Sudanese family says racist graffiti will not force them to leave home

A Sudanese woman whose house was daubed with racist graffiti has said she will not leave her home in Londonderry.

The words "local only" alongside a cross hairs symbol, were sprayed overnight on the property, where Hala Ahmed and her husband live with two of their four children.

Police are treating the incident in the Fountain estate as a racially-motivated hate crime.

"I will be happy to stay here. The Fountain is our first choice and we are going to stay," Ms Ahmed told BBC News NI.

The family moved to the area in December 2024 when they arrived in Northern Ireland.

"Since I came from airport, we moved directly to the Fountain. We have never lived anywhere else. We just recently moved to another house in the area," Ms Ahmed said.

"We have been doing our best to part of the community here.

"There are nice people here who support us."

Ms Ahmed's daughter saw the graffiti when on her way to catch her bus to school.

"She called me and said come and see what was written on the wall. When I came out, I saw those words 'local only'," she said.

"I consider myself a local, we have never experienced anything like this before."

Ms Ahmed said her daughter was crying when she called, adding "it terrified me".

Community worker Jeanette Warke, who runs the Cathedral Youth Club, said she was "sad and shocked".

"This family is so important to our community and are involved with our programmes here," she said.

"Hala and her family are an asset to the community. The person who did this should meet Hala and her family."

The North West Migrants' Forum (NWMF) said it will do all it can to support the family and urged politicians to "condemn this awful act".

Foyle SDLP MP Colum Eastwood described the incident as "hateful".

"People who have come to our city, are raising their family here, contributing to their community and doing their best to make a life for themselves deserve to live in peace," Eastwood said.

Those responsible, he added, "should be held accountable for the disgusting attempt to intimidate this family".

The police said they believe the damage occurred overnight, and have appealed for information from anyone who may have witnessed the incident or recorded it on dash-cam or CCTV.

Inspector Michael Gahan described it as "completely unacceptable".

"Everyone deserves to live without fear or intimidation," he said.

Local campaign group United Against Racism (UAR) condemned the graffiti as "threatening".

Spokesperson Karen McCole said those behind it did not represent the area or the city.

"I have had the pleasure of meeting this family, they are fantastic people who give all they can back to the community," Ms McCole said.

"Derry is a place where people are welcomed no matter where they are from."