Far-right are organising across Northern Ireland, spreading lies and misinformation about migrants and refugees
by Hugh Scullion, Workers Party Mid-Ulster
The image of immigrants on a boat burning atop an eleventh-night bonfire is intended to send fear through our ethnic minority communities. It has been deliberately constructed to intimidate and raise tensions against those who have chosen to live and work in our hospitals, care homes, and factories. The far-right who are organising across Northern Ireland are spreading lies and misinformation about migrants and refugees. These images should have been removed at once because they constitute a hate crime. It would now seem that bigotry and hatred towards migrants has joined sectarian bigotry in all sections of our society.
While racist violence is associated with loyalist paramilitarism, we should not forget that right-wing loyalists have been making common cause with tricolour-waving far-right nationalists in the Republic.
Niall McConnell, a far-right activist and Independent election candidate from Donegal hosted former UVF member Mark Sinclair on his YouTube channel on 10 June at the height of the unrest in Ballymena. The pair discussed setting aside their differences to work against the perceived threat caused by immigration.
However, while a loud minority of racists have dominated the news cycles, we need acknowledge that a majority of people here welcome immigrants.
In the latest Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey (NILTS, 2024), 68% of respondents state that we have a duty to protect refugees fleeing persecution, 72% believe migrant workers are good for the economy, and 75% think they make Northern Ireland more open to new ideas and cultures. While in 2006 48% of NILTS respondents agreed that migrants take jobs from people born in NI, this figure had dropped to 11% in 2024. Nearly a third (31%) think immigration should increase, up from 10% in 2012.
Racist provocations must be condemned by all. Politicians, civic and church leaders must call for the removal of these symbols of hatred. Migrations and refugees are not depriving anyone of jobs, housing, health, education, or benefits. These are the lies and misinformation used to stir up racial tensions and violence against people who are being scapegoated by those with a far-right political agenda, who have nothing to offer our society other than hatred.