Armagh City, Banbidge and Craigavon councillors unite to condemn racist attacks

Addressing the special council meeting, convened at short notice on Friday, ABC Lord Mayor, Councillor Sarah Duffy (Sinn Féin, Armagh DEA) stated: “Over the last number of weeks, we have all witnessed and enjoyed such happy events across our borough with various sporting achievements.

“However, last week, we also witnessed some of the most disgusting things in recent times, just 20 minutes up the road from where we are tonight.

“The racial attacks that have occurred in our country are cause of concern for all of us, and I believe it to be an urgent matter to call out what has happened in Belfast over the last week.

“I would particularly like to welcome the members of our ethnic minority communities who are watching on tonight. I can only imagine how this must be a very frightening time for you all.

“We say tonight very clearly to those who have come here to build their lives and those who have been born here, we value you, we see you, this is your home.

“We stand firm against racism and those who are inciting hatred on our streets. They contribute absolutely nothing positive to our society with this behaviour.

“Every member of this chamber will have constituents who are of a diverse background. We have heard the concerns and fear among these communities.

“What happened last week on the streets of Belfast is completely unacceptable. As elected representatives, we must call out racism and hatred.

“This far-right movement belongs nowhere in Belfast. It belongs nowhere in our borough, and it is not welcome anywhere in this country.

“Intimidation and misinformation spreading on social media should not take away from the vital work that ethnic minorities do to help maintain our public services, manufacturing industries and our food sector, just to name a few.

“Ethnic minorities are our friends, our neighbours, our colleagues, and they are working to save lives in our Health Service every single day.”

Speaking on behalf of Upper Bann Sinn Féin, Councillor Catherine Nelson (Craigavon DEA) shared the Lord Mayor’s sense of outrage: “Firstly, Lord Mayor, can I just begin by thanking our chief executive and officers here with us this evening for facilitating the meeting at such short notice, and I think that’s testament to the care and concern our council and our council staff have for [our] ethnic minority community.

“Tonight, Lord Mayor, you have spoken on behalf of the borough, and I’m going to speak on behalf of our Sinn Féin team.

“I want to offer our full and unequivocal, full-hearted support and solidarity to our ethnic minority community.

“You enrich our world, you widen our taste buds, bring skills here that we didn’t have, music that we hadn’t heard, and we offered you a huge céad míle fáilte.

“To the heart doctor mending hearts in Craigavon Area Hospital, we stand with you. The maternity nurse nursing our newborn babies, we stand with you.

“The classroom assistant, nurturing our young people, we stand with you. The care worker tending to our elderly relatives, constituents, friends and neighbours, we stand with you.

“To the factory worker working long and laborious shifts, we stand with you. And to those who volunteer in our sports clubs, community associations, school fundraising groups, we stand with you.

“And to those who arrive here with nothing more than the clothes on their backs, fleeing war, abuse and famine, we stand with you, because you are us. You are part of the fabric that is our community and our society, and you’re intertwined in all that we do.

“As I was leaving the house tonight, I reflected on the fact that I am a teacher in the borough, and on what should I say or could I say to the young people.

“And then as I was driving over here, I actually had an image of the classrooms that I’ve seen right across our borough, how diverse and multicultural they are.

“How our young people share, play, learn together, and not a second thought do they give for religion, for ethnicity, for language.

“So I’m not going to lecture our young people, because you know what? They could teach all of us a lesson or four.

“So to those that hate, misinform, disinform, intimidate, discriminate and vandalise, there’s no ifs, no buts, no excuses. Stand down immediately.”

Alderman Gareth Wilson (DUP, Cusher DEA) was equally firm in his condemnation: “On behalf of our party grouping, I would just like to make the following comments on the public record.

“It is important that there is unequivocal condemnation of the violence and destruction we have seen on the streets of Belfast over recent days.

“And on behalf of our group, we make clear our disgust and abhorrence of the violence and hate that has sadly been brought onto the streets.

“We urge those involved to stop and to stop now. The deplorable actions of those engaged in violence has left businesses destroyed, families homeless and one person seriously ill in hospital.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those directly impacted by the mindless thuggery that we have seen, but also with all those in our community who feel they are increasingly vulnerable or unwelcome, living among us.

“Amidst this violence and threat, the PSNI has been tasked with protecting people and property and restore law and order.

“We thank those brave men and women of the PSNI for their actions. We support also the call from the Chief Constable for additional resources, if so required, to counter ongoing violent protest.

