A number of rocks were thrown through the windows of the woman’s home where she, her husband and her children, aged seven and one, lived. She said she was worried about her children’s safety.
It follows an attack on her car and previous incidents at the house, including eggs being thrown at their home and rubbish strewn about the yard. The family are refugees and have lived in Northern Ireland for two years.
“This incident must be condemned in the strongest possible terms,” said Ms Bradshaw
“To hear this woman state she had to tell her child there are some bad people in the world, they do bad things and he may experience this again in future is absolutely heart-breaking. The rapid establishment of fundraising efforts in this case show such attacks are not reflective of society.
“Those who scapegoat refugees for all the ills of society, who paint them as ‘criminals’ and ‘spongers’ must also share in the responsibility for demonising people seeking refuge from the horror and trauma they faced at home, so rather than being met with compassion they are faced with hostility.
“Our response must be to work with communities to support the integration of newcomers and ensure such incidents stop. We also need to help the police to ensure offenders are caught and prosecuted, and I would urge anyone with information on this latest attack to pass it to the PSNI.”