Problems with (Nigerian) neighbours - any advice?

Pamela13

I am not trying to start a thread that is negative, nor racist, but had a very bad experience with a neighbour who is Nigerian and felt the best way to deal with the issue was to threaten me with my 4 month old baby in my arms.

I live in Balbriggan and on both sides are two Nigerian families -- on one side, the woman with 4 children has been living next to us for two years (I know the landlady as we bought our properties at the same time), she has been served a notice for eviction for non-payment of rent (since January) and destruction of property of the house she is living in.

On the other side, the landlord (also moved in when we bought, but has moved elsewhere)-- his first tenants crashed into our car and disputed responsiblity when the Garda were called, but called us racist when we brought a claim through their insurance, second tenants were brilliant (also from Nigeria), but current tenants are quite noisy, although I have only complained twice in six months -- the first, was when the current tenant was blasting music at 5pm and I went over to ask them to turn it down as the shared party wall/our living room was vibrating and our newborn was trying to sleep. They have three children and the youngest screams/squeals and we have even replaced our windows to stop the noise, but they are out every day (even in cold weather, in coats, and using a basketball against the side of our house, to which I have very cheerfully returned.......)

Early today, my little one was a bit fussy and I finally got him to sleep and the three neighbour children were outside- suddenly, there was another to the three and they were screaming and squealing....I opened the window and asked them to quiet down (I'm a teacher (on maternity leave) and used the sing-song voice that teachers use to ask them nicely to quiet down -- but was pleasant and nice -- the mother came out and I said that my little one was trying to sleep and would they keep the noise down? No problem, I thought.

About half an hour later, I heard an insistent ring on my bell, and went to my first floor window and it was the father screaming at me. LO woke up and I told him I would come down to speak to him. I came down with my four month old son in my arms as he jsut wouldn't settle and this SOB decided that 'his children had a right to be free' and 'who was I?' and whilst I am holding my baby, that he would kill me if I ever bothered him, etc. I excused myself, put the baby in his basket and called 999; I told him that in Ireland, we do not threaten women, especially ones holding their small children and that he should go back to his own country if he felt that attacking women was acceptable.

The woman in the other house came forward from her rental property accusing me of my behaviour being that she couldn't get a reference to which I responded, 'nope -- if you don't pay your rent for six months, destroy the property you are living in and beat the **** out of your children, don't blame me for your inadequacies as a human being', and what annoyed me the most was this Nigerian man screaming at me, his wife standing there and when I appealed to his wife saying, 'I asked was that they were a bit quieter, that's all', she agreed, and then said ' when, he's drinking.......'

I said that I was going to call the Garda and the guy laughed and said 'they don't come out', and I said, 'when you threaten an Irish woman (I'm American), they do'....he told me that he could kill me and that the Garda wouldn't care. I ran upstairs and got my phone to call the Garda and pressed 'record' and when he said it again, got it on tape. I called the Garda and they came, talked to me and then went over to his property.

They told me, due to my phone evidence, that I could have him arrested, but asked that they caution him instead....They went over and his wife admitted that he had been drinking, but had left almost immediately after the incident (they came within 20 minutes) and they told her that I had the right to have arrested and that he appreciate Irish law and customs and that if he bothered me again within 28 days, I had the right to have him arrested...

I want to say, before anybody accused me of racism, that I grew up in America in the 1970s/1980s where we taught to appreciate all races and to eliminate (or try to) any usage of derogatory terms of behaviour, but since coming to Ireland and dealing with some (not all) of the Nigerian behaviour, I am disgused -- what gives a man the right to attack and intimidate a woman home alone with a four month old baby.........

Balbriggan was a lovely place when we moved in and there are some great people here, but everything in me is screaming that why should I have to deal with people like this? As it stands now, I am scared to be home alone now -- my husband saved for ten years to buy our house and now, we can't sell --- even at a loss..........this isn't the life I envisoned for myself and my family....


thanks for reading.

Sharpshooter

Pamela13 wrote: »

I am not trying to start a thread that is negative, nor racist, but had a very bad experience with a neighbour who is Nigerian and felt the best way to deal with the issue was to threaten me with my 4 month old baby in my arms.

Sorry for your troubles OP, but bringing racism into AHs and that is what you are doing will not end well.