Get the Glasgow stories that matter to you sent straight to your inbox with our daily newsletter Sign me up Thank you for subscribing See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A Glasgow man has spoken out about a disgusting race-hate campaign that is making his family’s life a misery.

Over the last six months a group of teenage neds have subjected Shahid Ishaq and his wife Shahnaz to vile racist abuse, including monkey chants and taunts of “go home smelly P**i” as well as repeatedly smashing the windows to their house.

Uber driver Shahid, 46, has stayed in the Castlemilk area since 1995 and in Bowhouse Drive for 12 years without any hassle but now he is at the end of the tether as repeated complaints to the police have made no difference to the constant abuse.

He said: “My neighbours are mostly good working people who are disgusted by it all and what is happening to us.

“But I think some are afraid to speak out in case they are targeted next.”

The problems initially started for Shahid around two years ago when a family with two young boys moved nearby. The two boys, aged around 8-10 years old at the time started playing football around Shahid's home causing damage to his car and his garden but it was when he asked them to move that the first cases of racism started.

He said: “All I asked them was please don’t play there, then a few days later they starting throwing stones at my house and smashed my front door windows.

“Shahnaz saw them and went out to chase them and they started making monkey chants and shouting 'c’mon P**i, c’mon P**i' at her.”

On that occasion the police were phoned but the Ishaq’s were told that nothing could be done due to the kids' young age but promised to speak the parents.

But nothing changed and just a few days later the same kids were back playing football in the garden, hitting the car and throwing stones at the window so Shahid decided to speak one of their fathers after seeing him with the boy in the street.

However, rather than resolve anything, this again just seemed to make matters 10 times worse.

He said: “I was very polite and I said 'excuse me sir your son is basically tormenting us, he has been giving us monkey chants, racially abusing us and even smashing our windows and all I ask is that you please ask him to stop'.

“I never got an apology or a single word from the father, just a dirty look as if to say 'I will show you what racism is.'”

Since then it just escalated into a full blown hate campaign as a group of older teenage neds set up a drinking den in the path behind Shahid’s house to routinely take turns tormenting and racially abusing the desperate couple.

On one occasion in June the gang of drunk neds attacked the house while Shahid’s own two teenage children from a previous marriage were paying a rare visit, smashing all his windows and damaging his daughter’s car by jumping on it.

The police were phoned again this time refusing to acknowledge any racial aspect to the crime until a few neighbours pointed out that they never target any of his white neighbours.

Then the next day the gang were back and the abuse reached another level again.

Shahid explained: “My wife was in the car waiting on me coming out the house and they came right up and said to 'her go back home you black smelly P**i bastard, go back to your own country'.

“So I ran outside and said to them go away now and get lost, you have already smashed my windows what more do you want? They just started giving me more racist abuse and one of them threw a stone right at my face.

“One of them came towards me and I could smell the booze coming from him so I pulled my phone out to call the police and his pal grabbed him and said 'if the police come they will breathalyse you' and they ran away, so that shows they had been drinking.

“There is a path down behind my house that leads to a wee drinking den they all use to drink alcohol and smoke drugs and hang about there all the time to make our life hell.

“That has only been since I spoke to that guy about his son and I am certain that he has put them up to it.”

Shahid was born in the UK and has lived in Glasgow since he was 12 but his wife only came to Scotland from Pakistan four years ago so she has been left particularly terrified by it all.

Shahnaz, who speaks little English, regularly calls Uber driver Shahid at his work screaming in fear as the house is attacked yet again.

Shahid also had to have a brain tumour removed last year leaving him unable to work for months and in a mountain of debt. He now fears that if his car gets damaged he will lose all his income.

Getting visibly upset, he said “It’s just because we are a different colour, my wife can’t understand that, she is devastated and heartbroken by it all and keeps asking why this is happening to us. We can’t change our colour we cannot do that.

“Every time I go back home my wife is in tears because of what is happening, sometimes I have customers in my car and she phones me screaming saying they are throwing stones at the windows again and attacking the house asking me what she should do.

“She moved here four-and-a-half years ago and we are very happy but this is putting a lot of strain on our marriage and I don’t know what to do.”

He has also been left disheartened by lack of police interest in the case and feels they are not taking the racist aspect of it serious.

He said: “Last night I just broke down in tears when I saw more damage. I just can’t live like this - no-one should have to live like this.

“We are terrified now at what might happen.

“I phoned 999 yesterday and the police never came at all because it was no big danger and no one is being killed at the moment, it was as if they were thinking it was only a Pakistani family getting racially abused and victimised so no big deal.

“I think it's appalling for police standards. There should be a higher police presence until these people are caught and prosecuted.”

Seeing two of his neighbours, who his wife had made friends with and made an effort to send gifts to for Christmas and Eid, watching her get racially abused and doing nothing about it and then even denying seeing anything when asked by police, also shocked Shahid.

He said: “I think they must have been afraid in case they were targeted next and that is why they never helped. But in saying that, anytime I see anyone especially one of my neighbours of friends being attacked, white black or whoever my first instinct would always be to try and help them.

“I have lived in Scotland since I was 12, I am Scottish, I feel Scottish, I vote the SNP and I am proud to be Scottish.

“No one should have to put up with this abuse.”