In an astonishing moment, Protestants and Catholics in Belfast stood shoulder to shoulder in an anti-immigration protest after three children were knifed to death in England by a suspect whose parents came from Rwanda.
“Union flags and Irish tricolours were waved side-by-side,” the BBC reported.
“We will stand together for our children! For our children!” one protester yelled.
Meanwhile, in England, members of the Muslim community turned out in Birmingham. “In Birmingham, a pub and cars were also damaged after hundreds gathered in the Bordesley Green area following false reports that a far-right mob was planning to march through the area,” the Independent reported.
When the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Safeguarding and Violence Against Women and Girls, a member of the leftist Labour Party, defended the Birmingham demonstrators, saying, “These people came to this location because it has been spread that racists were coming to attack them. This misinformation was spread entirely to create this content,” former British Prime Minister Liz Truss fired back, “Astonishing a Home Office Minister is excusing masked thugs. She must retract this statement and the Prime Minister must urgently commit to protect the safety and freedom of everyone in our country.”
Shadow Home Secretary James Cleverly echoed, “Home Office ministers should not be making excuses for masked men shouting, abusing, and intimidating members of the media. Ministers are not commentators or casual observers, they are decision-makers and need to think about the consequences of their words and actions.”
On July 29, Bebe King, 6, Elsie Dot Stancombe, 7, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar, 9, were knifed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class by a suspect who also stabbed eight other children and two adults. Leanne Lucas, 35, the yoga teacher leading the class, was stabbed and left in critical condition.
Between 1968 and 1998, an era called “The Troubles” existed in Northern Ireland; it featured violent conflict between Protestants who wished to remain part of the United Kingdom and Catholics who wanted the area to join with the Republic of Ireland. Three thousand six hundred people were killed, and more than 30,000 were wounded.
Schools in Northern Ireland are largely segregated; by 2017, a reported 93% of them were segregated by creed.
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