Thousands rally against racism in several UK cities
Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
đź—ž
NewsTranscript
00:00A message heard across the UK on Wednesday as thousands took to the streets to counter
00:09planned anti-immigration demonstrations.
00:11We don't want an exclusive society where certain people are always going to be marginalised,
00:17where certain people are always going to be feeling a threat if they go into town.
00:24Gathering in cities like London, Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol, anti-racism demonstrators
00:29aimed to outnumber far-right rioters and counter the recent scenes of violence and hate.
00:36Some demonstrators gathered to protect organisations specialising in immigration, believed to be
00:40possible targets for far-right groups.
00:43Look around, there's no trouble, everyone's getting on, look at all the different complexions
00:49of people, all the different religions and races, everyone hugging each other, shaking
00:53each other's hands, getting given water.
00:56In London, over 1,000 extra officers were ready to deploy amid concerns of yet another
01:01night of violence that has marred the country over the past week.
01:06Despite clashes with some far-right agitators, many locations were more peaceful than expected.
01:11It is really calm and I think everyone's just here to show heart and it's like hope over
01:17hate, isn't it?
01:18The recent rioting comes after the suspected killer of three young girls was wrongly identified
01:23as an asylum seeker and a subsequent online anti-immigration campaign took to the streets
01:28and turned violent.
01:31Recent events have sparked fears among minority groups in a country where immigrants make
01:35up 15% of the population, communities that the counter-protesters have rallied to support.