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Dad Darin Ahmed, who fled Iraq to escape dictator Saddam Hussein almost three decades ago, says he is confused by the latest craze sweeping the UK after he was targeted by “scum”
A dad who came to the UK hidden in a lorry 26 years ago says he is “deeply hurt” after ‘England’ was spray-painted in white over his fish and chip shop.
Mohammed ‘Darin’ Ahmed, 47, was horrified when he arrived at Poseidon Fish bar in Doncaster to find the shutter had become a victim of the latest craze sweeping the UK. The hardworking chip shop owner, who fled Iraq to escape dictator Saddam Hussein almost three decades ago, says he “loves” England but is now fearful for the future.
“I came to this country more than 26 years ago in the back of a lorry,” the dad, who has three children, the youngest three, a seven year and nine year old. “It makes me feel sad for the future here. We are not taking the country from anybody, just here to get a future for my children. I want my daughters to be more educated than me. They were born in Doncaster and I want them to have something better than me. “
Darin, who is married to Lana, said he learnt English by watching the soap Emmerdale. He now employs 11 people in his two takeaway stores and is baffled after being targeted by “scum”.
Since late July/early August 2025, St George flags have been appearing on lampposts and graffitied onto traffic bollards. It has been connected to anti-immigration protests while others argue it as a display of national pride.
Taking to Facebook after the incident earlier this month, he stormed: “To the lowlife scum who has done this. For the last 25 years of my life I’ve done more than your entire family does for this country, not even one day I’ve claimed benefits. I’ve always worked, also got over 10 staff…I love England and I spent over half my life here and this is my second home. I’ve got three kids all born in Doncaster and very proud of it.”
Talking to The Mirror, he pleaded for understanding and said: “This is very hurtful. People are being brainwashed by the likes of Nigel Farage.
“Out of all the shops they targeted me. I don’t know if they’re doing it to create hate. I just don’t know.
“I feel bad because for me this is my second home. Whenever I go to see my parents, I can’t wait to get back here because I’m 47 and I live here more than I live in my country.”
Mr Darin, explains he was born in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq, in a city called Kirkuk, The city was controlled by Saddam Hussein and his regime when he grew up.
“When we were in the classroom in school we couldn’t say a lot of things. It was definitely scary, we weren’t even allowed to mention his name. The walls had ears. They might hear us and then take us to jail.
“I saw many people taken to jail, even my dad, just because he was Kurdish. After a few weeks they would be released, it was just to scare them. My dad was old so he didn’t get tortured but he was kept in a 3 x 3 metres cell with 100 people in, all using a toilet in the corner.
“Even today nobody knows where my dad’s cousin is and he was taken in 1991. We had a funeral for him but we never saw a body for him, he just vanished.
He explained how he had been working as a self employed shoe dealer since he was 17 but “wasn’t free” as someone from the Government controlled the area. “I had to bribe them every month to live our lives.”
He said he opted for the UK as they spoke English and aligned with the sort of life he wanted for his family.
But because he was the only provider in his home with his sister and two brothers, one a student and the other disabled. “So because I was getting harassed all the time by the government I said to my dad, ‘I have to go because I can’t live’.
“He said: ‘He didn’t even say goodbye to me because he didn’t want me to leave the country, so I left broken-hearted, basically.”
He said he “sneaked” on the back of a lorry not knowing where the final destination would be.
“It was just like a movie. It is very scary when you get in a lorry and don’t know where you are heading to.
“We slept in the mountains, wearing carrier bags instead of socks so our feet didn’t freeze. We slept in sleeping bags.”
He said when they arrived in England in Dover they were taken to Ashford detention centre.
“We were three or four people in a room, it was like a little camp not a hotel and after 4 weeks transferred to Stoke on Trent.”
Initially he began work as a builder but eventually moved to South Yorkshire for a quieter life. “It was all done legitimately. When I got my British citizenship. I felt amazing. I got it in Sheffield town hall.
“I then worked in a takeaway and then became self-employed again. I couldn’t speak much English at first and would smile at you even if you were swearing at me.
“My favourite soap was Emmerdale to improve my English.
“I’ve got kids all brought up in Doncaster, they’re all born here. I’ve got a wife, I’ve got two businesses. I’ve got staff and 90% of them are white English.
“I’ve never had issues, to be honest, until this. I know we’re going through a tough time right now, but I was not expecting that, to be honest.
“I don’t know what is the purpose behind it all. I don’t get it because they’re not getting anything from it, apart from hate from other people.
“It’s not good because it’s going to be scary for the future, isn’t it?
“I’ve got a lot of people supporting me since it happened, telling me to chin up and don’t worry about it. It’s only people who’ve got nothing better to do.
“Two ladies even offered to clean my shutter for me but I did it myself.
“But it’s hurtful. Deep down, it is very hurtful to me because I never thought people would treat me differently after I’ve been here so long.
“Even yesterday I was talking to my friend and I said ‘if I knew the education from my kids would be all right in my country I would have gone back this year’.
“But because the education is different I cannot take my kids from here to there back again and then give them a better future and better life.
“I think people are brainwashed, people are not watching the right thing, for example people following racists on social media.
“I class myself as British. I don’t want my kids to know the difference between us and white or black, you know. I want them to treat everybody the same.
“I tell them all you have to do is be good, be kind and don’t steal. ”