Can young people accept difference in todays Northern Ireland?
As a member of an ethnic minority growing up in a city in Northern Ireland I feel I have been quite lucky in the sense that I have been accepted by my friends for who I am as a person. What has saddened me on a wider scale however is the growing lack of acceptance, particularly of the Muslim community. Being second generation Bangladesh I am aware there is a large Muslim population in that country. Although I’m not Muslim myself I have met and know quite a number of people from that community and it angers me to see them all stereotyped in a negative way. Talking to them I have established many believe their views and beliefs have been distorted and misrepresented within the media and wider society due to the actions of a small minority of extremists. Growing up in a country such as Northern Ireland I have watched hatred and a lack of acceptance tear communities apart, but as I get older I have become more aware of the issues I face as an ethnic minority in the future. As I see it I th
