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Building an anti-fascist culture post-Brexit


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This text was written by some people involved in the Anti Raids Network – it doesn’t represent the position of the whole network.

A vast amount has already been said about ‘Brexit’ and the general  climate of nationalism and xenophobia in which the vote took place.  We want to concentrate on where we can go from here. Between rising  fascism on the one hand, and despair on the other, we think  it’s essential we build a culture of anti-fascism based on solidarity and autonomy. Solidarity here means taking action to  support each other against those who seek to impose their  authoritarian and racist ideal of a uniform society. Autonomy means unlearning our habit of looking to leaders for solutions, and taking the initiative to organise for ourselves.

For our anti-fascism to be meaningful and effective, we feel that it  should follow a few basic principles:

It should be decentralised & grassroots

Rather than searching for the next political party/saviour  figure/controlling coalition to dictate our direction and tactics,  now really is the time for each of us who identify with anti-fascist  position have the courage and commitment to take the initiative.  Seek out and get involved in local groups, or better still, start your own*. Our groups and actions should multiply, not  massify, and with this carry the crucial idea that anyone can be part of this struggle.

It should target all forms of nationalism & xenophobia – from the  street to the state

We need to think creatively about how to effectively counter  nationalist groups taking to the streets, but it is critical that we do not neglect the ‘respectable’ xenophobia of the suit-wearing demagogues in power and those who carry out their commands. Both these groups reinforce one another, with politicians normalising such practices as deadly border controls and the daily round-up of migrants from our neighbourhoods, while street groups and keyboard warriors garner citizen-support for these right wing agendas and demand that they be taken to more extreme levels.

It should be braver

Too often, we respond to the latest oppressive state action or  policy by seeking the validation of our friends and comfortable  social media ‘scene’, rather than taking action. Instead of seeking  solace from Twitter,  why not go out and put up some posters? We  also need to challenge ourselves to get out of our comfort zones,  and not leave risky actions to some mythical ‘others’, who have no responsibilities or cause to fear repression. Of course, there are  some who face more severe reprisals due to issues such as their  immigration status, race or class – but anti-fascism wouldn’t be called a struggle if it didn’t carry any risk. When the time comes  to hold the line, we need to be there for each other.

It should be creative

At the same time, conflict cannot be sustained without a broader culture to nourish it. This struggle is not simply about the  defeat of an authoritarian ideology; we also have to show an  alternative form of power – the power of solidarity and real community. Our culture should carry the seeds of a new society,  another way of life, and not be purely orientated towards what we  oppose.

It should be multiform

…postering, organising cultural events, blocking immigration vans,  leafletting, graffiti, running DIY martial arts clubs, neutralising nazis on the streets, sabotaging deportation attempts, giving  workshops and skillshares, supporting resistance in detention,  running regular stalls, making anti-fascist art and music,  mobilising against evictions, taking direct action against the peddlers of nationalism and bigotry…… building an anti-fascist culture takes these forms and many more. We should recognise the value of all these actions and encourage & support different  people’s contributions according to their interest and skills.

These are just a few possible guidelines for what we hope will be a  fiery, emancipatory, and truly grassroots resistance that can be our  only response to the shackles of nationalism, borders, and state control.

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*If you would like to act against immigration raids in London, check out our statement of principles and feel free to visit your nearest anti raids stall (times correct at the time of writing):

See here for more ideas for what you can do to fight the raids.

New Anti Raids Group in Whitechapel

Following the weekly Saturday stalls in Peckham and Deptford, a group in Whitechapel has started a similar initiative

The border regime manifests itself in our everyday lives. Home Office “Immigration Enforcement” teams – working hand-in-hand with the police and local authorities – attack us on our streets, in our homes and workplaces.

Whitechapel – and Tower Hamlets more generally – is one of London’s most racially diverse areas, with large Bangladeshi and Somali communities. This working-class neighbourhood has not escaped the growing wave of racist state repression and fascist activity. Over the past few years, Whitechapel High Street has counted among the growing list of places  systematically targeted by UKBA and police operations – as well as recent “flash-mobs” by far-right bully-boys Britain First.

At the same time, Whitechapel is on the front-lines of social cleansing in London. Property developers and landlords are fast making the area into another yuppified wasteland. Immigration raids have served in parallel to gentrifying forces, damaging and undermining the local economic base of Black and Asian working-class communities.

