Efforts are to be made to today to try to convince the Romanian families forced to shelter in a church hall after fleeing their homes in Belfast in the wake of racist attacks not to leave Northern Ireland for good.
An estimated 115 Romanians - including a five-day-old baby girl - spent last night in the City Church near Queen's University after evacuating their homes in the Lisburn Road area in the south of the city.
Police helped up to 20 families leave their houses and set up in the hall. Volunteers provided bedding and food. They were moved to the Ozone leisure centre in the city and moved to emergency accommodation in Belfast tonight.
Security was tight around the temporary accommodation tonight as the families settled into their new surroundings.
Armed police were stationed outside the premises and entry was restricted to those with appropriate identification. The Police Service of Northern Ireland requested that the location is not disclosed in a bid to avert further incidents.
However, police today faced criticism over their response to the racist attacks, rejecting claims they had been slow to answer 999 calls in recent days as tensions grew.
The UK's Romanian General Consul will hold talks with a minister in the Northern Ireland Executive tomorrow in a bid to end the immigrants' plight.
The Romanians fled after a racist gang — one allegedly brandishing a gun — targeted homes in the university area of the city.
The families spent last night in a church hall.
Though the accommodation has been provided for a week, with the possibility of alternative lodgings thereafter, many of the families have vowed to leave Northern Ireland for good.
"We want to go home because right now we are not safe here," said Maria Fechete, a Romanian mother of two.
"We want to go back home to Romania, everybody right now does.
"I want to go home because I have here two kids and I want my kids to be safe."
Northern Ireland Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness visited the families at the leisure centre this morning and said the families must be convinced that they could live in peace in Northern Ireland. "We are going to do everything in our power to ensure these criminals, these racist criminals, don't have their way."
He said the perpetrators must be punished. "These people need to be identified, arrested and brought before the courts," he said.
Simmering racial tensions in the area have boiled over over recent days, culminating in an attack on a rally in support of the east European migrants on Monday night. Youths hurled bottles and made Nazi salutes at those taking part in the anti-racism rally.
One Romanian woman claimed a gang of men forced their way into her home yesterday and ordered her family to leave the area. Others said windows had been smashed and they had been threatened at gunpoint.
There were also a series of attacks last week on the homes of Romanian families living at Belgravia Avenue and Wellesley Avenue. Copies of Mein Kampfwere put through some of the letter boxes of the houses, according to local sources. Police patrols had been stepped up in a bid to stop the attacks which have continued for four days after festering for months.
Last night the men, women and children first sought shelter in a house where they thought they would be safe. However, the house was too small to accommodate them all and a local Protestant church offered them the use of the church hall for as long as they need.
Pastor Malcolm Morgan said the church had been happy to help, saying: “It is a sad indictment of our society, but hopefully we can show them a different side to Northern Ireland.” He said he believed a “small group of racist thugs” was behind the attacks.
The chairman of the Northern Ireland Board Barry Gilligan said such attacks "cannot be tolerated" by society. He has asked PSNI Chief Constable Hugh Orde to outline the police response to the attacks to the board tomorrow.
Belfast Lord Mayor Naomi Long urged the south Belfast community to rally round their neighbours and condemned the trouble at the anti-racist rally. "A small minority of people have sadly taken away from an event which had been organised by the local community to show solidarity for their Romanian neighbours, and to express their abhorrence at their homes being subjected to racist attacks."
The Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions called for a "structured response" to the attacks from politicians, government agencies and local and migrant community representatives. Assistant general secretary of Ictu Peter Bunting said the UK government's policy of making the Romanian migrants apply for work permits was a policy of social exclusion.
"The immediate concern of the trade union movement is for the safety and wellbeing of these workers and their families. These people are among the most vulnerable members of our society, working dirty and sometimes dangerous jobs for the minimum wage, or less," he said.
"This is not a time for pointing the finger at so-called 'host' communities. There is no evidence that these attacks are organised in any way, and the overwhelming majority of the diverse community of south Belfast are supportive of the Romanian families in their plight."
Earlier yesterday PSNI Chief Inspector Robert Murdie rejected claims that British racist groups such as Combat 18 were involved. “They have not been brought in, they are not organised crime gangs," he said.
Police are examining video footage from cameras in the area and believe local people are responsible.
There have been racist undercurrents in the area since trouble broke out at a World Cup qualifying match between Northern Ireland and Poland at Windsor Park in March.
Additional reporting: PA