Stand Up to Racism gathering in Paisley

The Scotsman

Stand Up to Racism gathering in Paisley  Anti-racism protesters gather for Paisley counter protest in opposition to UK riots. The event, organised by Stand Up to Racism Scotland, involved roughly 200 to 300 anti-racism activists chanting "say it loud and say it clear, refugees are welcome here". One of the refugees was seen putting up a "thank you" banner in a window.

Transcript

00:00We're here tonight to stand up to racism, to say no to Islamophobia, to say no to anti-semitism

00:11and to say that the far right are not welcome on our streets.

00:15For most of all, refugees are always welcome in Renfrewshire and Nazis are never ever welcome

00:27in Renfrewshire.

00:28My name's Ross, I'm going to be chairing along with Katie, we're both members of Stand

00:34Up To Racism Renfrewshire.

00:37I'm a Unite member, factory worker in the manufacturing branch in the west of Scotland.

00:42Katie's a leading member in the University and Colleges Union at UWS.

00:47But before we bring any speakers in, I just want to talk a bit about the context of tonight.

00:51This is going to be a static and peaceful demonstration against the efforts of local

00:55far right forces who are trying to mobilise to intimidate refugees being housed in this

01:00hotel.

01:03Some of us have had the misfortune to deal with these people before.

01:07They campaigned in Erskine for a number of months, they have a previous record of mobilising

01:11anti-refugee protests and while some of you may not have seen many of this information

01:15about their protests publicly, they've got private networks and private channels that

01:19they've used in the past and we believe they're using tonight to mobilise a demonstration

01:24tonight.

01:25And our goal is to stop them assembling peacefully with the massive people here tonight who oppose

01:30racism.

01:31The likes of Nigel Farage, who of course pretends to distance himself now when there's been

01:40a backlash against the violence, but incited it by questioning whether or not the police

01:46were covering up for terrorist attacks when those little girls were murdered in Southport.

01:53The likes of Tommy Robinson, really known as Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, who from the safe

01:59distance of his hotel, four hundred pounds a night in Cyprus, is egging on people to

02:06attack holiday inn hotels, burning down places where migrants and others and asylum seekers

02:13are afraid of dying, of living, of being burned alive.

02:20Those are the people who incited this violence from a safe distance and it's also a fact

02:25of course.

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