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The Independent
10-06-2025
- The Independent
Romanian mother ‘afraid' to stay in Ballymena street after attack
A Romanian mother who lives in one of the houses attacked during violence in Ballymena said she had been left too scared to stay in the area. The mother-of-three said her children were asking why their house was being attacked during disturbances in the Co Antrim town on Monday night. Several properties were damaged on Clonavon Terrace in attacks which police have described as 'racist thuggery'. The violence followed an earlier protest in support of the family of a girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault in the town at the weekend. Two 14-year-old boys appeared in court on Monday charged with attempted rape. The charges were read to the teenagers by a Romanian interpreter. The PA news agency spoke to a number of residents of houses in the street on Tuesday who said they now intended to leave the area. The woman from Romania, who said she was too afraid to give her name, said she tried to flee her house after the front window was broken. She said: 'The children were asking me why are we being attacked. 'I don't want to stay here now, the children are afraid and I am afraid.' A Romanian man said he had lived in the area for 15 years. He said: 'We don't even know why this happened to us. 'The riots started last night. We didn't expect it to come to our house. 'We tried to get out of the house and go to a safe place. 'I have lived here 15 years. Everything else has been nice, everything has been OK. 'I have so many friends in Ballymena, I have got so much support. 'Everyone was texting and asking us if we are OK, if we are safe, if they can do anything for us.' He added: 'I am lucky because the damage here is not too bad, but my sister has three kids, I have a little girl. 'We are going to live in a friend's house for a while and then try to move out of here.' He said: 'I like to believe I am a Ballymena man now, I have been living here half of my life. 'I understand if people want to protest but it did not have to be like this. 'We should not have to pay the price.'
BreakingNews.ie
10-06-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Romanian mother afraid to stay in street after ‘racist' attack
A Romanian mother who lives in one of the houses attacked during violence in Ballymena said she had been left too scared to stay in the area. The mother-of-three said her children were asking why their house was being attacked during disturbances in the Co Antrim town on Monday night. Advertisement Several properties were damaged on Clonavon Terrace in attacks which police have described as 'racist thuggery'. The violence followed an earlier protest in support of the family of a girl who was the victim of an alleged sexual assault in the town at the weekend. Damaged property at Clonavon Terrace, Ballymena (Jonathan McCambridge/PA) Two 14-year-old boys appeared in court on Monday charged with attempted rape. The charges were read to the teenagers by a Romanian interpreter. The PA news agency spoke to a number of residents of houses in the street on Tuesday who said they now intended to leave the area. Advertisement The woman from Romania, who said she was too afraid to give her name, said she tried to flee her house after the front window was broken. She said: 'The children were asking me why are we being attacked. 'I don't want to stay here now, the children are afraid and I am afraid.' A Romanian man said he had lived in the area for 15 years. Advertisement He said: 'We don't even know why this happened to us. 'The riots started last night. We didn't expect it to come to our house. 'We tried to get out of the house and go to a safe place. 'I have lived here 15 years. Everything else has been nice, everything has been OK. Advertisement 'I have so many friends in Ballymena, I have got so much support. 'Everyone was texting and asking us if we are OK, if we are safe, if they can do anything for us.' He added: 'I am lucky because the damage here is not too bad, but my sister has three kids, I have a little girl. 'We are going to live in a friend's house for a while and then try to move out of here.' Advertisement Ireland Ballymena violence after alleged sex attack was 'r... Read More He said: 'I like to believe I am a Ballymena man now, I have been living here half of my life. 'I understand if people want to protest but it did not have to be like this. 'We should not have to pay the price.'
BBC News
14-05-2025
- General
- BBC News
Hull school helps Romanian children connect with roots
A Sunday school is helping Romanian children reconnect with their heritage, as many have grown up speaking only English and have never visited than 30 children attend the weekly classes in Hull where they learn about Romanian language, history and classroom, at the Lonsdale Community Centre, is decorated with Romanian flags and Andreea Salvage said the school gave the children "a sense of belonging". "We are now at the second generation of migrant children," she said. "I think it's important to teach them to understand what Romania is because, for them, it is something totally foreign."According to the 2021 Census, Hull's Romanian population was 3,602. Ms Salvage, who moved to the UK from Romania in 2007, said she thinks the number has increased significantly since then. She said each school session focussed on a topic such as Romanian history or national holidays."We try to do themes for each week," she said."For example, last week we had an election. We had an election here in the UK, and we had an election for the Romanian presidential election."If it's something that we celebrate at home, we'll try to give that as a main activity, as the main theme. If not, we look at geography, history, language, tradition and so on." Nine-year-old Angelina is among the children who attend the sessions. "We do some fun activities and we do learn some new stuff in Romanian," she said. "Me and my mum play this game where she has to say in English and I have to say in Romanian." Mirela Popesceo moved to the UK in 2018 and takes her two children to the school including four-year-old Emma-Maria."She barely speaks Romanian to be honest," she said. "We are trying to speak with her at home, but she has been at nursery since she was one, so her language is more English than our native language."We would like her to learn Romanian because, when we are going on holiday to see the relatives and the grandparents, it would be nice for her to understand a little bit."
