No One Left Behind - PPR

“Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.” — Martin Luther King Jr.

“When I fled the war in Sudan three years ago and came here seeking sanctuary and safety, I never thought I would feel that same terror again. But as tensions flared in Belfast, I found myself packing a small emergency bag with my vital documents, with no idea where to go. It was a painful flashback to escaping the war, and surviving the terrifying attacks on migrant two summers ago.

Sitting in my house, the anxiety was overwhelming. I couldn’t stop worrying about what might happen at any minute—to me, to my sister and her family, to my friends, their kids, and the entire Black and migrant community across the city. On social media, the wave of hate felt unstoppable, making me feel so isolated and afraid.

Then, my doorbell rang. Too frightened to just open it, I looked out the upstairs window first.

Down on the street stood my neighbor. A colleague had asked her to check on me, and she was standing there smiling, holding a loaf of bread, tea, a box of chocolates, beautiful pink flowers, and so much love in her eyes.

The moment I opened that door, the heavy weight of the online hate completely vanished.

Our hearts go out entirely to the victim of this tragic attack in North Belfast and his family. Every individual should be held strictly accountable for their own behavior. But please, do not define an entire community by the actions of one person. We are from everywhere, from every country, and we are not the actions of one individual.

All day today, my phone has been flooded with messages from local friends, colleagues, and neighbors offering me a safe place to stay, rides, and groceries. The fear we feel is real, but the love from the local community is so much louder. Thank you to everyone checking on us. You remind us every single day that we are seen, we are cared for, and we truly belong in Belfast.❤️”

There is an underestimation, and denial by some, of the extent of racism in Northern Ireland, a Stormont committee has heard.

It comes after police figures indicated that 2025 saw the highest numbers of racist incidents in the region since records began in 2004. The year saw 2,048 racist incidents and 1,280 race hate crimes in a year which saw significant race-related disorder in Ballymena, Co Antrim.

On Wednesday, the Executive Office scrutiny committee heard views that the proposed race relations strategy and delivery plan does not do enough.