EU debate: 38 points on Brexit and the Left
Ian Allinson examines what points the radical left can agree on, and what points remain contentious, concluding that we should not lose sight of the fact that our united campaigning for migrant solidarity, for genuine democracy, against austerity, and against neoliberalism puts in opposition to the establishment in both referendum camps. Now the EU referendum campaign […]
‘Angry White People’, a review
David Renton reviews Hsiao-Hung Pai’s Angry White People: coming face-to-face with the British far right. He finds an ‘exemplary account’ of the rise of the English Defence League and bemoans the left’s failure to contest the same terrain.
rs21 podcast, episode 1: refugees and the rise of the far right
Episode 1 of the rs21 podcast is finally here! Duncan Thomas introduces the show. [soundcloud url=”https://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/250534323″ params=”auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false&visual=true” width=”100%” height=”450″ iframe=”true” /]
Peckham Community Pride 20/2/16 – report with photos and video
Report, photos and video by Steve Eason Peckham Community Pride, a political, non-commercial march through SE15 from Peckham Library down Rye Lane, protested the anti-immigration raids and the intimidating “go home vans” that have targeted Peckham. Community pride was called by the civil rights group Movement For Justice and Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants (LGSMigrants). […]
How will EU debate impact migrant solidarity?
A talk given by Anindya Bhattacharyya at the recent London2Calais summit about how the migrant solidarity movement can respond to the debates around migrants in the context of the referendum on Britain’s EU membership. I want to talk in general terms about the political situation in Britain, and the way that debates around migrants are […]
Oxford University’s liberal mask slips in Rhodes Must Fall campaign
The liberal face that Oxford University likes to present has been challenged in the campaign to remove the statue of racist Cecil Rhodes.
Hundreds resist fascist march in Dover despite violent attacks from Nazi thugs
report by rs21, pictures by Steve Eason There were ugly scenes in Dover last Saturday as around 150-200 Nazis tried to march through the town and were confronted by 400 or so antifascists. The antifascists managed to obstruct the planned route of the Nazi march, but police responded by kettling counter demonstrators and ferrying the […]
Dover calling: antifascists get ready to defend migrants from Nazi threat
Antifascists are heading to Dover tomorrow, Saturday 30 January, to oppose an anti-migrant demo organised by various Nazi outfits. rs21 spoke to activists involved in building the counter mobilisation about their aims and hopes. The British National Party has been smashed to pieces and English Defence League is a shadow of its former self. But that doesn’t mean the […]
‘No more Jungle, no more borders’ – a report from Calais refugee protest
On Saturday 23 January, residents of the Calais refugee camp protested the destruction of the their shelters and the French government’s attempts to forcibly move them into new accommodation, described by many as a ‘prison’ or ‘concentration camp’. Duncan Thomas reports.
Charlie Hebdo is racist, not anti-racist ‘satire’
Charlie Hebdo’s latest cartoon is ‘satire’ that does nothing to satirise. In uncritically reproducing racist tropes, it can be considered as nothing other than racist itself. Kavita Krishnan explains… The latest Charlie Hebdo (CH) cartoon suggests that the refugee baby Aylan Kurdi would grow up to be a bestial man groping women, like the immigrants allegedly involved […]
St Pancras die-in protests clearing of Calais refugee camp
Kate Bradley reports On Saturday, around 200 people gathered at St Pancras International train station in London to protest against the clearance of the ‘Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais. The demonstration was called by London2Calais, a group that has been providing humanitarian and political support to refugees and migrants stranded in Calais since August 2015. […]
St Pancras ‘die-in’ video report
On Saturday 16 January, activists staged a ‘die-in’ at London’s St Pancras station, in solidarity with the refugees in Calais. Video report by Duncan Thomas. Title image by Steve Eason. [wpvideo 563TDxYP]
Resist the forcible eviction of Calais refugees
While conditions in ‘the Jungle’ refugee camp in Calais have long been harsh, many residents are resisting the French government’s attempts to move them to new accommodation.
“You can’t organise a riot”: racism, riots and arrests in 1981
In memory of John “Brad” Bradbury of the Specials who topped the charts with Ghost Town whilst Britain burst into flames of riots and racism in 1981 – Colin Revolting remembers how anti – racists danced to the Specials and fought against racism and unemployment. January A fire at a house party in New […]
Calais and the refugee crisis: building solidarity and thinking through the politics
Mitch Mitchell from London2Calais looks back at six months of activism to deliver aid to refugees trapped in northern France.
