Belfast racists threaten to cut Romanian baby's throat
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Independent Minds
Racists who forced Romanians to flee their homes threatened to cut a baby’s throat, it emerged today.
Over 100 men, women and children were this morning taken to the Ozone complex in Belfast after they spent the night in a church hall following sustained attacks by a racist mob claiming to be from the fascist group Combat 18
The families, who took refuge in a church hall, said they are too frightened to return to their homes in south Belfast, with some just wanting to return to Romania as soon as possible.
More than 100 Romanian people, including a new born baby, were this morning bussed from the City Church hall on University Avenue where they spent the night, to the Ozone complex in Belfast while the city council, police and social services meet to discuss the situation.
The families said they left their homes because they had come under sustained attack for a number of nights. A crowd gathered outside their homes shouting racist slogans, smashing windows and kicking in doors.
“These people came here to Northern Ireland because they want to make a better life but now they have to go. They are very afraid and the only thing to do is go back to Romania,” a friend of the families said.
Couaccu Siluis who spent the night in the church hall with his wife, family, brother and his family said he came to Northern Ireland eight months ago in search of a better life but found it impossible to get work.
In broken English he told the Belfast Telegraph he was too frightened to return to their home at Wellesley Avenue but had no money to return to Romania.
“We are not going back to our house. It is not safe. They made signs like they wanted to cut my brother's baby's throat. They said they wanted to kill us,” he said.
“We are very scared. We have young children. We cannot go back. Possibly we could go back to Romania but we have no money. We have to stay here.
“I don't know what we will do now. We will stay here for a couple more days but I don't know after that.”
Another victim said: “I am making plans to go back to Romania as soon as I can. We don’t want to go but it is too dangerous for us.”
Trish Morgan whose husband Malcolm is the pastor at City Church said: “We were asked by members of our church who are involved in race relations if we could offer emergency shelter for these people who have nowhere else to go.
“Police had advised that it was too dangerous and so tense and volatile that they had to be evacuated. Fortunately we were having a clean up in our church last night so we were able to ask members about the possibility of providing shelter.
“This morning they are being taken to another shelter, the Ozone Centre, where they will spend the day and the various organisations will go there to meet the community leaders and see about the possibility of re-housing these people because they can't return to their homes and some of them have said they don't want to return to their old homes.”
Nobody has been arrested in connection with the racist attacks.
Some residents have accused the police of failing to protect the immigrant families, but the PSNI said it will be stepping up patrols.
Belfast Lord Mayor Naomi Long, who visited the families last night, said said: “These kind of ugly scenes are totally unacceptable. A small minority of people have sadly taken away from an event which had been organised by the local community to show solidarity for their Romanian neighbours, and to express their abhorrence at their homes being subjected to racist attacks.
“Belfast is growing rich in diversity with people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds making this city their home, and each and every citizen has the right to live free from fear and intimidation. We cannot let a small minority of people detract from that, or allow them to drive people from their homes.”
Bernie Kelly, of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust, said: “The whole thing escalated very quickly. Working with the police and all the agencies together we are going to have to find a resolution.”
From The Belfast Telegraph
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Comments
Sorry, and which national glasshouse do you happen to live in?
The vacuum created by the arrival of the "peace talks" has resulted in the small minded knuckle scrappers of Belfast needing to find a new boggie man to vent thier frustartions at.
Fot those that have never been to Belfast- imagine the worst parts of East London, paint everything grey, throw lots of barbed wire around and add rain- now you can picture Belfast.
For a londoner that is not quite white Belfast is bizarre, not only will your skin colour get you a kicking but as soon as you open your mouth you are likely to get another kicking depending on which area you are in.
Its not the kind of racism that you find in areas with large etnic minorities (I can almost understand that) rather it is more akin to the Daily Mail type mentality.
One of the biggest problems for Northern Ireland is that news-wise it isn't treated as part of the UK - It's only when something major happens that we hear about it in the English/Welsh/Scottish press. If more people here were told about the everyday goings on, then more things would get sorted out there.
