Michelle's Story: "the majority of people are kind"
When I heard about the terrible stabbing of a man in North Belfast I was horrified and my immediate thoughts were with the victim and his family.
I soon became concerned that this incident would be used to scapegoat our ethnic minority communities in Northern Ireland as has previously happened in recent years, however, I could not have imagined the extent of the backlash and soon I was hearing reports of families being threatened and forced to move out of their homes.
The police response was slow and it was volunteers (mostly women) who went to rescue families from burning homes, at great risk to thenselves.
I felt angry and powerless as I scrolled through video after video on my phone. I felt increasingly frightened for ethnic and minority people living here, many of whom were afraid to leave their homes to go to work, go shopping for food, attend medical appointments, or to send their children to school for fear of being attacked.
When I was invited to join a group of volunteers which was set up to help the Anaka Women's Collective, CATU and PPR to support people during this crisis I jumped at the chance.
It felt better to be doing something about what was unfolding than to sit worrying about it at home. I was just one of hundreds of volunteers who came together at short notice. It has been a privilege to help and I have been humbled by the gratitude, dignity and quiet strength of the families I have met during this time.
People, some of whom had little to nothing, welcomed me into their homes, shared food with me and thanked me for helping them. They expressed that it was heartening for them to know that people cared and that they were not alone. Many expressed horror at the stabbing in North Belfast and sympathy with the victim and stressed that this behaviour did not reflect the values of their community.
During this time I have learnt more about the Anaka group and others, and the amazing work they do to support women, men and families from ethnic and minority communities, many of whom have arrived here already very traumatised. I witnessed the relief on people's faces when they arrived to a warm welcome in a safe space.
It is easy to feel like you are alone in how you feel when you witness awful events unfolding on TV or on your phone screen, seeing masses of people on the streets supporting what amounted to pogroms (and that was just my experience as a white person, who wasn’t at risk or directly affected by these events), but when we come together you realise that there are many, many more people who feel the same way you do and that the majority of people are kind, welcoming and want to embrace diversity and peace.
Over the past week I have seem the best and the worst of Northern Ireland and it gives me great hope that love will always triumph over hate. It is more important than ever that we continue to work together and forge new partnerships to welcome and support our ethnic and minority community. Our lives are far richer for knowing them and welcoming them into our communities.