<
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2025/dec/27/how-community-action-confronting-racism-belfast>
"As a black woman in Northern Ireland, Maureen Hamblin knows that racism comes
in many forms. “It’s not just the smashing in of shop windows,” she says. “It
can be quiet, it can be silent.”
Bystanders who hear racist remarks and remain mute, as if oblivious, amplify
the hurt and leave victims feeling alone and isolated, a recurring experience
that left Hamblin drained. “There was a time when I’d lost a lot of faith in
white people, in white men.”
Race riots in Belfast, Ballymena and other towns in the past two years might
have extinguished the last of that faith but instead Hamblin, who is originally
from Kenya, stumbled upon hope.
She joined an initiative called the Circle of Change, which connects strangers
from different backgrounds – rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight –
and tasks them with a subversive activity: getting to know each other.
Each year a different circle, about a dozen strong, is formed and meets at
monthly gatherings around Belfast to share stories and raise funds for
organisations that promote tolerance and reconciliation."
Via
Reasons to be Cheerful:
<
https://reasonstobecheerful.world/what-were-reading-los-angeles-fires-one-year-on/>
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
