Hastings Stand Up To Racism's National Day Of Protest on August 10 2024 in East Sussex
Hastings Stand Up To Racism's National Day Of Protest on August 10 2024 in Robertson Street. The event took place from 12.00.
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00:00And last weekend we saw the worst race riots, pogroms really, for decades. Two hotels housing
00:22people seeking asylum attacked and set on fire in Rotherham and in Tamworth and in Middlesbrough
00:29and Hull. It's not been really on the news as much as it should have been. Mobs of racists
00:35were stopping cars and checking the occupants and dragging out people who were black and
00:40brown and beating them up. We were back into a situation that I read about in the history
00:45books in the southern states of America in the 1950s of lynch mobs and lynchings and
00:49that was the atmosphere a week ago, I think. Remember, all whipped up by the far right
00:55and fascist groups on social media and so on and all of them fired up by the success
01:02of Nigel Farage and various right-wing politicians who've been pumping out a racist narrative
01:10for a very long time. So there was real fear, wasn't there? Can you remember last Wednesday
01:15when there were all these threats, including in Hastings, of an attack on immigration solicitors
01:22and refugee centres? Real fear. People going home early, people not coming out at all.
01:28But I have to say on Wednesday night, and we were part of that, on Wednesday night the
01:32fear changed sides. The fear changed sides because tens of thousands of people came out
01:37onto the streets to say we're not having it, we're not having racist thugs on our streets
01:41and we did that in Hastings, just round the corner, just up the road, when up to a thousand
01:46people, there's some dispute about the numbers, more than 500, less than a thousand, take
01:50your pick, came out and said the racists were not welcome here and if they turned up
01:56they were completely outnumbered and we were part of changing the mood in this country
02:00I think. It's a very different country now to what it was a week ago. Look, I'm chairing,
02:05I'm not supposed to be speaking. My name by the way is Simon Hester, I am the chair of
02:11Hastings and District Trade Union Council and the Secretary of Hastings stand up to
02:16racism. But I think we should try and capture some of the spirit of last Wednesday night
02:21so I hope you're going to join me in a bit of audience participation when I start saying
02:28say it loud, say it clear. Refugees are welcome here. Say it loud, say it clear. Refugees
02:35are welcome here. Say it loud, say it clear. Refugees are welcome here.
02:42So I would like to reflect on how we got here and I would trace it back to starting
02:48well over 20 years ago with the war on terror. I think starting with the Gulf War really
02:53but 20 years ago this country was involved with invading Afghanistan, 20 years of occupation,
03:00it's a country that I've personally visited 10 times over the last 20 years and then we
03:05had the war in Iraq, a million people killed and the country plunged into civil war. Across
03:10the Middle East Britain's been involved with wars, destabilising countries, taking advantage
03:16of war materials and then we blame the people who are fleeing those wars and persecution
03:20who are coming over here on boats. And instead of looking at the 14 years of austerity which
03:25our government, our Tory government inflicted on the poorest communities within this country
03:31which has been fuelling or whipping up the hatred and resentment towards immigrants and
03:35refugees coming over. I've seen first hand as the deputy leader of the council how that
03:40has really torn apart some of our poorest communities. As the councillor for Hollington,
03:45one of the most deprived areas of the country, I can see resentment around waiting lists,
03:50GP waiting lists, housing crisis. Across the country people are really angry about the
03:56state of austerity and the way people are having to live now, dependent on food banks.
04:01The cost of living crisis is equally to blame.
04:04By the organised racist and Islamic phobic acts of violence that we've seen in our towns
04:09and cities across the country over the past week. And our town was named on a far right
04:15target list, a threat designed to intimidate and cause terror within our local communities
04:21of colour, Muslims, refugees and migrants and create division among us. Fortunately
04:28that threat did not come to pass. Instead on Wednesday hundreds turned out in peaceful
04:33solidarity and I'm grateful to you all. Now I have received some criticism for calling
04:40alongside our MP and faith and community leaders for people not to come out on Wednesday for
04:45their own safety and I make no apologies for that. It was a hard decision but I wish I
04:50could have been with you on Wednesday and I'm glad it turned into such a joyous and
04:55pleasant occasion and the far right threat did not materialise. However there was credible
05:00intelligence and our police would have been incredibly stretched if that had materialised.
05:05So I think we're as a community, we're going to have to continue to keep showing up and
05:11demonstrating that this vocal minority who have been stirred up and encouraged by the
05:17language of some of our politicians do not represent this country or this town.
05:26I am proud that Hastings is a community of sanctuary and embraces people of all races
05:39and all faiths who have enriched our town with their energy and their skills and their
05:44culture and I also want to thank our police and emergency services who are working to
05:50protect our communities and all our volunteer organisations and individuals who are working
05:56to make sure that division and hatred doesn't spread. I was on a call yesterday with leaders
06:03from across the country sharing practice and best ideas about how we as council leaders
06:10can make sure we don't allow this to spread and we do spread tolerance and understanding
06:17and I think we need to do a huge amount of work. Austerity has been blamed, it's really
06:25the cause of all this and the fact that our politicians have used migrants as scapegoats
06:30and have allowed that language of blame to spread and to be considered okay. I think
06:38we need to be challenging our politicians who spread that language and also to tackle
06:44the social media outlets that are allowing this hate to spread. So thank you again.
