Horrendous scenes in Ballymena

It was only a matter of time before something like this was going to happen. The tensions have been bubbling away for at least a couple of years.

People are also marching together in the south. Cork on Saturday. Makes me sad. My family is Irish. The Irish people have been through so much.

A reminder dear that the chaos we are seeing in LA is just below the surface here.

Oh dear. I hope it doesn’t spread. They are holding the Open at Portrush this year and guess who is going there on holiday next month? I’m sure the ordinary, right thinking, peaceful people of Northern Ireland neither want nor deserve this.

Can someone explain whats going on? Much appreciated.

From what I’ve read Wyllow two 14 year old Romanian boys were in court at the weekend accused of sexual assault on a local girl. There was a peaceful ‘parade’ of support for her, this was hijacked by people with other agendas, some aggrieved at immigrants, some just out for trouble. It’s escalated as other factions have kicked off.
This is all from Sky/BBC news.

Is it to do with the teenage rape trial?
I hadn't seen thiseither.

Thanks jaxjacky
I wondered if it was...
Crossed posts.

I hope they can put a lid on it before the start of the Marching Season next month, when the police usually have their hands pretty full up and down the Province.

David49

A reminder dear that the chaos we are seeing in LA is just below the surface here.

what's with the 'dear'?

I’ve been following this issue for some time.

www.theguardian.com/news/audio/2024/may/14/the-growing-tensions-over-immigration-in-ireland

David49

A reminder dear that the chaos we are seeing in LA is just below the surface here.

Riots are just below the surface in every society at all times, particularly in hot weather. However, there is very little common ground between the cause for the riots in Ireland and LA at the moment.

This sounds rather like the start of the violent protests after those poor little girls were killed in Southport. A serious crime becomes the excuse for rioting and airing of other grievances. The boys charged are Romanian, but the BBC has reported that stickers have appeared on houses saying that Filipinos live there.

Serious question - is there an issue (or a perceived one) with Filipinos in NI.

It seems racist.

kittylester

Serious question - is there an issue (or a perceived one) with Filipinos in NI.

I don’t think so, it’s more that the people who live in those houses don’t want people to mistake them for Romanians.

Filipinos are generally a huge asset to the UK, they are here to work. I really hope they have marked their own doors so they will be left alone.

I worked with Filopene nurses brought in to make numbers better, majority of them were good workers.
They sent money home has well.

I’d agree hulahoop, not only good workers but they have a lovely bedside manner generally as well, patients enjoy being nursed by them. I’d imagine the majority of the Filipinos in NI are NHS staff.

I've been listening to some of our local politicians here trying to excuse what has happened in Ballymena by saying that people are angry because they can't get access to housing or medical care and that the PSNI aren't doing enough to stop violence against women and girls caused by immigrants, however what they have succeeded in doing is burning homes so now the are less houses, putting 17 policemen in hospital meaning our disastrously stretched health service is even more stretched and police services from all over NI are now tied up with the riots. At least one property with children inside was set on fire but thankfully they were rescued by the fire service. As an local commentator pointed out the vast majority of rape and sexual assault in NI is perpetrated by local men often known to the women or girls attacked but the bigots don't seem to care about that, the PSNI have called these riots racist thuggery. It's worth adding that NI does not have a very big immigrant community and most who are here are working in the health service and local food production, we couldn't do without them.

I don't condone violence of any kind.
However, more and more people are totally frustrated with successive Governments being unable to stem the tide of immigrants. All it needs to light the blue touch paper is the suspicion that an immigrant has been linked with an attack on women and children. The red mist descends on those who think with their fists and with social media in the mix it is chaos. Despite the harsher sentences handed down after the Southport murders, unless some action is taken on immigration, there will be more riots on our streets.

Thank you for posting that Jane112. It's mindless yobbery, not people making a legitimate protest.

The protests in the south are about immigration in general.

Sarnia

I don't condone violence of any kind.
However, more and more people are totally frustrated with successive Governments being unable to stem the tide of immigrants. All it needs to light the blue touch paper is the suspicion that an immigrant has been linked with an attack on women and children. The red mist descends on those who think with their fists and with social media in the mix it is chaos. Despite the harsher sentences handed down after the Southport murders, unless some action is taken on immigration, there will be more riots on our streets.

Sarnia history tells us that there will be riots with or without immigration. It’s one trigger, not the trigger. Young blood rises, and there are always disenfranchised groups.