A Brighton-based organisation has promised to ship handwritten messages welcoming refugees and asylum seekers who’ve not too long ago arrived within the UK within the wake of far-right violence and anti-immigrant unrest.
Dialog Over Borders has invited the general public to submit messages of “solidarity” on-line, which they plan to put in writing by hand and ship to individuals in lodging lodges throughout the nation.
Greater than 1,000 messages of welcome had been despatched in throughout the venture’s first 24 hours on Tuesday. Since then an additional 1,200 have been submitted.
Organisation founder Colette Batten-Turner mentioned her hope for the marketing campaign was to “drown out the hate with love”.
“Although the voices of hatred are incredibly loud, they’re a tiny minority,” mentioned Batten-Turner. “The vast majority of the public don’t stand behind those racist views but want to spread a message of solidarity and compassion.”
The UK has skilled the worst unrest in additional than a decade during the last week, fuelled by misinformation on-line and anti-immigrant sentiment. Batten-Turner mentioned the violence has triggered traumatic recollections for some asylum seekers and refugees.
“People that are seeking sanctuary in a country where they thought they would feel safer are being faced with really explicit messages of hate. For them it’s quite distressing and quite terrifying,” she mentioned.
Although the messages are as a result of be delivered subsequent week, Batten-Turner mentioned she has already handed on just a few to these feeling distressed.
“The individuals who have received the letters have expressed how this has made them feel much more safe and welcome,” she mentioned.
Batten-Turner mentioned venture members have included a bunch of PhD college students from the College of Manchester, a neighborhood pageant and a major college instructor who has deliberate to run a workshop together with her college students in September.
“We’ll continue collecting messages for as long as people want to send them,” she added.
On 4 August, a whole lot of rioters gathered close to a Vacation Inn Categorical lodge used to deal with asylum seekers close to the northern city of Rotherham. The far-right demonstrators threw bricks at police, broke a number of lodge home windows, and set bins on fireplace.
Communities have responded with a collection of rallies in opposition to the riots. On Wednesday 7 August, 1000’s of anti-racism protesters gathered throughout England, forming human shields to guard asylum centres and holding placards saying “refugees welcome” and “reject racism”. In Brighton, three far-right demonstrators had been booed whereas led away from a whole lot of counter-protesters.
Batten Turner mentioned she wish to see extra safety for refugees and asylum seekers who she says are the “most vulnerable” in our society.
“We want to see an immediate action plan implemented by the home office to protect the people who are currently being housed in these initial accommodation sites. We are calling for people to be housed in communities, rather than hotels, in safe and secure housing,” Batten-Turner mentioned.
