People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll has condemned the racially-motivated arson attack that gutted a former gospel hall on the Shankill Road in the early hours of Saturday morning, describing it as "a despicable act of racism" that working class communities across Belfast must stand united against.
"A man who has called this place home for 18 years has watched his life's savings burn to the ground," Carroll said. "This is the direct the result of weeks of poison pumped online - cowards warning of an 'influx of people' and sneering at 'foreign food.' That bile has now ended in arson."
"A shopkeeper trying to make a living is not the enemy of the Shankill. The enemy of working class communities is a system that denies us jobs, housing and hope, and then tells us to blame our neighbour instead of those at the top."
"This shop would have brought jobs to an area that desperately needs them. Racism puts food on nobody's table. It only ever keeps working people divided."
"Every migrant family in this city should be welcomed. The vast majority of people stand with them - not with the racists. These thugs don't speak for the Shankill and they certainly don't speak for the working class people of Belfast."
"Racists Don't Speak for the Shankill" Gerry Carroll Condemns Arson on Migrant-Owned Business
"This is the direct the result of weeks of poison pumped online - cowards warning of an 'influx of people' and sneering at 'foreign food.' That bile has now ended in arson... Racism puts food on nobody's table."
