We are writing to you today not as individuals, but as a powerful and beautiful community, an anti-racist, anti-fascist movement, thousands and thousands of us together fighting for justice, dignity and freedom. We are writing to you today to remember that we stand together in the face of far-right violence—we keep our communities safe, we keep each other safe.
This past week we have seen a surge of far-right attacks targeting people of colour, Muslim communities, migrants, people living in asylum accommodation, shops, faith institutions, immigration advice centres and anti-racist organisations.
These attacks are seeking to directly harm people in our communities, and spread fear and hate. They are explicitly racist, Islamophobic and anti-migrant. They are a manifestation of everything we stand against, and a result of years of government policy sowing division for political gain.
We have long fought this violence—in our workplaces, in our communities, in Parliament—and in these moments it’s vital that we continue to stand together. History has shown time and time again that we outnumber them, we out organise them, and we win when we look after each other.
What can you do?
Attend counter protests activities where you are: Go with friends and care for each other; arrive and leave together as a group; have a buddy; make sure someone knows where you are and checks that you get home safe.
Can’t attend a protest? Support mutual aid activities: See if your area has a solidarity fund you can donate to; volunteer at a food bank or social space for refugees, asylum seekers and minoritised communities.
Look out for communications from migrant organisations, faith groups, anti-racist and anti-facist organisers in your locality and support them if you can by making a donation or amplifying their messages.
Know your rights and carry a bust-card: Download a bust-card in various languages via Liberty and check Green & Black Cross for Know Your Rights Trainings
Over the last few days and weeks, we have seen communities come together both to defend and to start repairing the damage done to mosques, community spaces, and asylum hotels, and deepening relationships of solidarity and mutual aid.
Collectives from the migrant justice movement and beyond have set out the interconnections between state racism and violence from the far-right, calling for solidarity. You can read statements here from Migrants Organise & Solidarity Knows No Borders, Runnymede Trust, Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants and the London Renters Union. Critically too, we are seeing trade unions, including the BMA, mobilising in response.
Medact’s work is rooted in recognising and naming the connection between state racism and the harm it causes to communities—the Prevent duty, hostile immigration controls, the disproportionate impact of poor quality housing on Black and Brown communities, and how fossil fuel reliance harms Global South communities across the globe.
Whether through legislation, policies in our workplaces, media legitimising racist narratives, or right-wing violence in the streets, it is the same violence that we are working to prevent. Here are some longer reads and reflections that speak to these connections:
Whiteness Riots by Michael Richmond and Alex Charnley. In this excerpt, the authors explore the relationship between street racism and the modernisation of policing and immigration controls
‘Statues & Gangs: fascist panic and policing’ by Becka Hudson
Remember & Resist are a project seeking to expand abolitionist practice and thinking in E/SE Asian diaspora. They wrote a Zine in 2021 on Abolitionist Approaches to Hate Crime
Medact’s Briefing on ‘The Public Health Case against the Policing Bill’ and why the answer is not the expansion of police powers, rather that we keep each other safe
Watch Fighting the Far-Right – Movement History via Channel 4
We know that for many of us this is a deeply concerning, fearful, and intense time. Medact is here to support you in whatever way we can, so please get in touch if you want to talk at [email protected].
We are sending further direct support to Medact groups across the country, so get in touch with your local group and/or your local Patients Not Passports group if you’re looking to connect with other folks where you are.
In love and solidarity,
The Medact Staff Team
