Certain sections of the charity sector are being directly impacted by the wave of anti-migrant sentiment sweeping the nation – or, to be more accurate, the wave of anti-migrant sentiment that Nigel Farage and his disciples, and certain parts of the media, would have us believe is engulfing the country.
Some refugee charities have received death threats, been forced to install safe rooms, or closed offices in the wake of threats from far-right actors peddling their racist agenda. The Charity Commission has removed the names of trustees of several refugee charities from its website, for their safety. Yet these organisations continue to bravely support and promote their cause and the frightened, often desperate people they exist to serve.
Women’s organisations are also fighting back. More than 100 women’s groups signed a letter to the prime minister last month warning that the claims by asylum hotel protestors that they are protecting “our” women and girls from the refugees inside, are in fact attempts to hijack the problem of violence against women and girls as a cover for racism and a cynical ploy to stoke hatred and division in communities.
Meanwhile, the Labour government seems content to cede control of the agenda to Reform and the right-wing idealogues who are orchestrating and funding the combative flag-hoisting campaign across towns and cities. On the same day that Sir Keir Starmer made his mealy-mouthed admission that he has a St George flag hanging in his flat, the home secretary announced a blanket suspension on refugee family reunion – one of the very few safe routes left available to refugees.
Growing numbers of stories are emerging of people who have lived legally in the UK for years being detained and/or threatened with deportation in a sweeping Home Office crackdown reminiscent of the Windrush debacle. Too many ministers have labelled the hotel protests as “legitimate concerns of communities”, instead of calling them out for what they really are: racist bullying.
Crossroads
The government has just published its new Civil Society Covenant in which it promised to “respect, support and listen to” civil society groups. So far, Labour has ignored the sector’s pleas on the minimum wage and national insurance hikes, and declined to row back on laws introduced by the previous administration designed to stifle protest and dissent.
But with this immigration issue, it feels as if the government is genuinely at a crossroads. Will ministers continue to pander to a segment of the electorate who will never vote for them anyway, or will they support the nation’s beseiged charities and show some leadership?
It’s high time Starmer and his party found the courage to challenge the misinformation and poisonous rhetoric that is currently going unchecked. It should not be left to charities alone to uphold and defend the British values of fairness, compassion, respect and tolerance.
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