Many people will be breathing a sigh of relief and feeling tentatively optimistic that the wave of racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic violence appears to have stuttered out, at least for now. But while we hope that the immediate violence has indeed come to an end, the longer term impact will not dissolve so quickly.
The violence has had a hugely damaging impact - in the places directly affected, but also across the country. We have heard from local community organisations that property has been damaged and people are feeling they and their families are in danger. Services have been affected, with staff, volunteers and service users feeling afraid to visit community centres or even leave home. People and communities of colour have been afraid and traumatised once again, with huge levels of distress and people feeling unsafe.
Our members - local community organisations - have told us they will not tolerate people coming into their communities to cause unrest. They will stand strong against racist, Islamophobic and xenophobic violence. And they want to continue to offer safe, welcoming places for everyone and to continue with their activities, services and events. But this is balanced with the need to keep people safe and having to review ongoing security, as well as the deep scars that have been left on local people. We’ve collated some resources to help community organisations support staff and local people, protect buildings and tackle misinformation - resources to help you respond to racist violence.
The violence was motivated and organised because of racism, Islamophobia and xenophobia. There are no excuses for the violence. But racism is endemic and systematic in the way we live - our economy, our society, our power structures. Our members are telling us that the wave of violence has led to wider racist and Islamophobic incidents, insults and slurs. We saw this too in the immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum. This is yet another example of the need for all of us to play an active part in dismantling racist structures. Keeping quiet or hoping this is just an isolated incident that has blown over and we can all move on is not a good response for anyone who cares about social justice.
Negative rhetoric and narratives over years have played their part in feeding this violence. Too many public figures and influential voices have demonised migrants and refugees, and blamed marginalised groups when things have gone wrong.
So, we need action now to repair and rebuild community cohesion and confidence. Our social infrastructure is full of amazing, determined and hopeful people trying to support their neighbours and communities. But this is the latest in a series of crises which has left the organisations, groups and networks that bring people together much weaker.
Years of austerity, COVID and the cost of living crisis are all continuing to have a significant impact on communities and the organisations that support them. Ever increasing demand for services, coupled with reduced income, capacity and energy continues to take its toll. Local community and voluntary sector organisations are the unsung heroes who have managed to get their communities through the crises. Community organisations did not stop supporting local people when many were locked down and on furlough. Although they lost significant income and sources of funding, they continued to connect people and provide vital essential services. The same happened during the two-year cost of living crisis.
But we can’t just assume they can continue to do this without more sustainable and responsive support. As we have been told in the last week: “we’re running on fumes”, “we can’t keep doing this on thin air”. They need support now - money and supportive partnerships - to tackle the loss of security and community cohesion, as well as medium and longer term support to help them do their vital work of building thriving neighbourhoods.
Community organisations are vital in bringing people together, and making communities inclusive and safe. We know our members will be determined to rebuild, reconnect and to stand united. The sector has been working together for several days to provide support and help local people who have been immediately affected by violence. We have seen the power of community in action. We will not allow far-right extremists to undermine community cohesion. But now we need to support them. There are four broad areas where this support is needed.
1. Immediate safety
Community organisations need to be safe and feel safe. This impacts on staff, volunteers and local people, as well as the property and assets of organisations and communities. Many local community organisations reported that they had good communications from the local council and the police in areas affected by violence. But safety concerns are still there. There need to be better points of contact and information sharing locally and nationally about what support is available. Many people are feeling unsafe, traumatised and threatened. People are unsure whether and how to keep centres open and services going. And local organisations need practical advice on health and safety, and how to manage risks and emergencies.
2. Supportive messages
Local community organisations say they need to hear acknowledgement of what communities are facing, the long term impact of the violence, and the vital work local community organisations do. We need more positive narratives on community cohesion and integration, like the role different communities play in strengthening our society, rather than letting a divisive narrative continue to dominate. And we need proper recognition of the vital role that community organisations play. This is important given the last few years, when they have stepped up to deal with crisis after crisis despite increasingly depleted resources, energy and capacity.
3. Funding
If we value social infrastructure, it has to be financially viable. Funding is needed for a) short term safety and security needs such as building security measures and additional staffing, b) repair and re-building- of buildings but also services and events to help communities rebuild, and c) longer term support for communities and the groups and organisations that support them. If we value and recognise the work of community organisations, then we also need to help them build stable and sound business models over the longer term. That includes more long term funding streams, fairer contracts and support for the types of activities that allow organisations to grow, like community ownership. Recent financial support has been short term, crisis focused and has usually involved competitive bidding. We have to move away from this model to fund more proactive activity - like sustainable food systems instead of food banks, and community energy resilience rather than warm hubs.
4. A proactive strategy to build strong communities
As well as immediate action in response to the violence, we need a cross-sector, national strategy to build strong and cohesive communities, something that has been sadly lacking for many years. This is not a short term fix. Communities have been becoming less resilient, less integrated and more fractured for a variety of reasons. But there is no doubt that strong social infrastructure is at the heart of a long term solution. Government needs to set a clear direction of travel for this strategy and prioritise work to get there. Building on encouraging engagement so far with civil society organisations, it will need to work with partners to develop the approach, and to improve the sharing of information and actions. The strategy must be meaningful in terms of its ambition and it needs to be a priority when Government sets departmental budgets. We must move out of this trap of just responding to crisis after crisis, and towards a place where we can genuinely strengthen our communities for the future.
The events of the last few weeks have been hugely damaging and traumatic for our communities and our country as a whole. But we believe in the power of community to tackle the underlying problems and create a better society. As one of our members told us during COVID, they “were built for this”. Now we need a national response including the right support and resources, so our communities can rise to the challenge once again.
