‘Brummies united against racism’: poster campaign takes on the far right | Birmingham

KWhen Mus opened the flyer lying on his driveway, he was shocked, angry and upset. “White Britons are already a minority in London… if these trends continue it is clear that whites will become a minority in Britain,” the article said.

The leaflet, written by a far-right group, was distributed on the street in Moseley, a leafy suburb of Birmingham, three years ago. He went on to attribute NHS waiting lists, a lack of social housing and even traffic to a “growing population”.

“Here we go again, blaming us for everything and causing division,” he thought at the time. But instead of ignoring it, neighbors came together to find an answer. “It gave me hope that people were standing together and saying ‘not in our name’.”

They decided to fight back with their own words by creating a poster bearing the message “Brummies united against racism and hate crimes.” They were placed in the windows of houses along the street. “Not long after, a neighboring street said: ‘Oh, we had those brochures. Can we have your posters?'” Muş said.

The campaign continued to grow and was approved by Birmingham city council last year. Now, it has started to attract renewed attention following a series of alleged hate crimes committed in the city. Last month, a Sikh woman was allegedly raped in a park in Oldbury, which police treated as a hate crime. A few weeks later, a 12-year-old boy was allegedly killed in another park. beaten incident that his father described as a racist attack. A man in his 40s was arrested on suspicion of assault.

“Operation Raise the Colours”, in which St George and Union Jack flags were raised across the UK, also caused fear and anxiety. Hope Not Hate and Stand Up to Racism said it was organized by well-known far-right figures.

The Birmingham campaign has been flooded with people wanting to show solidarity with people of different ethnicities and religious minorities who are under increasing threat. “People are literally begging us on WhatsApp, can we get a poster?” said Anthony, who lives on the same street as Muş. To meet the demand, a fundraiser Work has begun to print 10,000 posters and distribute them throughout the city.

“Birmingham is a multicultural city and I think it is important that we stand in solidarity with our neighbors regardless of race, culture or religion,” he said. “Recent events like the flag-waving and rise of Reform UK don’t bother me.”

The campaign is expected to spread beyond the city. According to Muş, activists in Worcester want to mobilize a similar, poster-focused initiative. Like Birmingham, there have been many racist incidents in the city recently. Last month, swastikas and the phrase “No Jews” painted in the garages and a man and child on Friday sprayed An unknown substance was used in the attack, which police described as “racially aggravated”.

Muş said that he has avoided going to parks since the attacks for fear of being attacked. He is not alone. Raiza* said that as a Muslim woman, she felt like a “walking target” in the city. He said the area was full of lampposts decorated with the St George flag. “I was pretty scared about it. I thought, ‘How am I going to explain this to my little kids?’

He also stopped taking his children to the park after he allegedly attacked the 12-year-old. “You don’t know who’s your enemy or who’s totally nice. My kids are fourth generation British so we’re pretty settled here, but I haven’t felt that way in the past.”

He thinks politicians are “doing nothing to stop it” and adds that “if anything, it’s being encouraged.” Earlier this week, shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick’s comments were revealed by the Guardian in which he complained about visiting an area of ​​Birmingham where he “didn’t see another white face”.

Razia described comments from Jenrick, who appears to still harbor ambitions of becoming the next leader of the Conservative party, as “unhelpful, irresponsible and indicative of someone who is not involved in the day-to-day life of the community he is commenting on”.

He has a poster in his hand but is reluctant to display it in his window for fear of being marked as a target. “We don’t know if we have allies where we live,” he said.

“I think it’s important now more than ever for white people to stand up and say ‘no, I don’t accept this,'” Anthony said. “If people want to wave the flag and be patriotic, I have no problem with that, but the way it’s being used right now is to incite resentment. It scares people, which I don’t think some people understand.”

It is hoped the posters will draw lines in the sand to fend off the far right and show solidarity with those who feel threatened. “People are really behind the idea. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to put a poster in your window,” he said.