02/07/2009

'United Face' At City Anti-Racism Rally

People from across Northern Ireland showed a 'united face' at an anti-racism rally in Belfast this afternoon.

The demonstration was organised amid simmering tensions around the city following a spate of racist attacks and acts of intimidation.

Scores of immigrant families have since fled the province and returned to their homelands of Romania, Poland and India. Today, large crowds gathered in front of Belfast City Hall (pictured) in protest at the treatment of the ethnic minorities.

Peter Bunting from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, which has organised the rally, said: "We are calling for working people who live here to show a united face against those who attack migrants.

"It is time for a political response which addresses community cohesion, intercultural integration and builds solidarity across all sectors of our diverse society," he said.

"We must think about shared futures to embrace all people living and working in Northern Ireland and not just in terms of the two communities."

(PR/JM)

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