IRR News 6 – 22 December 2022
Dear IRRNews Subscriber,
This is the last edition of IRR News for the year – and what a year it has been! 2022 marked 50 years since our radical transformation from an establishment body into an anti-racist think-tank. We’ve been incredibly busy, producing articles on policing in schools, analysis on the treatment of asylum seekers, reports on citizenship-stripping and police racism, not to mention all of our IRR50 activities. You can read a full run-down of this very special year on this twitter thread or at this webpage.
As campaigners consider their next steps after the High Court rules that the plan to deport asylum seekers to Rwanda is lawful, our final calendar of 2022, reveals the extent of opposition – from Unis Resist Border Controls, the PCS union, the British Medical Association and UNHCR – to the government’s cruel and degrading hostile environment policies. While hostility to migrants starts with policies, it all too often ends up on the streets, a process we regularly document in the racial violence and harassment section. This week, Northampton Crown Court sentenced a man to 27 years in prison for the killing of a homeless Polish man Robert Jadecki, in a racially aggravated attack in June 2021.
We also cover some stories you might have missed related to far-right and racist responses to French black players and the Moroccan team at the World Cup, including arrests of dozens of far-right activists in Italy and France for planned attacks on Moroccans celebrating their teams progression to the quarter finals. Racism directed at the Moroccan team and fans has not been confined to far-right thugs. A Danish TV2 host inspired disgust after comparing an image of Moroccan football players hugging their mothers during the World Cup to monkeys embracing.
IRR News is produced by our small staff team and a committed group of volunteers. Like most of our output, it is completely free. To help us continue this work, please consider making a donation to our IRR50 fund or sharing it in your networks.
Wishing you a restful festive break – see you in 2023!