Uniting against the real causes of oppression is better than poor people lashing out at the nearest scapegoat

I attended  an information day in Liverpool regarding a reconciliation-based Summer Play Scheme  — Protestants and Catholics together to build trust and friendships — in 1979. At that information day, a participant said that an affluent Roman Catholic resident away from the strife-ridden areas had told him:

"These Catholic-Protestant troubles have nothing to do with us; it's just those working class families fighting among themselves."

In 2016, after the Brexit vote, there seems to be an upsurge in racist hate crime that needs to be addressed. Perhaps the following is the backdrop to that rise of the race hatred gutter into communities after political Punch & Judy pantomime?:

1. David Cameron's, "We're all in this boat together" statement came as a façade for a 2010 post-General Election coalition with the 'market liberals' of the Liberal Democrats known as the 'Orange Book' Lib Dems, through cuts in public spending that seem to have been especially targeted at various strands of the most vulnerable people in British society via the 'bedroom tax' and even nastier 'welfare reforms' than Blairite Labour had brought in. (As previously stated on this blog though, the harsher 'Work Capability Assessment' by which Employment & Support Allowance entitlement was assessed was authorised by Yvette Cooper as one of her final acts as Work & Pensions Secretary in office in April 2010. It was not piloted until early 2011, and so the 'Con-Dem' coalition got the blame for that.) The even nastier strands of 'welfare reform' included not only benefit sanctions, but also
   • 'bedroom tax' reduction in Housing Benefit,
   • reduced support from central government to local authorities leading to imposition of Council Tax payments on the poorest citizens, and
   • 'overall benefit cap' as part of Universal Credit

2. Capitulation of opposition party councils with 'Con-Dem' government attacks on Housing Benefit and the imposition of Council Tax payments on the poorest, while rents rose considerably and council lands was sold off to builders for ridiculously low prices, council waiting lists were closed down, very poor people were evicted, global money launderers bought up large swathes of London and other UK cities, and the racist UK Independence Party's 'blame it all on migrant workers' explanation became mainstream
3. More of the same after the 2015 General Election that introduced an outright Conservative Party majority that claimed a 'mandate' for more of the same nastinesses
4. A greater emphasis on xenophobia in British politics as the nation moved toward an EU Referendum while social housing entitlements were attacked in the Housing & Planning Bill 2016, and the 'EU Referendum Debate' became effectively a smoke screen for attacks on poor people's entitlements in favour of the global money launderers and profiteers buying up the UK and the workfare companies that operate as legalised, taxpayer-funded human traffickers
5. A week before the actual UK EU Referendum took place, a pro-EU Labour MP was murdered by a mentally disturbed person who had swallowed the race hatred of 'Britain First' wholesale, and a truce was called between the opposing factions in the EU Referendum, before hostilities resumed.
6. Those who scapegoated 'foreigners' now seem to take the superficial polarisation of public opinion in their favour as licence to attack and abuse 'foreigners'

Now, 

• Hackney Unites in association with Hope Not Hate is calling a community meeting on the theme #moreincommon
• Islington Tribune reports that a 'Post-Brexit race hate attack sparks fear of rise in 'community tensions', and a similar report in the Camden New Journal.

There is hope. With its focus on helping benefit claimants with their claims, Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group meeting every Thursday from 3pm to 5:20pm at Kingsgate Community Centre has built a very ethnically diverse membership and now finds its diversity of 'mother tongues' an advantage in translating people's stories for the benefit of the caseworkers. In our campaigning alongside the casework, we help direct attention also to what is really going on and who is really to blame.

By Dude Swheatie

Related link addresses

• http://kilburnunemployed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/06/eu-can-i-stay-or-must-i-go.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Orange_Book:_Reclaiming_Liberalism
• http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=b82d5d5a7ac69045df976d76f&id=fe63305f0a&e=9bb347a936
• http://www.islingtontribune.com/postbrexitracehateattack
• http://www.katebelgrave.com/2016/06/youre-the-kind-of-immigrant-that-we-want/
• http://www.katebelgrave.com/2016/06/while-politicians-amuse-themselves-austerity-continues-rampant-etc/
• http://londongreenleft.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/brexit-uk-in-crisis.html
• http://kilburnunemployed.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/minister-for-bins-letwin-to-head-brexit-unit.html
• http://www.camdennewjournal.com/brexit-hate-crime
• https://www.carolinelucas.com/latest/farage-was-frontman-for-biggest-establishment-stitch-up-in-a-generation

'Minister for Bins' Letwin to head 'Brexit Unit'

David Cameron has appointed Conservative right-wing MP Oliver Letwin to head up a 'Brexit Unit' to handle negotiations for the terms on which Britain leaves the EU.(1)

What kind of 'Brexit negotiations' would you expect from Oliver Letwin MP's involvement?

