Romanians flee 'racist' N. Ireland attacks
Pastor Dale Morgan
Romanians flee 'racist' N. Ireland attacks*
* Story Highlights
* 113 Romanians flee homes in Belfast after windows smashed
* Romanians were sheltered by local church, later moved to leisure
center
* Northern Irish politicians condemn "racist attacks and intimidation"
* UK PM Brown urges authorities to "take all action necessary to
protect them"
updated 11:05 a.m. EDT, Wed June 17, 2009
LONDON, England (CNN) -- More than 100 Romanians fled their homes
Tuesday night in Belfast, Northern Ireland, following what politicians
called "racist attacks and intimidation."
A Romanian woman and her child are escorted by police in Belfast on
Wednesday.
"On Tuesday evening, when the Romanians saw their windows starting to be
smashed, they felt the threats were very real and contacted the police,"
said Trish Morgan, the media relations manager at the Belfast City
Church, which took them in.
A church member was advised by the police that "the situation was
getting too tense," and that the group -- 113 people in all -- needed to
find a safe place that could accommodate them quickly. The member
contacted the church, and that's where they went, Morgan said.
The Romanians were "quite scared" upon arrival at the church but
"relieved to be out of the situation," she added.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown Wednesday condemned what one member
of Parliament called "appalling racist attacks," and said he hoped the
authorities would be able to "take all the action necessary to protect
them."
Martin McGuinness, the deputy first minister of Northern Ireland -- a
province of the United Kingdom -- visited the families on Wednesday, his
party Sinn Fein announced.
"People are shocked and completely disgusted by this incident," he said
in a statement "I came here this morning to show very clearly my
commitment to facing up to any form of intimidation in our community, no
matter where it may come from.
"I met with numerous families who are genuinely fearful for their lives
and those of their families; I held a five-day-old baby girl in my arms
today. She was born in Belfast and now forced to leave her home as a
result of attacks by racist, criminal thugs," McGuinness said.
He was speaking at the O-Zone leisure center, where the families have
moved because the space is larger than the church.
Race-hate crime in south Belfast has increased in the past six months,
Sinn Fein equality and human rights expert Vincent Parker said.
The incident came only a day after violence broke out at an anti-racism
rally in support of Romanians in Belfast.
Belfast Lord Mayor Naomi Long called Monday's scuffles "totally
unacceptable."
"A small minority of people have sadly taken away from an event which
had been organized by the local community to show solidarity for their
Romanian neighbors, and to express their abhorrence at their homes being
subjected to racist attacks," she said Tuesday.