Below we reproduce a talk given by the IRR’s Director, Liz Fekete, for the Parliament Roundtable on Racism & Hate Crime organised by the Monitoring Group on Monday 16 April 2018. I welcome this meeting which brings together so many campaigners dedicated to combating the violent racism that kills. After so many years of struggle, we now
Issue: Briefing Papers & Reports - UK
Calendar of racism and resistance (23 March – 5 April 2018)
A fortnightly resource for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe. Asylum and migration 22 March: The captain and head of mission of Proactiva Open Arms, an NGO rescue ship working in the Mediterranean, are arrested in Sicily for refusing to hand over the 218 people they saved in
Challenging G4S’ ‘catastrophic failings’
Bail for Immigration Detainees (BID), a charity that assists those in immigration detention in the UK, is taking legal action against the British government in an attempt to pressure it into designating security company G4S as a ‘High Risk’ strategic supplier in the wake of ‘catastrophic failings’. The launch of the campaign comes after the
Justice for Kevin Clarke: death in Lewisham
On Saturday 17 March, in a cold and snowy Catford, a vigil took place for Kevin Clarke who died on 9 March after being restrained by up to nine Lewisham police officers. The small vigil on a quiet residential Lewisham street was attended mainly by the grieving family and friends of 35-year-old Kevin Clarke. Candles
Calendar of racism and resistance (9 – 22 March 2018)
A fortnightly resource for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe. Asylum and migration 6 March: Jess Phillips MP reveals that a constituent was detained in Yarl’s Wood after reporting her violent husband who had threatened to kill her to the police. The woman was later released and given
Young Muslims respond to Islamophobia
We reproduce below the speech of Riz Hussain, director of Jawaab, a movement of grassroots voices, at the launch on 7 March of Jawaab’s report Voices of Young Muslims: Building a society free from Islamophobia. ‘Since we began our work in 2011, we have seen so much change. And with this has come our focus
Celebrating the ‘real’ Khadija Saye
At the 7 March launch of Jawaab’s report Voices of Young Muslims, Nadia Hasan gave a speech celebrating the political activism of Khadija Saye, who died in the Grenfell Tower fire, and questions the media’s decontextualised response to her death. ‘Sometimes, despite the slurs, despite the micro-agressions, despite the collective blame, we appear to lose
Stansted 15 face trial
On Wednesday 14 March, fifteen anti-deportation activists go on trial at Chelmsford Crown Court for endangering airport security at Stansted airport. IRR News interviewed author and academic Luke de Noronha (LdN), spokesperson for the End Deportations campaign, about the case. IRR News: Who are the Stansted 15, and what was the purpose of their action?
Calendar of racism and resistance (22 February-8 March 2018)
A fortnightly resource for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe. Asylum and migration 21 February: Around 120 women detained at Yarl’s Wood removal centre, Bedfordshire, begin a hunger strike in protest against their indefinite detention and the inhumane conditions they suffer. (Sky News, 25 February 2018) 21 February:
Calendar of racism and resistance (9-22 February 2018)
A fortnightly resource for anti-racist and social justice campaigns, highlighting key events in the UK and Europe. Asylum and migration 5 February: On the eve of the fourth anniversary of the Tarajal tragedy, when at least fourteen migrants drowned as civil guards used rubber bullets and tear gas to stop them reaching the Spanish enclave