24 April 2005
Football , asylum and religious gatherings!
Its been another busy weekend. Saturday morning was local stalls, Unite against fascism and more leafleting and door knocking. The afternoon we got a very good response at the football. We distributed a special leaflet. Cambridge drew, which saw us relegated. The fans staged a sit in and I ended up having a discussion with the chairman and sky TV and lots of upset and messed about football supporters.
I went up to Peterborough with a translator on Saturday night to talk to several Turkish Kurdish families who are experiencing appalling conditions. Part of the work we are doing in Cambridge is o try and build Respect in areas were we have not got a strong active base. Peterborough needs Respect so much and although we have some excellent people there (like Adrian Clarke who has been a voice of clarity inside and out of the FBU) and got an excellent vote in the european elections, we are short of organisers. Please get in contact if you can help. The translator works at the immigration reception centre and I am not easily shocked but we spent most of the journey back in silence, upset by how let down so many are by the systems we have in place (or don’t). We were cooked for and made so welcome. We listened as a catalogue of events from harassment and abuse, threats and fear were relayed to us. Many asylum seekers are dumped in Peterborough in inadequate housing and with very little support, they are almost prisoners in their own homes. The police don’t or won’t get translators, the government fails to keep them informed about their cases or status and their mental and physical health is in constant jeopardy through stress and inactivity. We are trying to set up a support group and I have already managed to make some good contact in the area through people in Cambridge and from the team of Unite Against Fascism activists who spent the Saturday morning in Peterborough town centre.
We showed ‘The Yes Men’ documentary this morning as a fundraiser, which is an excellent film and is a must see in the run up to the G8 summit. We worked one of the ward this afternoon that has been a strong Labour seat for a long time. We bumped in to the councilor there who is up for re-election. He is a good, old Labour, man and still has some support. He is obviously uncomfortable with the state of the party and it is clear that it is people like him who are holding up a rapidly declining party. This evening I attended a hustings put on by the combined churches. It was a funny affair as the questions were set in advance. The candidate from the three main parties gave a superb display of how to spit lies through there teeth of which bare no resemblance to their party line or their actions in the house. I challenged Anne Campbell on her lack of willingness to attend proper hustings, where questions could be put from the audience, to which I got a hearty round of applause! She claimed she was free, although we know full well she has been asked and declined to attend. I know several of long time Labour party members who were there, some have handed their card back and many were openly shaking their heads in disgust as she spoke. The Green Candidate is genuinely a good bloke. I hope he does well as I will be counting the vote left of the main parties as Im sure they will. British politics has started I transition, I hope we can make it a speedy one!
I went up to Peterborough with a translator on Saturday night to talk to several Turkish Kurdish families who are experiencing appalling conditions. Part of the work we are doing in Cambridge is o try and build Respect in areas were we have not got a strong active base. Peterborough needs Respect so much and although we have some excellent people there (like Adrian Clarke who has been a voice of clarity inside and out of the FBU) and got an excellent vote in the european elections, we are short of organisers. Please get in contact if you can help. The translator works at the immigration reception centre and I am not easily shocked but we spent most of the journey back in silence, upset by how let down so many are by the systems we have in place (or don’t). We were cooked for and made so welcome. We listened as a catalogue of events from harassment and abuse, threats and fear were relayed to us. Many asylum seekers are dumped in Peterborough in inadequate housing and with very little support, they are almost prisoners in their own homes. The police don’t or won’t get translators, the government fails to keep them informed about their cases or status and their mental and physical health is in constant jeopardy through stress and inactivity. We are trying to set up a support group and I have already managed to make some good contact in the area through people in Cambridge and from the team of Unite Against Fascism activists who spent the Saturday morning in Peterborough town centre.
We showed ‘The Yes Men’ documentary this morning as a fundraiser, which is an excellent film and is a must see in the run up to the G8 summit. We worked one of the ward this afternoon that has been a strong Labour seat for a long time. We bumped in to the councilor there who is up for re-election. He is a good, old Labour, man and still has some support. He is obviously uncomfortable with the state of the party and it is clear that it is people like him who are holding up a rapidly declining party. This evening I attended a hustings put on by the combined churches. It was a funny affair as the questions were set in advance. The candidate from the three main parties gave a superb display of how to spit lies through there teeth of which bare no resemblance to their party line or their actions in the house. I challenged Anne Campbell on her lack of willingness to attend proper hustings, where questions could be put from the audience, to which I got a hearty round of applause! She claimed she was free, although we know full well she has been asked and declined to attend. I know several of long time Labour party members who were there, some have handed their card back and many were openly shaking their heads in disgust as she spoke. The Green Candidate is genuinely a good bloke. I hope he does well as I will be counting the vote left of the main parties as Im sure they will. British politics has started I transition, I hope we can make it a speedy one!
