On the ground in the Belfast riots

Speaker 10:00

This is The Guardian.

Noor Haidar· Host0:01

[electronic music] Hi, Noor Haidar here, coming to you from Gadigal land. This week, the world looked on in shock as violence broke out on the streets of Belfast with mobs targeting immigrants and people from ethnic backgrounds. Today, we're bringing you an episode from The Guardian's international news podcast, Today in Focus, on how the disorder unfolded and why minority communities are fearing for their lives in Belfast. Here's host Helen Pidd.

Helen Pidd· Host0:36

[pensive music] On Tuesday evening, Sumaya and Stella, two housemates from Uganda, were at home in West Belfast when they heard some noise outside.

Hannah Al-Othman0:47

They were in their house, and basically they saw some of the violence beginning.

Helen Pidd· Host0:53

The women are care workers, but they're also students. Sumaya is studying adult health at a local college, and Stella is doing an MBA at Ulster University. They told their story to Guardian reporter Hannah Al-Othman.

Hannah Al-Othman1:05

They said there were a group of, of men and boys.

Sumaya· Guest1:08

So it all started, like, people were just marching, young boys between the age of nine and 20. Uh, they were all putting on black and masks.

Hannah Al-Othman1:18

They were all dressed in dark clothing. They had face coverings, and they noticed them start to gather, you know, near their flat, and they initially hoped it would pass over fairly peacefully.