Hate Crime

It's interesting to read some of the comments posted. I appreciate some of the concerns raised with reference to Minority Ethnic Communities and Individuals.

Northern Ireland is becoming a multicultural society and a lot of people are afraid and uncertain of the implications. Being a migrant myself, I can understand the feelings that a few people may have.

My experience in Northern Ireland is a positive one.(Having experienced the 'not so positive') The majority of people are friendly, welcoming and hospitable. There are a few that find it hard to understand, embrace or accept change.

Through my work with Minority Ethnic communities and individuals - I can not deny the existence and reality of discrimination and racism, it is simply impossible.

The fear and risk of being a victim of racist harassment shapes how people interact with the wider environment. People develop a reluctance to leave their home and may be afraid of letting their children play outside. All these things conspire to reduce the quality of life and well-being of black and Minority Ethnic people.

The impact on health and well-being can't be over emphasized.

We all have responsibilities and a part to play; Minority communities and individuals must and should promote integration, and should make proactive effort not to isolate themselves.

We are an integral part of social, educational and economic life, therefore, there should be more positive profiling of Minority Ethnic Individuals and not just as victims of racist incidences.

People from the Minority Ethnic sector are indeed making vital contributions to the social, economic and cultural life of Northern Ireland; this is the reality that should be made more visible. Multiculturalism is a positive development in any society, when embraced - it enriches Nations and adds holistic flavour to life.

I have always said - My Race and Colour is beyond my control, my skin is a painting... 'a divine painting', people need to see beyond colour, our true colour is the red blood that flows when you have a cut. What colour is your blood?

NB
The recent hate crime legislation is a positive development, however the legislation is only as good as it's implementation.

I think the problem with Northern Ireland is that it is experiencing a kind of identity crisis that has come about from the reduction in political violence. No longer defined by conflict, the national character is floundering with a new peaceful but mediocre status.

The blandness that pervades the country has been disguised and exoticised by 35 years of 'the troubles'. Post-conflict, the country looks a sorry place with all the problems enjoyed by the rest of the globe - drug addiction, obesity, pollution, lack of conservation, lack of culture, rampant consumerism, racism and intolerance.

There is still time for you to have your say but this consultation is run chiefly by you, the participants, so please make sure you take advantage of this opportunity to feed your thoughts directly into the Committee’s official inquiry.

The comments by "BM" (South Belfast) are worthy of serious consideration by Government and others. The Sandy Row district of South Belfast has been reduced by bulldozers from a community of around 16,000 people to around 3,000 people. The houses, which no one denies needed replaced with more modern housing stock, have been replaced by a hotel and apartments which are way beyond the means of local people.

There appears to be an agenda to clear the inner city of the so-called underclass to make room for the business community and the professional classes and naturally there has been a lot of resentment at local level. This can never justify attacks on people from a different ethnic background and culture. However when resentment builds up without any support it generally spills over into socially harmful behaviour and provides the ideological racists with the tools for whipping up prejudice and inciting locals to do their dirty work.

Some of my colleagues have sought to encourage local people in the Sandy Row-Donegall Pass area to look at the positive aspects of, for instance, the local Chinese community. The chinese community has enriched and enhanced the area in terms of physical and economic regeneration and provides local people with opportunities for social, cultural and economic development. Local people should have more in common with their new neighbours than they have with those of their 'own people' who live in the leafy suburbs.

Those of us from the loyalist community who attended the Asian festival in Botanic Gardens recently see nothing but good emerging from the settlement in our communities by people from other cultures. Surely our own culture will be enriched as we share with others. We have found on the ground that the issue of prejudice is best addressed through community and cultural interaction and the sharing of activities. You cannot legislate prejudice out of the mind, but you can change the mindset through constructive project participation and action learning.

I live in south Belfast, an area that has had much media coverage re: racist incidents. I have noticed an increase in the number of people from 'visible minorities' in the area and indeed in my childrens' school. It is easy to condemn the people who find this threatening or objectionable. Of-course I live in a valuable house, have a well-paid, stable job and am pleased to see this increased diversity - it doesn't feel threatening to me. But I cannot speak for people who feel they get nothing but the crumbs off the table of this society.

If we are going to do something about the hearts and minds of people in this society then we have to stop 'lecturng' about how to behave towards people who are different and examine how they are treated themselves. This society is shockingly short of empathy, respect and self-assurance and it is the people at the top of the heap who set the standards.

It is a very tired old cliche that people from working class communities are to blame - for sectarianism, for racism, for their own disadvantages. The extraordinary benefits that are accrued in this society by the middle class come at a price - a price paid by everyone else.

People must accept responsibility for their own actions (and - not least - the justice system must act accordingly). The actions of those who target the most vulnerable may make them feel good in the short term but in the long term they achieve nothing but the undermining of their own humanity. It is like the bully in the school yard - you feel very big but you look very small.

What about the actions of those in the leafy suburbs, who sit back, self-satisfied, able to say 'I wouldn't do that'? What are they doing to improve this society for everyone - and that means EVERYONE. What are they prepared to sacrifice? The equity they have gained on their homes? The 'closed-shop' that is our education system? Their disproportionately high incomes? Addresses that gain them easy access?

We are very practiced at scapegoating. Yes - education may help, but until this society 'models' respect and humanity at all levels and towards all sectors rather than scapegoating, education will fall on fallow fields.

What i see here, in N.Ireland, and everywhere else is overeaction. This is a perfect example of racial double standards, ethnics move into N.Ireland, and must be treated differently than that of the people who already live here.

Racial attacks? Forget about it, attacks are attacks, i myself have been attacked in the past 12 months, and i am obviously a white nationalist, i sustained a fractured cheekbone, bruised ribs and 5 fractured teeth, there was no particular reasoning for my attack, other than the people who carried it out were drunken thugs. The "PSNI" have never aquired my attackers, and never will. However had i been of ethnic origin, the case would have been given total media attention.

The apparent "hate crime" is being surveyed more closely now than it ever was, attacks on ethnics are being monitered more closely than ever, but the question has to be asked, are you aware of the fact that ethnics can be, and are also criminals too? Or is it being ignored on the ground that they are of different nationality/race? Isnt this in turn racism?

Great concern/attention is being given to apparent "hate crimes" on ethnics, but what about their own crimes. What about organised criminality being conducted by the indian community being committed on a daily basis? The wholesale of counterfeit goods being blatantly passed on to the general public, in front of and even to PSNI officers. It doesnt simply end at earning a dishonest and tax evading profit from counterfeit goods either, how about stolen goods, football strips, sports brands, all at a pocket friendly price. Obviously taxes are not an issue either, yet they'll still call upon services that honest taxes pay for.

Untill recently i was unemployed and struggled for a work placement, where i seen people who didnt even speak the english language earn more money than they needed, here in N.Ireland. I also remember in the grammar stream of goverment school, i was lucky enough to earn a placement after the 11 plus exam, others achieved the same grade as me, but were denied a placement in the grammar stream, as ethinics had bought their children placement in advance, regardless of the grade they had achieved.

So in conclusion, yes, you are out of touch with the general public, and i mean all sides of it.