Perhaps we can get a flavour of his long-held racist opinions from revelations that emerged in 2015, thirty years after he had made the statements regarding rioting among Britain's black communities?(2) Those views had been embargoed from public consumption of Cabinet papers for 30 years before publication and his eventual apology under public pressure.

The Independent has highlighted the racism of those statements the now-Dorset West MP made in tandem with Conservative aide Vernon Hartley Booth. Letwin later apologised for those statements.(3) But what depth can such apologies for "badly worded and wrong" comments have from a Member of Parliament supposed to represent the views of all constituents when he has gained such notoriety for binning constituents' correspondence that was 'weighing [him] down' into a park bin, that he has been dubbed 'Minister for Bins'.(4) (5)

As Green Party Member of the European Parliament for the South-West England region in which Letwin's Dorset-West parliamentary seat is based has commented in an open letter to David Cameron, Letwin's appointment is very 'divisive'.(6) And of course, he was a supporter of the much-hated 'poll tax' that led white people to riot after he had inferred that it was not possible for white people to riot!

Dude Swheatie also notes that confidential papers related to Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group casework are shredded before binning, and only after making the attempt to lighten the burdens of those who come to us for assistance. That is unlike how Devon West MP processed the constituents' confidential and sensitive papers that he said were 'weighing him down', and for much less than £120K MP's salary. He would, though, surely have preferred the 30 year old Cabinet papers exposing his racism to have never met the public eye.

Link addresses

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/oliver-letwin-brexit-unit-ridicule-david-cameron-bin_uk_577157fee4b0d257114a235c
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/the-5-most-shocking-quotes-in-oliver-letwins-racist-memo-a6790551.html
ibid.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/conservative/8826960/Oliver-Letwin-investigated-for-binning-sensitive-documents-and-letters.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/oliver-letwin-brexit-unit-ridicule-david-cameron-bin_uk_577157fee4b0d257114a235c
http://mollymep.org.uk/2016/06/28/letwin-brexit/

EU — Can I Stay Or Must I Go? — An EU National's Perspective

The blog publisher has belatedly received/opened the following from 'An EU National' who had no say in the UK's EU referendum. the blog publisher delights in publishing it on an otherwise very sad day, and in knowing Ivy and proclaiming greater allegiance to his 'EU National' commentator, friend and comrade and what she stand for than any allegiance for the British crown.

EU — Can I Stay Or Must I Go?

With lyrics such as:

Should I go there will be trouble

Should I stay it will be double...

I’m not surprised Mick Jones from Clash doesn't want his song associated with EU Referendum.

But then I’m really tired of same “In or Out” rhetoric ignoring our lack of voting rights.

If Scotland prevented its English citizens from voting – there would have been a public outcry. The Scottish Referendum would not have been allowed then.

But when EEA* Nationals lost voting rights in EU Referendum – who cared?

Certainly not LEXIT** or Abstain from Vote brigades, busy rebranding themselves as “not racists” only against the institution of EU. If they poured as much energy into fighting for equal voting rights at EU Referendum – then I would have believed them. Instead they enabled a right-wing narrative on how Britons only should vote. Rather than quit ignoring how EEA Nationals & other migrants have been denied a vote which will determine if we can stay or lose rights to benefits, etc.

Scratch the surface & this exposes a view of people as “us” or “them” instead of just “we”. Migrants are not seen as people living in UK, let alone as people settled in UK. Because migrants are seen as some external workforce which Britons can allow, restrict, send away or deny equal rights to.

So instead of colluding with EU Referendum being all about Britons staying or leaving EU, I ask those of you who are British to examine your privilege. This is similar to when white people are asked to examine our privilege, instead of pretending that people of all races are treated equally.

ü  The privilege of not being forced out of UK when you can’t support yourself.

ü  The right to claim benefits & not losing those right due to nationality.

ü  The privilege of having a UK citizenship & not been denied one

ü  The privilege of not risk getting deported if you’re an activist opposing the regime***

ü  The privilege of not having to pay around £1500 just to apply for a citizenship without getting any (or barely any) money back if you’ve been denied.

ü  The privilege of not having to apply for Permanent Residence Cards, pass English tests, redo complex life in UK tests & pledge allegiance with the Queen just to be British.

And as of today:

ü  The right to vote on whether EEA migrants should be able to stay, get benefits, etc.

ü  The privilege of not having to vote without losing any of your above mentioned rights

This is by no means an exhaustive list. And sure, it is a lot worse for non-EEA migrants, asylum seekers, refugees, paperless immigrants... 

I just wanted to show how people who wonder how & if they should vote today, enjoy rights that other citizens in UK don’t have. And how you will continue to enjoy these rights even if you don’t vote. Same cannot be said about EEA & other migrants whose lives will be dictated by your choices.

