by Sean was on the motorway with his wife Sarah when his engine shut down. The car lost power. He was unable to safely steer the vehicle onto the hard shoulder before the car came to an end.
But the horror he found on the motorway was greater than what he discovered afterwards. Someone deliberately put water on his petrol tank, putting his family in danger. “We didn’t feel like we were in a safe environment,” John said. “You ask yourself: What if our son was in the car? What if we didn’t pull over to the side of the motorway?”
And it wasn’t the first time Sarah and John’s cars had claimed to have been the target of vandalism and criminal damage. Over the past year and a half he estimates they have had to fork out £5,000 in repairs to the vehicles. (The car with water in the tank was considered a ‘write off’ but luckily the new car was covered by insurance.)
READ MORE: Mosques urged to beef up security ahead of Friday prayers over ‘far right thugs’
“They’ve been scratched up, the tires have been slashed twice – with a blade,” he said.
John and his family, whose names have been changed to protect them, believe a group in their neighborhood is targeting them – because of the color of their skin.
John said: “Only cars with black people are targeted. It’s just us and one other guy in the area. It’s clear they don’t want us here.”
The family moved into a new house in Headwaters three years ago after moving out of a crowded home they shared with John’s parents. “We’re just trying to start a family,” John said. But the 33-year-old, who is studying to become a mental health nurse, said the trouble started almost as soon as they moved in.
John said the harassment comes in many forms: doors and gates blocked in by bins, punctured tyres, the tank filled with water and being ‘parked in’ by other cars so they could not get to work or the university and caused serious parking disputes among them. the neighbours. John says he also had to endure racist abuse aimed at him and his seven-year-old son.
“[My son] He was playing outside and someone came out crying that he looks like poo. And as much as I want him to stay at home [to protect him] – he’s a kid, he wants to fight other kids,” said John.
“He also gets it at school and he gets it when he plays at home. We tried to talk to his teachers. What is the basis of that upbringing for this boy’s mind in the future?”
The harassment took a toll on the family. Sarah has had to take sick leave from her job as a nurse because of the stress and anxiety she is feeling over the situation.
And Seán said: “I’m tired. I just don’t have the energy. We’re always looking out the window in case something happens.”
In order to escape the situation, the family applied to the council to move them to another house. Their request was refused.
A Council spokesperson told The Man that they have a ‘strong allocation policy’ and ‘urgent priority’ given to families in ‘exceptional need to move, including racial hatred or harassment’. But a rejection letter sent to the family claims that John’s ‘anti-social behaviour’ is not ‘recognised as housing need’, advising him to go to the police and the housing association instead.
A council spokesman said: “Firstly, I want to make it clear that no one should be the victim of any form of hatred or abuse. Oldhamers is better than this. Anyone who is a victim of crime should hate to report this to the police.
“Demand for social housing in Oldham is outstripping supply, and the council often has to make difficult decisions to ensure that those who need it most are offered a home, but the reality is story, at the moment, most people are disappointed because of lack of social. housing, as a result of 14 years of underinvestment in social housing.”
The spokesman also suggested that officers were currently ‘reviewing’ the situation but the family claim they have had no correspondence with the council regarding housing since they were refused.
Despite reporting some of the incidents to the police and his housing association, John feels he is getting no help. The police recently advised the family to put up a camera to ‘gather evidence’ of the behaviour.
But the first night he was up, someone cut the wires, says John.
And while many neighbors have street-facing cameras, no one was willing to share their footage with the family so they could take it to the police, according to John.
Asked if the police had helped him, John said: “Not at all. I think in three years of this they’ve only come once.” GMP has been contacted for comment.
Meanwhile, John claims landlords First Choice Homes Oldham (FCHO) have left the family feeling they are fighting a losing battle – even though the housing association says they are doing everything within their means. powers to address family concerns.
“When [First Choice Home officers] came, [Sarah] he was crying and torn apart,” said Seán. “And they showed no emotion – telling us they’re not going to help us.”
In a letter sent by First Choice Homes and seen by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, the family were told that their “complaints have not been upheld as they have no evidence of who did the vandalism”. They also said that the parking issues were ‘difficult to manage’ as they were ‘unable to enforce any parking regulations on the street as a housing association.
“I don’t know what to do,” said Seán. “It is clear that we live in a hostile environment. We’re showing them pictures, reporting things to the police and everything – and they tell us there’s no evidence and there’s nothing they can do.”
A spokesperson from FCHO claimed that the allegations were being taken ‘very seriously’ and that all their customers should feel safe in their own home’.
They said: “We have thoroughly investigated all the issues raised by our customer. We are also aware of concerns raised by neighbors against the complainant, which we have also investigated. Allegations from both sides are subject to ongoing investigations.
“Our teams have met with the customer multiple times, and we are doing everything within our power to address the family’s concerns.
“We are working with our partners on matters that are outside our remit and we have no enforcement powers. We are in contact with Greater Manchester Police regarding the allegations of racial abuse and vandalism. We are also working with Oldham Council on issues within their remit, such as parking and re-housing.
“We advised the family on the different housing options available to them. They did not apply for re-housing with the council until our staff indicated it was one of their options. Due to the significant shortage of homes available and to ensure a level playing field for all applicants, only cases that meet exceptional circumstances criteria can be considered for a ‘transfer of management’ to another FCHO property.
“We remain committed to providing ongoing support and will continue to do everything we can to ensure the customer feels safe and supported in their home.”
But John doesn’t feel the subject is being taken seriously enough.
“It’s just the fact that it doesn’t seem to be happening to anyone else in the area. If it happened to other people it would be dealt with,” he said.
“From that day on [on the motorway]we felt that we can never be comfortable in our own home again.”
