Polish campers defiant in face of targeting by hooligans

Police have launched an investigation after a group of Polish jobseekers had their temporary homes attacked whilst they were away looking for work.

The camp-site they had been staying in, which consisted of two tents on the side of Edinburgh’s Orchard Brae road, was covered with xenophobic slogans, whilst the tents were ripped open and items stolen from them.

One of the men, Dariusz Serafinski, said: “They spread litter and food all over the inside of the tent, and put most of our belongings in the middle of the tent and squirted tomato ketchup and mayonnaise all over. They wrote "Polish *****!" on the side of our tent with mayonnaise sauce.”

Mr Serafinski, who had been living at the home of his friend’s uncle until moving into the camp, added:“It has taken so long and been so difficult that last month myself and three friends decided to pool our benefits and scrape together enough money to buy a five-man tent while we kept looking.

“The police knew about us living here and they said we were not breaking the law and could stay as long as we want.”

A spokesman for Lothian and Borders Police stated: "We are investigating after a tent in Orchard Brae was vandalised with graffiti of a racist nature. Our officers treat all hate crime incidents as an operational priority ensuring that they are thoroughly investigated." 

With just a hedge-row between the pair of tents and a busy main road, the four men have pitched themselves the difficult task of waiting out the winter there while they continue to look for work.

A spokesperson for City of Edinburgh Council said that facilities were available for homeless people in the city: "A range of services are provided by the council to ensure no one needs to sleep rough. In the first instance these young men should contact [us]."

The Salvation Army has run a homeless Shelter in Edinburgh’s Pleasance since 1909. Deputy manager Ian Wilson added:"There are more people in the hostel who have lost their job in recent months. Financial issues used to be a sideline problem but now it has become more mainstream.”

The Salvation Army also run a drop-in centre on Niddrie Street and Ashbrook Hostel in Leith.