It’s time to change the narrative. Hate has no place in our communities

It’s time to change the narrative. Hate has no place in our communities

The violence and hate we have seen run riot through our communities with the far right did not come out of nowhere. The tragic and hideous attack against children in Southport has been used as an excuse, but it is just that, an excuse. At a time when we should be thinking about the young children who were brutally murdered, we are faced with far right thugs, as the Prime Minister rightly called them, attacking people on the streets and attempting to burn them where they live.

They have targeted minorities, migrants, people based on skin colour and perceived religion. They are spreading division and hate. Calling for violence against those they perceive as different, but it is our very diversity in this country which will show that they do not stand for the majority of people

We have seen hate like this in the past, and it is in the past which it should remain. Instead though it has been emboldened by years of hostile rhetoric from politicians, and misinformation about migration in the media.

We need a complete shift in the way in which migration, of all types, is discussed. Migrants are not a threat to communities, we form part of those communities. We want to live in safety just like everyone else. Right now though, many of us are scared. We are scared for ourselves, our families, our friends and the communities which we are part of.

The far-right thugs committing, what is to all intents and purposes, coordinated terrorism across this country don’t speak for the majority of people. We know that. We have seen the good in people as communities rally to support each other in the face of this evil.

Now we need politicians and the press to rally as well though. We need them to recognise that the othering of migrants which has gone on for so long needs to end. When far right rioters are chanting the same slogans as politicians have used previously it should act as a wakeup call for the need to make a drastic u-turn, and start talking about the positives of immigration.