Objects thrown at the hotel as trouble flares during a far-right riot outside the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, August 4, 2024
AN AFGHAN asylum-seeker who was inside a hotel targeted by far-right rioters says people have been traumatised by what happened and describes feeling lost when it comes to what his future might hold in Britain.
The 29-year-old was in the Holiday Inn Express in Rotherham when fascists smashed the windows of the building before starting fires last weekend.
Masked men in the 700-strong rabble sprayed fire extinguishers and hurled wood, chairs and bottles at police; at least 10 officers were injured, with one knocked unconscious.
The asylum-seeker, who did not want to be identified amid concerns for his safety, said the trouble had been preceded a day earlier with people passing by the hotel shouting: “F*** you! Rwanda! Go to your country!”
The man, who had been in the hotel for two months waiting for his asylum claim to be processed, described the fear and panic when the attack began.
A week on, having been moved to another hotel, he told the Press Association the fear had not subsided.
“I am pretty sure most of the people who were in the hotel are still in a kind of panic,” he said. “They are traumatised, they are not in a good situation.”
After a year and a half in Britain as a student, he applied for asylum earlier this year, feeling he would not be able to return to his home country due to the Taliban takeover.
Recalling his life before then, he said: “I had a great life back in Afghanistan. I was working with humanitarian organisations, and in the development sector. I was also working as a volunteer.”
On the wider issue of migration, he described how having to leave your own country is not an easy thing to go through, adding: “Forced migration is not a good and desirable experience.”
But the man, who has been supported by the Refugee Council, said he had hope for a positive new life Britain before the riots broke out. His experience in Britain had been a very happy one where he felt safe.
“But now I don’t go outside,” he said. “I don’t want to explore new places. I feel very sad and frustrated. I feel very lost now.”
