Anti-Racism Network mobilises against attacks

Sara Boyce of the Anti-Racism Network describes a campaign which has gained momentum from its creation last autumn in response to the increase of violent racist attacks in Belfast, culminating in a rally at City Hall in supported by most political parties which attracted much media attention. Since then, the campaign has been developing strategies to consolidate and expand its work.

Tuesday 27 January 2004, one of the coldest days of the year, saw over two thousand people gather at lunchtime in front of Belfast City Hall to show their opposition to racism and to call for an end to the spate of vicious racist attacks that had taken place in South Belfast. Banners from minority ethnic groups fluttered alongside those from trade unions, human rights and children’s rights organisations, community organisations and many others at the rally organised by the newly established Anti-Racism Network. One hand written banner bearing the straightforward slogan ‘Stamp out racism’ articulated a collective message on behalf of all those present. People heard speaker after speaker call on everybody in society, but particularly those with influence, to do all in their power to do exactly that. Belfast Lord Mayor Martin Morgan, who addressed the crowd, recognised this: “All political and community leaders have a responsibility to speak out against such attacks”.

The rally was organised to coincide with International Holocaust Memorial Day and civil rights campaigner Eamon McCann pointed out the significance of this date for the rally “These incidents (the recent racist attacks) are on a scale altogether different from the conflagration of hatred which led to the murder of Jews in the Nazi concentration camp but what we have to remember is that these incidents are the sparks which, if not snuffed out, can lead to such a conflagration”.

The immediate backdrop to the rally was a spate of orchestrated vicious racist attacks on minority ethnic communities living in South Belfast including Chinese, Bangladeshis, Zimbabweans and Ugandans. These attacks were made all the more sinister because of the involvement of loyalist paramilitaries, something the loyalist paramilitaries continued to deny in the face of PSNI confirmation and widespread public knowledge of their involvement. It remains to be seen whether the ‘stepping down’ of the UVF commander in South Belfast represented a serious move by that organisation in relation to the virulent racism within their ranks or was simply a cynical PR exercise in the face of the growing public pressure it faced in relation to the racist attacks.

The broader context for the rally was the rise in all forms of racism in Northern Irish society, from verbal abuse and harassment of minority ethnic communities at street level, racist statements by politicians, to the racist immigration policies that lead to the internment of asylum seekers and their children in a high security prison and directly lead to the climate of ‘fear and loathing’ against minority ethnic communities, fuelled by the tabloid press.

In reaction to all of this, Belfast had been branded ‘the race hate capital of Europe’ by some sections of the media; while probably unwarranted in comparison with other European cities, nonetheless, the tag reflected the increasing grip of racism on Northern Irish society. There were 171 racist incidents recorded by the PSNI in 2003 for the Belfast area alone and it is generally accepted that the true figures are much higher due to non-reporting in many cases. The Housing Executive reported that they have dealt with two cases a month on average, over a twelve month period, of racist harassment and intimidation from their home of people from minority ethnic communities. More than 30 families and individuals have been forced to flee.

The Anti-Racism Network organised the rally to give people the opportunity to come out against the attacks and against all forms of racism. The Network was established in autumn 2003 to allow organisations and individuals to take a collective stand against racism in society. The Network recognises that there are many different minority ethnic organisations and support groups already carrying out a broad range of work including service provision, anti-racism training and education, research, policy work and legal and advocacy work.The Network sees its particular role as one of bringing groups, organisations and individuals together to organise collectively against racism and for the fostering of cultural diversity.

The Network is organised on a voluntary non-funded basis and has a broad based membership of over 30 organisations, including a large number of minority ethnic organisations, faith based groups, trade unions, student unions, political groupings, solicitors firms, academics as well as interested individuals. Interest in the Network has grown rapidly with meetings packed to capacity. Both the media and the political parties have begun to use the Network as a point of information and commentary on issues relating to minority ethnic communities and racism.

Other initiatives organised by the Network have included a candle lit vigil outside City Hall on International Human Rights Day 2003, monitoring and responding to media coverage of stories involving minority ethnic communities and lobbying of political parties. For example, following the racist remarks by Councillor Fred Crowe of the UUP in relation to proposals to build a mosque in Craigavon, the Network lobbied the leadership of the UUP, resulting in Cllr Crowe being censured by his party.

The Network recognises that racism is not confined to any one community and sees the need to build a culture of anti-racism in all communities. It is therefore in the process of establishing anti-racism groups in the North, South, East and West Belfast. These groups, once up and running, will decide for themselves the focus of their work. This will be determined by the issues facing the particular minority ethnic communities living in those areas and may vary from area to area; in some areas it may necessitate reacting to racist incidents while in others it may be about creating opportunities to actively promote cultural diversity within the community. The Network has also had contact from other parts of the North, as well as student groupings, all interested in setting up branches of the Anti-Racism Network.

One of the challenges for the Network will be how to mobilise people within communities against racism. The widespread media coverage of the racist attacks in South Belfast may have had the unintended effect of creating a neat equation in people’s heads ‘physical attacks = racism’, yet much of the day to day racism experienced by minority ethnic communities, while much less violent and extreme, also has the effect of sapping away at people’s dignity and identity. All of this needs to be tackled by groups and organisations working in solidarity with minority ethnic communities.

As part of European Week Against Racism, the Network organised a series of events including Basketball Against Racism, screening of ‘Fear Eats the Soul’ and an art workshop.

For more information about the Network email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it