Week Ending 5th November
Many interesting things happened last week, but they were dominated by two events on Sunday. The photo above is of London from the hill in Haringey were Alexandra Palace is located. I went to the Haringey Feast, guest of ANgel my cellist friend, who was playing as part of a poetry performance, but I will start with the first of Sunday’s Events which was an all-day event – the Stand Up to Racism Conference. Among the significant people I spoke to and organisations I connected with, was Care4Calais, and I will be attending their event on 1st December.
One of the most moving speakers was Steven Lawrence’s father. Others included Sukhdev Reel, mother of Ricky Reel who was also killed by racists. She is leader of The Justice Campaign. They both received a standing ovation.
There was a prominent Jewish speaker and the deputy secretary of the Muslim Council of Britain, an MP and a Human Rights activist. There was an actor who is also part of a team creating films to teach people about the Windrush (Home Office) Scandal. I found something to learn from everyone.
Many of the speakers were reporting on the situation in their community or in their neighbourhood. Among these were speakers from Wales and Glasgow, some on-screen, as the Event was fully hybrid.
I was particularly interested in a speaker from Portland where the accommodation-barge, the Bibby Stockholm is located, which houses asylum seekers. I’ve been following this ‘development’ with horror verging on disbelief, since the plan was first proposed.
Can you imagine the trauma that these refugees have been through to get to our country, many having suffered torture at home, or have had to flee in fear of their lives. Most have suffered miseries for months or years on the journey and risked death by drowning to reach our shores. Most of those who come here have a strong connection with this country, often friends or relatives who have been living here for years or generations, which is why they go to such lengths to come here.
By far the majority of these Asylum Seekers, when their case does get heard, are found to be genuine refugees, but until they do get a hearing, someone with power in the Home Office, thinks it is appropriate to pen them up effectively in an overcrowded prison, alongside people from many different cultures, races and religions, for more months and years, and compound their physical and mental distress. They are people like us, with skills and in many cases professions. They want to find a safe place to live where they can work and contribute to our society.
Look around and see what a great contribution all our diverse peoples are making to society, in every profession and every trade. I know a number of refugees from different parts of the world and have heard their stories.
In Euro News, critics point out hotels are only needed as the Conservative government has degraded the asylum system and failed to process applications quickly, with two-thirds of people waiting over six months for an initial decision, figures from the Institute for Government show.
“As a survivor of torture, I am deeply disturbed that the Government is going ahead with its cruel plan to cram refugees onto a barge that has been branded a ‘potential death trap, said “Kolbassia Haoussou Director of Survivor Empowerment in a statement sent to Euronews.
“Instead of punishing people like me who’ve already been through so much, survivors should be offered protection and support,” he added. “It’s time for this Government to stop wasting time by forcing refugees to live in unsafe and undignified accommodation, and concentrate its efforts on rebuilding an asylum system that treats people with humanity and compassion.”
An article in The Independent, from July reports that the Home Office decided to increase the Bibbi Stockholm barge’s capacity from 222 to 506 people. Richard Drax, the Conservative MP for South Dorset, likened the barge to a “quasi-prison” and has voiced concern about its impact on both asylum seekers and the tourist-dependent local economy.
A private firm has been handed a £1.6bn contract to manage the Bibby Stockholm. This is no ‘cheap alternative.’
A Home Office spokesperson said: “The government is providing substantial funding to local services including the police and NHS to support them and minimise the impact on the community, and there will be 24/7 security on site. “The site is designed to be self-sufficient in order to minimise the impact on the local community, with catering, recreational areas and basic health care provision on board.”
In February 2008 an Algerian asylum-seeker Rachid Abdelsalam died of heart failure on board.
Fellow detainees claim that although they warned the guards of Rachid’s deteriorating health, his cell door was only opened two hours after he died, the monitoring organisation State Watch reported in 2012.
The vessels-come-prisons were notorious for offering poor quality health care and terrible services, triggering repeated hunger strikes and riots from detainees, State Watch added.
Going undercover as a security guard, Dutch journalist Robert van de Griend documented the abysmal treatment of inmates.
Although the barge is not a detention facility, Portland Port has said that asylum seekers will “not be free to move around the port” and must stay either on the Bibby Stockholm or in an adjacent “secure compound”
This is not the first time asylum seekers have been housed on the Bibby Stockholm. It saw at least one person die, and reports of rape, fighting and abuse on board, when it was used by the Dutch government to detain refugees in the 2000s.
A 2008 report obtained by The Independent contains testimony from a 32-year-old asylum seeker called Ben, who described “four people in a cell” on board. He said there were “frequent fights” adding: “There is only a little daylight in the cells … in the morning the guards would open the cell with their nose covered to protect themselves against the stench. That was when the ship held half the number of people who are placed there now. He continues – “The conditions force you into submission; they kill you psychologically.”
