OVER the past few weeks, many people in Northern Ireland could be forgiven in believing that the well-documented racist attacks taking place in the Village area of Belfast have ceased, due to the sudden halt to the media's interest in covering the story.
             However, this assessment sadly is far removed from what has actually been occurring. The reality of the situation is that paramilitary organisations, as well as neo-fascist groups, have been threatening ethnic families to leave their homes by a set deadline or face the consequences.
             Due to the veracity of previous racist attacks, many families have been intimidated into moving out of their own homes simply as a result of the threat – and as no actual "attacks" are taking place, the media have had little interest in actually covering the situation.
             Indeed, paramilitaries have been reported by families in the area to have actually walked into houses without invitation, taking items such as televisions and CD players from the residents, with the message that "you won't be needing these anymore."
             Also, the White Nationalist Party recently had a "day of action" in Coleraine, distributing leaflets upon cars and on the street itself. The WNP have claimed that their membership is "skyrocketing" in the areas around Coleraine, such as Portstewart, Portrush and Ballymoney, but in reality their membership is made up of around 30 to 40 members in Northern Ireland, some of whom are not even actively involved in the work of the WNP.
             This may seem like a small number, and it would be easy to ignore the activities of such a group as a result. However, this would be a naive and dangerous mistake to make. The only way to ensure that such groups do not gain momentum is to destroy them in their conception, so that they do not have the opportunity to grow into a stronger and more serious threat.
             Action must be taken now in order to destr...