Ballymena pogrom

Nationalists are being urged to remain calm and vigilant after three days of racist loyalist violence in County Antrim.

The sexual assault of a teenage girl by two 14-year-old Romanian boys triggered a social media response spearheaded by ‘Tommy Robinson’, aka Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, among others.

By Monday evening, hundreds of people gathered in Ballymena. Following what had begun as a peaceful protest, a mob thought to be mainly from outside the town launched into a riot.

A crowd, most with hoods up and faces covered, began targeting a row of houses at Clonavon Terrace. Six homes were attacked — four were damaged by fire, and some people had to be evacuated from their homes. Businesses were also targeted as the PSNI appeared unwilling to prevent the attacks

In footage shared online, a crowd could be seen cheering as the doors of properties were kicked in and windows smashed on Monday. One rioter was seen to be struck by a petrol bomb amid clashes with the PSNI.

At one point, a boat was used as a battering ram to attempt to break into homes, and the trouble extended to Cullybackey, where there was an arson attack on a home ten minutes drive from Ballymena.

On Tuesday night, petrol bombs, masonry and fireworks were thrown at police in a second night of disorder. Sporadic disturbances were also reported in Newtownabbey and Carrickfergus while a car was set alight in north Belfast amid concerted efforts to spread the trouble.

Carlisle Circus in north Belfast was blocked, while loyalists also gathered in Woodvale in west Belfast – although in Magherafelt, Countty Derry a gathering of loyalists there was successfully faced down by a left-wing counter-protest.

Wednesday might was quieter, although a leisure centre in Larne which had been housing some of those who had fled the violence in Ballymena was attacked and set on fire by youths.

The victims have been members of different ethnic minorities, mainly Filipino and Romanian, but also including Bulgarian and other EU nationalities, as well as locals.

The disturbances recalled the anti-Catholic violence of the past in the town, most seriously during the parade-related disputes of the 1990s.

The nationalist community, particularly around Harryville Catholic Church, which had for years been a focus for loyalist violence, has largely moved away from the town centre. The church itself was demolished in 2013, and Ballymena now attracts an international community who have taken advantage of the relative availability of housing.

The violence has been orchestrated by a network of loyalist gangs, white nationalists and far-right British extremists who were behind the highly destructive ‘parade of hate’ in Belfast in August of last year.

The comments of North Antrim hardline unionist MP Jim Allister have also been blamed for fuelling tensions in the town. In a statement, he claimed there had been an “influx of Roma” into Ballymena, saying it “has driven rapid demographic change”.

However, statistics show that north Antrim has one of the smallest immigrant communities for its size in Britain or Ireland, and the town itself has no asylum seekers.

Allister’s comments prompted criticism from the SDLP’s Matthew O’Toole who branded them “disgraceful”. He criticised the TUV MP for “talking about the context for violence and conflating a whole range of issues in a way that is deeply irresponsible and deeply unhelpful”.

Ina post on social media, the SDLP leader Claire Hanna said that what happened in Ballymena “wasn’t a riot, it was a pogrom. People went door to door looking for minorities as women and children were attacked in their homes.

“Many who are loud today stay silent the rest of the year when women face violence.”

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the behaviour in Ballymena needs to stop and calm and order restored and every person there needs to be safe.

“Respect has to be maintained. People’s safety is absolutely paramount. So this behaviour, it needs to stop. It needs to end.”

She also said she found it unnerving and reminiscent of a time of sectarian violence and when “violent loyalism burnt out Catholics from their homes.”

‘THEY THREATENED TO KILL’

A man whose home was attacked in Ballymena described his shock after a mob arrived at his house there and threatened to kill him.

Raymond Labaniego, originally from the Philippines, said he hid inside after the thugs appeared at his front door, screaming at those inside to come out.

Mr Labaniego, who works for Wrightbus, lives with his colleagues in the targeted area.

Speaking outside his home, which had its windows smashed, Mr Labaniego described his shock after rioters threatened to kill him.

“Last night, we were all asleep at 7pm, and then we heard a sound around 9pm,” he said.

“They were screaming outside and there were many people outside here. After a minute, they thrashed our door and stole our bikes. Then many people tried to come into our house at the side.

“They already had broken our door to get inside. They got something from our garage and maybe, with something like heavy metal, came and smashed our windows, trying to get in.

“But we locked the door and then they were screaming outside. They told us to come out. They threatened to kill us. We hid inside the house. It was terrifying. I live with four other people, all my colleagues.

