Lillian Seenoi-Barr tipped to be new SDLP councillor in Derry
The director of operations at the North West Migrants’ Forum, she is one of two people who have put their names forward for the council co-option.
A decision is expected next week but Ms Seenoi-Barr is the favourite.
A vacancy arose in the Foyleside ward when councillor and barrister Mary Durkan announced she was quitting.
Ms Seenoi-Barr, who sits on the SDLP’s New Ireland Commission, narrowly missed out on being elected in 2019.
She has been fighting racism and social injustice for migrantsover the past number of years.
In March this year, it was revealed that there was a bigger increase in racist incidents in the Derry and Strabane policing area than any other part of the North of Ireland in the past year.
The area also had the second-largest increase in the number of racist crimes reported to police.
It is despite an overall fall in racist incidents and crimes across NI between 2019 and 2020.
PSNI figures showed there were 66 racist incidents and 47 racist crimes recorded in the Derry and Strabane policing area in 2020.
In 2019 the figures were 54 and 34 respectively.
Ms Seenoi-Barr said the local council had taken a “proactive step to engage in discussions around race and racism”.
“I do know it is not an easy topic to discuss, particularly in this environment where minority issues are put aside,” she said.
“This is what we have been desperately crying for, for elected representatives to acknowledge, and actively and genuinely engage in issues so we can find solutions together”.
Ms Seenoi-Barr said she believed the level of racist crime is under-reported in the North of Ireland.
“There are still quite a lot of racist attacks that have not been resolved,” she said.
“People are not getting justice, if you do not get justice you completely lose confidence in the system that is supposed to protect you”.
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