Islamophobic, anti-migrant, racist violence must be surmounted by community organising and solidarity networks

It is completely unacceptable that for over a week people seeking asylum, Muslim people and other racialized communities, including Roma, in the UK have been living with far-right hatred and immediate violence. Graves have been desecrated, numerous people have been hospitalised, and hotels with occupants have been set on fire. This is an unprecedented level of racially targeted, organised violence in the UK in modern times. The Government needs to stand up and show that it is not abandoning targeted groups.

Politicians from parties both on the left and the right, as well as the media, have been feeding the narratives that fuel the movements behind these riots for several decades, their contribution to this violence must be recognised and addressed by those now in power. These riots must be recognised for what they are: Islamophobic, xenophobic and racist attacks on democracy and equality, peace and safety; it is violence without any justification whatsoever. 

The language of ‘law and order’ will not be, nor has even been, sufficient to defend democracy, in the UK or elsewhere. Overdue is a reckoning with the reality of long-standing diversity in countries like the UK, and it is time for an uncompromising defence of the desirability of migration and the fundamental importance of asylum. 

The far-right will exploit silence and appropriate space – we must be present to impede these anti-democratic tactics, and we must take responsibility for failure to defend fundamental equality and forestall discrimination.

This rise of violence has not spring from nowhere, it has grown from the roots of systemic racism, fueled by an emboldened far-right, misinformation and propaganda on social media, and the exploitation of violence to sow further violence. These phenomena may be particularly pronounced in the UK, but they are echoed in some form or another across much of Europe. It is time for Europe’s politicians to recognise the landscape, to uproot colonial power structures and take steps to build a stronger foundation for diversity, equality and peace.

Community organising at every scale, from local to transnational, will ultimately defeat the purveyors of hate: building trust, participation and solidarity between peoples across all intersections, working together against efforts to scapegoat and divide, and deconstructing the poison of manipulated news and supremacist ideology.

This is a task for civil society and citizens, trade unions and workers, political parties and activists, artists and educators, journalists and community leaders. A task for all democrats. Use your voices, make space for the unheard, share anti-racist educational tools and spread awareness and solidarity through organising and engaging with activist networks.