Britons are rising up against all forms of fascism

​“Forget that. I’m not letting the racists dictate my weekend,” declared my mum. “I’m sick of feeling like this.” So, armed with a defiance we live and breathe daily, my 65-year-old mother and I headed into central London, and found ourselves in a sea of equally defiant anti-racist, pro-refugee protesters eager to make their voices heard too.

​Collective blame and punishment for another’s crimes has been the lot of all Muslim communities, especially since 9/11. Whether we are citizens of this land or non-white refugees fleeing countries ravaged by wars, the United the Kingdom rally and the often wilfully ignorant rhetoric summed up by political slogans such as “Stop the boats!” is a day-to-day reminder that the privilege of being treated as separate human beings and unique individuals is not yet ours.

As a children’s author who has met thousands of children in schools across the country, I have seen first hand how the racism of adults trickles down and can sometimes flood the minds of children. It is tragic to hear them ask in assemblies: “Why do some grown-ups think it’s OK to hurt people that look like me?” Or to learn from teachers of increasing incidents of racism in playgrounds, often instigated by what children are hearing from their parents at home, and amplified by the fervour of racist hate directed at Muslims and non-white refugees.

But there is a flip side of this coin. Following the publication of my first book, The Boy at the Back of the Class, wherein a Syrian refugee boy who can’t speak English walks into a UK classroom and meets racist bullies and empathetic friends alike, I have seen the rise in action to counter racist hate too. I have witnessed teachers and librarians, parents and children stand up in defiance against the Tommy Robinsons of their worlds, to create safer streets for all of us to walk along.

My social media feeds are filled with those rising up against all forms of fascism. And therein lies the hope, that one day, this particular mode of warfare, rooted in racist collective blame, will not be the lot of generations to come.

Onjali Q Raúf is an author and the founder of Making Herstory, a woman’s rights organisation tackling the abuse and trafficking of women and girls in the UK; and O’s Refugee Aid Team, which raises awareness and funds to support refugee frontline aid organisations

Photograph by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images