Pity that nobody told the Romanians that you are expected to be honest, the better to be robbed by others. A curious notion, but we all subscribe to it.
I think we can see that the country has moved on immeasurably by taking the example of the lack of retaliation and tit-for-tat fighting that may have been expected after murder of the two soldiers a few months back.
My understanding is that Bulgaria and Romania had a 7 year embago, so they do not had permission to migrate to the U.K. Why are they here anyway, or is our border system as lax ans useless as ever.
Ireland is also rare in that it is home to a population that is smaller than has been in the past. Given improvements since the war in farming methods, their should be an abundance of resources. So why are resources in such short supply? Immigration? Probably not. A recent history of hatred and violence that has undermined what authority exists and scared away investors? More likely.
This is what is happening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo7GOsXp
Are you next? Moreover, are you going to allow the benificeries that's (the Establishment and their army of useful left-wing idiots) to label you, a 'racist' merely for trying to keep your child fed, warm and safe at night with a roof over your heads?
The left are (self-loathers). They hate everything - even the society they are part of.
Here's the evidence: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kO7I
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6MO_e4y9
There's a 99.9% chance that you are not a racist. It's time for you to shed the false guilt.
Here's the research: http://www.truveo.com/A-Conversation-Ab
Agreed, why does an area with HUGE and prolonged rates of unemployment need extra immigrants for?
But Romania do not won't them back thay were glad to get rid of them so next stop England.
The UK needs to welcome overseas residents but they do need to realize that existing British people are not there to subsidize their living here and they need to stand on their own feet (e.g. learn the language or provide your own translators, etc.)
The excessive politically correct policies where all politicians are too scared of an outcry to say "enough" is increasing tensions and actually making things worse for many immigrants. When pensioners either heat or eat, when cancer sufferers have to go to court to force the NHS to provide life saving drugs of course some will become antagonized by e.g. the staggering translation services bills.
Just look at the recent MEP elections and the success of the BNP. I deplor their policies but can understand how minstream politics and politocal correctness is driving people in that direction.
Steve Willis
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZCe8Fw8
So put yourself in the shoes of the people in Belfast. You have a political class forcing mass immigration on you, even though you said you didn't want it. You tell them you don't want mass immigration, but the political class just keeps on ignoring you. So how else are you supposed to express yourself?
The politicians need to be more understanding and realise what this news story is really about. It is a desperate plea from the public to change immigration policy. It is a desperate protest against the government's undemocratic and oppressive immigration policy. A protest from an ignored people, who feel like there is simply no other way to express themselves.
Eg. http://tinyurl.com/n48rz4
And: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zo7GOsXp
Maybe they are not stable because of the troubles and are just rebuilding their lives but something has to be done.
I think their parents should be fined if their youths are caught for misbehaviour, it definately starts with the parents and should end there!
And calling the police I am sorry to say is a waste of time and energy and costs on your phone bill the only song they sing is "call victim support".
I personally have not been victimised but the behaviour I have encountered has angered me and it's bloody repulsive!
secondly Romany's (gypsies) are not the same thing as Romanians. They are different groups though there are Romany's in Romania as there are in most European countries.
Romanians are, on the whole, known for hard work and loyalty. Certainly in Spain, where I have a home, many were encouraged to come during the construction boom and are often kept on in preference in these hard times for their skills and hard work.
Yes, sometimes our officials are lax in enforcing the rules and that must be put right but we Brits have gone to Romania in large numbers and bought up cheap second homes during the "boom", it works both ways.
Violence is always wrong and economically we benefited from EU labour, skills and hard work with the right to benefits covered by the country of origin. Non-Eu labour is a different matter as we give benefits more easily without the system to recover costs and that needs sorting.
If ordinary decent people have been pushed to take this sort of action why don't you ask why?
Of course it's easier to shout "racist" than actually deal with the underlying problem.
In the meantime, the BNP have been handed the issue that can unite the far-right across the European Union. Instead of speaking out against the North Africans, Somalis or Iraqis - the far right (and the right wing press) can demand that The EU and national governments do something about the Roma "problem" instead.
