Romanians head home as church is attacked

Published on Tuesday 23 June 2009 22:52

UP TO 100 Romanians are to leave Northern Ireland after a series of racist attacks.

Twenty-five have already left and another 75 are planning to return home, Stormont minister Margaret Ritchie said yesterday.

Air fares are being paid out of an emergency fund.

Just 17 who were caught up in the violence in Belfast last week, when families were offered temporary accommodation, have decided to stay on.

Ms Ritchie, the minister for social development, said she deeply regretted the decision by the Romanians to leave.

She said: "We are not a racist society, but it's now time we took a serious look at ourselves. There is now an urgency and an imperative to build a shared society.

"We live apart. We are educated apart, and therefore it is no surprise that this is a them-and-us attitude. We have to work to challenge that attitude," she said. "There must be total respect for political, religious and ethnic differences."

Details of the evacuation emerged hours after a church which offered sanctuary to the 100 Romanians when they fled their homes was attacked overnight.

The windows of City Church in University Avenue, south Belfast, were smashed by stone-throwers.

Pastor Malcolm Morgan said: "I arrived at 7am and found several windows smashed at the front of our church and the main door windows smashed. There were stones scattered on the floor and glass all around."

Mr Morgan said the church had never been attacked in such a way before, but he added it was only speculation that it was connected to the help which the church gave to the 22 Romanian families.

"It would be easy to conclude that it was someone who did not like our work with the Romanians, but that is only guesswork.

"If it is, I think that is very sad. We had nothing but positive comments all last week – so many e-mails and local folk thanking us – so it was quite a surprise this morning," he said.

He said he did not regret what he had done for the migrant workers.

"Absolutely not. I was just thrilled we, as a church, were able to respond last week, and we would do the same tomorrow."