Third night of violence: racist riots shake Ballymena!
Third night of violence: racist riots shake Ballymena!
In the last nights, there were heavy riots in Northern Ireland, especially in Ballymena, which the police classified as racist. According to information from Kleine Zeitung , about 200 people were opposed to the police on Wednesday evening. This blocked streets with armored vehicles after violent riots had already occurred, in which two stones were thrown on a police car.
The background story of the unrest is a suspected sexual assault on an underage girl, for whom two 14-year-olds are held responsible from Romania. These incidents have triggered a wave of violence, the one of as is classified. In the past few days, 32 officials have been injured, and some had to be treated in the hospital. The police used water cannons and plastic floors to control the situation.
unrest and rioting
The riots began after an initially peaceful protest that quickly turned into violent riots. The demonstrators attacked the police with molotov cocktails, bricks and fireworks. In addition to the officers, several shops and apartments were also damaged and numerous vehicles set fire. The Chief Constable Jon Boutcher expressed his concern about the effects of violence on the investigation and confirmed that several people were arrested on the basis of the riots.
The situation in Northern Ireland continues to complicate due to persistent racism. According to the information from ND-Aktuell were registered in the period from 2021 to 2022 a total of 1,334 racist incidents, which has been registered with 341 Cases compared to the previous year. This is the second highest number since the start of the recording of these statistics. Racist attacks and incidents are common in loyalistic workers in Belfast and other Protestant-Unionist residential areas.
social effects
The continuing violence and racism in Northern Ireland is not only shown in the number of incidents. An investigation by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) notes that migrants are increasingly unwees in Northern Ireland. Almost 40 percent of the migrants surveyed reported that they had experienced racist hate crimes, and a similar part indicated that their children were faced with racist bullying.
The reports about the problems in Northern Ireland are alarming. Peter Corrigan from Amnesty International even described the country as "safe haven for racists". In view of the political instability and the lack of interest in the regional parliament to take effective measures against racism, the social situation is manageable. The pressure on the authorities will increase if further incidents occur and the public indicates the need for changes.
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| Ort | Ballymena, Nordirland |
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