No Foreigners.
Disturbing to read this morning that a landlord felt it necessary and perfectly A-Okay to put a 'no foreigners' sign up on a house he was attempting to rent in Belfast. His home has been damaged after some bright brave souls had driven his previous tenant- a Romanian- out. So in his wisdom he decided to add to the racist mess by discriminating against foreigner workers.
Observe from the Indo today.
"Chinese-born Anna Lo, South Belfast Alliance Party Assembly member, was outraged.
Ms Lo said: "This is sickening. To treat other human beings like that is simply appalling. I hope action is taken to remove this sign immediately - we must never see anything like this again."
The Donegall Road area is home to a substantial number of people from Asian communities and other migrant workers.
There have been a number of attacks on homes occupied by foreign nationals and the landlord behind the sign said a Romanian tenant fled last week after the windows were smashed and the bin set on fire outside the front door.
Ms Lo said he was still breaking the law as spelt out under the Race Relations Act.
"Landlords should play a positive role in helping migrants feel welcome in the area instead of playing into the hands of racists," she said.
"This despicable matter is unrepresentative of a community which is making significant progress. Migrants play a massively positive role in our community. They bring cultural diversity to Northern Ireland and they contribute greatly to our economy."
Bob Collins, chief commissioner at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, was equally insistent that the sign was illegal - and said the commission has assisted those discriminated against to take legal action.
When the storm broke around him the landlord who had identified himself on the "To let" sign as Craig quickly changed it."
Poor, very poor. Of course it is up to the individual to decide who they rent their property to, but to be so blatantly discriminatory like that is only adding fuel to the fire of racist and shameful behaviour. It wasn't that long ago that 'No dog No Irish' hung on many a public door, pity some people don't know where to draw the line.
Observe from the Indo today.
"Chinese-born Anna Lo, South Belfast Alliance Party Assembly member, was outraged.
Ms Lo said: "This is sickening. To treat other human beings like that is simply appalling. I hope action is taken to remove this sign immediately - we must never see anything like this again."
The Donegall Road area is home to a substantial number of people from Asian communities and other migrant workers.
There have been a number of attacks on homes occupied by foreign nationals and the landlord behind the sign said a Romanian tenant fled last week after the windows were smashed and the bin set on fire outside the front door.
Ms Lo said he was still breaking the law as spelt out under the Race Relations Act.
"Landlords should play a positive role in helping migrants feel welcome in the area instead of playing into the hands of racists," she said.
"This despicable matter is unrepresentative of a community which is making significant progress. Migrants play a massively positive role in our community. They bring cultural diversity to Northern Ireland and they contribute greatly to our economy."
Bob Collins, chief commissioner at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, was equally insistent that the sign was illegal - and said the commission has assisted those discriminated against to take legal action.
When the storm broke around him the landlord who had identified himself on the "To let" sign as Craig quickly changed it."
Poor, very poor. Of course it is up to the individual to decide who they rent their property to, but to be so blatantly discriminatory like that is only adding fuel to the fire of racist and shameful behaviour. It wasn't that long ago that 'No dog No Irish' hung on many a public door, pity some people don't know where to draw the line.
posted by fatmammycat at 9:29 a.m.
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