Talks aim to prevent threatened Romanians leaving North
Urgent talks are being held in Belfast today in a bid to end the plight of more than 100 Romanians forced to flee their homes after a spate of racist attacks.
Police, community representatives, politicians and officials from a range of statutory agencies are to attend an emergency meeting in the city to see what can be done for the families who had to seek refuge in a church over night.
Frightened Romanian men, women and children were this morning moved to a temporary refuge in indoor tennis courts at council leisure centre where they were given food and other provisions.
Many have now vowed to leave Ireland for good. The meeting at the Chinese Resource Centre on the city's Ormeau Road will discuss an action plan aimed at making the families feel safe to stay.
A mother of two, who only wanted to be known by her first name of Maria, said everyone was now adamant that they wanted to return to Romania.
She said attacks had been intensifying over the last two weeks but came to a head last night in the racist thugs breaking into her house and threatening her and her children.
Others spoke of men armed with guns telling them to leave the country or face being shot.
"We are OK, we are safe now," Maria said in the leisure centre. "But we want to go home because right now we are not safe here (in the North).
"We want to go back home to Romania, everybody right now does.
"I want to go home because I have here two kids and I want my kids to be safe."
More than 100 Romanian nationals spent Tuesday night in the City Church, near Queen's University, after evacuating their homes in the Lisburn Road area in the south of the city.
Police helped up to 20 families leave their houses and set up in the hall while volunteers provided bedding and food.
Simmering racial tensions in the area have erupted over recent days, culminating with an attack on a rally in support of the east European migrants on Monday night.
Youths hurled bottles and made Nazi salutes at those taking part in the anti-racism rally.
Families were starting to pack up possessions with the intention of returning to Romania.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness and Junior Minister Jeffrey Donaldson both visited the families at the leisure centre.
Mr McGuinness said it was time to support the families and convince them that they did not have to return to Romania and that they could live in peace in the North.
The Sinn Féin deputy leader added: "We are going to do everything in our power to ensure these criminals, these racist criminals, don't have their way."
Democratic Unionist MP Mr Donaldson said it was important that ordinary people in the North stood together and send out a clear message that racism was not acceptable.
"I think it is important that the whole community shows a united front against this kind of racism and the message that goes out from Northern Ireland is not a negative message of racism, or of the kind of headlines that we've seen of Belfast being the racist capital of Europe.
"I don't believe it is, I believe the vast and overwhelming majority of people here deplore racism and it's important from the leadership down in Northern Ireland that we make that absolutely clear."
