Northern Ireland’s foreigners mull exodus

Northern Ireland’s foreigners mull exodus | Daily Tribune

BALLYMENA, United Kingdom (AFP) — Days of riots in Northern Ireland have left migrants from other countries mulling their future, with some considering fleeing the UK province to protect their families.

“Why do they attack us? What did we do?” asked Maria, whose name has been changed to protect her identity.

“I don’t want to run, cause I did nothing bad,” the 38-year-old sales assistant from Romania told Agence France-Presse (AFP) standing on her doorstep, her face taut with fear.

“When I go in the street people are looking at us very bad... they blame me... When they say go home, I say, home is here for me.”

Riots erupted late on Monday in Ballymena, just northwest of Belfast, after two teenage boys were arrested and charged with the attempted rape of a young girl.

Although police have not confirmed their ethnicity, the fact that they asked for a Romanian interpreter in court has cast suspicion on the town’s long-established Romanian and eastern European migrant community.

Police and politicians have hit back against what has been dubbed “racist thuggery” and denounced violence against a community which they said has always been very well integrated.

The communities who have been targeted “are not criminals. They contribute positively to society here,” said Northern Ireland police chief Jon Boutcher.

“They are valued members of society.”

Police injured

A fourth night of anti-immigrant unrest left another 22 officers injured, police said Friday, as violent protests spread to a second town.

Firing plastic bullets, police sought to drive back several hundred people who had gathered in the town of Portadown — some 80 kilometers southeast of Ballymena, where an alleged sexual assault that sparked the violence took place, according to an Agence France-Presse correspondent on the scene.

“Last night in Portadown police came under sustained attack from rioters throwing masonry and other missiles,” said Ryan Henderson, Assistant Chief Constable with the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

“Twenty-two officers were injured and I am so grateful to them for their bravery and selfless dedication in protecting the community of Portadown from this criminality,” he added.

Three nights of unrest had already hit Ballymena, some 48 kilometers northwest of Belfast, leaving a trail of damage, with 63 police officers now injured and 15 people arrested.

Two more people, a woman in her 50s and a man in his 30s, were arrested on suspicion of riotous behavior and other offences in connection with Thursday’s disorder.

Foreign nationals were forced to hide in wardrobes and attics to escape the rioters, police said on Thursday, calling for the protests to end and warning demonstrators that they would face arrest.