A Polish man living in Newtownabbey has said his world fell apart when his terrified partner called to say their home was under attack.
Jacek Sikorski (32) and Marta Kilan (30) were targeted on Wednesday evening, with a group of around five masked men smashing the windows on their house and car.
Ms Kilan was at home at the time of the attack and was forced to hide upstairs in fear until the men left.
It is now the second attack, after windows at their home were also smashed in February.
Speaking to the Irish News, Mr Sikorski spoke of receiving the call and appealed to the attackers to show courage by taking off their masks.
“I don’t know what we’re going to do. I’m just sitting in my hallway now looking at the windows without the glass,” he said.
“When we first came to Northern Ireland five years ago, we slept on a single mattress in a small room. We worked hard for the money to get a mortgage.”
On the moment of the attack, he said: “I was away at the shops. When she rang me she was crying, she was devastated. My whole world fell down, they destroyed my peace of mind.
“At the same time, I was raging and wanted to destroy everything.”
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Ordering replacement windows for the second time, Mr Sikorski said he now feels unable to leave his house and has struggled to sleep at night.
“The home should be a safe place for everyone. Now I feel like it’s a prison, because if I go out, I worry about someone smashing my windows.
“But I have a mortgage, so I can’t just leave this house. How many hours would I need to work to do that?
“I would lose everything I’ve worked for over the last five years.”
Praising neighbours who offered cups of teas and donated plywood to board up the windows, he said his time in Northern Ireland has largely been welcoming.
“There are some sad people. I won’t say Northern Ireland is racist, because all countries have these people.”
Addressing his attackers directly, he said: “Don’t be afraid. Take off your balaclavas and get your life right.
“Everyone can make a mistake, all of us are sinners or have done something bad in their life.
“There is always a good time to stop doing bad things, change the train and go another direction.”
Looking forward, Mr Sikorski added: “Probably we’ll have to move out, probably they will be back in my opinion, but hopefully I’m wrong.”
Jerome Mullen is the honorary consul with the Polish Consulate in Northern Ireland.
“I was totally shocked to be honest with you. It’s something I haven’t seen happen for quite some time,” he told the Irish News.
“It’s around 20 years now since the first European citizens, Poles in particular, came in large numbers to work here.
“In the early years there was some incidents, especially around parts of Belfast, but not in recent times at all.
“We had hoped that had gone away and was part of history. But unfortunately, these thugs are still around and don’t want anybody foreign here in this country.
“They’re attacking this young couple who came here with nothing and bought their own house, working hard for a living.”
Thanking neighbours who offered their support after the attack, he said: “It’s wonderful to see that happening, and congratulations to them for doing that. I hope they will continue to provide that support in the days ahead.
“The couple can’t walk away from their house, they bought it and are paying for it. They can’t just up sticks and go.
“That’s not an option, they need to be supported by the local community and the political representatives need to come out and voice their views on these shocking events.
“I hope I will hear that as well as from the PSNI that they have apprehended the culprits that have done this and that they are charged and given an appropriate sentence.”
