On the evening of 10 June, less than 24 hours after a horrendous knife attack that left the survivor with life-long injuries, the city of Belfast was shut down by masses of hooded people going door to door and street to street terrorizing anyone who didn’t look like them – and blaming racialized communities for the act of an individual.
I watched the live news stream in horror as houses and cars were torched, the rolling coverage showing people fleeing moments before their homes were engulfed by flames. My phone notifications began to ping as videos came in of young men kicking down doors and setting living rooms on fire, revelling in a collective joy of violent destruction.
This is the third year in a row of racist violence during riots against racialized people, who are perceived as being migrants based on the colour of their skin regardless of their citizenship or immigration status. In Northern Ireland, these violent outbursts fit into a UK and EU-wide chamber of racism and xenophobia, where chants of “send them back” echo through the streets and the halls of power.
In June, Belfast was shut down by masses of hooded people going street to street terrorizing anyone who didn’t look like them
