Nurse considering leaving NI 'to save her life'

A Nigerian nurse who has lived in Northern Ireland for about five years says she is considering leaving to "save her life".

Chinonso Uche said that when she moved she had "high hopes" but that recent unrest has left her "scared".

Nineteen people - including a 16-year-old-boy - have been arrested following the violence in parts of Northern Ireland this week.

Thursday night was relatively quiet although police say an arson attack in north Belfast is linked to the disorder. They said their policing operation will remain in place over the weekend to ensure public order is maintained.

The disorder was sparked after footage of a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday night was shared widely on social media.

Hadi Alodid, a 30-year-old originally from Sudan, appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder over a knife attack in north Belfast on Monday that caused serious injuries to the victim, Stephen Ogilvie.

Violence broke out across Northern Ireland on Tuesday night, with homes, businesses and vehicles targeted.

Further disorder followed on Wednesday, particularly in Glengormley and Portadown, where police came under attack and deployed water cannon.

Uche said when she arrived in Northern Ireland, she gave everything, bought a house here and "had no plan of leaving".

But she said "as time goes on, every summer there's unrest against immigrants" and that she has been attacked multiple times on her way home from work.

"This last bit was the last for me," she said.

Uche explained she has taken some annual leave from work to go "away from the chaos" for a few days to think through what to do about her future.

She said: "It is really not any easy decision" after building a life here.

"At this point I need to save my life, I don't really feel safe".

She described being worried about starting her life elsewhere.

"Are you better to stay here and die than go and start it over again," she said.

"I am really scared," Uche explained.

Uche said that "some days it feels like we are going crazy" and explained it is especially bad for a nurse to work in that state.

"Nursing is a very delicate job, you need your mind, you need your whole entirety to be able to practise safely," she said.

"Because life is entrusted into your hands," she added.

She said people are left worrying what is going to happen next.

Uche said that when the unrest broke out last summer, she didn't think she would leave but "with each passing year, it gets worse".

Uche said she doesn't know if reassurance from anyone would change anything for her.

"The only thing that can change it is if the government can really put a stop to this."

"I think there is some misinformation about immigrants in NI," she explained.

She said some people "think that all of us are illegal".

But Uche explained that she works long hours to pay bills.

"We need to work for our money," she said.

Uche said it was "so sad" that despite working for money, people claim the government provides everything.

"We work for everything we own in this country," she said.

Several hundred people attended an anti-racism rally on the Falls Road in west Belfast on Friday.

Lord Mayor of Belfast City Council Róis-Máire Donnelly of Sinn Féin and People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll, addressed the crowd and called on people to challenge racism whenever they see it.

Doctor Raied Al-Wazzan, from the Belfast Islamic Centre, told the crowd about the fears felt by ethnic minorities across the city.

He praised the local community for attending the rally and helping local people who have been too afraid to travel and go food shopping.

The fire service was called to the Shore Road on Thursday night where a blaze had been set at the rear of a house - there are no reports of injuries.

In an update on the disorder, police said the property was unoccupied at the time and two neighbouring properties also sustained damage as a result of the attack, which is being treated as hate-motivated arson.

Elsewhere, car fires were extinguished early on Friday morning at both the Glenshane Road in Derry and at Hartford Mews in Newtownards. Police are treating both incidents as racial hate motivated arson.

Separately, police are also treating an incident where items were burned outside a property in the Milltown View area of Derry as a racially motivated hate crime. It is understood the family who lived in the home have been relocated.

Dr Mukesh Chugh has lived and worked as a doctor in Derry for more than 20 years.

"We hear especially from people who come from different nations and people of different colour - their houses are gone, their cars are gone, their windows are smashed," he told BBC Radio Foyle's North West Today programme.

"We're in a WhatsApp group and there are messages floating that a certain family has been made homeless overnight and they were a family with small kids."

Chugh said: "We should not judge the whole immigrant community because of one act of violence done by some person in the street.

"Same goes for people who are on the roads – I don't believe they represent the good Northern Irish people."

Ruchira Rangaprasad has been cooking meals in her kitchen for people who have fled their homes and for some who are afraid to leave their houses.

The 23-year-old has been living in Northern Ireland for three years, having moved from her home in Bangalore, India, to study for a Master's degree.

Since Tuesday, she along with a team of volunteers, has delivered over 100 home-cooked meals and sanitary products to people in need.

"When everything started to shut down, I just thought maybe let me make food for anybody that needs it," she told BBC News NI.

Rangaprasad said it hasn't just been displaced people who have received her meals.

"We've been seeing a lot of students and really young families," she said.

"There have been a lot of local people as well who couldn't leave their house because they may be disabled and takeaway apps were not working."

Rangaprasad explained that people have been "overjoyed" to receive her meals and you can "see their eyes and faces light up".

She said she is covering the cost of the ingredients herself, but has received a few donations and can make a meal for 10 for around £5.

"It's been very easy, very simple to cook because the way I grew up in India, my mum would constantly make food for strangers," she added.

On Friday PSNI Assistant Chief Constable (ACC) Ryan Henderson said protests on Thursday night were "much calmer than we have seen in recent days".

Henderson said: "Everyone who lives, works and visits Northern Ireland deserves to feel safe and the PSNI is there to help all our communities do so, by operating a zero-tolerance approach to any violence, intimidation, or criminal acts".

The Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service (NIFRS) said they received 46 emergency calls resulting in crews being mobilised to 26 incidents across Northern Ireland on Thursday evening.

A meeting was held between police the local business community to "raise issues and concerns around the negative impact the disorder has caused".

Following the meeting, Comm Ch Supt Amanda Ford said Belfast city centre is "very much open for business" and there will be an increased policing presence.

Glyn Roberts from Retail NI said the meeting was a "useful engagement", but added that the"big issue" now is how do we get back to business.

A Translink spokesperson said bus and train services are "currently operating as normal, with minimal alterations" on Friday after services were suspended earlier this week.