Tackling Racism, Building Peace

Five themes

•  Connections
•  Tensions
•  Terrorism
•  Cohesion
•  Inspiration

1) Making New Connections:

•  tackling racism (a negative thing) -about local issues
•  building peace (a positive thing) -about international issues

strong interconnection -at a political level...

•  racism and Islamophobia at home help legitimate aggression abroad;
•  in turn the global war on terror legitimates parochial prejudice
•  whilst
•  respect and understanding at home may support peace-building abroad
•  (and vice versa? Live8, Make Poverty History)

...and at a more personal one

•  historical link because of British Empire -successive immigrant communities from Ireland, the Caribbean, the Indian subcontinent - 'we're here because you were there'
•  but more recent immigrant communities may be refugees from contemporary struggles over resources -e.g. Iraq, DR Congo

New alliances in Bolton - last 5 years

•  many of the same people in Stop the War and Bolton Against Racism
•  Imams and clergy in schools and public meetings together after 7/7
•  Muslim Thinkers Forum combining with Oxfam and WDM over Make Poverty History and climate change
•  Bolton Fairtrade Town, BRASS (Befriending Refugees & Asylum Seekers), Bolton Worlds Fair, Justicia, Set All Free  -all making the same connection

2) New alliances, new challenges (i)?

•  Tacking racism and building peace -does this mean challenging different forms and sources of power -not just the traditional establishment?
•  Who are the racists? Jingoistic upper class Telegraph readers, frustrated middle class Daily Mail readers, alienated working class Sun readers?
•  And what of liberal internationalist Guardian readers benefiting from Polish plumbers, Kenyan flower-growers and Indian call centre workers?

2) New alliances, new challenges (ii)?

•  How do we deal with the very real tension between devout faith and honest secularism?
•  Do we all have similar views about the role of women or gays & lesbians in the struggle?
•  If we believe in dialogue, how far do we go? Just who are we willing to talk to?
•  After 9/11 and 7/7, have we come to terms with the corrosive impact of terrorism (and fear of terrorism) on trust?

3) Remember Junaid Feroze?

•  Counter Terrorism emerging as new top government priority rather than community cohesion or racial equality
•  'Preventing Extremism' focus on Muslim communities - despite evidence of violent right wing activity -e.g. Redwatch, BNP bomb plotters in Colne

Preventing Violent Extremism...

•  Preventing Violent Extremism Pathfinder Fund launched by Ruth Kelly February 2007 for local authorities
•  The fund guidance itself admits 'the focus on extremism may in itself be alienating' (para 10, p5)
•  All projects funded must help create "a situation where Muslim communities reject and actively condemn violent extremism and seek to undermine and isolate violent extremists" (p9)
•  suggested activities include "targeted programmes of counter- and de-radicalisation work in local areas, particularly in ... universities, colleges and schools..." (p11)
•  Adverts for new police confidential anti-terrorist hotline ask:  "Do you know someone who travels but is vague about where they are going?"

...or 'driving a wedge between us'?

•  Will those who supply information be seen as informers? Will the police lose the trust with local communities they have carefully built up over past five years?
•  Demos report: "despite some commendable attempts at engagement, Government's actions continue to drive a wedge between the majority of British Muslims and the rest of society, rather than isolating the violent few."
•  Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust report: "the government's counter terrorism legislation and rhetorical stance... are having a disproportionate effect on the Muslim communities in the UK and so are prejudicing the ability of the government and security forces to gain the very trust and co-operation from individuals in those communities that they require to combat terrorism."

Junaid Feroze

•  Junaid Feroze -age 28
•  arrested in Blackburn 3 August 2004 by armed police
•  charged in London 18 August  2004 (with 7 other men) with plotting terrorist attacks in Britain and the USA, remanded in custody
•  still awaiting trial two and a half years later

4) Community cohesion & peace building

•  Importance of practical local level peace building underlined:
•  Need to tackle conditions that give rise to marginalized, alienated communities (black or white) that might be susceptible to temptations of terrorism

East Lancs Together

•  Work with media: positive stories / mythbusting / cartoons
•  Work with football clubs - Kick It Out  / Show Racism the Red Card / diversity forum
•  Work with trade unions - tackling workplace racism
•  Interfaith work with churches and mosques
•  Community arts and drama festivals
•  Supporting the integration of migrant workers, refugees & asylum seekers
•  New approach to working with Gypsies and Travellers
•  North West Celebr8 Diversity festival -eight equality strands, not just racism

Many other valuable local projects

•  Aik Saath -Slough
•  Breaking Barriers - Burnley
•  Diversity Exchange -Bradford
•  Football Unites, Racism Divides -Sheffield
•  Mediation Northern Ireland - Belfast
•  Peacemaker -Oldham
•  Rewind Anti-Racism - Dudley

Making a difference

•  Do we understand what is likely to be most effective?
•  Not just community development, but inter-community development -need for bridging as well as bonding (social capital theory)
•  contact - > understanding -> respect: but only when repeated, supported, on equal basis etc. (contact theory)

5) Inspiration to take action:

•  Peacedirect
•  Make Terrorism History

What is local peacebuilding?

•  Local peacebuilders stand up in their own community and find solutions to the conflict within it.
•  Think of conflict like an epidemic. When enough people are inoculated against a disease, it stops spreading. Similarly, when enough people in an area are using non-violent ways of dealing with conflict, violence can be halted.
•  Anyone can be a peacebuilder, and the approaches they use are creative and varied.

• It could be women in a market, determined to keep violence out of the market by creating a forum in which disputes can be resolved.
• It could be a group of young people setting up a radio station to transmit programmes that show different communities successfully living together
• It could be a teacher, developing and teaching a peace curriculum.
• It could be an imam and a priest, helping communities of different religions to understand each other better   (peacedirect)
• And this action could be in Iraq, Palestine, Bolton.  What all have in common is showing that tackling racism, bigotry or sectarianism on our doorstep is the necessary first step to building peace.

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See also:

• NFPB Leaflet on 'Tackling Racism: Building Peace'
• List of resources etc.