For Immediate Release
Thursday 5 May 2022
Anti racists will oppose fascist Tommy Robinson in Telford, Saturday 7 May
PROTEST: Assemble 1pm, Southwater Square, Telford
Don’t let the racists divide us – Stop fascist Tommy Robinson
Unity over Division – justice for the victims
Details here:
https://fb.me/e/1ng8I4oiR
Fascist Tommy Robinson is planning to bring his message of hate to Telford again on Saturday 7 May.
Anti racists are mobilising to oppose Robinson’s cynical attempt to use the appalling cases of child grooming in Telford for his own ends.
‘Caitlin’ shared her story:
“I was groomed, trafficked and exploited from my early teens. Yes some perpetrators were Pakistani men… but they were also British… Australian… Italian.
“It’s not the culture or skin colour of the person that causes the abuse.
“In a highly vulnerable state I almost fell into the grips of the far right.
“They tried to use my story and when I corrected them on bits they got wrong, they attacked me relentlessly. I have been called a race traitor and a liar. They have said my children should be thrown into the English Channel because they have “bad genes” (due to being a result of the trafficking). They have told me I should kill myself.
“It absolutely sickens me to see them raise money supposedly for victims when they do nothing to help them, and in fact re-traumatise them.”
Weyman Bennett, Stand Up To Racism co convenor, said,
“He cares nothing for the victims and only wishes to promote his racist and Islamophobic agenda.
“He is a fascist and is attempting to exploit these cases to grow his organisation on the back of division. While the picture in Britain and in France may be different – in large part due to the consistent anti racist mass organised opposition here – at the same time we must learn the lesson from the French presidential election and the scale of fascist Le Pen’s vote. We can never be complacent when it comes to organising widespreqd opposition every time the fascists or the far right seek to grow”.
On Robinson’s last attempt to spread hatred and division in Telford in January, hundreds of anti racists came out to oppose him. Anti racists also raised worry at the turn out by the far right.
Ash Silverstone, Shropshire and Telford Trades Union Council President, said,
“This cynical attempt by far right figures such as Robinson to fan the flames of racism and division by exploiting victims of horrific child sexual exploitation needs to be seen for exactly what it is, exploitation.
“However, we must also recognise that this is against the backdrop of the Johnson government’s pursuit of racist policies such as the Nationality and Borders Act.
“Telford is a place of great diversity, which enriches its communities and the region more generally, and where the far right seeks to sow the seeds of division and mistrust, we must tackle this by celebrating all that unites us.”
Weyman added, “The racist and fascist right are attempting to rebuild. They have gained given confidence from the open racism of Boris Johnson’s government”.
“The government continues to scapegoat refugees, migrants and the Muslim community with its Nationality and Borders Act and has attacked the legacy of the Black Lives Matter movement by targeting BLM with its new Policing Bill. Robinson and other far right figures have jumped on these and other issues raised by Johnson to legitimise their actions”.
Yet in Bristol and Newcastle over recent weeks far right events have been called off in the face of planned anti racist community mobilisations.
Tasmine Akunjee, the solicitor for Jamal Hijazi who Robinson targetted and was then convicted of libel as a result, also spoke out. Shortly after the video of an incident in the playground went viral, Robinson falsely claimed in Facebook videos viewed by nearly 1 million people that Hijazi, a child and Syrian refugee, was “not innocent and he violently attacks young English girls in his school”.
The judge said Robinson had made Hijazi out to be “a violent aggressor” in the playground incident when he was in fact the victim.
Hijazi’s solicitor says everyone should resist Robinson’s attempts to monetise and weaponise the suffering of children, especially when Robinson himself been convicted of a libel which caused immense suffering to a child:
“The abuse my client, refugee and schoolboy Jamal, suffered ultimately led to him and his family having to leave their home. He had to abandon his education. Yaxley-Lennon was responsible for this harm, some of the scars of which are likely to last for many years, if not a lifetime”.
Anti racists say they are organising to show the unity and diversity of our community and encourage everyone from Telford to feel confident to come along on the day and ‘we won’t allow the far right to divide us’.
For more information, interviews and further quotes:
info@standuptoracism.org.uk
sectstuc@hotmail.com
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