By Abayomi Azikiwe
Right-wing racist and fascists have staged violent attacks against suspected migrants, Muslims and people of color in Britain and Northern Ireland. ()
The violent groupings spread false rumors on social media involving the killing of three children in Southport. These rumors alleged that the person who carried out the killings was an undocumented migrant of the Islamic faith. In actuality, the young person who stabbed three children to death at a dance class was a 17-year-old citizen born in Britain to Rwandan immigrants.
The way in which the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) initially reported on the killings left open the possibility of rumor mongering which ultimately triggered a mobilization among white racists. These initial reports did not warn of the potential for racial violence by not acknowledging the ethnic background of the 17-year-old who was arrested.
As a result of these killings and the racist propaganda spread on the internet, gangs of thugs have patrolled the streets of Britain and Northern Ireland for more than a week. At one hotel where asylum seekers are housed, hundreds of racists attempted to invade the facility and carry out bodily harm against the occupants.
These gangs have attacked individual pedestrians, motorists, mosques, small businesses and hotels thought to be housing migrant asylum seekers. Approximately 400 of the perpetrators have been arrested by British police while one of the assailants was tried and convicted on August 7 and sentenced to three years in prison.
A BBC report from August 7 says that:
“Thousands of police officers across the country are on standby in preparation for potential unrest tonight. The Met Police says extra police are being sent to the north of England, and 1,300 more police officers are on standby in London. Deputy PM Angela Rayner says there is ‘no excuse for thuggery and criminality on our streets.’ Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said those provoking disorder will ’face the full force of the law.’ Earlier today, three people were jailed over their roles in the unrest over the past week. Prosecutors say it is the ‘tip of the iceberg’. King Charles is being kept updated daily about the disorder, Buckingham Palace says. About 140 people have been charged so far in relation to the unrest over recent days, the Crown Prosecution Service says.’”
These attacks by the racist and fascist gangs have not gone unanswered. Anti-racist activists have also staged demonstrations decrying the violence.
Although the Labor Party recently won the national elections in the United Kingdom, the leadership does not represent the Left-wing. Their policies on the genocide in Gaza and other foreign policy issues are quite similar to the Tories who went down in a crashing defeat.
Britain has been undergoing serious economic problems prompting strikes by labor unions during 2023. Wages have remained stagnant for years as the proportion of workers belonging to labor unions has declined significantly.
Role of the Unions in the Present Situation
There have been appeals issued by some prominent labor union leaders to mobilize their members to fight the current attacks by right-wing thugs. With the intervention of organized workers, the overall atmosphere could be shifted to illustrate the power of a multi-national response to the crisis.
In the Morning Star, the daily newspaper which supports the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), a report was published on August 7 saying:
“Since taking office, Labor has continued to echo the Tories’ anti-immigrant rhetoric, pledging to intensify border controls. The General Federation of Trade Unions (GFTU) took aim at the racist rhetoric from politicians and the media that has ‘sustained and fed the far right,’ adding that they bear a ‘share of the responsibility for now what is happening in our streets.’ The body urged an ‘alternative economic and political strategy to reverse the economic and social decline that has provided a breeding ground for fascist ideas.’ It said any long-term strategy must take seriously the need to tackle discrimination and inequality, deliver stable employment and give communities hope for the future. ‘This means investment in our economy and in public services, increasing pay, and rebuilding the social fabric of our society,’ it added. National Education Union general secretary Daniel Kebede said the violence must provide a ‘watershed moment for change.’ He said: ‘Divisive, hateful language and negative, racist stereotypes have a real and immediate impact on classrooms and on the wellbeing of students and educators.”
This failure by the Conservatives and the Labor Party to confront anti-migrant bigotry, Islamophobia and racism has emboldened the far right. Even with the deployment of police units in areas which have been identified as targets for racist gangs, the potential for violence will remain until the underlying problems are addressed.
Many workers of color and migrants are employed in the most marginalized job categories such as delivery drivers. Due to the color of their skin and faith traditions they have been exposed to violence by roving racist gangs.
The Morning Star noted on August 7 that these workers have no protection from potential harm as the corporations which they work for are unsupportive. The newspaper called for these firms which rely on delivery drivers to provide compensation for workers incapable of doing their jobs as a result of racist violence.
This article emphasizes:
“Delivery drivers in the gig economy are fearing for their lives because of the wave of far-right riots that continue across the country. The largely migrant workforce is being forced to stay at home due to the fear of violence, said the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB)…. The IWGB is demanding government, councils and gig economy apps such as Deliveroo and Uber Eats compensate the workers for their losses during the riots. It blamed both major parties for ‘pandering to far-right extremism and contributing to the normalization of racism and Islamophobia.’”
The recent wave of racist and fascist violence has both political and economic ramifications. Travel advisories have been issued by several governments including Nigeria, Malaysia, Australia, Indonesia, the UAE and India encouraging their citizens to be cautious while visiting and living in the UK.
Implications for the Situation in the U.S.
These developments in Britain and Northern Ireland portends much for the potential of renewed fascist violence in the U.S. During the lead up and aftermath of the national elections in 2020, the then administration of former President Donald Trump promoted fake news which led millions of right-wing zealots to engage in schemes attempting to overturn the results.
Trump personally hired former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, who is now disbarred, to file frivolous lawsuits seeking to overturn the election results in numerous states and municipalities. In Georgia, Giuliani slandered two African American elections workers claiming they committed fraud when there was no evidence to substantiate these claims. These women later sued Giuliani winning a multi-million dollars settlement which still has not been paid by the former mayor.
Eventually on January 6, 2021, thousands of Trump supporters invaded Washington, D.C. with the intent of storming the Capitol building. After rallying in the city where Trump spoke to them personally encouraging the mob to “fight like hell or they will not have a country”, the crowd marched to the Capitol and broke into the premises seeking to hang then Vice President Mike Pence along with other leading Democratic and Republican politicians.
Pence and other officials were accused of being a part of the conspiracy to steal the elections from Trump. Several people were killed in the disturbances as Trump watched the events unfold on television. It was not until several hours later that Trump told his supporters to leave the city.
A similar situation could very well unfold this year. With the ascendancy of Vice President Kamala Harris to the top of the Democratic Party ticket, Trump and J.D. Vance are already utilizing racist and misogynist rhetoric in efforts to dampen the enthusiasm for her candidacy.
Although Harris is well positioned within the Democratic Party to potentially ascend to the presidency, due to her African American and South Asian background, anti-racist and anti-fascist activists must guard against the inherent racist and sexist sentiments which are widespread among the right-wing in the U.S.
Attacks on Harris from a far-right perspective could open the flood gates for widespread violence directed against African Americans, Latin Americans, Asians, Muslims, women, labor union leaders and other activists. A draft proposal for the formation of an Anti-Fascist Organizing Committee (AFOC) [https://fighting-words.net/2024/01/27/anti-fascist-organizing-committee-launched/] could serve as a framework for mobilizing against the potential targeting of millions of people in the U.S. Labor unions should play an important part in the struggle to defeat fascism. These efforts, to be effective, requires the building of a broad-based coalition willing to defend targeted communities. Events in the UK should serve as a lesson to working people and the oppressed inside the U.S.
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