It started with the horrific killing of three young girls at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event for children in the seaside town of Southport, in northern England.
After false rumours were spread on social media that the 17-year-old charged with their murders was a Muslim migrant who’d arrived by boat a few years before, a wave of anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant protests spread across the UK. Cars were set on fire, immigrant-owned-businesses were destroyed, and the police attacked. A hotel housing asylum seekers had its windows smashed and a video went viral showing rioters stopping cars to see if the drivers were ‘white enough’ to be allowed to pass through safely.
In response, there were a number of massive counter-protests against racism – and the UK government promised swift and tough justice would follow. So far, more than 1,100 people have been arrested and more than 600 charged. But has this helped to reassure Africans and people of African descent living in the UK?
Africa Daily’s Alan Kasujja speaks to BBC Arabic's Reda El Mawy, and Mohammed Idris, a Sudanese business owner living in Belfast, whose shop was destroyed in the attacks.
