We don’t want fascists here. Thousands of people took to the streets of Britain to protest against racism

(from our special correspondent in Birmingham)

“We came tonight because the fascists said they were going to march and attack immigration centers, scare lawyers and also other people who help refugees . We also came to ensure that there is a rule of law in this country,” Jeremy, a 70-year-old pensioner, told Novinka directly in Birmingham.

“Criminals are on the streets and they have the support of leading politicians such as Nigel Farage or Suella Braverman who are spreading hate against Muslims across the country. But this was a very peaceful march. People were loud, people were angry, but nobody beat anybody,” the man said, adding that people had just come to express their anger about what was happening in Britain .

Jeremy referred to the aforementioned radical right march, which was supposed to be held at the center for refugees and migrants at eight o’clock in the local evening (21:00 CEST). In the end, however, it did not happen.

The News also spoke to Charles, one of the organizers of the protest against racism, who said that “a coalition of organizers” was responsible for the arrangement.

“These are groups of people from all over Birmingham with different religions and skin colours: black, white, brown. So the entire city organized the protest. The aim was to show that Birmingham is not like other cities. It’s a city of black people, brown people, white people, gay people, straight people, and all religions,” Charles says, adding that when “fascists” attack on the village, the other people come together and stand against them as one family.

He also blames British politicians for the protests. However, he also mentioned the English Defense League (EDL), which was founded in 2009 with the aim of fighting Islamists and Islamic extremism. Six years later, however, the departure of the founder, activist and politician Tommy Robinson, which the co-organizer also cited as the cause of the problem, led to a major decline.

Riots broke out in British cities last week after 17-year-old Axel Muganwa Rudakubana murdered three little girls in Southport, near Liverpool. At first, the authorities did not say who was behind the murders. However, the networks immediately began to think that he was an immigrant and a Muslim, which later became a misinformation. Axel was born in Cardiff. His parents immigrated to the UK from Rwanda, Africa.

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has promised to crack down on radicals, but as Charles said, people can’t wait to see what the government will do.

“It’s up to Starmer what he’s doing now. Our job in Birmingham is to protect our citizens and the most vulnerable. We don’t wait for the government to do it for us. That is also why we met today,” explained the co-organizer.

Michael, a 20-year-old student, also appeared at the protest. He also came to support the protest against racism on Wednesday night. “I came to protest against racism. As you can see from everyone around us, this is a peaceful protest. We wanted to show that racism doesn’t exist here in Birmingham and it shouldn’t exist anywhere else in the world,” said Michael.

Charles, Michael and Jeremy agreed that the far-right radicals were using the murder of the three young girls to their advantage.

“We have seen some disgusting scenes in Britain in the last few days. The murderers of three little girls used their racist anger on the streets of our cities,” said Jeremy, who went on to emphasize that when fascism takes hold, everyone who belongs to minorities feel uncertain and unhappy about their lives.

According to him, it is a liberal failure and at the same time the United Kingdom as a state. “These people are our version of Viktor Orbán. These are people who really support the republic and nature. This is a great multicultural city and we want to keep it that way,” concluded Jeremy.

The anti-racism campaign in Birmingham started around seven o’clock in the afternoon. At first, dozens of people arrived at the site, but over time there were about a thousand of them. After eight o’clock in the afternoon, there was a spontaneous march, without planning, when most of the participants moved away from the center for refugees and migrants and went to the center of the city, which is about a kilometer on go away.

The protest was peaceful, there was no conflict or fighting. There were about fifty police officers on the scene, about half of them in civilian clothes, as the Birmingham police told Novinka directly on the spot.

However, the officials feared that the situation could escalate. From previous experience, it was expected that there would be hidden radicals among the anti-racism activists who could cause problems later on. But that didn’t happen. Even during the march to the city center, no radicals appeared.

British television Sky News reported on Wednesday that far-right radicals are preparing to take to the streets in dozens of cities. Because of this, the authorities sent about six thousand additional police officers to the cities.

In addition to Birmingham, thousands of people gathered in cities such as London, Bristol, Liverpool and Brighton. But in the end, Wednesday night belonged to protests against racism. Far-right activists, however, appeared in smaller groups in, for example, Portsmouth, Brighton or Blackpool, as she said Sky News.

The police have arrested hundreds of people since the beginning of last week. According to Metropolitan Police Chief Mark Rowley, 70 percent of them have a criminal history, she said BBC is an online broadcast. “They are criminals, criminals, they are not patriots,” Rowley said. “Any suggestion that they are patriots is absolute nonsense,” concluded e.