Background to the Research

• In the 1970s and 1980s social researchers began to take a greater interest in Britain's growing Pakistani population, and a body of literature directed towards understanding Pakistani culture and society began to emerge. This did not happen in Northern Ireland. The 'troubles' were of central interest to academia and the media, drawn to the dramatic political events and violence of a divided society.
• It is estimated that the Pakistani population in Northern Ireland stands at approximately 1000. Such low numbers have not helped alleviate their marginalisation and isolation.
• Migrants arrived in Britain from all over Pakistan, though chiefly from the Punjab, Azad Kashmir and, to a lesser extent, from the North West Frontier Province. These areas had strong colonial links with Britain.
• Changes to the structure of employment from the 1970s onwards and subsequent economic recession lead to the closure of many manufacturing industries and to high levels of unemployment among Pakistanis in Britain. This led to increasing numbers of Pakistanis crossing the Irish Sea in search of work.
• Pakistani men arrived first and were followed by their families once employment and accommodation had been found. The majority of the immigrants became self-employed in the clothing, catering and grocery businesses. They thought that self-employment would enhance their social mobility and offer protection against racial discrimination. However, there were many variations in the size and viability of Pakistani businesses.
• Early migrant families settled in Craigavon due to inexpensive housing and close proximity to many market towns.
• The Pakistani population in Northern Ireland do not constitute a residentially discrete and geographically bounded community and so have no large ethnically identifiable neighbourhood like those found in Birmingham or Bradford, nor have Pakistanis clustered in occupations in steel mills or other heavy engineering plants, as they have in Britain.
  

Research Approach

• Primary data was collected through in-depth interviews and observation from October 1995 to June 1998.
• 140 Pakistani men and women living throughout Northern Ireland, both first and second generation (particularly in Greater Belfast and Craigavon), were interviewed.
• Observation, facilitated by attendance at social and religious events in the Islamic Centre (Belfast), the South Asian Women's and Children's Community Centre (Craigavon), and in peoples homes.
• The chapter draws also on research carried out by Hastings Donnan from 1989-1991 among Pakistanis in Belfast. Secondary source data from academics is used in an attempt to broaden the analysis.
  

Main Findings

• Many Pakistanis who were born in Pakistan view racism in Northern Ireland with a degree of fatalism. They form part of an ethnic minority group that has experienced racism as 'normal' and expected. However, Pakistanis born in Northern Ireland or who grew up in Britain, are less likely to acquiesce to this 'normalisation' of prejudice than are their elders.
• Due to the small numbers of Pakistanis and their residential dispersal throughout Northern Ireland, there has not been the potential for the political organisation necessary to publicise racial abuse, and to recruit concentrated support against it.
• The introduction of race relations legislation in Northern Ireland mirrors the Race Relations Act of 1976 in Britain, and under article three refers to 'racial discrimination' as a special category of offence. It has also enabled the creation of a Commission for Racial Equality for Northern Ireland that would assist in bringing cases to court.
• Many Pakistanis feel sceptical and ambivalent towards race relations legislation. They point out that race relations legislation has done little to curb racism in Britain over the years. Moreover, the fear of drawing unwanted attention to themselves, by politicising race, and creating a heightened awareness of ethnicity might only succeed in aggravating that which it is intended to address.
• Since the cease-fires in 1994, Pakistanis have expressed concern that aggression will now be redirected at them. To some extent the Royal Ulster Constabulary who began to monitor racially motivated attacks after the introduction of the Paramilitary cease-fires in autumn 1994 shares this view.
• Pakistanis have also expressed concern over an increased presence of Pakistanis in Northern Ireland due to relative peace since the cease-fires. Many argue that such an influx would increase visibility and the likelihood of racial attack.
• Most interviewees stressed that they have attempted to cope as a minority population within a divided society by emphasising their political negativity, and this has discouraged active involvement in local politics. Moreover, the sectarian nature of local politics reinforces a feeling of 'outsider' status as a migrant minority.
• There has been a recurrent failure of elected politicians to address the broader social and economic issues underlying Northern Ireland's 'troubles', which some Pakistanis believe has had a direct bearing on their experience of prejudice.
• The experience of prejudice that Pakistanis in Northern Ireland have endured is also inflected by gender and socio-economic position, but in complex ways, that only further research will uncover.

Conclusion

• Although the 'troubles' in Northern Ireland have played their part in making the Pakistani community an invisible society, due largely to the political unrest between the two majority communities, there are also other factors that must be taken into account. For instance, the small size of the Pakistani community makes it possible for this group to only be seen in a narrow range of contexts; the exotic, the contribution to business, the owner of a high street restaurant or takeaway.
• The study has tried to rectify the apparent 'invisibility' of Pakistanis in Northern Ireland, by showing that this community is an ethnic-minority community that has suffered racial attack and intimidation.
• Racism towards Pakistanis in Northern Ireland appears to be little different to racism in Britain. The apparent belief that Northern Ireland is a more tolerant society than Britain, with regard to racism, is potentially misleading. Comments from Pakistanis themselves, that suggest a widespread and broadening experience of prejudice, are testament to this false belief.
• Denial that racism is an issue in Northern Ireland, for whatever reason, can only result in a failure to grasp the many and different ways in which it shapes the lives of local minorities. The result is likely to compromise our understanding of ethnic relations in the local context and perpetuate the current lack of provision for minority needs.