Thousands of people gathered on Saturday for an anti-racism rally in the Northern Irish city of Belfast, following unrest sparked by a horrific stabbing. Protesters carried placards with slogans such as "Hate is the only threat to our streets" and "Belfast stands against racism". The city experienced two nights of disorder after a video of Monday night's knife attack went viral across social media platforms. The footage showed a man straddling another lying on the street, slashing him with a knife.
Court Appearance and Victim's Condition
A Sudanese man appeared in court on Wednesday, charged with the attempted murder of Stephen Ogilvie, who remains in hospital receiving treatment.
Voices from the Rally
Protester Hilary Hunter, 63, told AFP she was there because she was "just disgusted at what's going on, our beautiful country". "Everybody's here just to show that those people … causing all the problems aren't speaking for us," she said at the rally organised by the Unite Against Racism group.
Official Reactions
Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn stated on Thursday that the rioting had created a sense of fear, with some people being "intimidated" and "burned out of their houses by masked thugs on the basis of the colour of their skin". He reported incidents of people being stopped in their cars and asked about their nationality on their way to work, describing such actions as "completely unacceptable".
Local councillor Seamas de Faoite of the SDLP, the main Northern Irish nationalist party, said people had turned out to show they were "appalled" at the "racist violence". He noted that organisations across the city had been working tirelessly to rehome people who were now "too frightened" to return to their homes.
Broader Context
Immigration remains a contentious issue in both the UK and Ireland, contributing to the rise of the hard-right Reform UK party, led by Nigel Farage. Both countries have witnessed frequent anti-immigration protests in recent years, some of which have turned violent.
