Police, community step in after Uche Ukeje suffers racist attack

Sopuruchi Onwuka

The Nigerian woman who was rattled by racist graffiti on the wall of her home in Strabane, Ireland is getting her nerves settled by the massive response and support from neighbors and the police in the area.

Ms Uche Ukeje was not expecting any trouble when she relocated to the small town where she now works and her daughter studies in a local school, until a yet-to-be identified person called out the family as immigrants and demanded they leave.

“Immigrants out” were spray-painted on the gable wall of Uche Ukeje’s home in Strabane, it was reported sme 10 day ago. And the panicked mother of two almost succumbed to the threat by seriously considering relocation from the town.

However, regular patrol of the roads around her home by the police and the highly coordinated support from the Strabane Ethnic Community Association provided the confidence Uche required to stay back.

A report by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has it that no person has been arrested for the “racist crime” but the area around Uche’s house has been wired up with security cameras.

The police stated that Ms Ukeje and her two daughters, aged 24 and 14, were left terrified by a racially-motivated hate crime. And Ms Ukeje said it was the first time she or her family had experienced any type of racism since they moved to Strabane two years ago.

All the reports on the incident reviewed by The Oracle did not associate the Ukejes with any history of conflict with anyone, and the family has no record of friction with law enforcement agencies.

Ms Ukeje also has wonderful reputation in her community, earning the concern and support of the Strabane Ethnic Community Association over the incident.

Kamini Rao, from the association, said people’s shock turned to anger in the days following the incident, adding that the response from the community has been so overwhelming.

She said the outcome proved that whoever was behind the racist attack had not won, pledging that “we’re going to be working on the ground to make sure nothing like this ever happens again in the community.”

“Everybody has been 100% behind Uche and the girls, supporting them, because nobody wanted to see them leaving Strabane,” Rao stated, stressing that the expression of racist threats did not represent the character of the community.

In reiterating the community’s disapproval of the incident, Rao said she was glad that Ms Ukeje and her daughters changed their minds and will remain in the place they now call home.

“She’s loved round here and what happened to her was very intimidating, it was a disgrace what happened to her. I’m glad her neighbors rallied round to show her that that’s not the type of people here in Strabane.”

Ms Ukeje appreciates the response of the community to the racist attack on her family, admitting that her family remains “deeply unsettled” and had considered relocating away from Strabane.

She said that overwhelming support from neighbors and wider community has persuaded her to change her mind.

“A lot of people have been calling around, to see how I am feeling, and they care so much,” she said, adding that Strabane is a “quiet, and peace-loving place”.

“The people of Strabane have showered me in love and care, it has been overwhelming,” she added.