06:56I wanted to start by saying thank you to all of the officers, the police officers, everybody
07:00who's been dealing with all of this issue since it kicked on.
07:04Thank you. And then I wanted to say Marcello to everybody that's come out today standing
07:14shoulder to shoulder, side by side, pure community spirit, pure unbreakable community spirit
07:21showing that we won't be divided and that there is strength in solidarity. When we stand
07:28together we are undefeatable. And it's so important that we continue to build on these
07:37community bonds and keep strengthening this and keep meeting and keep this dialogue open
07:42and keep engaging with one another. One thing that I really wanted to speak about is that
07:48these weren't protests. These weren't people coming out with an agenda and diplomatically
07:54trying to fight for a difference. This was a riot, or these were riots, and this was
07:59terrorism. Targeting and planning an attack on a food bank is not patriotism, it's terrorism.
08:05Targeting and planning an attack on a library is not patriotism, it's terrorism. Targeting
08:11and planning an attack on a police station is not patriotism, it's terrorism.
08:17Until we start recognising it for what it is in terrorism, we won't get the policing
08:24that is required to deal with these criminals. And these criminals need to be dealt with
08:28in a long and lasting way. This needs to be known, this is not acceptable. Politicians
08:33like Nigel Farage need to be held accountable. He broke six of the seven ministerial codes
08:40of practice when acting how he acted, and he needs to be held accountable for that.
08:44More than him, but mainly him. The Greens stand hard against fascism, anti-Semitism,
08:51Islamophobia and all forms of discrimination and hate. It's not tolerated by the party,
08:57and it's not tolerated in this country. And we need to have strong politicians that fight
09:01for that justice, not for the division that Nigel Farage fights for.
09:14I'll leave it on this last point because my hands are starting to shake a bit too much.
09:18It is long we've been told that if we can't change things with our actions, we must change
09:22things with our words. This is a time where our words matter, and we need to be changing
09:27things for the better with our words, not for the worse. By actions or words, this must
09:32be done.
09:34So my name is Lily Kim. I'm a community organizer and a musician. I've called this town my home
09:50for 15 years now. I am the daughter of a wonderful white English woman who is here, and also
10:01a Korean immigrant. So I'm speaking from that place today. I'm so proud to be standing
10:10here with people who believe in racial, economic and social equality, who choose every day
10:16to lead their lives with compassion and awareness. Showing up is a sacrifice of mind, body, soul,
10:23money, and I would really like to acknowledge the toll that that takes, and especially on
10:30people from racialized communities. So thank you to those people that have come today and
10:34risked their safety.
10:43White nationalism hurts us all. If we share the load, the burden of responsibility doesn't
10:49fall to racialized communities that it hurts the most. The personal is political. This
10:57slogan was popularized by second wave feminism in the late 1960s, used in civil rights movements,
11:03student movements, and black power movements. We've all heard and maybe even said, I'm just
11:09not into politics. It's just too complicated. Respectful conversation is key to a compassionate
11:17society, but it's important to remember that it is a privilege to be able to intellectualize
11:22and debate issues around racism. It's remembering the duality of life, that your struggle matters,
11:30and also someone else's house is burning to the ground and needs putting out. Intersectionality
11:37is key to this movement. Coming together through all of our differences is vital. So often
11:44we lose the battle through virtues, virtue signaling brawls that use our valuable energy.
11:50We can all own our discomforts and unite under one oath of nurturing and protecting
11:55an anti-racist society. We need to understand and to normalize that flawed societal and
12:02political systems directly attack racialized communities, that the personal is political,
12:09that this imbalance affects us all regardless of our background. Now I want to talk about
12:15allyship. Most of us have heard the term and are hopefully working towards understanding
12:21how to be an ally. However, what I would like to see is more accomplices. While an ally
12:30is willing to stand in support of a marginalized voice, risk is rarely involved. An accomplice
12:36uses the power and privilege they have to challenge the status quo, often risking their
12:41physical and social well-being in the process. It's one thing to say you stand with us, and
12:47another thing to ask no questions when we say we need you, to simply say I'll be there.
12:54It's even better if we don't have to ask you. This means believing us when we say we're
13:00being attacked, to hold not only our emotions and needs but your own, sitting with us when
13:07we feel the sting of injustice. Ask yourself what your place in your community is. Do you
13:14have a skill? Can you think creatively and use that skill to fight racism and fascism?
13:20Don't be afraid to disrupt, to make mistakes. We're all learning. We're in uncharted waters.
13:28The world is burning and we need more firefighters.