'It gives me hope' Belfast project brings people together to tackle polarisation

As a black woman in Northern Ireland, Maureen Hamblin knows racism comes in many forms.

- Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent

“It’s not just the smashing in of shop windows. It can be quiet. It can be silent,’ she says.People who hear racist remarks and remain mute amplify the hurt and leave victims feeling alone and isolated, a recurring experience that Hamblin says has left her feeling drained. “There was a time when I'd lost a lot of faith in white people, in white men,” she adds.

Race riots in Belfast, Ballymena and other places in the past two years could have extinguished the last of that faith, but instead Hamblin, who is originally from Kenya, stumbled upon hope.

She joined an initiative called the Circle of Change that connects strangers from different backgrounds - rich and poor, black and white, gay and straight - and challenges them with a subversive activity: getting to know each other.

Each year a different circle, about a dozen strong is formed and meets at monthly gatherings around Belfast to share stories and raise funds for organisations that promote tolerance and reconciliation.

Hamblin related tales of racist abuse to her circle - its members reacted with shock - and listened to their own stories. Some had lives of privilege, others had experienced deprivation and exclusion. All recognised a commonality: Belfast was their home and it should be welcoming. “It restored my hope. It humanised us all,” says Hamblin.