Xenophobic protests in Britain’s Belfast
We’re seeing disturbing scenes in the UK right now.
In Belfast (June 10–11taa), far-right mobs attacked homes, businesses, and families targeting refugees and migrants. Police deployed water cannons for the first time in years. Over 200 extra officers were brought in. Public transport was suspended, and schools closed early.
The trigger ? A 30-year-old Sudanese refugee, Hadi Alodid, has been charged with attempted murder after a knife attack that left one man blind in one eye. The victim’s own family condemned the riots, saying they are “disgusted” by the disorder and that migrants “make a deeply valuable contribution.”
Similar attacks have happened across England this year…asylum hotels in Merseyside, Tamworth, and Kent have been firebombed or stormed by far-right crowds.
But let’s talk about Britain’s own role in this.
Britain’s colonial history created instability, poverty, and conflict across Africa, Asia, and the Caribbean…the very places many migrants and refugees are fleeing today. Decades of resource extraction, drawn borders, and economic exploitation left former colonies struggling. Now, when people from those same nations seek safety or work in Britain, they are met with violence and xenophobia.
At the same time, Britain faces a serious labor shortage…in social care, agriculture, construction, and the NHS. Migrant workers are filling those gaps, keeping the economy moving. Without them, hospitals would close wards, crops would rot in fields, and care homes would collapse. The irony is that the same far-right voices attacking migrants are silent about Britain’s reliance on their labor.
So no…this isn’t just “mindless violence.” It’s a refusal to confront Britain’s own colonial legacy and an hypocritical attack on the very people Britain needs and owes a debt to.