Morning:
8°c
The BNP gaining two seats at the EU elections made yesterday the darkest day in the UK's politics, especially for us, the so-called foreigners, who have been at the receiving end of racism.
It was the saddest moment of my life. My parents came to the UK in roughly 1956, at the invitation of the British government, which needed more workers to fill the iron and cotton mills of Yorkshire and Humberside.
Ironically, it is voters from this region who have chosen the BNP's Andrew Brons to be their MEP.
I remember the racism and hatred that used to dominate the East End of London, where I was brought up.
The windows of our house would be smashed on a regular basis while the locals would stand outside to watch and laugh at our misery. We were regularly verbally abused and physically attacked, always by the same thugs.
I still remember the day I was sitting in my father's car and one of the local bullies threw a brick at our windscreen, leaving it shattered, the brick on my lap and my face cut by the flying glass.
When we would call the police they took very little action; often, they took none. All because we were immigrants; because we were not white.
We fought back, though, until we were able to drive them out of our neighbourhood. Many sacrifices have been made, and even lives lost, to root out racism.
So the BNP win is a step backward — a slap in the face for those of us who have struggled against such bigotry.
Those who voted BNP, even as a protest vote, need to ask themselves some serious questions. What do they say to their children about the black, the brown, the immigrants of their country?
For I believe those who voted BNP have sent the “foreigners” a simple message: get out of this country, you don't belong here.
My parents are Bangladeshi, I have been brought up in London and my wife is Hungarian. We have two young children who are very proud of their colourful and mixed ethnic background. I feel ashamed telling my children about this disgraceful election result.
I have always instilled in them a love and respect for this country and its people. The United Kingdom has benefited from the enormous contributions made by immigrants in every facet of life, and I feel shaken by the fact that there are still so many racists living among us.
But I am not going to take this lying down. I have news for the BNP supporters: this is as much my country as theirs. I am here to stay. I promise to work even harder to challenge their sick racist ideas, and I will do everything within my power to struggle against their rotten ideology.
And while the BNP has gained in the north, London has managed to keep them out. I'm sad that the BNP vote in London rose, but it was less than five per cent: they gained no seats.
Walking around today's East End, you can see why. It is completely different from the way it was in my youth. It is now extremely multicultural and has many faiths living peacefully alongside each other.
Racially motivated incidents have substantially dropped, and I give credit to the years of anti-racism campaigns for that.
When I walk the streets of London today and I see all the colours and races and hear all the languages of the world spoken around me, I cannot imagine how anybody anywhere in the UK could vote for the BNP.
Ajmal Masroor is a London imam and broadcaster
Reader views (11)
Unlimited immigration is a must ! For without this supply of "no hopers" ,the NEW LABOUR party would have 0% of the vote !
- Anthony Coxon, wolverhampton England, 17/06/2009 22:09
Report abuse
This is an uplifting East End story - Bangladeshi boy from Tower Hamlets writes his first book on how to become an entrepreneur aged 17 and manages to sell 40,000 copies... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_IbR6g_op0U
- F Melville, London, United Kingdom, 16/06/2009 12:34
Report abuse
Alex Simmonds your theory does not hold water, the Irish bombed us for decades.
The Irish have shared our ancestry since the start of time, we drink and socialise with them and share the same ethics and language. Whilst we are all humans some of the communities taking over Britain do not speak the lingo, do not drink or watch football, have values directly opposed to our own and have demonstrated a failure to be as tolerant as we are.
As things stand they want us to change whilst they bomb us for a reason it is impossible to justify, whilst also claiming most of us are racist and attacking our free speech
I know I am generalising as I know many Muslims hate the way there religion has been abused to justify extremism and nobody can solve this problem as I do not believe the will to change exists but until we learn to respect our fellow man extremism will continue on both sides of the divide and for the Muslims to keep attacking the BNP whilst harbouring Muslim extremists is both insulting to our intelligence and sense of fair Justice.
I also believe the fear of being conceived as racist is used to prevent the white community expressing anger and crimes hurting the white community. BTW I neither support or like the BNP, I am just sick of the endless line that Whites are the only bad guys.
BTW we have a massive divide the press like to pretend does not exist.
- Gary, brentwood, 15/06/2009 11:24
Report abuse
In the long term, immigration creates far more problems than it solves. In the short term, cheap labour is provided which is good for the economy; in the long term, people become more divided and confused than ever. Is an Indian born in the UK Indian, British Indian or British? Should that person completely assimilate into the British way of life or hang on to their parents traditions, language and beliefs? The reason non-white people are in Britain at all is because they provide cheap labour; the naive belief that bringing over foreigners to work for us is a good thing is not new. If a child refuses to go to school, you make them go there; if an indigenous British person refuses to work, make them do it. If this attitude had been taken in the years following WWII, Britain would not be a multicultural society and in my opinion would be better off for it. Unfortunately the government don't see it that way and in 2004 they allowed Eastern Europeans to come over and we are where we have been many times before: foreigners come here to do the jobs the British people refuse to do and consequently British society is split yet again. Australia is also now experiencing the same problems that multicultualism brings, but it is also reaping the rewards of cheap labour. Governments all over the world turn a blind eye to the problems caused directly by mixing different races and their people are expected to just accept the problems that their government has caused them. How will it end?
