Hope and Solidarity with Family After Racist Attack

This article by Geraldine Kelly first appeared in Unity, the weekly publication of the Irish Communist Party.

LAST Sunday over a hundred people turned out in support of a family who were violently assaulted in their Glen Road home in West Belfast by three adult men.

The men had Belfast accents and whilst two of them crashed through the back door, one came through the front, trapping the family inside.

 The family were subjected to racist abuse and were ordered to get out of their home “as they were not welcome.”

The ten-year  old daughter was dragged from her bed by her hair as her nine-year-old brother begged the men not to hurt his sister.

The response was to take and smash the screen of the boy’s phone. Their mother was physically restrained and held back from reaching her children. The home was deliberately damaged, but nothing was taken.

Prior to the attack, the family was subjected to racist harassment, including dog excrement thrown at the house.

  The attack has left both children and their mother traumatised, The girl did not eat for a full week.

Anaka* volunteers have helped the family move to emergency accommodation and for the past two weeks have assisted the family and continue to support them. They also worked with the children’s school to ensure minimum disruption to their education and to keep them close to their school-friends.

Anaka and Glor na Mona* organised the rally at short notice on Sunday the 16th November, with speakers from Anaka, United Against Racism, and three local politicians all spoke of their shock that something  like this could happen in West Belfast.

It was pointed out that this has happened and now we have to come together and deal with it.

A leaflet was produced for the rally carrying some of the details produced here, it stressed that migrant families already fear leaving their homes after dark, should they now fear for their safety within those homes? Fear for the safety of their children?

It is imperative that the perpetrators be identified and apprehended.

 The message was that we have to challenge racism in all its forms.   Say it loud say it clear–refugees are welcome here. It was great to see many of Anaka women in attendance supporting their sister considering how nervous many families are feeling after the recent attack. The rally ended with a song of hope and solidarity.

Leading by example?

For change and challenge to racism we need strong leadership from governments, but that is not forth-coming in many countries.

In the UK the present Home Secretary, Shabema Mahmood should hang her head in shame for her proposed asylum reforms. They have been described as “vile and contemptible, abominable, immoral and politically disastrous”

It is significant that the reforms have been praised by Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and more significantly by Nigel Farage and by far right activist Stephen Yaxley Lennon- AKA Tommy Robinson.

Her comments that “illegal migration is tearing the UK apart” are on a par with Starmer’s Island of Stranger’s speech. Both Starmer and Mahmood stand condemned as making remarks that could be seen as incitement to hatred.

The reforms she proposes are on a par to those in operation in Denmark part of which allows the government to seize assets from migrants in order to pay for their keep. Scapegoating vulnerable minorities only appeals to racists and ignores the real cause of the problems that face people. She has taken the Labour government-if we can call it that-to a rock bottom low and for that history will not forgive her.

* Anaka are a group of women who use our collective skills to educate, support, advocate, and celebrate each other.

* Glór na Móna is an Irish language organisation promoting the language through cultural events and services, aiming for widen ownership.