London meeting post riots - stand up to hate and division

London meeting post riots - stand up to hate and division

Migrant Voice would like to invite you to join us and other community leaders to a meeting on how we can work together to stand up to hate and division.

The meeting will take place on Thursday 3 October,  6-8pm, at our office, Migrant Voice, 200a Pentonville Road, London N1 9JP. Sign up here

The recent riots laid bare the intersection between the rhetoric on migration and the racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and other social issues. How do we address the root causes in the rhetoric about migrants and migration? Where is the political will for change and for a new positive narrative? How do we address the insidious racism and hate that is both blatant and under the surface?

Speakers include:

Jeremy Crook, Chief Executive, Action for Race Equality

Mustafa Field, Director, Faiths Forum for London

Diana Nammi, CEO, IKWRO - Women's Rights Organisation

Halaleh Taheri, Founder & Executive Director of Middle Eastern Women & Society Organisation

Jacobo Belilty Coordinator of CLAUK (Coalition of Latin Americans in the UK)

Anki Deo, Senior Policy Officer, HOPE not hate

Emeka Forbes, Head of Cohesion at /together

This meeting will be an opportunity to come together to address this and take action together.

Background

The recent events did not happen in a vacuum. The hostile environment which was created by the previous government presented migration as a threat to the country and migrants and people who are seeking asylum in the UK as “invaders” who are here to change our way of life.

Historically the immigration system was shaped with racist and classist agendas and these policies and narratives have influenced the way migrants are scapegoated and migration problematised.

The intersection between migration, Xenophobia and other forms of hate is not new to Britain, yet the recent violent attacks seemed surprising to people who were not aware of the way the dehumanisation of certain groups and communities has been normalised. These riots should serve as a reminder that there is a lot of work that should be done to build a progressive, inclusive and fairer society.

Migrant Voice has held some recent safe space meetings following the riots where members share some of their concerns. One person said:

“What concerns me is where we go next. Yes, there is the blatant recent violence of the far right, but there is insidious racism that was there before too. We don’t just want that to get shoved under the carpet. How do we address this, and how do we address the root causes in the rhetoric about migrants and migration as a ‘serious problem’. Where is the political will for change as opposed to just saying it is legitimate concerns and tightening the immigration rules, which is the wrong response. It just legitimises what just happened.”

To sign up go to this link https://forms.gle/D7eG58Zbo16MUNhn6  

Please join us from 5.30pm where hot food will be served.

For any questions please email [email protected]