On the ground in the Belfast riots
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What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
This is The Guardian.
Today, under siege in Belfast, the immigrant community is fearing for their lives.
On Tuesday evening, Samaya and Stella, two housemates from Uganda, were at home in West Belfast when they heard some noise outside.
They were in their house and basically they saw some of the violence beginning.
The women are care workers, but they're also students. Samaya is studying adult health at a local college and Stella is doing an MBA at Ulster University. They told their story to Guardian reporter Hannah Alothman.
They said there were a group of men and boys.
So it all started like people were just matching young boys between the age of 9 and 20.
What sparked the anti-immigrant riots in Belfast?
They were all putting on black and masks.
They were all dressed in dark clothing. They had face coverings. And they noticed them start to gather near their flat. And they initially hoped it would pass over fairly peacefully.
They knew what the protest was about. It was prompted by a horrific knife attack in the city on Monday, which saw the victim lose an eye. A Sudanese refugee had been arrested, and there was fear of riots after videos of the attack spread around the world. But still, Stella and Samaya were hoping that the men and boys outside their window weren't going to kick off.
And then they then began to start trying to set fire to a bus. So they set fire to the tires of a bus and they were watching from inside the house.
And then they collected the beans outside and then started also burning them. And then we were like, maybe it will not escalate.
They were still watching and hoping, well, you know, maybe this is as bad as it'll get. But then they said around seven o'clock, they saw them approaching their house.
What did Samaya and Stella witness during the riots?
Stella.
Stella.
Stella. Samaya's actually sent me some video.
Oh, my God, they've started breaking houses. They've started breaking houses. Like at around 7.38, that is when they started petrol-booming the houses.
They could see sort of flames from the neighbouring houses, sort of licking up towards theirs.
So when the smoke started, it was just coming direct to our houses. So we called the police, we called the fire brigade.
And then, you know, their house started being targeted. They started throwing bricks. I think they said stones or bricks or rocks at the window.
breaking all the windows of the house. So the police kept us, telling us, like, don't come down. We know you can hear the breaking of the glasses. The smoke was too much in the house.
So they had this mob outside attacking their home. They had smoke coming in through the letterbox, through the gaps in the door, and they were told, don't leave, it's not safe for you to leave. Samaya actually passed out. She was so scared.
She fainted. It was fear. Like, it was fear because I really knew they were going to burn the house because I saw our neighbour's houses. Like, they had burnt the houses. The smoke was actually coming into our house. Yeah, so I think I blacked out because, like, I couldn't believe it. Like, why, like, this is really happening?
She was unconscious for around half an hour. Stella was on the phone to the emergency services. They were trying to tell her what to do.
And one of the sort of most poignant things that they told me that really got to me was they were told by, I presume it was the 999 operator, to go and put on their care uniform.
So they told us to put on uniforms. Maybe in case these guys broke into the house, maybe the tags on the uniforms.
Because if these men break into your house, they may have some sympathy for you. They may potentially view you differently if they realise that you're a care worker.
So, so, so terrifying. So I wasn't feeling well because I couldn't believe my eyes. Like, it was too much, too much, too much.
From The Guardian, I'm Helen Pitt. Today in Focus. On the ground in Belfast after a week of unrest.
Hannah, thanks for being here. I know it's been a very, very hectic few days. Yeah, yeah, it has. And you've been in Belfast since the unrest that erupted on Tuesday. And we should say at the top of the episode that we're not going to be discussing in detail the attack itself because there are reporting restrictions in place to prevent prejudice to the criminal proceedings.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
0:00–1:00
2
What sparked the anti-immigrant riots in Belfast?
1:00–2:04
3
What did Samaya and Stella witness during the riots?
2:04–7:51
4
How did the violence escalate outside their home?
7:51–11:31
5
What was the response from the police during the riots?
11:31–27:00