The family of the victim of the Belfast knife attack have appealed for calm after riots erupted across the city, forcing families from their homes in fear for their lives.
Amid apprehension in Northern Ireland about continued violence after Monday’s disturbances, Stephen Ogilvie’s family said in a statement that they wanted to “make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome”.
Ogilvie is in hospital having lost his left eye in the attack, footage of which was shared widely on social media late on Monday evening and through the day on Tuesday.
Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old Sudanese man, appeared at Belfast magistrates court on Wednesday charged with attempting to murder Ogilvie, threatening to kill an NHS radiographer on the same day, and possessing a knife.
Crowds including masked men burned vehicles and houses and blocked roads in and around Belfast on Tuesday night, hours after Elon Musk, Tommy Robinson and other agitators exhorted people to take to the streets.
“We are completely devastated by the horrific attack on our loved one,” Ogilvie’s family said in a statement shared via Phillip Brett, the Democratic Unionist MLA for Belfast North.
“This has been a massive shock to our whole family, and right now our only priority is being at his bedside and helping him recover.
“We are aware of the tensions and talk of protests following this incident. We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward.
“We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector, and we depend on them to make our country work. We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.”
Among those forced to flee their homes on Tuesday night were two Ugandan care workers who were rescued after a church pastor pleaded with a mob of rioters to allow the women to leave.
“Someone who is actually rioting doesn’t know that the person they are targeting is actually looking after their mother or their granny,” one of the women, Sumayah Nakazibwe, said. “Meanwhile, I left my mother back home.”
She described a “terrifying” ordeal during which she and her housemate Stella Ariokot were trapped inside their property as a mob gathered outside and neighbouring houses burned.
Clean-up operations took place across Belfast on Wednesday, after houses were left blackened with soot, their windows shattered, and burnt-out vehicles littered streets.
Families of various nationalities, including Romanians, Sudanese and Ukrainians, were reportedly forced to flee their homes after becoming the target of mob violence. Some living in predominantly white neighbourhoods had already been targeted in the past.
It emerged on Tuesday that Alodid had been given five years’ leave to remain in the UK after entering from Ireland. He was remanded in custody for four weeks after the brief hearing on Wednesday.
The judge, Steven Keown, refused Alodid bail and the case was adjourned to 8 July.
At the end of the hearing, Keown said he wanted to “note that our thoughts are with the victim and his family at this time, and also the emergency services and the members of the public who went to the victim’s aid”, adding that they should be “commended for that”.
In an unusual intervention, addressing the disorder that had taken place across Belfast after the attack, the judge condemned “the fact those emergency services are under attack” and said perpetrators would be dealt with seriously.
Directly referencing communications circulating on Wednesday encouraging protesters to continue to gather, and to wear masks and dark clothing, he said those taking part in the violence “can also expect to go to prison”, adding: “And that message will be sent out loud and clear.”
Ogilvie’s family said: “We want to say a profound thank you to the local people who bravely stepped in during the attack.
“Your quick actions absolutely saved his life, and we will never forget what you did for him in that moment. We also want to thank the emergency services and the doctors and nurses looking after him.”
They asked for space from the media and the public and implored anyone who knew anything about the attack to contact the police.
