arrests of prominent figures, there continues to be a steady increase in reports of racially motivated hate crimes against minorities.
Throughout Northern Ireland, homes, cars and businesses belonging to black people have been attacked.
Jamal also reveals that this week he and his friend were followed and verbally abused by a group of local men as they went to a shop on Donegall Road to buy groceries.
“They followed us and shouted things at us,” he says.
“They targeted us because of the color of our skin and because we have beards. That was the only reason. It’s very scary because you don’t know if they’re going to attack.” In the past two weeks, more than 40 people have been arrested and 30 have been charged in connection with the unrest.
This week a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named because of his age, was charged with rioting in south Belfast. The court was told he had been encouraged to do so by his mother.
He is accused of a total of 12 charges, including four counts of rioting, possession and throwing of a Molotov cocktail, causing an explosion with a firework, and possession of offensive weapons and paint with intent to cause property damage.
