Solidarity with Calais refugees and migrants
Open letter to Hackney Gazette
The Tories, along with their friends in much of the media, have done their utmost to dehumanise the tens of thousands of refugees fleeing war and desperate poverty in the Middle East and north Africa. They have focused their venom particularly on the 3,000 refugees camping out in terrible conditions in Calais.
They have claimed that Europe would not be able to protect its “standard of living and social infrastructure” if it had to absorb millions of refugees. These comments are astonishing given the impact that Tory austerity has had on the living standards of millions of people in the UK over the past five years. The Tories’ economic policies pose a far greater threat to the population’s standard of living than refugees seeking safety here.
We call on anti-racists, trade unionists, politicians, students and faith and community groups in Hackney to stand in opposition to the dehumanisation and scapegoating of those fleeing wars, famine and repression. Support the convoys taking much-needed items to Calais, and take part in local activities welcoming migrants and refugees to our borough.
Hackney Stand Up to Racism: hackneym22standup2racism@gmail.com
Signatures
Diane Abbott MP
Jean Lambert, MEP
Mayor Jules Pipe
Cllr Susan Fajana-Thomas
Cllr Ned Hercock
Cllr Guy Nicholson
Cllr Deniz Oguzkanli
Cllr Ian Rathbone
Cllr Rosemary Sales
Cllr Caroline Selman
Hackney North & Stoke
Newington Labour Party
Hackney Green Party
Hackney Socialist Workers Party
Hackney TUC
Hackney Refugee & Migrant Support Group
Hackney Migrant Centre
Sante Refugee Mental Health Access Project
Day Mer
Rev Elizabeth Welch, Clapton Park United Reform Church
Rev Dilly Baker, rector St Mary, Stoke Newington
Rev Cathy Bird, Superintendent Methodist Church in Hackney
Dr Coral Jones GP
Carol Ackroyd, secretary
Hackney Keep Our NHS Public
Dave Davies, joint secretary, Hackney NUT
Jane Bassett, membership secretary, NUT
Jamie Duff, Hackney NUT President
Sandra Hall, Hackney NUT joint Secretary
Richard Rieser, Hackney NUT Equalities Officer
Nic Nugent, past president, NUT
Inbar Tamari, Susie Burrows, Des Barrow, NUT committee
Lorna Solomon, Homerton Hospital UNISON branch chair (pc)
Jordan Rivera, Homerton Hospital UNISON joint branch secretary (pc)
Elane Heffernan, Hackney Community College UCU
Sasha Simic, shop steward USDAW C133
Central Books Branch (pc)
Marion Macalpine, local photographer