‘The toll of the riots on Brits of colour is devastating to behold’
Scrolling social media, watching the terrifying violence across the country unfolding over the weekend – local libraries burnt; windows of hotels housing those seeking asylum smashed; people beat up on the street – a ball of anxiety grew in the pit of my stomach.
I felt intensely fearful. For myself, for my community, for other people of colour – the subjects of the brutality being dispensed by the far-right.
Flicking on the TV on Monday added a sense of rage and disappointment to my anxious thoughts. I watched as Zarah Sultana, the Labour MP for Coventry South, joined the panel on Good Morning Britain to try and discuss the severity of the scenes coming out of several UK towns and to get across why many of the scenes we're witnessing are Islamophobic. Instead, she was repeatedly patronised.
And, at one point, it seemed she was sneered at by former Labour MP and show host Ed Balls and the rest of the panel, who continually interrupted her as she tried to speak. Her very real concerns and suggestion that we need to call these extremist attacks what they are – racist and Islamophobic – were dismissed.
It's not only visibly Muslim people being targeted in this wave of violence. A Black man was jumped by a gang in central Manchester on Saturday; a taxi taking Filipino nurses to work was pelted with rocks in Sunderland; South Asians of all creeds have been physically harmed. Factor in, though, mosques being attacked and the desecration of Muslim graves and it's clear that what we're seeing is both.
Indeed, it seems that this rampage was sparked when false rumours spread that the suspected killer of three little girls in a devastating attack in Southport this July was a Muslim asylum seeker. The suspect is neither. It didn't stop the incident being weaponised as a reason to rage anti-Muslim sentiment.
Instead, politicians continue to dance around questions of this being partly rooted in anti-Muslim hate. Some newsreaders gloss over the sheer terror of the past few days, using language like ‘pro-British protests’, ‘pockets of disorder’, ‘anti-immigration clashes’ and ‘far-right activism’ to describe the terror being inflicted.
Knowing that this is happening is horribly anxiety-inducing and is causing many people of colour in the UK to be filled with fear. That the truth of the matter; of what this is; isn't being acknowledged adds another shard of hurt onto existing horror.
Even our PM chose to refer to the on-going violence, which has included explicitly Islamophobic chants and racist graffiti, as well as the petrol-bombing of hotels housing refugees and burning down of libraries, as ‘thuggery’.
Sorry Keir, that’s not good enough.
Language matters. And using words such as ‘protests’, ‘disorder’ and even ‘activism’ – delegitimises actual protests and doesn’t signify how serious the threat from the far-right is. Serious enough that countries like Malaysia, Canada, Indonesia, Nigeria, the UAE and Australia have issued travel warnings for their citizens – telling them to be on high alert in the UK.
The reality is that calling these vicious incidents riots is no longer accurate either. What we are witnessing is racist and Islamophobic acts of terror. This is domestic, white-supremacist terrorism.
We've been living in a tinder box around these feelings for some time. In recent months, hate crimes against Muslims has been on the rise to the tune of 335%, according to Tell Mama, an anti-Muslim hate organisation.
Labelling these calculated and bigoted attacks accordingly highlights how dangerous what we're seeing is. It also gives us the tools to have the conversations needed to address the violence and work to mitigate it. Playing it down serves no one – including the police who are struggling to contain the mayhem.
Acknowledging the full force of what we're seeing matters. It gives legitimacy to the fear many Muslims and people of colour are feeling, right now. My WhatsApp groups spark constantly with messages on how to keep safe and areas to avoid; anxiety laced through the words typed out. For some, that's currently resulting in refusing to leave the house. I feel especially fearful for loved ones who wear headscarves, marking them out as Muslim.
For many of us, the scenes are stirring up childhood trauma. Growing up in the eighties, incidentally not too far from where Stephen Lawrence was brutally murdered in South-East London, I’m reminded of the days when the National Front-loving thugs – with their shaved heads and bomber jackets – would storm through my local neighbourhood.
It was a time when many people would refuse you serve you in shops, spit at you, charge you extra for services and generally find ways to make your life harder in any way they could if you had Brown or Black skin. There was also constant abuse on the streets – the p-word hurled from cars and aggressive strangers as you simply walked past them.
This is an incredibly taxing time for Brits from a global majority background. So if that’s you, remember that it’s totally normal to feel distressed, anxious and frightened. These are the correct responses at times like this. The extreme violence we’re seeing warrants those reactions. It’s also important to remember that your anger and grief doesn’t need to be silenced or made palatable for others either.
Respond however you need too – share your fears if you have the mental capacity to do so. Rest or switch off if that helps. Cancel plans if you don’t feel safe being outside at the moment – you don’t need to power through to prove anything to anyone – your safety is more important. And no, you’re not being paranoid to implement extra safety precautions right now.
To the wider community: reach out to your Black and Brown friends. Check in with them and suggest ways that you can support them – maybe a car share if they have to travel through the towns being trashed. Or, if you’re an employer, understand and accommodate why someone might ask for the chance to work from home for a few days.
Offer to listen to our concerns. Share your horror and be vocal about it. We need your voices sharing solidarity loudly, right now.
Learn what has happened and where, without expecting people of colour to steer you through it. Understand how serious and unsettling this is for so many of us. Call out racism and Islamophobia when you see it and have those difficult conversations with friends or family if needed.
Use your privilege to stand in places we cannot and, if it's safe for you, consider going to the anti-fascism protests. If you see a face you recognise taking part in terror on the streets – tell the police.
Finally, offer a smile to people of colour if they are on the bus with you or walking past. It sounds small and insignificant but it’s not. It lets us know that we're safe around you.
You Might Also Like