Calculations by The Independent show that, at full capacity, each asylum seeker will have less living space than an average car parking bay, even when taking shared spaces and outdoor courtyards into account. It seems that this accommodation is not cheaper than alternatives, but is chosen in the hopes that it will ‘act as a deterrent.’ It will not. There are desperate people who have genuine reasons to seek to rebuild their lives here in the UK and the only way to stop them being ‘trafficked’ in small boats across the Channel is to provide safe legal routes to come.
In events like this Conference, it is often the human connections we make with people attending the event which are particularly valuable, to those who come, but I like to feel that there is something ‘concrete’ that I take away, as well as all the inspiration. I was able to speak to Steve Smith from Care4Calais, who in addition to reporting on many serious problems that refugees are facing, mentioned one ex-military camp in the village of Wethersfield which is being used to house them. The run-down dormitories have no heating and the goal is to provide each and every one of these resident refugees with a warm winter coat.
I grew up not far from Wethersfield, in a rather bleak part of North Essex, so perhaps that is why I took this cause to heart. I brought home with me about 1,000 leaflets asking for donations of coats to help keep refugees warm. I’m planning to collect coats and clothes for refugees in my local area and today started to take the leaflets to neighbouring houses after writing on the back, ‘for local collection please phone’ – and my number. As with everything, I feel that if we want to see a kinder, fairer world, we all need to step forward and take whatever action we can.
When the Conference finished, I headed away from the city, on the Piccadilli Line to Wood Green and then, by bus, to Alexandra Palace where my friend ANgel would be playing, sharing some of his compositions as a back-drop to the recitations of a local poet.
The whole event was stunning. It was particularly moving because of the way it showcased the way that our Multicultural Britain IS working (something that the late Home Secretary Suella Braverman claimed has failed. OMG this Event was a shining example of just how powerful our communities are when they are diverse and embrace that diversity with celebration.
In the Conference we had been hearing about problem areas where the ‘far right’ is attacking refugees and people who they regard as ‘not British’ (which it seems is anyone who is not white Anglo-Saxon. It reminded me of a video I watched recently
https://youtu.be/NrHYGf7vqOc?si=p0PSJBytmY8LkQPX
The Racism in our society is real. Both Islamophobia and Antisemitism have risen dramatically since 7th October. But at the same time there are powerful movements which celebrate diversity – and as long as we, as a society, are vigilant and oppose the propaganda that the ‘far right’ promote, British people in general love and appreciate the variety of races and religions which we find living in harmony, and offer a welcome to the refugees who choose to come here and make this country their home.
In Alexandra Palace, there were long tables set out for the Feast. The table-cloths were hand stitched patchwork patterns with a great variety of colours and fabrics. The table-mats were individually hand painted, printed or dyed. The coasters were intriguingly made from bottle-tops covered by African fabric and joined together like flowers. There were vases containing charming plastic flowers made from scrap plastic. the bunting hanging across the hall was made by local people and all the entertainment was home-grown.
Before the meal we made our own place-names and selected which variety of soup we would like.
The soup was served with a delicious variety of breads, with butter. I had decided to fast all day, just drinking water, but had softened this by eating some salad at lunchtime. Now I reasoned that God or The Universe wanted me to enjoy the meal so I did. I had been directed to a seat in the centre of the room, directly underneath the central ‘dome’ of the Palace. Just ‘by chance’ I happened to be sitting beside an Art Teacher (I was a teacher of both Religious Education and Art) who is studying part time to become an Art Therapist (and I am a Mindfulness Teacher and Happiness Coach.) It was she who had organised and run the workshops where all the bottle-top coasters were made. We had such a lot in common and both felt that our meeting was not a coincidence.
The reason why I had been directed to this central position is because I had been invited by ANgel, my cellist friend, as he was accompanying one of the local poets during the inspiring performances of the evening. He played three of his own compositions and I was so proud I could hardly breathe. No mother was ever more proud of their son.
This is the dome I was sitting beneath, in Alexandra Palace.
I couldn’t take videos or photos at the time, but took a few, including these, afterwards.
Clearing up after the guests, including Sadiq Khan the Mayor of London who’s Office had sponsored the Event, came over to thank and congratulate ANgel, had left.
Closing Poems
Hope
Is not just a word.
Hope
Is today’s beautiful plant.
Hope
Is tomorrow’s fruitful tree.
Sri Chinmoy,
Ten Thousand Flower-Flames, no 1308, part 14, 1981
Humility you need?
Then look at the dewdrops.
Immensity you need?
Then look at the blue-vast ocean,
Purity you need?
Then look at the candle flame.
Sincerity you need?
Then look at the child.
Duty you need?
Then look at the moon.
Power you need?
Then look at the sun.
Light you need?
Then look at your heart.
Delight you need?
Then sit at God’s Feet.
Sri Chinmoy
- Yesterday I was a crying dream, 1975