Mother Says Racial Abuse Caused Daughter to Want to Leave Wales

Shakila Meli, a mother, reported experiencing racial abuse in public, an incident she described as making her feel unwelcome in her adopted home. While at a bus stop in Caernarfon, Gwynedd, with her children, Ms. Meli was subjected to remarks such as “go home” and “didn’t belong.” The 31-year-old hairdresser, who was raised in Kenya, chose to contact law enforcement rather than retreat. The individual responsible for the abusive outburst has since received a two-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to racial harassment. Shakila, who relocated to Llanllyfni, near Caernarfon in north-west Wales, in 2017, described the experience as “terrifying.” The incident occurred in August, following a bus journey Ms. Meli took from her village to Caernarfon. While awaiting her return bus, she waved to a female acquaintance at the bus stop. At this point, Michael Owen Williams initiated a verbal assault, initially in Welsh, a language understood by her five-year-old daughter, Pegah. Shakila recounted, “She came running to me and she told me ‘mum – he’s saying really mean and racial things to you’.” She further quoted her daughter as saying, “She said ‘he’s saying that you’re a dirty Muslim. You shouldn’t be here, you’re illegal’.” The mother of three expressed that the comments “really hurt,” particularly the allegations of her unlawful presence in Wales. She stated, “I’ve worked so hard, so hard for five years – me and my husband to get the money for the visa – for everything I’ve sacrificed, he’s sacrificed.” She continued, “Now, I was finally a permanent resident and I felt it was a relief.” Ms. Meli added, “But for him to tell me I’m illegal, not knowing the back story of how hard I struggled just to make everything legal. That really hurt me.” Shakila reported that 36-year-old Williams subsequently advanced towards her in an aggressive manner, causing her young daughter to flee the area. Shakila recounted, “She’s screaming ‘mum we have to run – we have to run’. This is a little girl. She’s telling her mum we have to run.” She then stated her response: “And I said ‘no, I’m not going to run any more’.” She further quoted Williams as saying, “He started coming close to me in and he started telling me ‘what are you going to do, what are you gonna do? Can’t do nothing. Nothing’.” At that moment, she contacted the police for assistance, and a bystander also stepped in. Shakila commented, “If it was not for one of this lady. I’m still looking for her, but she actually came and defended me. I think she saw that he was going to hurt me.” She added, “She was actually like shielding me and that was really beautiful to see. She said ‘you’re not going to do anything to this lady – you can’t do anything’.” Shakila confirmed that law enforcement officers arrived at the location and apprehended Williams. She stated, “I saw the police just jump out of the car and just took him, you know. And and I felt so much relief. Just seeing the efforts of the police to actually take that action.” She concluded, “And that meant the world to me.” Shakila indicated that the experience left her deeply affected, remarking, “The people here are lovely. And I love them. They know that they’ve given me so much support. So me, in my head, I never thought I’d see this thing again in Caernarfon.” She continued, “For me I was like’ ‘oh no, I can’t take it’.” She reported contacting her British husband, Jason, and conveying to him: “I can’t stay here. I need to go back home. My daughter wants me to go home and she wants to be in Kenya.” She noted that Williams’ verbal attack had traumatized her five-year-old daughter. Shakila quoted her daughter: “She kept on saying ‘mum – We need to go to Kenya and this is not a home. Everyone hates us. No one likes us’.” She added, “She is having anxiety. She can’t go to Caernarfon at all.” Shakila concluded, “It’s not right to make a little girl feel like that. She didn’t do anything to that guy at all.” Williams, a resident of Pwllheli, Gwynedd, entered a guilty plea to a charge of racially aggravated harassment. He also confessed to violating a sexual offences prevention order, which prohibited him from approaching, harassing, or intimidating women. On 22 October, he received a sentence of two years and one month in prison at Mold Crown Court. Shakila expressed that the custodial sentence had renewed her confidence and commended the police for their intervention. She stated, “There’s a burden taken off me off my chest and all of a sudden I felt like now – this is home, this is home.” She concluded, “If the police are protecting me this means that this is my home.” District Inspector Ian Roberts of North Wales Police commented, “This was disgusting behaviour that was targeted at a woman because of her race.” He affirmed, “This will not be tolerated in Gwynedd, and we will robustly deal with any incidents of hate crime.” The North Wales Police jurisdiction is among two force areas in Wales that have observed a decrease in offenses with a racial or religious component. During the 2023-24 period, North Wales Police recorded 504 such incidents, representing a 7.7% reduction compared to the preceding year. Dyfed-Powys reported a 19% decrease in offenses, while the South Wales and Gwent force areas both experienced rises. In South Wales, reported offenses surged by 16% to 1,481 during the identical year. Gwent saw an even more significant increase, with a 20% rise, bringing the total to 674 reported offenses throughout its force area. Shakila expressed her desire to share her experience, noting her mixed-race background, including a white Scottish grandfather, and her marriage to a white British man. She stated, “It doesn’t matter what colour you are. It doesn’t matter what you believe in. We just have the same feelings. We have the same blood.” She added, “There’s so much going on in the world right now.” She concluded, “We should focus on the important things right now and come together and help each other, you know. Help the next generation, they need to see love.” For individuals affected by the issues discussed in this report, additional information, guidance, and support are available on the BBC Action Line homepage. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content found on external websites. 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