MATT WILLGRESS talks to leading lights in the movement for racial equality about the importance of taking to the streets in the run-up to UN Anti-Racism Day
In the build-up to London’s Stand Up to Racism demonstration to mark United Nations Anti-Racism Day on Saturday March 21, a major rally is taking place in north London today.
The rally will build awareness of the demonstration and the issues involved. Matt Willgress spoke to three of the participants – National Union of Students (NUS) NEC member Aaron Kiely, People’s Assembly co-chair Romayne Phoenix (pictured) and anti-racist campaigner and the daughter of the late Mohammed Saleem, Maz Saleem – about why stepping up our campaigning against racism is so important now.
“I am a strong supporter of Stand Up To Racism campaign,” says Phoenix, arguing that “racism divides people when we should be standing together in solidarity.”
Meanwhile Kiely explains that “as a London Met student and activist within NUS, I have seen the impact of racism on young people and the importance of standing up to it.”
Saleem adds: “I am speaking at this rally because as a British-born Muslim, the current climate – thanks to the media’s sensationalised headlines – is extremely difficult for Muslims today,” He adds that “Islamophobia needs to stop and no one person should be victimised or stereotyped because of their faith.”
When asked what the key challenges are for those tackling racism, Aaron argues that “We are witnessing a rise in all forms of racism, including vicious Islamophobia, anti-semitism and immigrant-bashing,” specifying that, “in this toxic climate of racism, we are seeing a surge in the number of racist attacks, (including) swastikas graffitied on the homes of Jewish families, hijabs ripped off, attacks on freedom of religion and at its worst, racist murders.”
He asserts that “institutional racism continues to blight society, with black deaths in custody and racist stop and searches increasing,” noting that Britain suffers “a government counter-terrorism strategy that wrongly demonises Muslims and is ultimately counter-productive.”
Phoenix adds to these points, saying that not only do we “continue to see institutional racism in the police force with the harassment, brutality and fatalities of black and Asian people,” but that additionally, “We have seen attacks on mosques and synagogues in recent months around the country and hate crimes have increased as deep and socially devastating cuts have been made.”
Saleem points out that a key issue is “how the media portrays Muslims and Islam constantly in a terrorist and extremist format,” and particularly that “the constant biased media reporting needs to be challenged.”
Do Saleem and our other campaigners think then that minorities – such as migrants or Muslims for example – are being scapegoated for other problems the country faces?
Affirming Saleem’s comments that “migrants and Muslims are being scapegoated for the crisis the bankers created,” and that “we are being victimised and blamed for this governments mistakes,” Kiely adds that, “as the cuts bite and austerity continues, racism is used as the classic ‘weapon of mass distraction’ and minorities who had nothing to do with causing the biggest fall in living standards and unemployment for years are unfairly blamed.”
As a leading campaigner in the national movement against austerity, Phoenix’s comments are particularly relevant on this question.
Pointing out that she “has been determined from the start of this particular economic crisis that we do not allow any discrimination or scapegoating to go unchallenged,” she argues that “racism, discrimination and scapegoating are all employed to keep us divided and are more easily promoted in times of economic difficulties.”
She gives the example that “political parties chase votes and pander to manufactured fears about immigration and myths about benefit costs when they could choose, and we should expect some of them to choose to unite the majority against ideologically driven austerity economics.”
Finally I ask the speakers how they would respond if someone argued that coming on the demonstration “won’t change anything.”
Phoenix believes demonstrations are a vital way to counter “the propaganda of racism and discrimination,” that “allows a dangerous political cultural shift to take place where prejudice and bigotry become normalised, and myths and disinformation gain the status of facts.”
Responding that anyone who believes demonstrations don’t work should try to “say that to the civil rights movement and the suffragettes,” Kiely also gives examples of successful campaigning against racism against students and young people he has been involved in.
He notes that “when the Tories attempted to callously deport over 2,000 international students from London Met in 2012 in order to appear ‘tough on immigration,’ we fought back and stopped them.”
We should all be there on March 21 and – if you can – at the rally on March 3.
In the words of Saleem, “We must all stand up to racism, Islamophobia, anti-semitism and all forms of bigotry. As Gandhi once said ‘be the change you wish to see in the world’.”
The Rally Against Racism takes place tomorrow at 7pm at Islington Town Hall, Upper Street, London N1 and will be chaired by Jeremy Corbyn MP. For more information see https://bit.ly/RALLYAGAINSTRACISM
The March 21 Stand Up to Racism demonstration assembles at 12 noon at BBC Portland Place, Central London. See https://www.standuptoracism.org.uk for more information on the event.
Article originally posted here.