The truth of the matter is that the Roma community have been blamed for a recent upsurge in petty crime in this area. I know first-hand of three incidents (one where an attempt was made to pick my pocket) involving Roma crime and have heard of many more. Coupled with the constant begging outside supermarkets and newsagents resentment has grown and it is of little surprise that these attacks have occurred.
To answer those who champion the EU and 'multi-culturalism' - Neither Romanian nor Bulgarian migrants have the right to work in the EU as these newer 'seccession' states are not yet fully integrated into the EU. That's a fact. Now ask yourself why an impoverished people who know full well that they are forbidden by law to work in the UK or Ireland would opt to travel to those countries where their job prospects are practically nil.
Saying this is OK because they "beg" or "take jobs" is nonsense. Even if these disgusting but sadly long-lasting stereotypes were true, do caucasian (or "white" as most people call it) beggars and workers deserve to be attacked? If not, then why do these people deserve it?
Migrants don't shut down factories, bosses do. Migrants don't keep areas poor, government dis-investment does. The new Labour and Tory policies of Neo-liberalism and privatisation.
The bosses and politicians love it when we pick on each other and fight each other over crumbs.
Much better to unite and fight for the right to work, for more council houses to be built for everyone, and for more jobs eg. more youth workers, park wardens, nurses.
I live in a multicultural area, in Radford, Nottingham and it rocks. People from all over the world, vibrant culture, toleration of difference, people chillin together.
If the UK was all white it would be crap and boring. Saying multiculturalism doesn't work is a cover for saying minorities should be kicked out. Repatriation could never be voluntary, it would be a blood bath and only achievable through a fascist state.
Defend these people - they are human beings. Scientists have proven that genetically and biologically there are no such things as races, there is only one race, the human race, we are all sisters and brothers and no-one deserves to be attacked and driven out of their homes. Any one with a shred of human decency would not blame these people for the attacks or say it was somehow justified or to be expected.
Mass immigration benefits the wealthy and the privileged at the expense of the working class. If the working class go on strike, demanding better pay and conditions, the business owners can simply fly in cheaper workers from abroad to replace them. This is why it is the duty of all friends of the working class to strongly oppose mass immigration. Mass immigration undermines the working class struggle for better pay and conditions. It plays into the hands of big business.
Like it or not, immigration has and will continue to happen. If you want it to stop completely, make sure your country becomes Nazi Germany, North Korea, or Nigeria.
Like it or not, the vast majority of foreigners (no matter their race/nationality) steal only 2 types of jobs from you: those you can't have, and those you won't have.
In the first category you'll find the bulk of highly skilled individuals, experts, consultants with highly regarded academic degrees (including PhD) in their fields. If I take my case for example, I'm 95% confident to say there are no more than 5 people in Ireland (South or North), who know what I know, to the extent I know. Nobody throws (yet) stones at me, nobody is pointing fingers (although I am occasionally the victim of lame jokes, presumably due to my Eastern European origin and somewhat traceable accent) but I am insulted with a salary slightly higher than the income of local taxi drivers (okay, 12 hours/day, 6 days/week hard working taxi drivers). Who's exactly taking advantage of who here? It's not incidents like this one that will force me to leave this country eventually, but rather something else...
Several years ago while in Netherlands I heard (mainly) dutch people at a party lamenting about romanians (again, those bloody romanians), taking their cheap jobs, from public toilet cleaners to construction workers. When I asked them which of those jobs they would be eager to apply for, they looked at me as if I had 2 heads. This is the 2nd type of jobs I was referring to above.
While some of you might like to argue that very few immigrants fall into the 1st category (either percentage-wise or in absolute numbers), there's no doubt in my mind that most - if not all of them - are those people doing every day the dirty cheap work most of you won't consider even in your worst nightmares.
Bottom line, the bulk of the society (from the average skilled worker to the average university graduate) is almost immune even to massive immigration.
If you want tighter immigration control fine by me, as long as the same number of french, italian, polish and romanian people have the right to live in another country. Oh, and let their CV and criminal record (instead of race or nationality) be the selection criteria. That would surely be fun!