Anti-racism protesters gathered outside Belfast City Hall last week. Photo by Jonathan Porter, Press Eye
FROM the scale of the anti-racism protests outside City Hall last week, it is clear that Belfast is a city determined to prevent violence from taking root again.
The aerial view of thousands of peaceful protesters on Friday felt like a pocket of hope in a week of fear and disorder.
But we must reckon with the reason why protesters were there - to speak out against a spate of racist incidents which left people too scared to take their children to the park, forced to close their businesses, and attacked in their homes.
We must not regard anti-racism protests as the photo finish to the take-down of the far-right.
Whilst there is relief that that these last few weeks of violence appear at last to be calming down, there is still a significant amount of work to be done.
Arrests and charges have been made and we have been assured that anyone responsible for violence will feel the full force of the law. But the more insidious forces at play will not be so easily contained.
The upsurge in racist violence cannot be divorced from our past. The same sectarian movements that have wielded influence for decades continue to stir up hate, manipulating vulnerable young people to see those beyond the boundaries of their identity as a threat.
Disinformation has fuelled the fires on the streets. Individuals have been charged for inciting hatred online, but the platforms that promote incendiary content remain beyond the reach of the law.
Maria Hassan
Stormont returned from summer recess to condemn the violence - and rightly so. Will the Executive now drive forward the robust hate crime legislation that is so clearly needed and long-overdue?
Until we see adequate protection for victims of hate crime and accountability for those sowing the seeds of hatred online and in our communities, the danger of far-right extremism will not be suppressed.
A significant portion of the population has been mobilised but this is just the beginning.
We must keep showing up and speaking out if we are to continue progressing towards a peaceful society where everyone feels a sense of safety and belonging.