There are some people in society who seem to take great delight in destruction, with little thought for the impact their actions cause on those around them. If it’s there, they will attack it.
Over the past few months in west Belfast, 5G masts have been a consistent target for vandalism; indeed, there have been several such attacks across Belfast.
Not only is setting them alight a major danger to the lives of those carrying out the attacks, but it’s also putting local businesses and homes at risk. Burning masts can all too quickly collapse.
The latest attack on Wednesday night caused extensive damage to a 5G mast on the Andersonstown Road. It could easily have caused further damage to the neighbouring leisure centre, disrupting services the community have come to rely on. It’s the second time the same mast has been attacked in recent months. A 48-hour “rampage” in June knocked out vital services for large parts of the community.
Street lights have been affected, while the damage will cost money to repair and the knock-on effect will be a disruption to mobile signals in areas of Belfast served by the mast. And mobile phones can be a lifeline for so many.
Impact to signals hits local business, causes nurses on call to miss messages, and much more. The dangers in society when a mobile signal disappears are all too real, now that we all depend on using them.
Emergency services are diverted from potential life-or-death situations to tackle the resulting fire. And those carrying out the attacks will likely be among the first to complain when they can’t use their smartphones.
It is, as local councillor Paul Doherty says, “utter madness”.
The masts may be the target of conspiracy theorists, or of youths with nothing better to do than make the lives of those around them a misery, but there must be an appeal for common sense.
Services are there to make life better for everyone. Any attack on them is an attack on everyone. And whoever is responsible must start to realise that the only people they are hurting are those who live around them — their own families, their own shops, their own businesses who serve them.
As soon as repairs are made, attacks resume in what has become an ongoing cycle that people are well and truly “fed up” with.
“Wise up” is Mr Doherty’s call to those causing the destruction. Their ability to do so is lacking, and only those who know who’s causing the damage can end it by informing police.
Every action has its consequences. They can often be far more damaging than imagined.