'I don't feel safe in my own house' - the lasting scars of the Bristol unrest

For the people who attend Kora Community Centre in Easton, walking down the familiar street of Stapleton Road usually feels like home.

The centre is open every day from morning until night, welcoming anyone who craves a feeling of unity and togetherness.

But in the weeks since violence broke out at anti-immigration protests in Bristol on 3 August, some people living in the area told ITV News that the feeling of safety within their community has changed.

Violence erupted across the country after false rumours spread that the person responsible of a deadly knife attack on young girls was an Islamist migrant.

In Bristol, the anti-immigration march in Castle Park turned into violent clashes soon after it started.

A mob formed outside a hotel housing asylum seekers as protestors gestured, shouted and threw items at police guarding the entrance.

'My girls were so scared...because of their hijabs'

"Stay home, don't go out."

That is one of the messages that Yassin sent her children when news of the clashes between protestors, counter-protestors and police spread across the city.

She was afraid that her daughters, who wear hijabs, would become a target.

"It was horrendous. The incident was quite unfortunate because I have three girls," she told ITV News.

"It was so scary, we locked all the doors, even in the daytime. My girls were so scared, I was, but they were really scared because of their hijabs."

For some Bristolians, the violence which unfolded on the country's streets in August are firmly in the past: A distant memory of one extraordinary day of violence and thuggery.

But for other communities, the events have left deep scars that they are still trying to heal.

Since the unrest, the government has condemned the violence as "thuggery" and promised that all those who partook would feel the force of the law.

In Bristol, there have now been 50 arrests in connection with the events, and Avon and Somerset Police has said it will continue to take swift action against anyone who partook in the violence.

'We are trying to forget it happened'

Alongside being a mother, Yassin Darboe, 41, is a chef at the community centre and believes that food brings people together - in both celebration and sadness.

"I'm a good cook," she says with a smile as she hands out freshly prepared breakfast treats to the children in the room.

Speaking of the unrest that erupted in the city centre, she said: "It was really mentally worrying because we have a nice community around.

"We are like family here and the thing was happening right in front of us.

"We are trying to forget it happened."

When asked if she ever imagined that something like this would happen in the place she called home, Yassin immediately shook her head.

"No, never. We've been here quite a while, we feel this is home.

"But it doesn't feel like home, like before."

Yassin's daughter, Olley, says she's been avoiding wearing her hijab out of fear.

"When I went out, I wore a bonnet instead of my hijab because I was that scared.

"I didn't like that because I take my religion very seriously and I like to cover my head with my hijab so the fact that I couldn't even do that, it didn't feel good.

"It's sad that I don't feel safe in my own house and I don't know what to say. We don't deserve it.

"Now I feel like I have to be extra precautious when I'm out. It's taken a toll on our mental health, before we could go out and hang around as family with no worries.

"But now, there's something in the back of my head saying you can have fun but you have to be careful because there's some people that don't want us here.

Speaking about those who turned to violence during the protests, she said: "They shouldn't take it out on us because we may not have the same cultural background as them or the same skin colour as them.

"I definitely do feel like we belong here and we shouldn't have to leave just because they don't want us here."

'A lot of people don't come here anymore, because they are scared'

Lamine Diop, 47, is a support worker who helps children with disabilities. He says that the way he feels when he walks around the city has now completely changed.

"Back in the day, you used to go out everywhere and you had no one to worry about. But now, you're thinking, 'Do I feel safe here? Is anyone going to attack me?' It's not really a nice thing to feel.

"It was kind of shocking because we've been here quite a long time in Bristol and I've never had this experience in my life," he added.

"People don't really know how bad it is, if you don't experience it you don't know. Everybody was worried, people have businesses here, they were born here. They think this place is home."

The Kora community centre opened seven years ago and Lamine has been heavily involved in running it ever since.

He says that on average 30 to 40 people used to stop by everyday but now they're lucky if four or five people come in.

"A lot of people don't want to come anymore - they are scared, which is bad.

"People like me, I'm not only involved with the African community. We mix up - I have some good friends that are white, Asian. We get on very well, we do things together, we are like family. "

Mohammed, who is 15, currently plays left-wing for the Bristol City Robins Foundation and is hoping that one day he can play football professionally.

He says that he and his friends have been on the receiving end of racial slurs several times over the last month.

"I can't live peacefully. I really don't like it," he told ITV News.

"Everyone needs to see how it feels to be a person with this skin colour and how it feels to be targeted and attacked everyday."

Mohammed feels that the violence which broke out in Bristol city centre has legitimised racial attacks.

"Now that it's happened, people are getting more confident with attacking people", he said.

"Before they would have kept it to themselves but now they feel like 'now this has happened, I feel like I can do this without really getting into trouble for it' and it's not safe, not just for me but for kids that are younger than me.

"A lot of my friends always check on me and stand up for what I've been going through. They don't take what I've been going through lightly."

When asked what his biggest fear is he said: "What if I get attacked and I get attacked so bad that I could die. We can't guarantee our safety.

"To feel fear in your own house, what can you do? You can't leave because it's your home. This is where you grew up and all of those memories are fixed there and you can't just let it go to waste because some people don't know how to react to us being there.

Aboubacarr is only 10 years old. He was not allowed to go out and play with his friends for the weeks that followed the unrest because his parents were too worried.

"I've learnt about this happening in the 1800s," he said. "That's like 224 years ago, so I didn't think that it was going to happen again because that was way before even my great-grandpa was born, so I was actually scared knowing that it came back.

"Every member of my family has been very scared to go outside. They wouldn't even answer their phone if an unknown number called them," he added.

Aboubacarr's dad, Fallou Toure, 41, owns a business on Stapleton Road. He's heavily involved with the community centre and as a tailor - a popular figure amongst the residents.

He said that he was bombarded with messages to close his store and head home when news of the violence in the streets spread.

"That day a lot of people were coming. My kids, everyone called me saying don't open the shop, go home. I was so worried.

He added that seeing his children fearful was incredibly difficult to watch as a father.

"You call them and say 'come on, come on, it's time to pray, let's go to the mosque' and they are scared to go.

Aisha Chan, 12, is also a student in Bristol. She said that she struggled to understand the reason behind the violence.

"There was riots going on behind my house, so we locked all the doors and it was really scary. I just don't understand how and why people do this when they haven't done anything to you.

"It's just scary to know that leaving your house you could be attacked and maybe you won't come back," she added.

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