STORMONT has been told more needs to be done to protect ethnic minority communities from paramilitary intimidation and attack.
The North West Migrants Forum appeared before the Executive Office Committee yesterday (Wednesday).
The Committee has been hearing from local groups on how racist violence has affected their communities.
Representing the Migrants Forum was our long-time volunteer Beverly Simpson.
She told those gathered that people were “terrified” in the wake of the recent violence that has gripped parts of Northern Ireland and the UK.
“We have heard reports of people in our communities being afraid to turn on their lights or open their blinds in their homes,” Ms Simpson said.
“The feeling is palpable across all generations of the people we support – children are afraid to return to school, pensioners are afraid to get groceries. Real damage has been inflicted, while the riots on our streets seem to have stopped, individuals and families are still being attacked and intimidated daily.”
The nurse and Unison representative pointed to recent hate crime statistics which show the highest level of hate incidents and crimes since figures were first published in 2004/05.
“We don’t need these statistics for us to know this to be true, we have seen victims suffer the same cyclical violence time and time again, businesses destroyed, livelihoods wrecked and vital sources of cultural and community support in the forms of ethnic supermarkets and cafes obliterated overnight, a majority of these for the second or third time.”
A perfect example of the culture of hate that has erupted over the summer was the barrage of abuse suffered by our Chief Executive, Lilian Seenoi Barr, the Executive Office Committee was told.
“We at North West Migrants Forum knew all too well the potency of this sentiment online when we witnessed the barrage of harassment, abuse, and threats made against our CEO on her historic achievement of becoming the first black mayor in Northern Ireland.
“The seeds of this agitation have been gathering momentum in the online space, it was somewhat unsurprising then for us when we saw the brazen racist riots that took place in Belfast on August 3.
“We must take seriously the growth of this Far Right populist thinking, we cannot disregard it as online nonsense – the hate speech and agitation online are as real as the tangible violent acts which took place on our streets.”
Also highlighted by the North West Migrants Forum was the recent landmark report by the UN Committee on the Eradication of Racial Discrimination (UNCERD).
UNCERD’s recommendations centred on reducing racist hate crime, improving investigations and sanctions, data collection, action on hate speech and xenophobic discourse by public figures and politicians.
“We refer to other seismic recommendations by UNCERD which call upon the NI Executive to ‘adopt robust measures to prevent and combat paramilitary racist violence and intimidation against ethnic minorities and migrants in Northern Ireland, systematically collect information on these acts of intimidation and ensure that cases of paramilitary racist violence and intimidation are promptly and effectively investigated, prosecuted and punished with appropriate sanctions and that victims have access to effective protection and redress’.
“We urge the Committee to take seriously the involvement of paramilitaries in these racist attacks and respond in accordance with the recommendations. Comments from the PSNI have suggested only peripheral involvement of paramilitaries in these racist and Islamophobic attacks – ‘individual members and sympathisers’ is what we are told.
“Whether this is one member, or one hundred members – proscribed organisations are engaged in the repeated harassment, intimidation and attacks against ethnic minority communities in Northern Ireland.
“Our community members report being advised by the PSNI to consult with, to negotiate with, or to listen to ‘community leaders’ with known links to paramilitary organisations. This is not acceptable in any democratic ‘peaceful’ society. The Executive has a duty to protect the human rights of all of its citizens, we need robust action on paramilitary violence in order for this to be realised.
“We therefore call on the Committee to do everything within its power to strengthen and bring forth racial equality legislation, hate crime legislation and take seriously the threat the Far Right poses to our communities and the future of Northern Ireland as a welcoming and functional society.”