A SUDANESE father and his five-year-old daughter have been forced to flee their home in east Belfast after suffering racist intimidation.
The occupants of another house nearby have also had to leave after burglars ransacked the property and tore up the Koran.
Widowed Adam Taha (34) and his daughter Amira began moving yesterday to a new temporary apartment in west Belfast.
On Sunday the warehouse worker awoke to find his car's tyres were slashed outside his home on Newcastle Street.
It came just days after he was attacked after he confronted two men smashing up a house on nearby Island Street where his Sudanese friends Hussam Ahmed (40) and Ahmed Alzian (34) live.
The burglars trashed the Belfast Metropolitan College students' property, including using knives to cut up beds and scrawling graffiti on the walls.
Mr Alzian caught the pair in the act and alerted his neighbour Mr Taha, who managed to get pictures of the thieves as they fled.
But the pair returned with metal bars minutes later and attacked the men in an attempt to get their phones and the pictures they had taken.
Mr Alzian was hit on the head, legs and body, and was taken to hospital by ambulance for treatment.
Mr Taha said he has lived in the area for two years without any any problems, but is now considering leaving Northern Ireland.
"I feel insecure. Everything I have to check, if somebody is following me – I don't feel safe," he said.
"I'm going to move somewhere else. There is no point in staying here if there is no justice. If this continues on there is no future here."
Police have confirmed officers are investigating the incidents on October 6 and October 18 as hate crimes.
Officers have appealed for anyone with information about the attacks to contact them on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Mr Ahmed and Mr Alzian have moved to temporary hostel accommodation.
All the victims are being helped by the Participation and the Practice of Rights (PPR) group which assists those facing housing problems.
PPR development worker Seán Brady hit out at the Housing Executive for not recognising these incidents as 'intimidation' to make permanent rehousing a more urgent priority.
He added: "This is the fifth Sudanese family we have supported in recent months whose houses have been attacked.
"All of the evidence is there to demonstrate clear cases of intimidation – the nature of the attacks, the singling out of the Sudanese families, the threats issued, the follow up attacks, the involvement of the PSNI.
"Yet the NIHE has yet to award 'intimidation points' in a single case. The Housing Executive's system which is supposed to provide emergency protection and safety to people and families in need is most certainly falling short – with extremely serious consequences."
The Housing Executive said it is working to identify housing for the individuals.
In relation to Island Street, a spokesman said: "We are committed to identifying a more permanent housing solution for both men as a matter of priority."
He added: "We can also confirm that we have secured temporary accommodation for a third applicant and we will be working closely with him to identify a more permanent solution to his housing need."
