Robert McCartney UpdateNow that the
spotlight is off the McCartney case, things are reportedly getting uglier for his sisters.
Now that the news media caravan has moved on, the immutable rules of fear and complicity that govern life in Belfast's ethnic ghettoes have reasserted themselves. The sisters' situation has become precarious.
A few days ago, police warned them of threats to burn their homes and businesses.
It did not come as a surprise. The sisters have endured harassment on the street. They have been visited at midnight by family members of the accused, advising them it would be wise to leave the neighborhood.
There also has been an ugly smear campaign on the Internet.
"They said that two of us were prostitutes, that two of us were handbag thieves, that one of us had wiggled her way into an old lady's will, and that one of us was seen frequenting the police barracks late at night," said Paula McCartney, 40, a mother of five and a part-time university student in women's studies. She has emerged as the family's spokeswoman.
"I do think a lot of people are still supporting us, but it's silent support," said McCartney, sipping tea in the living room of her modest flat.
"The open hostility that we're getting, that comes from the relatives and the associates of the murderers. But when you figure that there were at least 15 involved in Robert's murder, you're talking about a hell of a lot of people, especially in a community like this," she said.Hat Tip:
John Ruberry
