Petras Šlajus of the Lithuanian Association NI told Metro Éireann that at a recent inter-community meeting in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, one woman described Lithuanians as “trained killers”.
By Catherine Reilly
A LITHUANIAN representative in Northern Ireland has described as “devastating” the negative stereotyping of local Lithuanians.
Petras Šlajus of the Lithuanian Association NI told Metro Éireann that at a recent inter-community meeting in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, one woman described Lithuanians as “trained killers”. He commented: “I was devastated by this. She mentioned that her child was beaten by a Lithuanian child, I said I’m sorry but you are basing your opinion on a single case.”
He said that a small minority of the thousands of Lithuanians in Northern Ireland are involved in anti-social and criminal activities, but that publicity surrounding such cases has helped a stereotype to gain wider currency.
“The Lithuanian community are devastated by these criminal activities and [are devastated] when someone gets killed by a Lithuanian hand,” he said, adding that now local Lithuanians are concerned that this negative image is impacting upon their employment opportunities. “Lithuanian people are saying that some companies in Dungannon wouldn’t take Lithuanian employees, for some kind of reason. They must look at Lithuanians as criminals in general,” he said.
Conversely, he said Northern Ireland is gaining a bad reputation in Lithuania due to mostly unprovoked attacks on Lithuanian citizens, which have received publicity in the Baltic country. On 20 April, a Lithuanian family’s home in Cookstown, Co Tyrone was petrol-bombed. Šlajus said confidence in the PSNI (Police Service of Northern Ireland) is low among eastern Europeans, as in most instances there is no resolution to these cases.
He also confirmed that there is a sense of fear among many North-based Lithuanians that they too could be attacked. “In some areas, it is more or less okay – in others, it is rough and people tend to be more aggressive towards foreigners, towards strangers,” he said, adding that he personally does not believe the Catholicism of Lithuanians is a factor. Lithuanians are not allowed into some pubs, he said, preventing them from socialising.
Šlajus said that the Lithuanian Association NI last week held a musical event in Dungannon – home to around 2,500 Lithuanians - in an attempt to promote integration. “It was really beautiful,” he said. “Not that many local people turned up but we were glad to have even some of them. It was a step forward in trying to restore the good name of the Lithuanian community.”
He added that the association hopes to link up with the local council during the summer to facilitate an integration scheme for youngsters.
Marijus Petrušonis, spokesperson for the Lithuanian embassy in London, told Metro Éireann that embassy officials had just returned from consular duties and attendance at Lithuanian cultural events in Northern Ireland, and confirmed that “some people complain that the police don’t prosecute hard enough”. However, he added that he believes the majority of Lithuanians are content in Northern Ireland. “I think they are…A problem exists but isn’t that bad. Not many people run to us and say they want to move.”
He said that Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council has published a booklet, Racism Hurts, translated into Lithuanian, which outlines what someone can do in the event of being attacked.
He added that in 2006, some 64 incidents of hate crimes towards Lithuanians were reported, and that the embassy has not been able to obtain up-to-date figures.
Petrušonis explained that the embassy has backed a number of events, initiated by Lithuanians in Northern Ireland, promoting Lithuanian culture. “Of course we’d like to promote integration – it goes both ways – some Lithuanians are known not in the best of ways, while others are on the receiving end of attacks.” There is no Lithuanian consulate in Northern Ireland, he confirmed.
At press time, no comment was available from the PSNI, which recently launched a campaign to raise awareness of hate crime. Latest statistics show that in the past year there have been 1,047 incidents of race/hate crimes, an increase of 10 per cent on the previous year. It is believed many attacks are never reported.
