THE FAMILY of a man who sustained serious injuries during a knife attack in Belfast have said they do not want the tragedy being used to ‘divide people or fuel hostility’.
Stephen Ogilvie lost his left eye, sustained damage to his right eye and suffered neck and back injuries during the attack in the Kinnaird Avenue area of the city at around 10.30pm on Monday.
Hadi Alodid, 30, from Sudan appeared in court on Wednesday charged with attempted murder as well as possessing a knife in a public place and threatening to kill an NHS worker.
There were scenes of disorder in Belfast and other parts of Northern Ireland on Tuesday night, including reports of people being burned out of their homes.
The victim’s family have now released a statement opposing the violent response and highlighting the contribution of migrants to Northern Ireland.
“We are aware of the tensions and talk of protests following this incident,” read the statement.
“We want to make it absolutely clear that overnight unrest is not welcome, and peaceful protest is the only way forward.
“We have many migrants who make a deeply valuable contribution to our country, including in our healthcare system and hospitality sector and we depend on them to make our country work.
“We do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility.”
Meanwhile, the PSNI has urged the public to respect the victim’s privacy and not to share footage of the incident.
The force added that it was also aware ‘of inaccurate images circulating claiming to be the victim after the attack’.
“They are not related to anyone involved in the attempted murder,” added a statement.
“We believe these images are being used to arouse fear and hatred.”
Appearing at Belfast Magistrates’ Court today, Alodid made no response to the charges against him and was remanded into custody to appear again on July 8.
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