‘Community horrified and afraid’ after knife attack, says Lilian Seenoi-Barr

Lilian Seenoi-Barr was among a delegation representing minority ethnic communities at Parliament Buildings - (PA Wire)

There is a sense of fear in communities across Northern Ireland following a knife attack in the capital.

Police have said a suspect arrested following the stabbing in north Belfast on Monday night is Sudanese.

There have been calls for calm from political leaders in the aftermath of the attack which has sparked fears of a repeat of the race-related riots which erupted in Ballymena, Co Antrim, last summer.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill moved to reassure all across society that those who seek to stoke-up tensions, particularly on social media, “do not represent us”.

She urged people to separate the knife attack from others from minority ethnic communities, saying: “We need to say no racism, no to hatred, no to sectarianism that is out there in our society.

“What happened last night was horrific. People need to separate those things.”

Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, police chief Jon Boutcher, First Minister Michelle O’Neill and policing board chair Brendan Mullan speak to the media (Liam McBurney/PA) (PA Wire)

Lilian Seenoi-Barr, a former mayor of Londonderry and SDLP politician, was among a delegation representing minority ethnic communities at Parliament Buildings on Tuesday.

Speaking to the media, she said firstly, they would like collectively as a community to “send our thoughts and prayers to the family of the victim of yesterday’s horrific attempted murder”.

“We are horrified like everyone else in this community because a member of our community has been attacked on our streets where we are all meant to be safe, and we are delighted that the community is united with one voice that violence is not acceptable in any way regardless of the person that is creating it,” she said.

She said while people are afraid, there is also a sense of reassurance due to solidarity shown across communities in Northern Ireland previously.

Lilian Seenoi-Barr (centre) speaking to the media at Parliament buildings at Stormont on Tuesday (Liam McBurney/PA) (PA Wire)

“Our community is horrified and people are afraid because they know what could happen, but we are also reassured we live in a community in which all of us are coming together united with one voice,” she added.

“We have seen this happen before and the community has always been there looking after each other.

“All I can do is encourage everyone to look after their neighbours from minority communities because they are horrified at what could happen, but we are also reassured because we know most of us have marched the streets, not alone, with others when our people are attacked.”