Following the wave of demonstrations that began in the USA after the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis and then spread to almost all corners of the globe,
the anti-racism movement has been revived and re-energised here in the UK. The call from all those linked to, or supporters of, the “Black Lives Matter” campaign is for an end to systemic racism,
full stop.
In the past few months, most of us were leaving our houses on Thursday evenings to clap for frontline workers and especially for those on the frontline of the NHS.
We have become acutely aware, if we hadn’t been before, that 44% of the NHS workforce is from BAME communities – without them the NHS simply could not survive.
We have also seen the images and statistics on the TV that make it abundantly clear that those NHS employees of BAME heritage have been dying in disproportionately high numbers.
It is no longer possible for anyone who has seen all this unfolding during the pandemic to deny that immigrants have enriched our society by forming
the backbone of the NHS, a national jewel of which we are all, almost universally, so proud.
If anyone doubts that systemic racism still exists in the UK, they only need to watch the BBC dramatisation of one of the Windrush generation, Anthony Bryan and his nightmare experiences
at the hands of the Home Office (“Sitting in Limbo” – BBC 1 – Monday June 8th at 20.30 – still available on iplayer). Despite Theresa May delivering an apology to the victims of her “Hostile Environment” in 2018 (with promises of compensation) and 12,000 people having finally been given documents proving their right to live in the UK, only 60 claims for compensation had been settled by May 2020.
Anyone interested in joining the anti-racist movement in this area can check the Facebook page of “Thame Against Racism” (TAR).
TAR is holding a “Fourth of July Mass Micro Protest” this Saturday July 4. Groups of six, socially-distanced protesters will take the knee all over Thame, simultaneously at 11.00. Meet near the Citizens Advice centre from 10.30, to be dispatched in your groups. ALL WELCOME!
