On Saturday 14 May, the Sim Family were subjected to an arson attack at their Guest House in Bristol. 

The initial fire was responded to by the Fire Brigade who gave the ‘all clear’ for the family to return, only for a second fire incident to be discovered within the hour after the family had returned.  The fire gutted the top floor and the roof.  This has destroyed their home and their livelihood, causing massive trauma to the family which includes 3 elders, one of whom has serious mental health needs and two with significant disabilities and mobility issues.  Read the article about us in the Bristol Post . 

The authorities declared the structure unsound and uninhabitable, which meant that on the night of the fire, the 3 elders were only offered the floor of a greasy takeaway to sleep on, with no adequate support over the weekend by the council. The police have been bringing vulnerable members of the public to stay at the Guest House for years, but on this occasion, the favour was not returned. The family have now been given temporary housing for the week (a room shared by 4 adults in a hotel just outside the city). 

Whilst helping the Police with queries the next day, the police mysteriously held one of the members of the family for questioning without heeding to requests for an interpreter, chaperone, or a solicitor. They were asked if they wanted to be returned to Indonesia and asked questions unrelated to the arson. This only compounded the trauma they already faced from the fire. 

The family has been subjected to racism, xenophobia and specifically sinophobia which has intensified over the past 3 years of pandemic, including racist graffiti, vandalisation, intentional flooding, acts and threats of physical violence and/or shouting racist abuse. Guests have trespassed and/or stolen items. False flag reports on anti-terror and the Home Office, leading to dozens of unsolicited raids. Countless times, the police have been called out to attend due to guests’ physical aggression and significant threats to life against the family.

A recent incident involved a man chasing a family member around the house with a large knife. Reviews and comments made about Alpha Guest House often resort to insulting the family’s lack of fluency in English, making scathing remarks about their Chinese / Asian heritage, and enacting tropes by complaining about weird smells, behaviours, and accents. Non-white guests often face disproportionate surveillance and scrutiny from the local authorities. 

The family feels let down by the local authorities. This fire is the latest in a long line of traumatic events. No other guest house, hotel, business, or home in the white-majority area has been treated in this manner. 

We demand that:

1. The council immediately house the Sim family in social housing or cover private housing costs until their property is fully repaired and safe.
2. The police arrest and charge those responsible as well as investigate their attending officers' failure to support the family adequately on the day of the incident.
3. Avon Fire and Rescue service investigate the initial visit to the property
4. The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigate in the context of an arson attack and the family being homeless, why was a member of the family mysteriously taken by the police without an interpreter or solicitor and asked if she wanted to return to Indonesia.

As well as signing this petition, you can support the family by donating to their crowdfund on GoFundMe: https://gofund.me/bc49e79a.