Hundreds attend rally in Belfast
The Romanian families force to flee their Belfast homes because of racist attacks want to go home, it was revealed today.
Most are already preparing to get out of Northern Ireland, South Belfast MLA Anna Lo told an anti-racist rally in the centre of Belfast.
Hundreds of people gathered outside Belfast City Hall to show their disgust at the race attacks which forced 115 Romanians, 49 of them children, to take refuge in a church hall in mid-week. They have since been temporarily rehoused in student accommodation left empty for the holidays.
Ms Lo told the gathering the 22 families who had arrived in Northern Ireland a year ago looking for a better life were too scared to stay.
“The majority are making preparations to go back to Romania. I think this is a very sad picture for Northern Ireland, that we can’t protect people who have come seeking a better life,” she said.
“So many of them liked it here, they like the people here, they like their jobs but what happened in the last few days makes them fearful of staying here.”
The Alliance Party MLA said the families had been getting calls from relatives back home urging them to return.
“Sadly I think most if not all want to return as soon as possible.”
Trade unions, churches, political parties, Amnesty International and members of the traveller community gathered to support the Romanians.
Patricia McKeown of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said: “We cannot accept this happening to anyone in our society, particularly those who are the most vulnerable and who have come here because they are fleeing repression in their own country and across Europe.”
Ms McKeown stressed: “No migrant worker caused the economic recession, no migrant worker stole a job off any Irish or British worker.”
Barbara Muldoon of the Anti-Racism Network said the racist attacks had to stop and said the message needed to go out that if any of the Romanians wanted to stay the community would stand shoulder to shoulder with them and do everything in its power to make sure the attacks stopped.
“Your children deserve to go to bed and not to feel fear that some racist thug is going to take a brick in their hand and throw it through the window. You deserve to walk the streets of this city without being spat on, you deserve the respect all of us deserve.”
Her second message was to the racists: “You do not speak on behalf of the people of Belfast or Northern Ireland, your shame is not our shame.”
Ms Muldoon said she rejected headlines that Belfast was the race hate capital of the world and people were ashamed.
“We are not ashamed, we are absolutely bloody furious at what you have done to our neighbours. We reject any notion that somehow the Romanian nationals who live in this community are responsible for social deprivation, responsible for a lack of public housing, responsible for a lack of jobs,” she said.
“The responsibility for that lies in Stormont and lies in Westminster.”
Two teenagers aged 15 and 16 who were arrested yesterday in connection with the race attacks remain in custody, said police.
