Racism shakes Northern Ireland: fear, violence and burning streets

Racism shakes Northern Ireland: fear, violence and burning streets

In Northern Ireland, there have been worrying riots for a week, which are characterized by racist -motivated violence. Racist motivated crimes have now overtaken the sectarian hate crime. Women and children who hide in their apartments are particularly affected, while rioters take fires. Migrants avoid the streets for fear of attacks and many children stay away from class. Raied Al-Wazzan, a migrant from Iraq, describes the uncertainty in certain parts of the city, which were strongly hit by the wave of violence. oe24.at reports that this wave of violence took its starting point in Ballymena, where there has been unrest since June 7th

The unrest began after the arrest of two 14-year-old boy who was arrested by accusation of a suspected sexual assault on a girl. Hundreds of hooded rioters attacked the police during the protests and set fire to both houses and vehicles. 32 police officers were injured; Some had to be treated in the hospital. Despite several arrests, local officials emphasize that the riots can clearly be classified as "racist violence". nau.ch emphasizes that the police used water cannons and plastic floors to control the situation.

racism and social tensions

In the Protestant workers' cities Ballymena, Larne, Newtownabbey, Portadown and Coleraine, which suffer greatly from economic problems, there was a shocking wave of anti -asylum. These areas are highly dependent on migrants as workers, but many of them fell into the crosshairs of rioters who targeted the houses of Eastern Europeans. In order to protect themselves, some families mark their doors with national flags or indications such as "Live locals here".

Patrick Corrigan from Amnesty International warns of increasing racist violence that is heated by paramilitary groups. Smaller splinter groups are active and check certain neighborhoods through intimidation and extortion. Professor Dominic Bryan draws parallels between the prevailing racial hostility and the historically grown sectarianism in Northern Ireland. oe24.at informs that the proportion of residents born abroad is 16%-a value that is above the British average.

political reactions and future measures

The Northern Irish government condemned violence and emphasizes that hate and intolerance are not tolerated. Politicians of all parties called on peace and tolerance and assured the victims full support. In view of the current events, the lack of special legislation against hate power in Northern Ireland becomes increasingly clear. Justice Minister Naomi Long plans to tighten the legislation in this area.