This week saw the worst of Belfast, but today saw the best of Belfast. Thousands were in Belfast city centre (and I was one of them!) for an anti-racism rally at 1pm today on Saturday 13 June 2026. Belfast made headlines across the world for all the wrong reasons at the start of the week, but this was an end to the week that shows the true Belfast, and the Northern Irish spirit, where the majority of people stand against racism, fascism and bigotry. We are Belfast.
For those not in the know, a brutal knife crime by a Sudanese man against a local man from North Belfast on Monday 8 June sparked racist riots across Belfast on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 June. I saw the video on social media before it got removed and I must say, it was so barbaric that I had to look away. I really hope the victim is okay; currently he is still in ICU and has lost his left eye.
Nevertheless, what followed on Tuesday was also brutal and barbaric, as innocent families were burned out of their homes as a result, purely because of the colour of their skin. I woke up and cried on Wednesday morning when I saw videos of Belfast burning in the news, including Roma families hurrying out of their burning homes into police vans and Ugandan nurses having to be rescued by their Northern Irish church pastor from their flaming houses. The racist rioting happened in working class areas of East Belfast and the Shankill. Although I now live in a different area of Belfast, I grew up close to some of the areas affected.
The sad fact of the matter is that, despite fears about immigration and asylum seekers, in Northern Ireland they make up only 3.4% of the population. No threat there, unless you’re a racist.
I admit to feeling some level of despair around mid-week, realising that this is now the third year in a row of summer race riots in Northern Ireland, though each year grows more sinister: a ‘hitlist’ of homes to be targeted by rioters showed a sinister level of organisation that really made my blood run cold. Not only that, but nurses being asked to show ID at roadblocks staged by masked men near Belfast hospitals, which didn’t happen in previous years. But, it was something my sweet innocent son said on Thursday morning that spurred me into action by attending the anti-racism rally. He said simply this:
“There were 12 of my friends missing from class today.”
Twelve wee kids who were afraid to come to school because of their skin colour, or religion, or both. Children deserve to go to school and receive their education in safety. Adults deserve to go to work in safety without masked men asking them for ID. And families deserve to live in safety in their homes without fear of being burned out.
Getting back to the original issue of the crazed knifeman who sparked the riots this week. Back in 2023, he flew from Sudan to Paris, Paris to Dublin, then took a bus to Belfast and claimed Asylum, which was ‘fast-tracked’ by the Tories/Home office under Suella Braverman at the time. My question is, why was a clearly deranged mentally ill person allowed to complete a simple questionnaire and then be released onto the streets of Belfast to commit a horrendous crime against a neighbour in his block of flats, a man who only wanted to help him settle into his new home. As for who was in charge of that, well, Suella Braverman is, of course, now with Reform. Yet, none of the rioters flew over to England to riot either in front of the Home office, or at Nigel Farage’s front door.
I wonder why.
Leilanie Stewart 