On Monday night, a video from Belfast was shared on social media. It shows a black man raising his bloodstained hand as he pins a white man to the tarmac on a suburban Belfast street. Onlookers shout. ‘He’s trying to cut his head off’. Local men try to drive him away from the limp victim. Finally the police arrive.
On Tuesday, it was reported that the victim, a man in his 40s, is alive, and in hospital with serious injuries to his eyes, neck and back. A 30-year-old Sudanese man has been charged with possession of a blade in a public place, threats to kill and attempted murder. The suspect, who has been charged, had been granted ‘leave to remain’ for five years by the Home Office in 2023. The man travelled from Sudan to Paris, then flew from Paris to Dublin before boarding a bus to Belfast on 10 February 2023, where he immediately claimed asylum. He was able to take this bus journey because the Common Travel Area, which has existed since 1922, allows unimpeded movement between Ireland and Northern Ireland. I understand this is a route regularly taken by asylum seekers who tell British authorities that Dublin airport’s staff recommend the bus to Belfast.
Unsurprisingly, there were riots in Belfast last night, with migrant homes, businesses and a bus and police car reportedly set alight. Ahead of the protests, the Northern Irish executive and state apparatus unsuccessfully tried to suppress the anger.
