An Afghan asylum seeker who was staying in a hotel that was stormed and set on fire by rioters says he is “traumatized” by the attack and now avoids going outside.
The 29-year-old was staying at the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham last week when people smashed the building’s windows before setting fire to it.
Masked men threw wood, chairs and bottles at the police in the 700-strong crowd, some sprayed fire extinguishers. At least ten police officers were injured, one of whom was knocked unconscious.
The asylum seeker, who wishes to remain anonymous for security reasons, said his fear had not subsided even a week after he was moved to another hotel.
“I’m pretty sure most of the people who were in the hotel are still panicking,” he said. “They are traumatized, their situation is not good.”
The man, who spent two months in the hotel while waiting for his asylum claim to be processed, also described feeling “lost” about his future in the UK.
Protesters throw over a rubbish bin during an anti-immigration protest rally in Rotherham on August 4
Riot police push back anti-migration protesters outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham, which is housing asylum seekers, on August 4, 2024
The asylum seeker said the unrest had already started a day earlier when people walked past the hotel shouting: “F*** you! Rwanda! Go to your country!”
Describing the fear and panic when the attack began, he said: “They entered the dining area through the back door/kitchen and smashed the windows from the inside.”
“From inside, they threw chairs and tables at the police and threw other things at them. And then they set fire. The people in the hotel were very scared.”
The man had been living in Britain as a student for a year and a half, but had applied for asylum earlier this year because he feared he would not be able to return to his home country due to the Taliban takeover.
About his life before, he said: “I had a great life in Afghanistan. I worked with humanitarian organizations and in the development sector. I also did volunteer work.”
On the more general issue of migration, he described how having to leave one’s country is not an easy thing, adding: “Forced migration is not a good and desirable experience.”
A police officer clashes with a protester outside a hotel in Rotherham on August 4, 2024
Hundreds of rioters attacked a Holiday Inn Express hotel housing asylum seekers on August 4, setting fires, fighting and throwing rockets.
Riot police attempt to push back anti-immigration protesters during a riot outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham on August 4
On August 7, 2024, a police cordon is set up outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Manvers on the outskirts of Rotherham in the north of England.
But the man, who is supported by the Refugee Council, said he had hoped for a new, fulfilling life in Britain before the unrest broke out.
He said he had had “very happy” experiences in Britain and felt safe there, adding: “But now I don’t go out. I don’t want to explore new places. I’m very sad and frustrated. I feel very lost now.”
A refugee from southern Africa who now lives in the Midlands also said the violence made him feel “unwelcome and unwanted”.
The man in his early 40s, who wished to remain anonymous, said he had fled persecution and was enjoying living in the UK “freely as a member of the LGBTQI community”.
He said police spoke to him earlier in the week about a previously friendly neighbor who was suspected of being one of the main organizers of the unrest, which left him feeling like “you don’t know who your enemy is and everyone is vulnerable.”
He said he felt “hope and great confidence that the British community stood in solidarity with all those affected by the unrest during the counter-protests on Wednesday”.
Meanwhile, Nooralhaq Nasimi, director of the Afghanistan and Central Asian Association (ACAA), said the people his organization supports are “anxious and scared and worried about what might happen in the future.”
The photo shows rioters setting fires, fighting and throwing rockets outside the Holiday Inn Express hotel in Rotherham on August 4.
Pictured is destruction and debris outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham on August 5, a morning after thugs in balaclavas threw chairs and wood at police, vandalised the hotel and nearby bus stops, and set fires in the area.
Mr Nasimi came to Britain as a refugee from Afghanistan in 1999 and said he had never experienced violence “on this scale” in his 25 years in the UK.
The community leader, who was honored in 2023 for his services to refugees, said he believed there was “a very small minority” behind the violence and praised the “great support for the counter-protests.”
He said: “I am delighted to see so many British people taking to the streets to support Britain’s multiculturalism, to support members of BME (black and minority ethnic) and Muslim communities, and to voice their criticism of the far right. They are telling the public that the people behind this violence do not represent British democracy or British culture.”
He expressed hope that in the future there would be a stronger “partnership” between the Home Office, the police and grassroots organizations working with asylum seekers and refugees to strengthen “community cohesion.”
