Ethnic minority shop owners targeted in UK riots fear more attacks | Features

As rioters went on the attack in dozens of British towns and cities recently, some targeted businesses belonging to ethnic minority Britons.

The unrest began in the aftermath of a fatal stabbing attack in Southport that killed three young girls, which agitators misleadingly blamed on a Muslim migrant. As disinformation about the suspect travelled at pace online, angry crowds took to the streets to abuse migrants and Muslims at random. Black and Asian Britons were also targeted.

On August 3, as many brought chaos to the northern English city of Liverpool, which is near Southport, Ardalan Othman watched in real time as his convenience shop was looted and vandalised.

His security cameras filmed the incident.

In one scene, a group of men steal boxes of cigarettes. Some take expensive items like vapes. A couple spend their efforts trying to break into the till. But some are seen placing singular bars of chocolate into their rucksacks.

“I could see everything as it was happening,” said Othman.

He called the police immediately but it was too late. The shop was destroyed.

“I was at home when they broke in. They stole all my cash, vapes and cigarettes. They smashed the windows. Everything was ruined.”

As he works to repair the damage, he is haunted by fearful thoughts.

“There were more than 100 of them. If I was inside, they could have killed me. I haven’t slept properly since.”

Othman lives a short walk away from his shop but still feels on edge. He said he constantly looks over his shoulder.

“I don’t feel safe at all. I check all the doors and windows before I sleep. I’m terrified they’ll come back or follow me, and attack my home.”

Originally from Iraq, Othman sought safety in the United Kingdom seven years ago.

“I came … to escape violence, I have never experienced any danger. But that evening was the first time I felt it was the same as Iraq.”

As they wreaked havoc and stirred fear, rioters used nationalist slogans, chanted “save our kids” and were heard saying: “There ain’t no Black in the union jack.”

“If they want their country back, why target my shop? What did I ever do to them? I pay my taxes, I contribute to this country. They are not protesters, they are terrorists.”

The trauma will take time to fade, he said. But he has felt comforted by community support in recent days.

“I don’t feel alone, people are trying to help me. It makes me think I can [recover].”

Hundreds of miles away in Belfast, Northern Ireland, there was similar unrest.

Mohammed Idris’s cafe was looted and set ablaze.

“I left Sudan to escape the cycle of injustice,” he said. “This is not fair, they blame [us] immigrants for their problems.”

He settled in Belfast in 2012, establishing his cafe as a vital community hub.

“People from northeast Africa, the Middle East, and even Pakistan, they all come and gather at my cafe. It’s become a home away from home for them,” he added.

Idris had been working upstairs in his office upstairs when he heard the mob shouting his name.

“They were screaming ‘Where is Mohammed?’ and then began smashing all the windows on the ground floor.”

He called the police and then watched in horror as the rioters set his cafe on fire.

“They left nothing behind,” he said.

It’s not the first time Idris has been the victim of such a crime. Last year, his computer store was completely ransacked, with everything inside stolen.

Devastated to see another business destroyed, Idris thought about quitting.

“I said to myself, this is it, I give up, I will always be a foreigner here. I can’t do it anymore.”

But in the days that followed, locals showered him with supportive messages.

“People said, ‘You can’t shut down, we need you.’ They told me, they want me here,” he said.

Many have donated to crowdfunding efforts for the affected businesses, with some charitable drives reaching more than 100,000 pounds ($130,000).

‘I’m scared for my daughter’

Zia Umair, a Pakistani entrepreneur, is also grappling with the aftermath of the attack on his shop, Ifix Phone, in Liverpool.

He was assisting customers when a group descended on his business. He attempted to close the shutters as he saw them approaching but they were fast. He saw the rioters flood through.

“They smashed the windows, knocked the phones to the ground, and stole every last one,” Umair said.

He said he has lost about 70,000 pounds ($90,000) and is now navigating the intricacies of his insurance policy.

The Association of British Insurers has said insurers appreciate that this is an “incredibly stressful time and will be on hand to do everything they can to help customers as quickly as possible”.

“The money is one thing, but I’m scared for my daughter,” said Umair. “I can’t even send her to nursery. With all these riots still happening, what if they hurt her too?”

But like Othman and Idris, he has been deeply moved by the community’s support.

“It makes me emotional. People have come into my shop since and said, ‘I am sorry that they did this to you.’”

He believes the rioters and those that sympathise with them are “not in the majority”.

“They don’t represent Liverpool,” he said.