No Pasarán!

Community Activist
Ógra Shinn Féin

The recent sickening attacks on the Romanian families in South Belfast are the most appalling form of racism that has manifested in recent times.

Not content with forcing the, over 100 vulnerable migrant workers from their homes on the Lisburn Road, the fascist thugs who carried out these attacks followed the traumatised people to their City Church shelter, and attacked the building, forcing the families, including a 5 day old baby, to flee again.



The type of people who carried out these attacks have no place what so ever in any society, and their attacks against the most vulnerable section of our society demonstrates the school yard bully mentality of these scum.

Their contrived fascist and racist actions are deplorable and they must be dealt with and ostracised completely from society, sending a clear and strong message to any other would be Nazi thug.

While the universal condemnation on the media, and the subsequent protests organised have been heartening, the failure of the PSNI to respond adequately and protect the Romanian families, and the abysmal failure of the working class unionist community leaders and politicians to confront the racism that has blighted their areas, must be challenged and put right.

How could the PSNI fail to protect over 100 Romanians, in an area so close to their station on the Lisburn Road? How could they subsequently fail to protect the families as they sought shelter in the City Church?

These questions need to be asked and those responsible for the absolute failure to respond to these racist attacks, must be held to account, and measures must be put in place to ensure that any attack of this in the future will be responded to as a matter of urgency and priority attached to it.

The recent attacks on the Roma families are the tip of the ice berg in regards racism and racist attacks in the North.

This has been bubbling under the surface for years and has been inadequately dealt with, the recent attacks on Polish families in Sandy Row, where over 60 fled their homes last month, and the attack on an Eastern European family in Moygashel County Tyrone this week, again forcing the family to flee their home, are but some examples of this hatred and bigotry.

The vast majority of these attacks are occurring in working class unionist areas, where loyalist paramilitaries have been building up links with white supremacist and neo Nazi organisations like Combat 18 from England.

The BNP have also made more attempts to organise in the North, and are targeting the same areas with their vile racist dogma.

Rather than dealing with the same sectarian attitudes that fuelled Loyalist paramilitaries and Unionist Death Squads, some supposed Loyalist ‘leaders’ are channelling the same narrow mindedness and hatred against the vulnerable migrant workers.

While much more needs to be done by Republican’s, to challenge the prejudice and racism that exists within our own communities, we can be confident that we are active in challenging both racism and sectarianism through our community activism and engagement especially with young people, and our elected activists have continually and very ferociously condemned these racist attacks publicly.

The same leadership and tackling of these evils are not as evident in the Unionist working class areas. This is worrying and must be addressed.

While the action needs to come from the ground, the community leaders and the residents, those elected to lead these people must use their influence to spark a debate and educate their communities about the wrongs and evils of racism, and the need to cherish a multi cultural society.

In the recent aftermath of the racist attacks in South Belfast, community artists on the Falls Road quickly painted a wall mural condemning the hatred and violence, and as an act of solidarity to the families.

Where similar initiatives taken on Sandy Row, The Village or the Shankill?

There needs to be a serious approach taken to challenging the evil of sectarianism and racism in our society and where communities fail the people, education must put them right.

There should be more emphasis in schools on the need to respect different cultures and traditions, and to highlight the many benefits of a multi cultural society.

And the Assembly, working alongside District Councils, community associations, trade unions, sporting organisations, voluntary groups and campaigning organisations, should increase their efforts to stamp out racism and sectarianism, demonstrating to the fascist thugs who carried out the most recent attacks, and the minority of brain dead Nazis who harbour these bigoted notions, how small in number they actually are.

Let us join together in challenging the prejudice and hatred that fuelled these disgusting attacks, and tell the fascists in one united voice;

No Pasaran!