We Condemn the Racist Violence in Belfast. No tolerance for Fascism

On Monday, June 9, Northern Ireland once again witnessed a dangerous wave of far-right mobilisation, racist attacks, and organised arson.

Following reports of a stabbing incident in Belfast, fascist and racist groups exploited the tense atmosphere and inflamed racist sentiments, took to the streets and launched a series of coordinated attacks against migrants and people of colour. Homes, cars, and shops belonging to migrants, in Belfast, Ballymena, and Larne, were targeted and set on fire, forcing dozens of families to flee their homes and abandon their lives.

As the violence escalated, accommodation centres for asylum seekers and refugees also came under direct attack, with multiple cases of arson reported. Far-right thugs, chanted anti-immigrant slogans and shouted racial slurs, attempting to turn the streets into a stage for fascist intimidation and terror.

Yet in response, a growing wave of protests, solidarity and anger against the racist rioters emerged. Anti-racist activists, trade unions, women’s organisations, human rights groups, migrant solidarity networks, and large sections of the freedom-loving public in Northern Ireland strongly condemned the attacks and called for serious, organised but peaceful demonstrations against fascism and hate-mongering.

Images of an anti-racist rally in Belfast, courtesy of BBC News

What is happening in Northern Ireland is not merely racist attacks on migrants; it is a coordinated attempt to normalise fascist violence, deepen social division, and spread hatred throughout society. It is a project that seeks to replace solidarity with fear and humanity with hatred. But this assault has been met with resistance and push back from ordinary people.

We will not allow our streets to become playgrounds for fascist and racist gangsters. The streets belong to the people, not to hate-filled mobs. We fully support popular protests, organised mobilisation against racism, and united resistance against fascism. We stand alongside all those fighting to build an equal, humane, and safe society for everyone who lives in this country.

We call on all humanitarian, progressive, and freedom-loving forces to organise, join broad campaigns against fascism and racism, and unite in defence of migrants and refugees in determined, collective action. Migrants and asylum seekers deserve their dignity, to be safe and to not live in fear of hatred and persecution. They have suffered enough already.

Fascism must be swept from our streets. The streets belong to the people.

Halaleh Taheri

Founder and Executive Director of the Middle Eastern Women & Society Organisation