Responding to Pogroms, Arson and other Racist Violence in Northern Ireland
n June 2025, I was engaged in field work in Belfast, Northern Ireland, working with women refugees and asylum seekers to better understand how they deal with crises affecting their communities. The ever-present threat of racist violence is one of those crises. This visit to Belfast coincided with the explosion of racist violence that began in Ballymena on June 9th, and spread across the country throughout the week. Commonly referred to as “disorder”, “riots” and “racist thuggery”, this violence has been downplayed and normalized by the media and public officials. This occurs as a consequence of the region’s complex history with sectarianism and paramilitaries (see chapter 5 in my open access book).
In reality, the violence escalated far beyond that of a typical riot with hundreds of masked and hooded individuals erecting barricades, setting cars on fire and attacking police with petrol bombs. Even more concerning was the appearance of pogroms, with masked individuals moving through the town targeting populations on the basis of their race and ethnicity. They attacked homes where they believed migrants and minorities lived, smashing in windows and setting fires, forcing families to flee in the middle of the night for safety. After being expelled from their homes in Ballymena, families were again targeted two nights later 30km away when masked men set fire to the Larne Leisure Centre where they sought emergency shelter.
Racist violence is unfortunately not new to Northern Ireland, however that violence has become increasingly organised in recent years with ties to right-wing groups and paramilitaries. A pattern also seems to be developing with similar violence having taken place in the summer of 2024, targeting housing and businesses associated with immigrants and minorities.
While these details paint a bleak picture, I came away from my trip to Belfast with a feeling of hope due to the way communities responded with support and outrage. On June 14th and 21st, local organisations (United Against Racism, Reclaim the Agenda and Nipsa) banded together to host Stand Up to Racism rallies in Belfast, in solidarity with migrants and minorities. At the June 21st rally, right-wing anti-immigration protestors congregated to the left of City Hall’s front gates with police vehicles separating them from the anti-racism counter-protestors positioned to the right. Interestingly there were relatively few people on the anti-immigration side, while the sidewalk was packed on the anti-racism side of the protests with people chanting and holding various homemade signs promoting tolerance and unity.
When the rally began, several speakers took turns at the microphone talking about growing concerns with racism and ways to change things moving forward. Actress Lola Petticrew spoke first, demanding “more from our politicians. And our demands are not huge. Only that everyone who makes a home here is safe, unafraid, taken care of, with a decent standard of living regardless of where they come from and regardless of the colour of their skin.” Next, Ivanka Antova spoke to the crowd, representing United Against Racism. “Today is a show of solidarity that is more important than we can possibly imagine… We can't stand idle while right wing extremists and paramilitaries are terrorising peaceful communities. We demand that those in power take concrete action to put a stop to that violence and to call out the involvement of organised crime in the racist pogroms that we saw.”
Several other speakers took the microphone as the afternoon moved on, talking about personal experiences of racism and calling for immediate action against the rise in organised racism. Periodically speakers would lead the large crowd in chanting:
When migrant rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!
When refugee rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!
When women's rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!
When workers rights are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!
Say it loud, say it clear, refugees are welcome here!
Migrant rights, women's rights, Same struggle, Same fight.
Migrant rights, trans rights. Same struggle, Same in fight
I consider these chants to demonstrate one of the most significant takeaways of this event. In the face of division and hatred, community leaders called for people and organisations with diverse interests (migrants, refugees, women, LGBTQ+ and workers) to come together and demand better treatment for all marginalized and targeted groups. The message here is an important one, that we are stronger when we work together.
Additional Information:
My DOROTHY research examines the crises impacting upon the lives of refugee and asylum seeking women in Ireland. It builds upon 18 months of research with migrant women in Belfast, from 2019-2020. For more detailed information on these issues, please see the following publications (open access):
Valuing women’s spaces and communities: Refugee integration in hostile environments by Amanda Lubit
Life as a migrant Muslim woman in sectarian Northern Ireland by Amanda Lubit
Link to Profiles:
Amanda Lubit on LinkedIn, Researchgate and @Amanda Lubit on X
Funding:
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101034345. Funding was received from Research Ireland, the Health Research Board, the Environmental Protection Agency, and Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.
