[ from Anil's side blog (of sorts) of daily links ] :
Why does the Right, which screams whenever there is even a hint of "anti-Semitism," ignore stories like this?
Racist war of the loyalist street gangs
Not far from the red, white and blue paving stones, the Ku Klux Klan graffiti and the "Chinks out" notices scratched outside south Belfast Chinese takeaways, Hua Long Lin was at home watching television when a man burst in and smashed a brick into his face. His wife, also in the room, was eight months pregnant. The couple had moved into the terrace two weeks before.
I wonder if Anil included this link on his side daily links because he's worried that the trolls will come out. The title for the link is:
why do conservative bloggers not report this story when the supposedly evil Guardian does? because Liberals still care about this stuff."
Read the long excerpt below and you'll know why (hint=the Chinese and Muslims are ignored by the Right):
Across Belfast, Sara - not her real name - sat behind closed curtains in her terraced house. Her front window is regularly painted with KKK, "black people out" and "I hate niggers" slogans. A Zimbabwean businesswoman in her 30s, she never opens her curtains to let natural light into the house, as the sight of her in the living room is a provocation to local teenagers. The shouting through her letterbox becomes unbearable.
"Sometimes when I'm in the bedroom, I see an egg hit the window and slide down. The writing on the window is replaced whenever we clean it off. Often I just leave it there. It has happened continually for seven months.
"Initially we wanted to move. We called the police. Then we realised it's happening everywhere in Belfast. There is nowhere to run to," she said.
There are 4,000-5,000 Muslims in Northern Ireland, most born locally, but there is no purpose-built mosque for fear of attacks. The community worships in converted houses it can barely squeeze into.
Last year, planning permission was denied in the Protestant-dominated area surrounding Portadown amid a local campaign warning people that residents would be "kept awake by wailing".
Planning permission has now been granted but the mosque won't be built, as the community is too afraid. In the past eight months at least eight families have been forced from their homes.
One family was shot at through their kitchen window, a number of Muslims were stabbed, one was left in a coma after a beating, others have had legs and noses broken. The community avoids speaking out. Whenever it is quoted in the media, the attacks get worse.
"The imam had to leave Northern Ireland after a gang of 10 smashed his windows and doors in, and told him he should get out," said Jamal Iweida, who runs the Islamic Centre in Belfast. "It's a matter of time before we have a fatal attack.
"The attacks are increasing. I can feel the atmosphere on the street. I have to be prepared to be called names at least once a day. I have a beard so I'm called Bin Laden or Saddam Hussein, or I'm told 'Paki go home'."
Posted by ronn at January 12, 2004 08:40 PM