Many have watched with horror the scenes of far-right protestors attacking migrant shops in Belfast. It is reminiscent of the 1930s when Nazi party members attacked Jewish shops in Germany.
But anti-racists are mobilising against the modern-day fascists.
On Saturday thousands are expected to take part in a ‘Belfast Welcomes Diversity’ march from Writers Square to City Hall at 12pm.
The march is supported by the Northern Irish Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Meanwhile, People Before Profit has been playing an active role in countering the fascists. Gerry Carroll MLA has spoken out at a special recall meeting of the Stormont assemble
He said that anti-racists must reclaim the streets from the far right.
“I want to put on record my disgust at the brutal racist violence that we have witnessed in recent days. I also want to extend solidarity to the victims. To state that the far-right forces behind these attacks are in the minority. And to say that there are countless people here who are determined to stamp out racism, islamophobia, and bigotry of any kind.
The scenes we’ve seen in recent days have been abhorrent. Certainly, the experience of the weekend was that things would be a lot worse if we did not have an organised anti-racist response to those who want to divide us.
When a small far-right mob gathered at City Hall on Saturday, they were met with a thousands-strong crowd of anti-racism campaigners. I want to pay credit to every campaigner who took a stand and is taking a stand against the hate of the far right.”
He continued: “What we need is a mass anti-racism movement to reclaim our streets and isolate the far right.
We need working class people to unite against racism in their communities, in their workplaces, and everywhere it rears its ugly head.”