| Press release For immediate release 10 October 2023 Anti racists warn that retreat over the use of hotel for refugee accomodation in Llanelli sets a precedent and will bolster racists and the far right The announcement that the Stradey Park hotel will not be used as accommodation for refugees is enormously problematic, warn anti racist campaigners and residents. It is widely recognised that, from the standpoint of defending the human rights of asylum seekers and meeting the complex needs of people who have had to flee to safety often across treacherous journeys, the hotel itself may not be the most suitable accommodation for refugees. Yet the decision is clearly linked to the arson attack on the hotel and the ongoing intimidation of security staff and the ‘picket’ of the hotel. The Carmarthenshire County Council reportedly wrote last week to the Home Office urging the government to withdraw its plans, citing concerns around escalating community tensions. It follows arrests in wake of the violence inflicted in the attack on the hotel. Anti racists warn that there is a real danger that the lesson learned will be that refugees are a problem – and the way to deal with the problem is to pander to the racist and violent intimidation tactics of those who target any planned accommodation. The far right have jumped onto this issue and have attempted to divide our community. Weyman Bennett, Stand Up To Racism co convenor, said: “It is paramount that we say that refugees should be welcome in Llanelli and any other community. “Those fleeing war and disaster are not the problem – the problem is a government that is starving our communities of resources and then attempting to blame the most vulnerable for the problem.” One Llanelli resident said: “My thoughts are, as a local resident and business owner: I am deeply saddened by the decision to scrap the plans to house people seeking asylum in Stradey park hotel after racist and anti immigrant protests have been held outside the premises for four months. This is a direct result of the vile rhetoric being aimed at asylum seekers by the top levels of the Conservative party and exacerbated locally by the apparent apathy of local councillors and parties, Labour and Plaid Cymru, and the DPP. This void was rapidly filled by the far right with Katie Hopkins, Alek Yerbury and local and national far right extremists showing up to aggravate and cement local racist sentiment. “Despite appearances however they ARE in the minority and local anti racists are ready to empower the local population who have been intimidated by the far right and work hard to undo the immense damage done to Llanelli locally, and its reputation nationally.” A local councillor added, “My thoughts as a local councillor is something could have been done about the protesters and online abuse much sooner. Now things have escalated like they have, I really fear for the people not just Llanelli, but also the surrounding villages and smaller towns within the Llanelli electoral ward. “Far right groups should have not been given the opportunity to set foot in our town, Voice of Wales (VoW), Phillip Watkins, Alan Merritt, Darren Edmundson, and Little Veteran should have not been given the opportunity in the first place.” Another local resident added: “My thoughts as a local resident, and someone who lives in close proximity to the hotel: “The Voice of Wales does not speak for me. Sospan does not speak to me. This is not the voice of Llanelli, or the entirety of its residents. “Within Llanelli are good people. Welcoming and kind people who do not discriminate, do not bully and do not hold resentment against people less fortunate than themselves. “Unfortunately, on this occasion, due to the infiltration of the far right such as the Voice of Wales, my town has become a hub of racism. What started as “local people concerned about the loss of 100 jobs”, has turned into a disgusting onslaught of hatred and vitriol, aimed at asylum seeking families. “Dyfed Powys police have failed us. They failed to police effectively and failed to crack down on this abhorrent behaviour, failing to make arrests until very recently, and making the decision to not issue a dispersal order. “Unfortunately, Llanelli will go down in history as a town where many residents would rather a building stand empty, or be burned to the ground, rather than house vulnerable families.” Another local resident added: “After WWII we said never again. But the rise of Nazism didn’t happen because all Germans are bad, far from it. It happened because all fascists are intimidating, threatening, violent. “A few whole-heartedly took on Nazi ideas, and we’ve seen that in calls to kill or imprison asylum seekers as the chosen scapegoats, or to demand their papers, or call for them to wear identifying badges. “A few were brave enough to stand up to them and have suffered harassment and threats as a result. But most just turned a blind eye for whatever reason. “That’s how the Nazi’s flourished and that’s how the campaign of demonising asylum seekers has gained the ground it has. “We know there are many more people who are positive about welcoming asylum seekers than the public voices would suggest, but who are remaining silent out of fear. “The parallels with the rise of fascism are impossible to ignore. We can’t stay silent and just let fascism take hold. “We now need to rebuild our town. More than the physical damage to the hotel, more the damage to the reputation of Llanelli as a town, our community cohesion has been devastated. “When the dust settled and people have a perspective on that damage, those that promoted the racist anti-asylum position will feel shame. We need to find some way to deradicalise those people who have taken on far right and fascist views and reintegrate them into our community. “ The decision in Llanelli comes in the wake of the Home Secretary Suella Braverman’s speech at the Conservative party conference last week which raised alarm and was widely condemned. A campaign led by Stand Up To Racism brought #BravermanOut and #RefugeesWelcome to trend on X (formally Twitter) during an afternoon Twitterstorm, expressing solidarity with refugees in wake of the government’s assault on the 1951 UN Convention enshrining the internationally recognised human right to seek asylum. Braverman’s speech, say anti racists, was a conscious attempt to scapegoat refugees and migrants, target LGBT+ communities, and to paint herself, and the Tory party as standing up for those struggling amidst the cost of living crisis in a broken Britain. Yet, as brazen as it might have been to end her speech quoting Percy Shelley’s Mask of Anarchy – famously taken up as a campaign theme by Jeremy Corbyn – it remains the case that Braverman is a millionaire who claimed public expenses of £25,000 for her parents house. Anti racists argue that the home Secretary’s speech was designed to manipulate and polarise ahead of the general election, pointing to a “hurricane” of “illegal migrants” or “bogus asylum seekers”, and follows inflammatory comments referring to refugees as “an invasion”. Weyman Bennett added: “The Home Secretary’s recent address was alarmingly perilous, brimming with animosity towards migrants. She displayed a complete lack of understanding or support for individuals seeking asylum, belittling any notion of equality or opposition to racism. “Is she intentionally sowing division in order to establish herself as a potential leader? Her alignment with far right ideologies and proposed solutions is deeply concerning. In today’s world, it is imperative that we vehemently reject racism, hatred towards the LGBT+ community, Islamophobia, and divisive political tactics. Such behavior poses a significant threat to all of us.” ————–For further information & interviews please contact Standuptoracismwales@gmail.com SUTR OFFICE: info@standuptoracism.org.uk |
