At least 88 families were forced out of their homes as a result of Northern Ireland race riots in June, either through burning or local intimidation, according to figures supplied by housing authorities.
As of the beginning of September, fewer than half – 39 households – had been rehomed in temporary accommodation elsewhere by the Northern Ireland Housing Executive (NIHE).
Of the remaining 49, a spokesperson for the NIHE told The Irish Times it “does not have information” on how many did or did not return to their previous addresses.
However, voluntary organisations say the numbers made homeless could be even higher.
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Anaka Women’s Collective, which works with refugee and asylum seekers, set up emergency support for immigrants on the night of the riots, June 9th, and says it helped more than 500 people in the weeks after, including 300 families.
According to Elfie Seymour, an organiser with Anaka, a number of families the organisation was in contact with left Northern Ireland completely, handing the keys of their homes into the NIHE, while some left for the summer to consider their options. Others are staying elsewhere in Belfast.
The organisation says it has raised more than £250,000 (€290,000) since the riots to support migrants. Of that, £100,000 has already been spent on accommodation via online rental sites.
Many other immigrants, the charity said, have become part of a hidden homeless population, staying with friends or family. Charity workers reported that many people were still sleeping on the floor of places of worship three months on.
Families who have been given emergency accommodation in the aftermath of the riots described to The Irish Times moving from emergency accommodation night after night for the past few months.
Five hundred race-motivated hate incidents were recorded in June in Northern Ireland after race riots erupted in Belfast on June 9th.
New figures from the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) show that 512 race-motivated incidents and 317 crimes occurred during the month, the highest level of race-based violence since monthly records began in 2004.
Families who endured their homes being vandalised, burnt and looted on the night spoke to The Irish Times under condition of anonymity.
Michael, whose name has been changed to protect his identity, described having his home surrounded and set on fire while his wife and three-year-old child were inside.
“It was like horror, complete horror. I didn’t know what was going to happen, like if they were going to kill us.”
A hospital worker described her house being surrounded, hiding under her bed with her 16-year-old daughter in the dark and waiting 40 minutes for police to arrive.
“All we could hear [was] people walking in the back garden, I think maybe they were waiting for us to open the door and try [to escape].”
[ A visual timeline of how foreign agitators helped spark racist riots in BelfastOpens in new window ]
Volunteers on the ground criticised what they felt was a stagnant state response, with a network of 400 ordinary people organising to evacuate immigrant families from burning buildings and provide emergency accommodation.
“There was no co-ordinated response from the state to bring people to safety,” Seymour said. “There was a complete [failure] in the state departments to act with any sense of urgency or flexibility that people who were under attack needed.”
The Housing Executive strongly denied that assertion. “Our teams were on the ground each day, from Tuesday, June 9th, helping individuals and securing and repairing badly damaged properties,” a spokesperson said. “We rehoused or found temporary accommodation for dozens of households in extremely challenging circumstances.”
The PSNI said it put in place a “significant policing operation” after the disorder broke out.
As of August 31st, 42 arrests had been made with 33 people charged, eight bailed and one reported to the Public Prosecution Service.
“Prosecutions in relation to the totally unacceptable violence we saw on our streets this summer are ongoing,” Joanne Gibson, the PSNI’s hate crime lead superintendent, said. “I want to reiterate the message that this behaviour will not be tolerated.”
She added: “We are absolutely committed to making sure that hate crimes are properly investigated, victims are appropriately supported and that those responsible are identified and held to account.”