“We have been here for almost two years now, this is the first time this has happened to us. We don’t fear people here. People here are friendly. It is good to be in Northern Ireland, we want to be here.”

In Cullybackey, the home of another Filipino family was targeted in an arson attack.

Keven Rous, who also works for Wrightbus, lives with his wife and young children. The exterior of the property was left burnt with a car completely destroyed.

“My two kids at that time were asleep and they all rushed outside. Someone had thrown a bottle of kerosene. The policeman said he saw two bottles there that had already been shattered.

“My wife has been traumatised. Last night, she told me afterwards she heard an explosion outside.

“The fire alarm went off and she said there was smoke. We went outside to a neighbour’s house, because we didn’t know the emergency line here.

“There was damage mainly to the outside of the house, there is no damage to the inside.

“My youngest daughter, who is five, she was asleep. She was carried by her mother outside. This is the first time she encountered something like this.

“I don’t feel safe here. It is nice living in Northern Ireland, neighbours are friendly. If they ask me to fix their car or bike, I would. I would also let them borrow materials,” said the father of two.

‘TOO SCARED TO STAY’

A Romanian mother who lives in one of the houses attacked said she had been left too scared to stay in the area. She said her children were asking why their house was being attacked, and said she tried to flee her house after the front window was broken.

And a Romanian man said he had lived in the area for 15 years and didn’t know why his hime had been attacled.

“The riots started last night. We didn’t expect it to come to our house. We tried to get out of the house and go to a safe place.

He added: “I am lucky because the damage here is not too bad, but my sister has three kids, I have a little girl. We are going to live in a friend’s house for a while and then try to move out of here.”

There were fears that lives could be lost after footage circulating online showed rioters actively seeking to set fire to homes with migrants still inside.

“If they’re not local, let them f****** stay there,” said one present.

Anita O’Shea has lived in the first row of houses at Clonavon Terrace for 28 years. She says she challenged masked men when they attempted to throw a brick through her living room window on Monday evening.

“Didn’t stop me from getting hit, though. While I was protecting the front windows, they were kicking the back gate and put the side window in,” she says.

Ms O’Shea is disabled and walks with a crutch. Her adopted boxer dog, Floyd, lies at her feet.

“I raised three kids here; this is my family home where my memories are. I’m very angry.”

Ms O’Shea was among those who attended the vigil for the girl who had been attacked and when she tried to get back to her home at 10pm, she was warned by police it was not safe. Blockades were at either end of Clonavon Terrace as masked men began lobbing bricks through windows.

“They took a tow bar from a broken speedboat that was parked in another street and used it to smash windows along the row,” she says.

“I told them to stop … but the red mist was up and they didn’t hear a thing.”

She begged the attackers to leave her neighbours, a Romanian family, alone, telling them “there are babies in that house”.

“But they came along and put the windows in and kicked the door in. Then tried to light the curtains. I had thought my neighbours were away – I hadn’t heard them all day – but they were all hiding upstairs.

“I saw the woman down the street this morning and I gave her a hug … it’s to start all over again tonight.”

Dana Bus from Romania, who has lived in the area for nine years and works in a local supermarket, said they were “scared for our lives”.

“We left at 7pm because of the threats on social media. We have a camera on our doorbell and we could see what was happening. I can’t even describe it; it was horrific,” she said.

“When we came back at 6am, it was like something you would see after a war.”

At the other end of the street, Dana Bus points to her next door neighbour’s home, where the front windows are also boarded up.

“He is Bulgarian and the nicest man. He was in the street just to see what was happening. He went into his house and just heard, ‘boom’, and all the windows came in. There was one child in the house who is 10. He was really scared.”

Bus purchased Union Jack flag bunting which she put inside her front window in the hope it will “keep her safe”.

At the top end of the street, Ms O’Shea is doing the same thing. An enormous Red Hand of Ulster flag has just gone up inside the bay window of her living room.

“First time in my life I’ve put a flag up,” she says.

“I’m originally from Liverpool and I put the flag up because my saying to these people last night, ‘I’m British, leave me alone’, wasn’t’ enough. But I’m staying here … this is my home.”

In scenes reminiscent of the Bombay Street anti-Catholic pogrom in 1969, pro-British flags and messages have been daubed on doors to deter the racists.

Sinn Féin First Minister Michelle O’Neill said “no-one, now or ever, should feel the need to place a sticker on their door to identify their ethnicity just to avoid being targeted.”

Urgent Appeal