Against this backdrop, we have come together to form Whitechapel Anti-Raids. Over the past few weeks we have been busy leafleting the shops and market stalls in Whitechapel. The first of weekly Saturday stalls was set-up last weekend at Whitechapel market –  with multilingual bust cards and information about immigration raids, worker’s and housing rights. The response has been overwhelmingly positive; many individuals, workers and small business owners have welcomed the initiative. In conversation, many expressed their frustration and anger at the racist targeting of their shops and community.

We aim to promote a culture of neighbourhood self-organisation, solidarity and collective self-defence against all forms of state repression and racism. We don’t want to reform immigration enforcement, but to resist and eventually end it. For every raid and fascist “flash-mob”, we need a response.

To get involved contact us at whitechapelantiraids@riseup.net or pop down to our weekly Saturday stall (2-4pm) in Whitechapel Market.

Racist vans Go Home!

Whitechapel Anti-Raids

References:
Britain First
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3534065/Far-right-protester-caught-camera-felled-flying-kick-mob-provoked-Muslims-east-London-mosque.html

Raids per day

https://network23.org/antiraids/2015/05/21/countering-camerons-call-on-immigration/

Anti Raids Network

https://network23.org/antiraids/

Raids in whitechapel

http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/crime-court/around_140_police_carrying_out_raids_in_whitechapel_market_1_2926765

http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/crime-court/three_illegal_immigrants_arrested_in_raid_on_whitechapel_clothes_shop_1_1967909

Getting involved

Things you can do to build resistance to raids & the hostile environment

(For tips on what to do if you see an immigration raid, see here)

We are a loose network and believe that resistance best comes from the grassroots. We also think that the most effective resistance to immigration raids can take place locally, as we usually don’t know in advance where raids will take place. We’re not looking to “bring people in” to us, to become another mass organisation. Instead we’d like to see lots of autonomous groups forming and feeling empowered and confident to take action themselves. We aim to provide materials, advice and information to support this.

There are currently an average 12 of immigration raids per day across London, leading to unknown number of individuals being snatched from their homes or places of work and bundled off to detention centres where they await deportation. Raids, however, can be made unworkable through combined efforts and different tactics. Here we list possible initiatives and ideas based around different interests or skillsets which we would love to see people taking on and developing.

Many of these things are already happening – we just need a lot more of them! Others are long-running ideas that have yet to come to fruition. Feel free to get in touch if you would like any advice or information to support your initiative.

COMMUNICATIONS

We feel it’s essential to develop communications tools to support resistance among people who live or work in areas affected by raids. To this end, you could:

– Develop a small-scale secure communications infrastructure to share alerts (neighbourhood, local businesses, network of friends, a market, a targeted workplace). This could be an instant messaging group, or text alert system, or something else altogether.

– If you’re technically-savvy, why not look into developing an app for people to share raids alerts securely? Some have already been trialed in various countries – we can send you links to these if you get in touch.

IN THE WORKPLACE

If you think that your workplace is at any risk of being targeted by Immigration Enforcement – either looking for staff, service users, clients, or customers – it can be a critical area within which to organise. Discuss the issue with colleagues you trust and come up with a plan.

Depending very much on the nature of the workplace, this could be:

– Agreeing a response plan in the event of a raid, for example, some colleagues helping others leave the premises while others stall at the door.

– Make sure your colleagues know that they can refuse entry to immigration officers, as officers rely heavily on consent alone to raid a property. If they’re in possession of a warrant or an Assistant Director’s letter, they can force entry. Be aware of the risk of “arrests by appointment“, particularly if you and your colleagues have a bad relationship with your employer, or if you’re in the middle of an industrial dispute.

– You may want to organise your own messaging group, particularly if you work in a large-scale or mobile work place, or if the work is spread across different sites (such as a courier company).

– You might want to present your bosses with a statement (signed by as many workers as possible), setting out your position on non-collaboration. This might be that you collectively refuse to carry out a specific task being asked of you (such as to check or report the migration status of a person), or that you simply won’t participate in any functions of immigration control.

