Solidarity Statement in response to racist violence on 9 June
The scenes we saw last night were utterly horrific. We send our utmost solidarity to all those harmed and left afraid by last night’s violence.
This was a racist pogrom of collective punishment that conjures up images of the worst violence of the Troubles. From families fleeing burnt out homes, roadblocks of masked men, and vile intimidating, racist graffiti. This, along with Ballymena last year and the riots in Belfast the year before, is some of the worst violence the North has seen in recent times.
The weaponising of the brutal attack in North Belfast to target innocent people is despicable. The victim’s family have said that they “do not want this terrible tragedy to be used to divide people or fuel hostility”. There was little to no outrage from the same people when 30 women were killed in the North since 2020, due to the epidemic of men’s violence and femicide.
This rampage is in keeping with a pattern of racist violence unfolding over the summer in Northern Ireland – perpetrated by mostly groups of white masked men. Paramilitary involvement was no doubt central to bringing out racist mobs onto the streets, but the racist ideas they espouse have unfortunately gotten a much wider echo. Influential far-right figures such as Tommy Robinson, Nigel Farage and Elon Musk have tried to further inflame the situation.
However, closer to home, many politicians actively contributed to the violence by leaning into anti-migrant talking points and affirming racism towards migrants. Paul Givan (DUP MLA) was even seen standing with anti-migrant protesters in Lisburn. Unionist spokespeople, including former First Minister Arlene Foster, are cynically using the issue to demand an end to the ‘open border’ on the island of Ireland – essentially calling for the reassertion of a patrolled hard border.
Sinn Féin have condemned the violence, but they offer no meaningful way to oppose the far right. In the South, they have pandered to racist ideas around immigration, legitimising dangerous far-right ideas.
We need proactive solidarity and action now. Already, we’ve seen the sentiment for this, with CATU and Annaka Women’s Collective, along with others, providing safety to our neighbours and community members. We send our solidarity to these groups undertaking seismic tasks to support people.
The Trade Unions (NIC-ICTU) in the North must take immediate action to protect their members and oppose this racist division. The unions here represent hundreds of thousands of workers and can have a significant effect if they are mobilised. This should include using all tactics at their disposal to protect all the people here from racist violence and abuse, from protests to strikes where that is appropriate. We have already seen the best of people at workplace level organising lifts and walking people home in order to keep them safe, this sentiment has to be channeled into broader anti- racist actions.
We support United Against Racism’s call for a protest on Saturday in Belfast outside City hall at 1pm. We must send the message that racist violence won’t be accepted. However, this should be a starting point for building an active anti-racist movement in the North that can push back the tide of racism in our communities.
