CW racism; Islamophobia; racist violence; gender violence
*As this statement was being finalised, news broke that homes have now been attacked in North Belfast. Our thoughts are with all those affected. There is no room in society for this kind of racist violence.*
On Saturday (August 3rd) Belfast joined the disturbingly long list of places where far-right agitators managed to mobilise, leading to scenes of racist violence, particularly targeting the Muslim community. This was followed by attacks on the Belfast Islamic Centre on Monday night and a Middle Eastern shop in West Belfast on Tuesday, as well as a number of racist attacks on people of colour. We send our solidarity to all those affected, especially migrants, people of colour and religious minorities who undoubtedly feared for their safety during and after these events. As further mobilisations are planned by what is now an emboldened and more confident racist minority, there is a need for urgent discussion on how we can build a movement against the lies and violence of the far-right.
Around 1,000 people turned up at short notice to the United Against Racism action outside City Hall, protesting the right-wing mobilisation. Trade unionists were present, including members of Unite, the UCU and CWU with NIPSA especially prominent. They were joined by anti-racist campaigners, socialist feminists and Palestine solidarity groups. Together we took a stand against the far-right, some of whom were seen giving Nazi salutes, leading to loud chants of “Nazi scum off our streets!” and “Refugees are welcome here!”.
However, this counter-protest wasn’t enough to stop hundreds of those present on the far-right demo from marching through Botanic, the Holylands and Sandy Row, in a racist rampage. Cafés and supermarkets owned by people of colour – many of which are important spaces for migrant communities – were burnt out and damaged. Multiple people were attacked, and at least one person was stabbed. On the Lower Ormeau about 100 residents spontaneously organised to intercept the far-right thugs and to stop them from marching through the area. This type of action should be built upon and replicated in a cross-community manner.
Campaign of misinformation leads to racist riots
This was part of a coordinated series of racist riots that also took place across Britain, planned by a network of fascist instigators including groups like the English Defence League. Immediately after the horrifying murders of six-year-old Bebe King, seven-year-old Elsie Dot Stancombe, and nine-year-old Alice Dasilva Aguiar at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, far-right forces exploited this situation to spread misinformation, whipping up Islamophobia and xenophobia. The result was far-right thugs descending on Southport, a community in mourning, to engage in a racist riot. In the midst of the campaign of Islamophobia being waged by far-right individuals, groups and the media, the real issue has been completely drowned out: how is it possible that a 17-year-old boy was so filled with hate that he was prepared to attack a group of young school girls with a knife – killing three and wounding more?
We live in a deeply violent and misogynistic society – that needs to be challenged and actively fought against. It is also clear that that struggle must be an anti-racist struggle, and one that fights Islamophobia, transphobia and all of the calling cards of the right. The causes of gender violence are misogyny, macho culture, the normalisation of violence and a sense of ownership of others. These things are present in society in general, and have nothing to do with people’s ethnic backgrounds or religious identities. They are features of a capitalist system which has oppression at its very core. As one counter-protester’s sign read on Saturday: “It’s not a ‘migrant’ issue. It’s the ruling class. It’s capitalism. It’s men’s violence against women.”
Under the guise of “protecting our children”, the far-right have attacked mosques, attempted to burn asylum-seekers out of accommodation, and ransacked libraries, schools and homes in working-class communities already suffering the impacts of austerity and the cost-of-living crisis. Horrifying videos of racist mobs attacking people of colour, with some chanting to kill them, spread on social media. Footage from gangs roaming around the Botanic area of Belfast are also deeply shocking, with one showing a woman who was challenging the racist chanting being told “you’ll be r*ped” – once again exposing the incompatibility between far-right ideas and the urgent need to struggle to end gender and sexual violence.
Whilst they pose as a movement of the working class, the far-right’s only aim is to inject hatred, violence and division into our communities and to make life unimaginably worse for all working-class people, especially those from marginalised communities.