Don’t Bomb Syria
Cameron intends to take Britain to war – again – with the support of Labour MPs who would rather back him than Jeremy Corbyn. A recent rs21 leaflet argued against war, racism and repression following the killings in Paris. Huge numbers oppose the war. Every socialist should be piling pressure on MPs to vote against […]
American protests challenge anti-migrant racism
Many politicians have been using the attacks in Paris to whip up prejudice against migrants – in Europe and also the US. But there have also been protests in America calling for solidarity with refugees, report Lauren Nickell, Sofia Arias and Akunna Eneh. This article originally appeared in the American newspaper Socialist Worker. Defying a tide of […]
Sorry! An apology from Muslims (or those perceived to be Muslims) to humanity
We’re pleased to be able to republish a poem by the Syrian Kurdish poet Amir Darwish with permission of publishers Smokestack books. A collection of Amir Darwish’s poetry can be found in the book Don’t Forget the Couscous. Sorry! An apology from Muslims (or those perceived to be Muslims) to humanity We are sorry for […]
Migrant solidarity in London and Manchester
Two activists, Ewa Barker and Kate Bradley, discuss their involvment in migrant solidarity in London and Manchester Ewa Barker initiated Manchester to Calais. Here she explains the dynamic within the movement in Manchester The response to our page on Facebook was phenomenal! A deluge, hundreds of emails, making offers, asking advice, intending to start similar actions […]
Seventeen years of struggle – deaths in custody campaigners keep fighting for justice
The United Friends and Families Campaign fights for justice for those killed in police custody, prison, immigration centres or in psychiatric detention. Graham Campbell reports from their 17th annual remembrance demo. The United Families and Friends Campaign (UFFC) Injustice Demo on Saturday in London was an amazing and inspiring show of strength and unity among victims’ families seeking justice. Sheku Bayoh’s […]
Black Dissidents interview: “Real power comes from collective fights for liberation”
Black Dissidents were formed earlier this year and since then have been involved in fights against oppression from migration struggles to resisting evictions. Tomorrow they’ll be taking part in the UFFC Annual Remembrance Procession, 1pm, Trafalgar Square, London. Jaz Blackwell-Pal caught up with Shanice McBean from Black Dissidents to discuss the politics of the group, […]
Migration FAQ: why now?
Nick Evans answers some common questions around the migration crisis Why now? More people around the world were forcibly displaced in 2014 than ever before in recorded history. Of those 59.5 million people, 19.5 million were classed by the UN as refugees. The overwhelming majority of those refugees were hosted in developing regions, but unprecedented numbers have […]
Refugee Solidarity Summit hears of racism and injustice, pledges to fight back
Campaigners from the TUC, the Green Party and many migrant organisations gathered in London on Saturday to discuss how to fight the government’s racist policies and scapegoating. Amy Downham reports. Saturday’s Refugee Solidarity Summit, hosted by london2calais, involved around 100 people – a diverse mix in terms of race, age and gender, including many young women […]
Eurostar protest shuts shit down in solidarity with refugees
Peter Norman reports from Friday’s action at London Eurostar terminal in solidarity with refugees in Calais. As I walked around Kings Cross station on Friday evening, alongside but separate from other small of groups of demonstrators, I wondered what on earth was going to happen. Twenty minutes later, 300 people, nearly all young, many BME, […]
Syd Shelton Rock Against Racism exhibition highlights contrasts and conflicts of the 1970s
A collection of anti-racist activist and photographer Syd Shelton’s work from Rock Against Racism is currently on display at the Autograph ABP gallery in London. Is this exhibition, and book, a nostalgic trip to the bad old days of 1970s racial conflict or does it have something to offer a new generation fighting the changing […]
Protesters gather in Dover to demand open borders and migrant rights
Roderick C and Mitch Mitchell report on Saturday’s Open Dover demo on the Kent coast (Open Dover demonstration in support of migrants – photo by Steve Eason) Around 500 protesters turned up on a rainy afternoon in Dover yesterday to stand in solidarity with refugees trapped in the camps in Calais. The protest was organised […]
Making live and letting die: ‘refugees’, ‘migrants’ and Fortress Europe
Chloe Haralambous reports on the refugee crisis from the Greek island of Lesvos and examines the function of the division between ‘refugees’ and ‘economic migrants’.
Migration in the age of Imperialism’s four horsemen: part 3
For over three decades neoliberalism has run rampant at the expense of the working class and poorest of the world. But such a dismal interpretation of the world just will not do. The point is to change it. This requires us honestly to recognise the scale of the crisis while identifying those symptoms of resistance […]
Migration in the age of Imperialism’s four horsemen: part 2
The intensification of capitalist competition has created global markets and in the process has led to an imperialist period of capitalist development that has seen war, the uprooting of whole populations and environmental degradation push the fabric of societies and our planets intricate network of ecosystems to the point of crisis. This is the second […]
Migration in the age of Imperialism’s four horsemen: Part 1
For the past year a growing refugee crisis on Europe’s borders has allowed the political right to capitalise on xenophobic and paranoid fears spread by racist politicians and media. Even those who have rejected the more outrageous expressions have often accepted the classification of those seeking resettlement along the lines of the ‘deserving’ refugees and […]