“I saw the fire at the main door, and I panicked. I couldn’t open the door to get out.”
A fire was set in a bin before it was pushed in front of Omar’s door(Image: Supplied)
A Lanarkshire immigrant has said he is “scared” to go back to his flat after a fire was deliberately set on his doorstep. Omar Ben Othmen, 33, said he was woken up at around 3am last Friday (June 12) to a banging noise at his door – before he realised his home in Kilsyth was on fire.
Omar, originally from Tunisia, moved to Scotland in 2019. He says he is the only foreign person living on his street.
He told Glasgow Live: “I was sleeping and heard a banging, but I didn’t give it attention because I thought maybe the neighbours were fighting.
“Then I could smell the smoke and jumped out of bed. I saw the fire at the main door, and I panicked. I couldn’t open the door to get out.”
Omar, 33(Image: Supplied)
Omar says he climbed out of the window of his ground floor flat to get away from the flames, hurting his leg as he landed. He added that he didn’t see anyone outside, but noticed that a bin had been set on fire and pushed in front of his front door, blocking his escape.
The glass panels on his door had also been smashed, he said.
Omar added that he is too scared to go back to his home after the incident, and is now sleeping in his car.
He said: “It’s not safe. I’m scared. I thought if I went back, maybe it will happen again. I have zero issues with anyone, I just keep myself to myself.”
Police Scotland is treating the fire at Omar’s home as wilful, but officers’ enquiries are ongoing and a link between the incident and his immigration status has not been confirmed.
The incident comes after a “white lives matter” protest in Glasgow city centre just days before, on June 9, after which police said people were “attacked because of the colour of their skin”.
Five people, including two officers, were injured, and three men were arrested.
Omar has been frightened to go back to his home following the fire(Image: Supplied)
The “anti-immigration protest” had taken place on June 9 in response to the murder of Henry Nowak and an alleged violent knife attack in Belfast, over which a Sudanese national has been charged.
Despite the rise in anti-immigration rhetoric in Glasgow, Omar still believes in the welcoming attitudes of the Scottish people, saying: “You cannot judge all the people for one thing. The Scottish are very very friendly people, and welcoming.
“Some people think we shouldn’t have immigrants, but I believe people should be there for each other and help each other.”
A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We are investigating a wilful fire outside a property in Low Craigends, Kilsyth, which occurred 3am on Friday, 12 June, 2026.
“Nobody was injured during the incident and enquiries are ongoing.”
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has been contacted for comment.