Political establishment is responsible
The riots showed that we can have no faith in the PSNI’s ability to stop the far-right. At City Hall, PSNI officers were unable to stop the far-right mobilisation once it started to move towards the Dublin Road in the direction of the Belfast Islamic Centre. They only managed to disperse parts of the crowd around the top of Botanic Avenue – after damage to several businesses and a hotel used for migrant accommodation. Here and elsewhere, the police showed themselves to be incapable of and uninterested in genuinely protecting working-class communities.
In Belfast, a person of colour was attacked and chased by racists only to be apprehended by the police for running – meanwhile shops and cafés were being burned. Disturbingly, the PSNI are now being investigated due to a number of officers who were present at the protest allegedly sporting emblems of the “Three Percenters” – an American far-right militia. It is unsurprising, given the PSNI’s approach to BLM protesters a few years ago, that their approach was to treat anti-racist protesters and the far-right mobilisation as the same disruption of “law and order”, instead of recognising the real threat posed to migrants and people of colour by the far-right. The PSNI even admonished members of the Muslim community and supporters that mobilised themselves to defend the Belfast Islamic Centre on Monday.
These events came as a shock to many. But in reality, the far-right have been on the rise for years and people of colour in Belfast and beyond face racism on a daily basis. The crisis of capitalism is creating deep polarisation and in the absence of a strong working-class alternative to the status quo, the far-right are taking advantage of fear and anger produced by the decline in living standards, as well as concerns around the existential crisis in the NHS and an ever escalating housing crisis. In this context, the political establishment and mainstream press have consistently demonised migrants and people of colour, enforcing a racist ‘hostile environment’ for refugees while overseeing deprivation in working-class communities that has created deep anger and frustrations. The Tories and Labour have competed to see which party can clamp down harder on refugees, with “stop the boats” becoming a key slogan not only of the far-right but also of Starmer’s election campaign! This creates an environment for racism to be stoked up in society more broadly in the form of harassment and abuse in the streets, schools and workplaces. Islamophobia in particular has been stoked by politicians and the media for decades – consciously promoted to justify imperialist interventions in the Middle East. This has fed into far-right propaganda warning about immigration of “unvetted males” of “military-age”, playing on deeply racist tropes to falsely present people of colour as a threat.
Neither Keir Starmer’s response – which focused on saying those who engage in violence will be arrested and prosecuted – nor the outrage at violence on our streets from mainstream politicians will help address this issue. We must call out Islamophobic, racist and far-right ideas while at the same time understanding how and why they are gaining an echo in order to cut across the far-right effectively, stopping working-class people from being drawn into the simple narrative of blaming other oppressed people. We need to resolutely and consistently point the finger of blame at those actually responsible.
The corporate media, capitalist politicians and billionaires are more than happy to promote racist, anti-immigrant, and transphobic bile, desperate to steer anger in society away from their system and towards the most marginalised in society. By pitting working-class people of different ethnic backgrounds or religions against each other they hope to distract from the fact that the capitalist class – the bankers, bosses and billionaires – are profiting from the suffering of all working-class people. It is these divisions, which are an inherent part of capitalism, that far-right instigators like Nigel Farage and Tommy Robinson jump on to push their white supremacist ideology, whipping up racism and violence to further their reactionary movement. While the political establishment have acted shocked by the recent rioting, the far-right ultimately serve their ‘divide and rule’ agenda.
In Britain, the far-right has been emboldened by the crisis in the Tory party, and the fascist core of the movement is seeking to quickly establish itself as a political force following the election of Starmer. In Ireland, anti-immigrant protests have descended into racist riots, arson attacks on migrant accommodation, and random acts of violence directed at people of colour. It is telling that the thugs that helped incite the Coolock riots came to Belfast to engage in a racist riot here too. The far-right waving the Irish Tricolour as well as the Union flag in front of a “Coolock says no” banner, while marching down Bedford Street shouting “p***** out”, was a striking visual reminder that this ideology is growing in both nationalist and unionist communities, and that the fight against the far-right must be one that spreads across the sectarian divide in order to undercut them.
