Syrian man who had butcher’s shop burned

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Syrian man who had butcher’s shop burned out by far-right thugs is living in car

Jamal Ghabes ran the butcher counter at the Sham Market in Sandy Row but the shop was destroyed during disorder following an anti-Islam protest in Belfast city centre a fortnight ago and was targeted again 48 hours later.

The 28-year-old fled war-torn Syria in 2022 and had been working hard to make a life for himself and his family.

But when the shop burned down Jamal also lost his home and since then has been living out of a beat-up Toyota Yaris.

“I’ve nowhere to sleep at night since the shop was burned out,” says Jamal, through a friend who speaks excellent English.

“I sleep in the car at night but the engine is broken and I don’t have any money to fix it. There’s no heating so it gets very cold. I can’t sleep and I am sore. All I have left are a few clothes in a suitcase in the back of the car.

Jamal Ghabes last week at the burnt-out shop where he worked as a butcher

“I want to stay in Northern Ireland because I like it here and it’s not safe to go back to Syria. I have a residency card and I’m legally allowed to be here but my wife Semia and daughter (7) Sima are back in Syria and have applied to come here.”

Jamal is at pains to show us the legal government documents which show he had registered his butcher’s shop and was paying taxes to the state.

“I was working really hard and was paying my taxes, I didn’t want any handouts. I was a butcher in Syria and the booth in Sham Market was going very well. Local people were buying from me too.

“But I lost everything in the fire. I have absolutely nothing left. No job, no home and no money and nobody is helping. I’m all alone.”

When we meet Jamal his car is parked in a street close to the nationalist side of Broadway.

He’s parked outside a property where other asylum seekers and refugees have been housed by the Home Office.

“I can use their toilet and get washed but I’m not allowed to sleep there or they would get into trouble,” says Jamal.

“I’m very sad about everything and very tired. It has been a very difficult couple of weeks. I had hope for the future but now I have none. I liked Sandy Row. The people were good people.

“I want to open another business and start working again to get money for my family. I just need help to get back on my legs. I want to work.”

Jamal is forced to sleep in his car

Jamal says as he was only renting a booth out of the supermarket, he has not been offered any financial support from the council or anyone else but he has hopes he can quickly find somewhere else to start up another business.

His friend Garry, who is helping with the interpreting, says he has phoned around to try and get the engine of Jamal’s car fixed but has been told it could cost £3,000 which is “more than the car is worth”.

“Jamal had a bad childhood back in Syria,” he says. “He was an orphan and things were very difficult for him. He was successful here, making money and paying his taxes and finally had good hope for his future.”

There has been violent disorder in towns and cities across the UK after three young girls were killed in Southport at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event.

False claims on social media followed that someone who had arrived in the UK illegally was to blame.

Jamal with a suitcase which contains all his belongings

Although the mass riots and disorder have calmed down following high-profile arrests, there has been a steady flow of reported race hate crimes against minority communities.

Homes, cars and businesses belonging to people of colour have been targeted across Northern Ireland.

Jamal also reveals he and his friend were followed by a group of local men shouting abuse at them this week when they went to a shop to buy some food on the Donegall Road.

“They followed us and they were shouting things at us,” he says.

“They targeted us because of the colour of our skin and because we have beards. That was the only reason. It’s very scary because you don’t know if they are going to attack.” More than 40 people have been arrested and 30 have been charged in relation to the disorder in the last fortnight.

This week a 15-year-old, who can’t be named due to his age, was charged with rioting in south Belfast and the court was told he was encouraged by his mother.

He faces a total of 12 charges, including four counts of riot, possessing and throwing a petrol bomb, causing an explosion with a firework, and having offensive weapons and paint with intent to cause damage to property.