Women’s collective raises over 250k after racist riots in Belfast
Minority communities remain “on edge” nearly a month after racist attacks saw homes and cars torched.
Women’s collective raises over 250k after racist riots in Belfast
Anaka Women’s Collective says 200 families were rehoused after they stepped in to help those affected by racist attacks last month.
STORY BY MELISSA SIGODO
JULY 2, 2026
A grassroots women’s collective supporting migrants has raised over £250,000 and rehoused 200 families affected by racist attacks in Belfast, Northern Ireland, last month.
Black and Asian people along with migrants saw their homes attacked and set on fire by violent masked mobs who exploited a knife attack on a white man which occurred days earlier and saw a Sudanese man charged with attempted murder.
Families were left fearing for their safety after addresses were shared on social media by far-right groups which resulted in newborn babies, children and their parents being forced to flee.
Women’s collective Anaka which supports migrants, asylum seekers and refugees in the capital says they then stepped in after receiving floods of WhatsApp messages from terrified residents including those whose houses were on fire.
With the funds raised by the collective, the group says they were able to rehouse the displaced and deliver essential groceries including baby formula and nappies for mothers and fathers fearful of even walking to shops.
But nearly a month since smoke filled the streets of Belfast, vulnerable communities dealing with the trauma of the violence still remain “on edge.”
Speaking to The Community Reporter, Ruth from Anaka said: “It was devastating. You just go into absolute action mode.
“A lot of our members with newborn babies were without formula so we had these requests coming in and you imagine the family that’s sitting there and they’re actually terrified to leave the house even though they need essential things.
“There’s a woman that we know of within our community who was having contractions - a pregnant woman - she was too scared to go to the hospital.
“These are people who we’ve known for years and have personal connections with.
“It’s devastating really because we do pride ourselves on a lot of different things in Belfast and being a lot more of a diverse community than it used to be 10 years ago but it seems like it’s going in the wrong direction.”
But Ruth says some people still need support weeks later as the violence has had a lasting impact especially on children who remain “on edge” including a 15-year-old girl left traumatised by the riots.
Ruth said: “[A 15-year-old girl’s] brother was playing out in the back yard because he couldn’t play out the front for weeks, and his football hit their house. The girl ran from one end of the house to the other. She thought it was a petrol bomb. This was a week after [the riots] happened.
“She stayed in her mum’s bed for two weeks sleeping by her side. She was so terrified.”
After Anaka launched their fundraiser, they say they were able to rehouse 200 people whose lives were turned upside down overnight after the third year in a row of violence on this scale targeting ethnic minorities and migrants in Northern Ireland.
Ruth said: “200 families were rehomed, put in hotels, temporary accommodation and in a different area in Belfast. Also [we were] giving people lifts and providing taxis.
“Where possible we could lift share with people who had volunteered so that people didn’t have to be out in the street and walking around to appointments and different things.”
But with upcoming Twelfth of July celebrations in Northern Ireland, Ruth says communities are “on edge” as they fear violence may erupt once again.
She said: “People just feel on edge and the Twelfth of July is coming up here in Belfast, so there’ll be bonfires and stuff.
“The tension’s building and we have to sort of just be aware of things that happen and just look out for people.”
Overall, the organiser says that as a result of normalised hatred through what she describes as “pogroms” - racism has seeped into schools and that after the violence last month, one boy was suspended for reacting to racial abuse from other students.
She said: “It affects everything. People’s safety, children that have maybe been born here that are suffering.
“Racism seems to be on the rise and I think that people are a lot more loose lipped and it feels like we need something big. [We need] a big shift because we can’t continue like this.”
For more information on the fundraiser which has now raised £261,100 click here.