13 hours ago
Legacy of past hangs over anti-immigrant violence in Northern Ireland
At the outset of the "Troubles", some Catholics and Protestants were violently forced from their homes in areas where they were in the minority, and sectarian attacks remained common through three decades of violence and the imperfect peace that followed.
"Sectarianism and racism have never been very different from each other," said Dominic Bryan, a professor at Queens University Belfast who researches group identity and political violence.
"It doesn't totally surprise me that as society changes and Northern Ireland has become a very different society than it was 30 years ago, that some of this 'out grouping' shifts," Bryan said, adding such prejudices could also be seen among Irish nationalists.
Immigration has historically been low in Northern Ireland, where the years of conflict bred an insular society unused to assimilating outsiders.
There are other factors at play too, said Bryan. The towns involved all have big economic problems, sub-standard housing and rely on healthcare and industries such as meat packing and manufacturing that need an increasing migrant workforce.
"The people around here, they're literally at a boiling point," said Ballymena resident Neil Brammeld. The town's diverse culture was welcomed and everybody got along, he said, but for problems with "a select few".
"The people have been complaining for months and months leading up to this and the police are nowhere to be seen."
While around 6% of people in the province were born abroad, with those belonging to ethnic minority groups about half that, the foreign-born population in Ballymena is much higher, in line with the UK average of 16%.
Northern Ireland does not have specific hate crime legislation, though some race-related incidents can be prosecuted as part of wider laws.
Justice minister Naomi Long pledged last year to boost the existing provisions but said the power-sharing government would not have enough time to introduce a standalone hate crime bill before the next election in 2027.
While five successive nights of violence mostly came to an end on Saturday, the effects continue to be felt.
"I'm determined I'm not going to be chased away from my home," said Ivanka Antova, an organiser of an anti-racism rally in Belfast on Saturday, who moved to Belfast from Bulgaria 15 years ago.
"Racism will not win."
