I hope you’re having a good summer, though in many ways it has been – and continues to be – a challenging time. We’ve witnessed recurring threats of far right violence, flaring up around the country, menacing political rhetoric about raids, detentions and deportations, and now a court decision to close the Epping hotel housing people seeking asylum, which could have worrying consequences in the months to come.
One of the ways in which we manage to remain positive in the middle of these crises, is by coming together as a community to feel the strength of solidarity around us. This is one of the roles our organisation and supporters can play in standing with refugees, people seeking asylum and migrants in our borough – and beyond, to change the narrative about migration.
Stronger Together!
📆 Get your diary out and block our event dates ⬇️
🧑🧑🧒🧒 Help us make a real difference – become a Trustee or a Volunteer
🧡 In the face of adversity, we must join forces. Becoming a member is one of the most powerful ways for your to support migrants in our community. Please join us!
📲 We’re on Bluesky, Instagram and Facebook – come and say ‘hi’!
If you’d like to share relevant news or information with us, please contact me: [email protected].
In solidarity,
Anne
In the coming months, we will have three opportunities to connect as a community, show our unflinching solidarity with refugees, people seeking asylum and migrants, and ring some joy.
- 31st August: We’ll be at the St James Big Local Summer Fair at Stoneydown school. Join us at 1.30 pm for a solidarity action, in partnership with Together With Refugees.
- 06 November: Film screening at the William Morris Gallery in partnership with Stories and Supper. More details coming super soon.
- 11 December: Ahead of International Migrants Day (18 December), WFMA will be hosting an exciting event at the Walthamstow Trades Hall: Connections In Sound – Celebrating musical journeys across cultures, in partnership with Zelt. Watch this space!
WFMA Support Centre Update
Trustees & Volunteers Wanted
📣 We are looking for 2-3 compassionate individuals with a strong interest in migrant justice to join our Board and make a tangible difference to the lives of migrants and refugees in Waltham Forest. Find out more details and how to apply here. Please feel free to share with your networks 🧡
📣 Could you be the compassionate face of our Support Centre? Find out more. Please feel free to share with your networks 🧡
In the News
CW gender based violence
Summer used to be known as the silly season – a time for frivolous headlines. Not so now. The last two summers have been filled with ever more horrifying stories. In the last issue of our newsletter, we reported on the far-right violence outside the Bell hotel in Epping. Since then, events have rapidly escalated, with demonstrations nationwide.
As far-right attacks spread like wildfire, extreme, racist and Islamophobic views are constantly echoed in the media and by politicians, giving them a degree of legitimacy that would have been unthinkable a few years ago. It’s no surprise that Reform UK are using their platform to promote anti-migrant rhetoric, but they are far from being alone. Robert Jenrick, Conservative MP and Shadow Justice Minister, who attended the Epping ‘rally’, is stoking up fear about his daughters’ safety – at risk he says from ‘foreign criminals’. And not wanting to be outdone, Keir Starmer, the Labour PM, tweets daily about ‘illegal immigration’ and ‘smashing gangs’ – going as far as sharing videos of deportations.
What, seemingly, sparked aggressive far-right unrest in Epping this summer was the arrest of a man housed at the Bell hotel, following accusations of s*xual assault – which he has denied. And just like that, people, who have never expressed an interest in challenging the devastating impact gender-based violence, are taking to the streets to ‘Save Our Kids’ and ‘Protect Our Women’.
The uncomfortable truth about gender-based violence is that it knows no borders. It is committed in every economic group, ethnicity, age and social group, and overwhelmingly by men against women and girls.
The weaponisation of gender-based violence by the far-right is not new. According to the End Violence Against Women Coalition, it is a well known strategy used to attack migrants, people seeking asylum and other marginalised groups, who are presented as a ‘danger to our country’and perpetrators of crime. We heard it repeatedly in relation to the Rotherham scandal – but what we hear less is the testimonies from survivors being r*ped by police officers. It is therefore vital that we connect the dots to expose these baseless tactics for what they are.
Earlier this month, we joined over 200 organisations, under the umbrella of Together With Refugees, calling on party leaders to stop fuelling divisive migrant hotel rhetoric. Then, this week, came the High Court ruling, that granted Epping Forest district council an interim injunction to stop housing people seeking asylum at the Bell hotel because of a breach of planning rules.
The right and far-right are boasting about what they see as a victory. The reality is likely to be disastrous for hotel residents as they face increasing hostility. Similar challenges are now expected from other councils, and, as the Home Office scrambles around, it has no plan B. But for solutions exist, such as community-based housing and homestays – a scheme widely used for people fleeing Ukraine – and need to be urgently considered.
The scaling up of fascist attacks has emboldened groups and individuals to become more openly aggressive. Violent incidents against people seeking asylum, refugees, migrants and people of colour are being reported daily. Stay vigilant. Right to Remain hosted a training session on solidarity and safety against far-right violence – a useful resource for all of us, and a reminder to stay informed and keep each other safe.
Waltham Forest Migrant Action 