We protested the 'far-right' group Britain First because we want a safe and 'multicultural' Manchester
Ameen Hadi is a spokesperson from Stand Up To Racism, the counter protest group which showed up on Saturday to protest again the organised rally by Britain First.
Ameen said: “This has been organised by Greater Manchester Stand Up To Racism as a counter protest because we’d heard Britain First which is a Nazi organisation, was coming to have a national demonstration in Manchester.”
Adding: “They’re openly a fascist group. They deny the Holocaust. They are homophobic, racist and believe that they’re the master race.”
Ameen said that the group were first made aware of the decision to hold a protest a few months ago, he said: “We didn’t know where they were going to go but we knew they were assembling at 12 o’clock at Piccadilly train station.”
Adding: “They’ve got their own tour which they call their re-immigration tour. Supposedly, people like me shouldn’t be living here, I should be deported back to where I came from.”
To go back to where he came from for Ameen would be London, which isn’t something he would want to do because, “I couldn’t afford the house price” he said whilst laughing.
Ameen said that there is a growing far-right sentiment across Europe but also the world with the re-election of Donald Trump, growing support for the AFD in Germany and Giorgia Meloni in Italy.
He also explained that the goal of Stand Up To Racism is to have a multicultural society and to never go back to the frequent attacks faced by minorities in the time when he was growing up.
He said: “It’s a long history we’ve got of mobilising against fascism, because if we don’t counter protest them, then they’re allowed to march freely through our cities. They will attack people, they will abuse them and they’ll get more confident.”
When asked about safety and the fear of crime that some people have about migrants entering the country, Ameen said: “The issue around violence to women or children is a serious issue. It can’t be trivialised by making it a racial issue.”
Adding: “All violence against women and children is wrong and if you look at every study that’s been done, there’s nothing specific to do with race or ethnicity.”