Family left ‘petrified’ by attack on refugee centre in Buncrana

The owners of an emergency accommodation centre in Buncrana that houses 50 refugees say residents have been left “petrified” by what they have described as an attempt to set fire to the building.

The owners of The Sailor’s Rest accommodation centre said a firework was thrown at the building close to the town’s shorefront at around 11pm on Monday night.

Christopher and Sharon Flanagan who run the centre which was opened to refugees at the end of March, say CCTV footage shows there was a clear attempt to throw a firework through an open window on the roof.

They say the incident follows a social media campaign against the presence of the refugees and several direct threats to “burn the building” in recent months.

The incident follows an arson attack on Thursday night that caused significant damage to a building in Lisfannon outside Buncrana that former presidential candidate Peter Casey plans to turn into an accommodation centre for Ukrainian refugees.

Christopher Flanagan said CCTV footage of the incident shows “there was a clear intention to cause a fire” in the centre by throwing a firework through an open window.

“It missed the window and exploded on the roof,” he said.

Gardaí said they are making enquiries into reports of fireworks set off in the Buncrana area at approximately 11pm on Monday night, adding that no injuries or damage to property were reported.

Sharon Flanagan said a family of four - a mother and her three children aged between 10 and 20 - were asleep in the room with the open window.

The family are now “petrified” and “absolutely living in fear”, she said.

“They don't want to leave the building. They are absolutely petrified and are beside themselves with fear.”

She said she is “100% confident” that the individual responsible for the incident will be identified from the CCTV footage.

“Buncrana is a very small community and we have had phone calls from local people who have given information.”

Local councillor Jack Murray condemned the incident which he said “is not representative of the people of Buncrana”.

“Anyone I have spoken to is rightly horrified and angered by it.”

The Sinn Féin councillor said the Government has left “a vacuum of information” regarding such centres and has failed to answer “legitimate concerns” about a lack of facilities and resources.

“This allows for a space where anger can spill into the reprehensible actions we saw yesterday (Monday).

“The Government has handled this badly but if you decide to take your anger out on the Government by attacking a building where women and children are sleeping; you need to take a long, hard look at yourself.”