– If you work in administration and data entry for sectors being pushed into collaborating with the Home Office, you could ‘forget’ to enter certain data, such as addresses, or in the case of GP surgeries, use the practice address instead. See the Doctors of the World Toolkit for more on this.

– If you work in the NHS, check out Doctors of the World’s ‘Safe Surgeries Toolkit’ for ideas on what you can do to prevent information being handed over to Immigration Enforcement, and get involved in the Docs Not Cops campaign.

– If you’re a student, parent, teacher or lecturer, have a look at the Schools Against Borders for Children campaign against the use of the Schools Census for immigration purposes, and check out Unis Resist Border Controls.

SHARING INFORMATION

– We encourage you to get in contact with us via Twitter when you see a raid happening (@antiraids, copy in @LCAPSV), so that we can spread the word. If you don’t have Twitter, consider calling someone who does and ask them to message us. Always include the exact time and location that you spotted the raid.

– If you work for or were recently employed by the Home Office, or you work(ed) for another agency that is required to collaborate with Immigration Enforcement, we would love to hear from you. All communications will be kept confidential, and you can communicate with us securely using our PGP key if you prefer.

– If you know anyone or any businesses directly at risk of being raided, send them our know your rights information.

– If you know anyone working in a sector being brought into the fold of immigration control (NHS, schools, universities, homelessness charities), send them information relevant to those areas (links above). Similarly, if you are active in resisting the extension of controls into these areas and have information on developments that we could share, please get in touch.

– If you feel confident in giving workshops to groups at risk of raids, involving role plays and basic ‘know your rights information’, you can use the following slideshow as a guide (notes included).

GRAPHICS & TEXTS

Images are essential! Clear images help communication across barriers of languages and literacy. We have found that while some stall visitors may not want to pick up a wordy leaflet, they’ll happily take an informative poster they can stick on their toilet door. We will share most posters and graphics submitted to us on the site (if in doubt please get in touch first).

– Create & share images, infographics, posters, or stickers against snitching and collaboration with immigration control, encouraging migrant solidarity, and resistance to immigration raids.

– Write up your experience of challenging immigration enforcement so that we can add it to our ‘Confronting the Raids’ series to inspire others.

– Get out into the streets: print out and put up posters (flyposting guide here), stickers, graffiti, stencils etc. Note that some of these things could constitute a minor offence, so be careful. See here for some posters you can download and print.

LANGUAGES

If you have skills in a language spoken by those affected by raids (see the languages our materials already translated on our side for a guide), then you might be particularly well placed to do street-based outreach, workshops and translations. We welcome help in translating and proof-reading the ‘know your rights’ cards into other languages, and are still looking for translators for the Igbo and Tigrinya versions. We are also looking for proof readers for the Yoruba version. Get in touch if you are interested in translating information or posters, as some translations might be more pressing than others.

PRINTING

If you have access to cheap printing so that we can print leaflets, pamphlets, or A3 colour posters, please let us know.

LEGAL SUPPORT

We’re always looking for input from lawyers who are familiar with the powers of immigration officers and the intersections between immigration and public law. Please get in touch if you’d like to help us develop more materials. Note that we consult with multiple legal heads before we publish anything.

STREET-BASED OUTREACH

Whether it’s running a regular stall, leafleting in the street or going round from shop to shop, you can use any of our materials to do so, or develop your own. Get in touch if you would like any of our ‘know your rights’ cards (shown in the pic above) or leaflets.

Over the past couple of years, groups have held weekly stalls in Deptford, Peckham, Haringey and Whitechapel. If you are interested in starting a local stall your own stall or group, we recommend that you check out our principles, as we promote and support groups that agree with these principles. So, for example, we do not promote party-political or other hierarchical groups. If you are still interested after having read this, then the best thing to do is probably to contact your local anti raids group and visit their stalls.

It’s also worth checking out this guide to starting your own Anti Raids group.

RESIST RAIDS!

Fight back against raids when you see them happening. See here for ideas on how.

BE PROACTIVE

We don’t just have to wait for ‘racist vans’ to enter our neighbourhoods, we can also follow them when we see them on the move. Have a look at where your nearest enforcement base is and consider organising protests there.

We encourage you to get in touch before you start working on some of the above projects, as we have been actively working on many of the areas outlined above and are aware of the practicalities involved.

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