After the riots, the far-right thugs from the South reportedly spent the night drinking with the UDA apparently receiving a “heroes’ welcome”. Loyalist paramilitaries played a key role in organising the anti-immigrant protests, encouraging their members to “mask up” and leading the violent attacks on people of colour. Paramilitaries have been growing recently, and are increasingly willing to impose themselves on the situation. The potential for a further increase in organised racist violence as a result must be taken seriously.
Young people were on both the initial far-right mobilisation at City Hall and later part of the rioting. They are particularly impacted by the policies adopted by successive governments, with our future literally being under threat – but the threat doesn’t come from immigration, it comes from capitalist crisis, from climate breakdown and also from the ongoing presence and actions of paramilitary forces who offer young people no better future.
Jamie Bryson’s comments warning loyalists about allying with the far-right in the South indicates that key figures within loyalism want to use existing sectarian division to polarise things even further. Paramilitaries are using the riots as a way to assert themselves, and also to recruit young people. Their goal will be to present anti-racist counter-protestors as reflective of only one community, in order to cut across people from a Protestant background opposing the far-right. It is absolutely essential that any anti-racist movement avoids all expressions of sectarianism and aims to build on a genuine cross-community basis. This is a crucial way in which we can cut off the oxygen of the far-right.
Far-right grows out of capitalist crisis
It is telling that much of the rioting took place in hard-pressed working-class areas that have felt the brunt of decades of austerity, enforced by the Stormont and Westminster establishments, which has deepened poverty and turned our communities into wastelands. All the political parties that have engaged in public sector cuts and privatisations, and have allowed landlords and corporations to bleed our communities dry, bear responsibility for this crisis. The key reason for a lack of public housing for example lies with political decisions in 2002 to stop the Housing Executive from building new and much needed homes.
Calls to refrain from violence from establishment political parties will not undercut support for far-right and racist ideas. This requires a conscious challenge to the lies being spread and at the same time a struggle to change the conditions of deprivation, fear and scarcity that provide the perfect conditions for far-right and racist ideas to grow.
The playbook of the far-right everywhere is to use right wing talking points and conspiracy theories to promote their racist ideology. They spread misinformation and seek to whip up fear and prejudice, playing on people’s anxieties and confusions to create a broader platform to build their reactionary movement. To do this, they prey on the anger that exists in society; anger at the cost-of-living crisis, at a lack of social housing, at our underfunded health service and at endless gender violence. But they wish to misdirect this anger at marginalised people who already face the brunt of the system’s violence, rather than directing it at the real enemy: the capitalist system, which is based on profiteering, exploitation and oppression.
Migrants are not responsible for the scarcity that exists in public services and housing, they are victims of these things too. It is the bosses, landlords and billionaires that extract wealth from our communities through low wages, high rents, privatisations and profiteering that are to blame. Capitalism is a system that is based on an artificial scarcity for working-class people, while the rich exploit us and live off the wealth that we create for them. And the same capitalists that exploit our communities here also profit from the brutal wars, economic devastation and ecological catastrophe that refugees and migrants are fleeing.
The far-right have no answers to the real crises facing working-class people. They say nothing of social housing, the profiteering of landlords, of higher wages or trade union rights, or that most perpetrators of gender violence are known to their victims. Whilst they pose, nauseatingly, as “defenders of women and children”, in reality their movement breeds misogynistic, racist and transphobic violence, and their ideology is deeply entwined with the misogynistic ideas of the ‘Manosphere’.
How we can fight the fascist threat
While the counter-protest vastly outnumbered the far-right, clearly, that was not enough. As they seek to organise in our streets again in the coming days and weeks, it is essential that the working-class mobilises in our full force. The many working-class people who offered support to the victims of the attacks by donating money and volunteering to help repair damages, in Belfast, Southport and across the UK, are an indication that the vast majority of people in society oppose the far-right’s violence.
Trade unions have a central role to play and steps taken by some in the movement to call meetings and mobilise their members must be built upon. Discussions about the importance of anti-fascist resistance should take place throughout our movement and in our workplaces. The workers’ movement is best placed to push back against the cancerous ideology of the far-right because it already unites workers from all backgrounds. Crucially, NIC-ICTU, with its mass membership, should call and properly organise a demonstration against racism, demanding decent jobs,housing and services for all. With the authority of NIC-ICTU, like in the past, such a demo could get a massive response and dwarf all the protests we have already seen.
