Antrim and Newtownabbey: unanimous support at council for racist attacks condemnation motions
Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council has condemned recent racist attacks and violence following motions by the Alliance Party and Sinn Fein.
Speaking at a meeting in Mossley Mill on Tuesday evening, Macedon Alliance Councillor Billy Webb MBE urged the council to “recognise the vital role of ‘Good Relations’ programmes in supporting reconciliation in a society recovering from conflict, bringing communities together, creating shared spaces, challenging sectarianism, racism, Islamophobia and all forms of xenophobia, and promoting respect for all cultural identities”.
He called for a review of the progress of the council’s Good Relations programmes to be completed within six months and he encouraged “greater support and investment for sporting and cultural events as a mechanism for uniting local communities”.
Cllr Webb also asked the council to “register its disappointment that an enhanced and fully-funded regional Good Relations strategy has not been prioritised since the restoration of the NI Assembly”.
In a separate motion, Airport Sinn Fein Cllr Annemarie Logue urged that the council “unreservedly condemns and deplores the racist attacks and intimidation in Antrim and Newtownabbey and Belfast over the past month”.
“We further deplore the targeting of NHS health workers in this borough,” she stated. “There is no place for racism, hatred, discrimination and intimidation anywhere in our society.”
Shocking Incidents
Cllr Logue said she was “saddened” to have to bring the motion which follows a number of “shocking incidents” in which health care staff in Antrim have been subjected to racist abuse and attacks and several have had to leave their homes.
She went on to say international health care workers are “precious members of our community who are “holding the health and social care system together, especially during the Covid pandemic”.
She stated that “despicable acts of racism” have no place in our society” and have left the borough’s international community “feeling afraid and unwelcome”.
“We need to show that zero tolerance of racism means zero tolerance and all our citizens need to feel they belong. There is no place for racism, hatred, discrimination and intimidation anywhere in our society,” she continued.
“Therefore, this council will work together with all councils, government departments, health trusts, the Executive and the police to oppose racism and deliver a shared, peaceful and inclusive society.”
Seconding the Sinn Fein motion, party colleague Antrim Cllr Lucille O’Hagan said: “The racist graffiti and attacks we’ve witnessed within our borough are not just deplorable, they are an affront to the very essence of humanity.
“Racism is not just an issue that tarnishes our streets, it leaves deep, lasting scars on the hearts and minds of our community. Our ethnic minorities are not just a part of our community—they are the very fabric of it, interwoven into every aspect of our lives.
“We can only begin to imagine the fear and anxiety that they live with daily. The anxiety that comes not just from the immediate threat of racist attacks, vile graffiti, violence and abuse, but from the deep psychological toll such discrimination takes on them and their families.
“Racism and discrimination are intolerable —it’s a matter of conscience, of humanity, of the very soul of our community. Every one of us must take a firm, public, and unyielding stance against racism. We must not only condemn it in words but commit to concrete actions that will eradicate it.
“Together, we must ensure that everyone—regardless of their background, their race, or their creed—is treated with the respect, dignity, and love they so deeply deserve. This is our moral obligation, our shared responsibility, and our promise to every person who calls this borough home.”
Both motions were approved unanimously.
Michelle Weir, Local Democracy Reporter