A Syrian living in Austria says he never faced the kind of lawlessness in Damascus that he is now enduring in Vienna, where migrant youth gangs have repeatedly targeted his hair salon.
Khaled Fayad, 52, fled Syria with his family in 2015 and later opened a men’s barbershop in Döbling, one of the Austrian capital’s richest districts.
His business, however, has become another example of the migrant crime crisis enveloping parts of Vienna.
Speaking to Profil, Fayad says his salon has been targeted six times, including three attempted break-ins in recent months. Security footage reportedly shows youths arriving at night in groups. They are often armed with hammers and wrenches.
When they have managed to get inside, the burglars have helped themselves to cash, cutting tools, perfumes, and even an e-scooter. They also took money from a donation box earmarked for children in Palestine.
The Syrian business owner said that surveillance footage often captured their voices, revealing that the Arabic being spoken was a dialect he recognised as Syrian or Iraqi.
“I’m ashamed of them,” he said, adding that he had spent 25 years working in Damascus and had never experienced anything like the repeated attacks now hitting his shop in Vienna.
Fayad has now resorted to camping out at his salon on the weekends to keep watch, and revealed that the same suspects are now targeting his wife’s women’s salon, which recently opened next door. He said he also knows of a tailor, a cafe, and another hairdresser allegedly targeted in the same area.
Authorities have now launched targeted operations in the district and apprehended nearly 20 young suspects. Police believe they may be linked not only to the burglary wave, but also to robberies of young students.
The suspects are said to include youths from Afghanistan and Syria, along with a smaller number of Austrian citizens. Most live in Vienna’s 19th district, though others from outside the area are also believed to have joined the group.
Around one in three is below Austria’s age of criminal responsibility, meaning they cannot be prosecuted and remain free.
