"No Foreigners" house let sign sparks outrage
A "No Foreigners" sign on a house to let in Belfast provoked outrage today.
The offensive and illegal sign on the three-bedroom house in the loyalist Donegall Road area of south Belfast declared "This property is not available for any foreigners."
Chinese-born Anna Lo, South Belfast Alliance Party Assembly member, was outraged.
Ms Lo said: "This is sickening. To treat other human beings like that is simply appalling. I hope action is taken to remove this sign immediately - we must never see anything like this again."
The Donegall Road area is home to a substantial number of people from Asian communities and other migrant workers.
There have been a number of attacks on homes occupied by foreign nationals and the landlord behind the sign said a Romanian tenant fled last week after the windows were smashed and the bin set on fire outside the front door.
Ms Lo said he was still breaking the law as spelt out under the Race Relations Act.
"Landlords should play a positive role in helping migrants feel welcome in the area instead of playing into the hands of racists," she said.
"This despicable matter is unrepresentative of a community which is making significant progress. Migrants play a massively positive role in our community. They bring cultural diversity to Northern Ireland and they contribute greatly to our economy."
Bob Collins, chief commissioner at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, was equally insistent that the sign was illegal - and said the commission has assisted those discriminated against to take legal action.
When the storm broke around him the landlord who had identified himself on the "To let" sign as Craig quickly changed it.