Secondly, I’d like you to imagine what it would be like if you didn’t have those rights. And how you would like others to vote in an election which will directly affect your life – right to stay & right to benefits.

-Ivy-

* EEA – European Economic Area  

** LEXIT – left-wing version of leaving the EU (European Union)

*** Operation Nexus – protecting us from terrorism, apparentlyhttp://www.airecentre.org/news.php/226/operation-nexus-the-unlawful-deportation-of-eu-nationals

From Women of Colour in the Global Women's Strike

---

G4S Guards on Trial

for the death of Jimmy Mubenga

 

10am,  Court 16 Central Crown Court (Old Bailey) London EC4M 7EH Nr. St Paul’s tube

The trial of the three guards who restrained Mr Mubenga on board a British Airways flight is likely to finish next week. Closing arguments are expected to start Monday. The jury is likely to go out Wednesday and we urge all who can to come and bear witness in the final days of the trial.

 

A member of the All African Women’s Group (a self-help group of asylum seekers) from the Congo who has attended regularly said: “Witnesses describe Jimmy calling out “I can’t breathe”, and asking for help but he didn’t get it. What happened to Jimmy can happen to any of us anywhere, unless justice is done.”

Women of Colour Global Women’s Strike, which has helped co-ordinate a rota of people to go to the trial, says:

"We are attending the trial to support Mr Mubenga’s family and to demonstrate to all that Jimmy’s life mattered. 827 people have died in police custody since 2004 many of them people of colour. It is women – mothers, sisters, daughters, wives – who are left to pick up the pieces, defend our loved ones and are at the forefront of campaigns for justice. From London to Ferguson, New York to Gaza, as long as money is poured into privatised/militarised police forces, prioritising profit over life, all our lives are on the line."

0207 482 2496                 globalwomenstrike.net

 

To check hearing times:

Crown Court 0207 248 3277 or via their website

Brent Against Racism meeting Wed 13 Aug vs targeting of migrants

Republished from Wembley Matters blog

Tuesday, 12 August 2014

How should the community respond to 'Operation Skybreaker'? Brent Against Racism meeting tomorrow

Notice from Brent Against Racism Campaign (BARC)

Brent is one of 5 London boroughs currently being targeted in a new Home Office immigration operation, called Operation Skybreaker. This operation will see aggressive and heavy-handed raids on homes and businesses aimed at driving migrants out of the country. It is likely to result in racial profiling (i.e., stopping anyone who looks like they might be a migrant) and a number of “fishing raids” (random raids not based on specific intelligence).

Brent Anti-Racism Campaign will host a meeting with guests from RAMFEL (Refugee and Migrant Forum of Essex and London) and the Anti Raids Network to discuss the community response to this. 

Please join us on Wednesday 13 August, 7pm at Brent Trades Hall (Apollo Club), 375 High Road, London NW10 2JR (next to Willesden bus garage, 5 mins from Dollis Hill tube)

More info from brentantiracismcampaign@gmail.com or info@ramfel.org.uk. Facebook: Brent Anti Racism Campaign Twitter: @BrentAntiRacism

Guest blog piece on racism in estate agent policy in LB Brent:

No Colour Bar

Stop Racism in Letting Agencies

  

Picket: 12.30pm, Tuesday 15th October

National Estate Agents, 75 High Road, Willesden Green, NW10 2SU

called by Brent Housing Action, supported by Unite Community and Brent Renters Campaign

A BBC Report today exposes the racism in Letting Agencies, naming and shaming two in Willesden that have openly shown they will illegally refuse Black tenants at a landlord's request.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-24372509.

In 1990 a Commission for Racial Equality report "Sorry, it's gone" showed that one in five accommodation agencies in thirteen locations discriminated against ethnic minorities; in this case, it seems all 10 that were tested were prepared to.

Brent Housing Action is calling a picket at National Estates and we will march to A-Z at the other end of the Willesden High Road.

Willesden is at the heart of Brent, a borough whose history has been shaped by Black people, often through community anti-racist action. Even as the government is stepping up its attack on the non-white and migrant population through imposing new racist immigration checks on tenants, decades old racism still persists.

We will raise the issue tonight at Brent Question Time and Council meeting, at the Willesden Connects forum, CNWL on Wednesday night. We are already discussing the Redress Scheme, Trading Standards, Brent Council lettings regulation. We are or will be getting in touch with Brent Councillors, Black community groups, anti-racists, CAB etc

 

The next Brent Housing Action meeting is 7pm, Tuesday 22nd, Brent Trades Hall, 375 Wilesden High Road.

Contact Suj, Brent Housing Action 07973 632 827 or e-mail brenthousingaction@gmail.com

https://www.facebook.com/events/638377552880331/