belfast Family Forced to Consider Leaving Home Amid Ongoing Intimidation
Belfast, Northern Ireland – A Catholic family residing in a predominantly Protestant housing development in north Belfast is contemplating leaving their home due to sustained intimidation, including attacks on their property, and a perceived lack of support from police. The family, living on Annalee Street, represents the last Catholic household in the area and their plight highlights ongoing sectarian tensions and the challenges faced by vulnerable communities in Northern Ireland.Since May, the family has endured a campaign of harassment, culminating in damage to their windows.Despite reporting these incidents to the police, the couple expressed a lack of confidence in the authorities, stating they have seen the perpetrators “walking up and down the street.” Only one arrest has been made in connection with the attacks. The family is now reliant on local councillors and community workers for daily support, facing the prospect of relocation to a hotel or flat in County Fermanagh due to extensive housing waiting lists in north Belfast.
“Since May, the threat has always been there. The same guys who put in the windows, we would have seen them walking up and down the street. We would have told the police,” the woman of the house said. “But thereS only been one arrest.”
The couple acknowledged the attacks are perpetrated by a “minority” of individuals, and welcomed condemnation from Stormont leaders, but emphasized the need for concrete action. They fear the escalating situation is impacting their daughter, who previously showed no interest in the region’s troubled past, but now questions why her family is being targeted.
“All I want to do is live here without fear or anything happening to us until we get away,” the woman stated. “The saddest part for me is that we brought our daughter up in cross-community areas – she has Catholic and Protestant friends – but now there is a fear in her. She wasn’t interested in what happened in the past. But now she is asking: ‘Why us?'”
Sinn Féin councillor Tomás O’Neill and Independent councillor Paul McCusker have been providing consistent support to the family, alongside local community workers. the situation underscores the enduring legacy of sectarianism in Northern Ireland and the difficulties faced by those living in interface areas, where communities remain largely segregated.
