One year on from the far-right, racist, and Islamophobic riots that gripped the UK last summer, refugee women reflect on the lasting impact the riots and ongoing protests has on their lives.
The women we work with at Women for Refugee Women – who are seeking safety in the UK from war, persecution, gender-based violence and other torture – are living the impact of this hostility on a daily basis. Many are still living in temporary hotel accommodation, still waiting – often for years – for a decision on their asylum claims. Maria and Memory, members of WRW’s network, reflect on the impact the riots had, and continue to have, on their lives.
Maria
Maria came to the UK seeking safety from religious persecution and has been living in a hotel just outside of London for over a year whilst waiting for a decision on her asylum claim. Last summer, Maria’s hotel was targeted by violent protesters during the riots. Since then, protests have been a regular occurrence. In the last two months alone, Maria’s hotel has been targeted a further four times. These smaller-scale protests may not make the headlines, but they have a far-reaching impact on the lives of those targeted. Maria shared:
“In my home country, I was not safe physically or mentally, now I feel the same things in the UK. My mental and physical health have been affected so badly, I’m taking medication now for depression.”
When the protests happen, to ensure the safety of those in the hotel, the hotel is locked down: “We are not allowed to go outside of our room. If we are out, we are not allowed to return home. I feel like I’m in prison. I can’t concentrate on things. Every day, my mental health is affected.”
There are a few things Maria would like to see happen to help her feel safer: “The Government needs to take action: make asylum decisions quicker, let us work so we can support ourselves, and close down the hotels. The Prime Minister should condemn those who are violently protesting and use the law to prosecute and prevent.”
To those who are engaging in protests at hotels, Maria shared:
“No-one wants to leave their home. If someone comes here seeking asylum, it means they had to, for their safety – to save their lives, for protection. I wish people would take a moment to understand this. I didn’t come here to live in a hotel, I came here because I wanted to live.”
Memory
Though Memory has recently received her refugee status in the UK, the impact of the protests is still felt acutely:
“It is retraumatising, it brings back memories of the very reasons I had to flee my home. It is upsetting and draining – mentally and physically – to be living in constant fear. Being a black woman, it makes me more aware of my identity. You don’t feel safe, when you leave your home, when you’re walking on the streets… you don’t want to mention it to anyone, you know that you’re a refugee, you don’t know what their reaction will be and you can’t risk it.”
Like Maria, Memory thinks the Government should do more to tackle the protests, but also the rhetoric that emboldens such violence: “The Government need to stop misinformation and disinformation spreading on social media. They need to use a language of welcome and compassion, not one of hatred and division. They need to promote social inclusion and cohesion in our communities. Do not ignore the fear and division that is being sown in our communities – it is dangerous to do so, especially for women like me.”
Despite the impact of the riots on Memory’s mental health and wellbeing, she remains hopeful for change:
“A better world is possible if we all play our part, in whatever capacity that is. The compassion and solidarity of people is what keeps me going when things get tough. I know that there are people out there who care, who see me as a valued human being. Someone once wrote me a message that said, ‘we are lucky to have you’, and that has really stuck with me. Don’t underestimate the positive impact you can have.”
We have long argued that words matter. Dehumanising, divisive and racist language has become normalised and fuelled by successive draconian asylum policies and laws and stoked by some politicians and elements of the media. The consequences of such are the daily realities for women like Maria and Memory.
The Government has a responsibility. It must reject the dangerous tactics of dog-whistle politics and the scapegoating of marginalised communities, such as those seeking safety in the UK.
Women for Refugee Women urges the Government to:
1. Condemn and robustly respond to far-right protests, intimidation and violence;
2. Recognise the role that inflammatory and dehumanising language and hostile policy making towards minoritised communities – including Muslims, migrants and people seeking asylum – plays in fuelling the far-right and violent protests;
3. Consult and work alongside racial justice and migrants’ rights organisations to develop a long-term anti-racist strategy to tackle racism at a local and national level;
4. Reform the harmful, exploitative and for-profit asylum accommodation model so that women are no longer housed in unsafe hotels, and instead have somewhere safe to call home;
5. Expediate asylum claims for women from high grant-rate countries – like Afghanistan, Eritrea and Sudan – so they are not left languishing in the asylum system for months, or years, on end.
Carenza Arnold, Head of Campaigns, Women for Refugee Women, said:
“The far-right protests we have witnessed on our streets are a direct consequence of the routine dehumanising language about people seeking safety we see in our newspaper headlines and from our politicians in parliament. This isn’t accidental. It is part of a deliberate strategy to divide communities, distract from political failures, and whip up fear to blame the ‘other’. When those in positions of power use language that strips people of their humanity, it opens the door to violence and hatred. Women for Refugee Women urges all those in positions of power to lead with dignity and responsibility. Because lives depend on it.”
For media enquiries, please contact Carenza Arnold, Head of Campaigns, Women for Refugee Women: carenza@refugeewomen.co.uk or +44 (0)7518 397 761.