COMMUNITY groups from across Belfast met in St Comgalls on Thursday to plan ways to combat racism and fascism in the city.
The meeting was organised by Gerry McConville from Falls Community Council and Joe Duffy from West Belfast Partnership Board.
At the meeting, representatives of community groups from across the city vented their anger at attacks on ethnic minority businesses in recent days and agreed a collective approach was needed to tackle racists.
"There is a lot of anger in community groups across Belfast about what is happening and we felt it was important to come together to do something collectively," said Gerry McConville.
"We have shared with each other the situation on the ground and have decided on a number of actions including a public statement which was endorsed by us all. We are also going to meet with statutory agencies to tackle the myths and lies out there and will be pushing the Housing Executive to produce a factsheet on how they allocate housing."
The groups also agreed to support the city centre anti-fascist protest happening this weekend.
Gerard Rice from LORAG in South Belfast, who last week led residents in chasing racists from the Lower Ormeau said members of the ethnic minority communities wanted to see more leadership from civic society. "People are looking leadership and want to see us on the ground," he said. "South Belfast has been integrated for many years and everyone has been welcomed; we want that to remain the case."
He accepted that racism is not confined to one sector of the community.
Pauline Kerston from Conway Education Centre in West Belfast said misinformation about ethnic minority communities must be challenged.
"Many people in West Belfast know what it is like to be under attack," she added.
"The very least we can do is show our ethnic minority that we stand with them if there is any display of racism. As educators, we need to tackle the misinformation out there and teach people that we can share cultures together. I understand there is a group of people who may feel they have been left behind in society ahead of others but that is a systemic issue for our politicians. It is not the fault of newcomers to our community."
That view was echoed by Joanne Kinnear from the Ashton Centre in North Belfast. "When people live here, they are our community," she said. "They are not just 'the other'. Anyone who comes to live in North Belfast should be welcome and fully integrated into the thriving network that is there."
Chris Donnelly, Principal of St John the Baptist Primary School, said educators also have an important role to play.
"The Partnership Board joined forces with primary schools in West Belfast to set up a newcomer cluster to work with ethnic minority children and families in our schools," he explained. "This is an important time for everyone involved in the education sector. We all have a role to play here."
