An asylum seeker says he thought he was going to die after masked rioters broke into the hotel he was staying in during violent unrest in Rotherham.
Abdullah, an Iraqi Kurd, had been in the UK for four months, having arrived in the country by boat, when the incident took place at the Holiday Inn Express in Manvers.
Footage taken by Abdullah and others from inside the hotel, which came under attack by a large crowd on 4 August – Abdullah’s birthday – shows people shouting threats and obscenities at those inside.
Other video filmed by Abdullah shows protesters attacking a police van as well as smashed windows and panic inside the hotel.
ReutersOne man, with his face covered, can be seen pulling his finger across his throat to suggest a knife cutting it.
The violence at the hotel – including rioters starting fires – came in the wake of the fatal knife attack in Southport, which left three girls dead. Unrest spread around the country in the aftermath of the stabbings, fuelled by misinformation relating to anti-immigration sentiments on social media.
Abdullah, who asked for his surname not to be used, described being confronted by masked people inside the hotel and how the incident has impacted him since.
He says the violent scenes he witnessed began with two opposing sides protesting outside – but that the pro-immigration protesters were led away from the scene by police when they became outnumbered.
Abdullah told the BBC the incident started around 10:00 BST and lasted “a long time”, until around 17:00 or 18:00.
Footage shows crowds outside surging at police lines, throwing rocks and missiles at windows and setting wheelie bins on fire next to broken windows.
In video seen by the BBC, taken by Abdullah, people can be seen trying to overturn a police van. Inside the hotel, debris and smashed glass appears strewn across floors, while one official is heard telling panicked guests to please stay in their rooms, as others rush along the corridor.
“We [were] all scared,” Abdullah told the BBC. “We saw everyone kicking the police – that’s why we are scared, when someone kicks the police, they can kick me too, because we are just a normal person.”
Abdullah had been in a friend’s room, but he then returned to his own room on the second floor. When he got there, the window had been smashed and his room was full of smoke.
“Inside is all fire,” he added. “We couldn’t breathe and… we all have stress because we think today we will die.”
Abdullah said he then went back into the corridor, where he was faced with masked protesters who had broken into the hotel and come up to the second floor.
“I go outside of my room and I saw the five people with masks, black masks. I couldn’t see their faces. And he said ‘come to me, you want to fight with me?’. But the police came and he saved me, he protected me.
“If the police weren’t there, maybe I will be dead. We were scared, all scared… We couldn’t think what we could do.”
At the time, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer condemned the incident as “far-right thuggery”.
South Yorkshire Police described the violence as “nothing short of disgusting” and have since said more than 60 officers were injured in the incident, alongside four police dogs and a police horse.
Earlier on Thursday, the force said 38 people had been charged over the unrest, and 20 had been convicted.
Later, three men were jailed over the incident, bringing the number who have been sentenced to 11.
Abdullah has now been moved, like all those housed in the Rotherham hotel.
But the incident has affected him.
Reuters“I’m still scared, when I go to outside here I’m still scared. When I see another person I go to the other side. I think it is better because I don’t want to have any problem, because of what happened… I can’t forget it you know.”
He says he understands why some people feel resentment, but he also knows they do not represent everyone’s views.
“What happened in Rotherham, that’s not right. That’s all confused people. If I have (made) any mistake, you can say anything, but I (haven’t made) any mistakes…
“I know why the people are angry, but that’s not [a reason] to want to kill me”.
He hopes he will be able to settle in the UK before long.
“I want to go to work but I can’t… maybe after six months or one year I can go to work – I want to have a job, I want to pay tax like everybody.”
Additional reporting by Harrison Jones
