Northern Ireland’s history and experiences of racism
The fact that the violent disorder was experienced across Northen Ireland’s communities was described as a “red flag” by CSO11: “Seeing both communities now united, coming together to put the blame on us, ethnic minorities, that is a huge red flag, that both communities have been fighting against each other, have found a common ground to vent their anger” (CSO11). PB2 noted that the longer-term impacts of underlying racism experienced by asylum seekers and refugees and its violent expression in the summer of 2024 would take some time to come to the fore: “Does that impact upon, of course it does, mental health, being stuck in a house, not being able to go out, being afraid, retraumatising people who have been traumatised. Yeah. What is the outworkings of it? We’ll probably not know until the next generation” (PB2). According to CSO7 the effect of the riots had been that “ trust in the safety nets within society has definitely been weakened” (CSO7), while CSO10 pointed to the hesitancy and fearfulness that resulted from people feeling less safe: “… for any of us safety is a primary need. So, when that was compromised or people felt under threat, that leaves a longer term relationship with society…. You know, one of maybe hesitancy and protectiveness…” (CSO10). Several participants said this situation was exacerbated by the divisive political response to the riots: “… politicians play the division… they don’t speak with the same voice…. which makes when you come as an asylum seeker in a very difficult position” (CSO 3). CSO5 agreed: “…a lot of politicians came out and denounced it, kind of, resoundingly. Other politicians came out and said …people who are born here don’t have adequate access to services and so it’s… they feel legitimately threatened. And it’s like, hang on a minute, some behaviours are legitimate and some aren’t, you know” (CSO5).
CSO3 said the recent history of Northern Ireland and its legacy could be an added source of stress and confusion for asylum seekers and refugees: “…coming to a country where there has been big conflicts and everything is about British and Irish, orange and green, Catholic and Protestant… it adds an extra layer of complexity on the stress you have already” (CSO3). PB2 echoed this point: “… how do we expect or anticipate that refugee or asylum seekers could integrate into a society that is not integrated?” (PB2). Seeking integration in a society that was not fully integrated was exacerbated by asylum seekers and refugees’ experience of racism in Northern Ireland. This was a very common theme discussed by participants. CSO7 noted that the experience of racism had a knock-on effect on people’s willingness to push for their rights: “I walk into a shop and there’ll be some remark passed to me, my phone will be knocked out of my hand, I’ll be standing at a bus stop and somebody on the other side of the road will shout over a racist slur. They [asylum seekers and refugees] just know that the best way is… to keep your head down and try and not annoy people” (CSO7). Others pointed out that, particularly following the racist riots that occurred in the summer of 2024, many asylum seekers and refugees felt unsafe and re-traumatised in Northern Ireland : “They will wake up in the morning and just… what they felt whenever they left their home country, they were feeling that. Even they might say, I know it’s irrational, I am largely safe” (CSO7). CSO5 commented “I think there’s a whole issue of racism and racist violence… people are still being intimidated out of their homes, … they’re being intimidated in the street, they’re afraid, you know, there’s racist graffiti going up” (CSO5). CSO8 said that the riots exacerbated trauma that individuals had experienced, referring to the fear of those who were trapped in hotels while demonstrators were outside: “… if you’re living in a hotel, it becomes like a prison. And there’s people outside the door constantly, you know, protesting… And nobody knows the background of the trauma you’ve come from” (CSO8).
18 | Access to Public Services and Access to Justice for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Northern Ireland
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