“Appropriate resource should be provided to maintain law and order and bring those intent on mayhem to justice.

“Of course, with all that being said, the right to peaceful protest is an important right within our society, so too is the right to express legitimate concerns.

“We’ve seen that on many occasions over the years. We are elected democratically, and as such are proponents of democracy. In any democracy, these two rights are important.

“We should be making clear that on opposing violent protests, we don’t condemn those who protest peacefully. It is a very important distinction to make.

“We also note that not far from here, we have Craigavon Area Hospital. For those of us who have ever been cared for, or had family cared for there, we know all too well the important role played in the delivery of services by those who have made Northern Ireland their home.

“Likewise, across local industry, we have many companies who would simply grind to a total halt without dedicated employees who have come here to start a new life.

“These are our neighbours, and they should come to make a positive contribution to society, and they do.

“They should not be made to feel in any way unwelcome, unvalued or unwanted.

“This evening, our council sends out an unambiguous message, one that says violence is wrong, has always been wrong, and hate is wrong and racism is wrong.”

Councillor Julie Flaherty (UUP, Portadown) referred to a young party colleague who has been at the receiving end of racism in Mid Ulster.

“As party group leader, I speak for my group when I say that what we are seeing unfold is utterly disgusting,” she said.

“There can be no excuses or justification for racist attacks on businesses, property and people.

“As recently as the general election, we in the Ulster Unionist Party saw this first hand. We saw the most hateful racist abuse directed at our friend and colleague, Jay Basra in Mid Ulster.

“Just like all of us here, [he] wants to do the best for his community via politics. We were strong in our condemnation of the abuse directed at Jay then, and we will always call this out.

“However, the intolerance and hatred that is growing, not just here in Northern Ireland but across the globe, should give us all cause to pause.

“Watching and listening to news of children being caught up and swept into violence and trouble here in Northern Ireland – as you said, just up the road – is mind-blowing, given our recent history.

“We should know better, and we all must do better. I’m just home from Yorkshire, and it’s quite difficult there at the minute, but I’ll say this – yet again, Northern Ireland was in the news last week in England for all the wrong reasons.

“I’m very proud of this place we all call home. While Northern Ireland is not suffering these racial tensions alone, we really should know better and be able to react better to what really should be called political failure.

“After decades of conflict where paramilitaries ruined the lives of thousands of young people – young men in particular – we once again see our young people being manipulated and bombarded with false and hateful words, being drawn into a conflict which is not theirs.

“You mentioned the children in your school, Cllr Nelson. We see that across our borough, and we must put those children first, not on a protest line or filling their minds with hate, but by doubling our efforts to fix what is broken, and to build a Northern Ireland that we can all be proud of, and that they will want to be proud of.”

Councillor Robbie Alexander (Alliance, Craigavon DEA) strongly condemned what he saw as far-right extremism.

“On behalf of myself and my party colleagues, I would also just like to be associated with the remarks, and we strongly condemn all of the violence that we have seen over the last few weeks,” he said.

“I think this needs to be called out for what it is. And these are far-right, racist thugs who really only sought any sort of opportunity, really, to go and cause trouble in the area that they were in.

“I think it’s an absolute disgrace that people who have come to this country, whether they’ve been here for 30 days, or whether they’ve been here for 30 years, should actually be targeted in this way.

“They have come here for a better life. They have come here to contribute to our society, and they do that every single day, and for that to then be turned against them, and for them to be targeted just because of the colour of their skin, it’s just simply not right.

“It’s absolutely wrong, in every sense of the word, that we are having to witness what we are witnessing right now.

“I think it’s also important to go back and remember where this all started. A number of weeks ago, three young girls lost their lives in England, and because of the colour of the skin of the attacker, far-right racist thugs sought to set an agenda to start to target these people, and it has leaked onto these shores.

“People use it as an agenda to target people In our country, and it is just not right.

“So tonight, I would like to be unequivocal in my condemnation of all of these types of attacks across this country and across the rest of the UK.”

Bringing the debate to a close, the Lord Mayor said: “Our message has been cleared tonight, and we have been united in our condemnation. I wish to thank you all again.”

Addressing the Lord Mayor, Cllr Catherine Nelson made one final suggestion, which received unanimous approval: “Can I just propose that a statement does go out from yourself tonight, just making clear that a council meeting did happen, and it was cross-party condemnation of the racism that we have seen in Belfast, or words to that effect.”