Residents of Bradford and Brick Lane recall violent confrontations with far-right groups in past decades, including the 2001 Bradford riots and the 1978 Battle of Brick Lane. Far-right sentiment is rising again across the UK, amplified by some politicians, and planned demonstrations outside hotels housing asylum seekers include events organised by far-right groups alongside counter-protests. Community members fear that history could repeat in smaller, vulnerable communities that lack the capacity to defend themselves. Some local voices in Bradford believe cohesion has improved since 2001, while others warn that unrest could occur elsewhere in the country.
On east London's Brick Lane, the British-Bangladeshi population remember the invisible lines they could not cross without being set upon by the far right. For both communities, whose showdowns with racist groups came in different decades, the atmosphere in the UK today feels worryingly familiar,
It feels like it has cycled back around, says Mohsin Shuja, 42, who works in a jewellery shop on White Abbey Road. As a teenager during the 2001 Bradford riots, he was involved in protests against the far right that descended into clashes with police. This weekend will see demonstrations outside hotels housing asylum seekers across the country some organised by far-right groups with counter-protests also planned.
The riots in Bradford in 2001 were preceded by weeks of warnings that the far right was planning to target the city's south Asian population and incidents of violence in other northern cities. The riot itself was triggered by reports of the stabbing of an Asian man. In Brick Lane, similarly, the battle of Brick Lane in 1978 was triggered by the murder of the Bangladeshi textile worker Altab Ali at a time when the National Front regularly targeted the local British-Bangladeshi population.
Collection
[
|
...
]