Unfortunately, the leadership of ICTU/TUC has consistently taken a hesitant approach to the threat of the far-right, responding too slowly both politically and practically. Real action against fascism must come from organised politically active workers and communities. It can take the form of rapid response organisations to mobilise large numbers quickly. It must also involve discussions on efficient and strong stewarding, to ensure the safety of those taking part in anti-fascist actions. In addition, the right’s messaging must be effectively countered through information and training sessions for trade union and community activists. The trade union movement must also catch up with the necessary fight for housing, services and against gender-based violence to undercut the basis for racist and far-right ideas to grow further. If such campaigns had already been consciously and consistently waged in different workplaces and sectors, the basis for the far-right to exploit the horrifying stabbings in Southport would have been more limited.
Thousands of people have consistently mobilised in support of Palestine in recent months, with many linking the struggle against the Israeli occupation as a struggle against imperialism and racism. The rise in Islamophobia is linked with the Israeli state’s genocide in Gaza – which is backed by Western imperialism – as well as the decades of dehumanisation by the media and political establishment throughout the so-called ‘War on Terror’. The young people and workers who have protested for Palestine can play an important role in building a movement against the far-right.
Counter-protests will be an essential means of struggle, but they must be sustained, well-organised, and centred on the goal of stopping the far-right from terrorising our city. The whole point of a counter-protest is to significantly outnumber the fascists and by weight of numbers pressurise them from the streets, which is a blow and demoralises them. In Bristol, counter-protestors mobilised huge numbers to oppose the far-right and to stop them from attacking hotels housing migrants.
To do this we need to build an organised, multiracial force of resistance with roots in workplaces and working-class communities. The action taken by residents on the Lower Ormeau, who quickly mobilised to block the racist mob’s access to their community, is a shining example of the kind of organisation necessary. Residents then set up patrols to make sure the area was safe at night, and in the following days members of the Muslim community organised defence of the Belfast Islamic Centre. Ultimately the source of working-class resistance to the far-right comes from our organised collective power. We must build anti-racist networks of all working-class people, in both Catholic and Protestant areas, to discuss how to combat the far-right when and wherever they rear their heads.
The only force that can push back the far-right is a movement of working-class and young people that is organised and willing to fight this threat. We can take inspiration from mobilisations against the right around the world, from Italy to Argentina. In France, millions of young and working-class people have mobilised against the far-right’s racist agenda, with a key role played by young women and people of colour. A starting point could be the calling of a conference of resistance – with delegations from trade unions, and working-class organisations that are feminist, anti-racist, and pro-LGBTQ+.
Build a movement against the far-right, racism and capitalism
Any campaign against the far right has to take up the housing issue, and the best way to show that the crisis is not the fault of refugees is to show who is responsible, namely the government, the landlords and private developers. We need to proclaim loudly that capitalist policies are at the heart of the problems we face; that there’s more than enough wealth and resources for everyone to have what they need, and that the battle isn’t among working-class people, but between all of us and the super-rich capitalist class. A campaign against the far right must also incorporate the fight against gender-based violence and LGBTQ+ phobia.
We urge all young and working-class people who do not wish to see their community terrorised and their fellow workers attacked to join our movement. Now is the time to enter the arena of struggle, to push back the far-right and to build a powerful movement representing the majority of working-class people, who wish to see all workers live a life free of violence, oppression and abuse.
Such a movement must inevitably challenge the capitalist system, a system based fundamentally on racism, inequality, exploitation and division. The rise of the far-right is a global trend, as the ruling class increasingly turns to reactionary movements to impose its ‘dictatorship of the rich’ around the world. The ruling class consciously promotes racism, whipping up xenophobia and nationalism at every opportunity in order to push a rabidly right-wing, anti-working class agenda. The danger is evident, but the capacity to cut across it lies with working-class people standing together. Turning this potential into a reality is an essential and urgent task now. Don’t wait – get involved!