- Shane, Southampton, 14/06/2009 21:56
Report abuse
Many people have become racist because of terrorism. The Muslim voice against terrorism done in the name of Islam is too low.
The only Muslim demos that people see are about cartoons (and Salman Rushdi) are threatening the population here. There were no demos after 7/7 (from Muslims) or similar unspeakable acts, so many people here take the silence as condoning terror.
- Alex Simmonds, Glastonbury, England, UK, 11/06/2009 11:03
Report abuse
I was brought up in the late 40's & early 50"s in West Ham. At 4.00 pm every I waited for a bus home in Forest Lane & an elderly black man with his equally elderly white wife would walk past us into West Ham Park for their evening walk. West Ham was not 'couth' then, but not one of us made a remark to them or discussed them afterwards between ourselves. Much has been made of 'multiculturism', as in Australia. Didn't these people come her to get away from their own 'Kulture.'
- Peter G West, Corio, Victorio, Australia, 10/06/2009 07:31
Report abuse
Dear reader,
Everything is right in politics, whatever you want to achieved. i'm not surprise with BNP have won two seats in european election. whatever they want it just take this country in darkest era which they will regret later. being a nationalist does not need white colour or against the foreigners we have done lot for this country when current BNP supporter does not even born, who worked hard and made this country progress and now they are able to talk like non-sense. so please wake up and live with reality and reality is that we all are equal and respectable nationalist whatever our background and we are all British national.some lives here 50 years or 100 years does not have any advantage to talk about or complaint.
so if you are unfair than you Can't become majority in any election and every country have some small group of evil people and that's all about BNP ( Britian Never Progress )
Many Thanks
- Zaheer Khan, dagenham essex, 10/06/2009 06:54
Report abuse
This country has always benefitted immensely from immigration since well before Roman times. The likes of Ajmal and his family are more than welcome. They work hard they create jobs, even for whites, if they are repared to work. What we do not need is racist scum who try to drive decent people away because of their ignorance and prejudice.
I am the proud grandfather of my sons daughter who is of Indian origin.She is married to an British subject of Indian origin. Both of them are hard working decent people that any country would be proud of. Do not vent your dissatifaction with an incompetent government on people who are the colour that you try to be by going to the sun on holiday and getting drunk and making yourselves even more obnoxious than usual.
- Simon Wells, BRENTWOOD ENGLAND, 09/06/2009 17:17
Report abuse
Ajmal, the racism to which you refer is now inflicted upon whites who live in predominantly Pakistani or Bangladeshi areas in the north of England (Oldham for instance or Manningham in Bradford). Whites have been subject to many racist attacks over the past few years. Their complaints to the police are now ignored (the police fear racism accusations). I cannot blame people in the North voting for the BNP. The BNP are an ugly party, but what other hope do some of those white communities have. And the faiths don't live harmoniously together in the East End. There is tension and there are a lot of Islamic hardliners. I regret the BNP won seats. I regret also that Islamic fundamentalism and anti-white, anti-British, anti-Christian attacks have been allowed to flourish in this country. I hope they stop or the BNP will flourish (and none of us need that).
- Cameron, London, 09/06/2009 16:38
Report abuse
Dear Ajmal.
You will find racism even in your own race; it is not a wholly white trait or affliction etc.
You will also find it in Bangladesh and every other country in the world etc.
I am sure you will agree; England does tend to take all and sundry into its land, and has done for centuries etc.
The BNP is always called racist; but it could also be called Nationalist etc.
Here again; most people are Nationalists; just as most other countries are also Nationalist etc.
But unlike most other countries and cultures; in the UK we have the right to vote the way we wish to vote; immaterial of what other people’s opinions are etc.
Just as we all have the right to worship to our own personal religious views and beliefs etc.
Once you start setting yourself up as judge and jury over all others opinions and rights; you cease to have the right to criticize others in any way etc.
You become; what you detest etc.
- Mickyinlondon, london, 09/06/2009 14:24
Report abuse
' at the invitation of the British government, which needed more workers to fill the iron and cotton mills of Yorkshire and Humberside. '
Not quite: it was cheaper workers who were wanted, and it is that resentment at being displaced which still lies at the root of racism in this country. The BNP is finding success in those areas where traditional employment has not provided the capacity to take up the demand for jobs. If you look at east London, where there's huge diversity and not a lot of wealth, the BNP's not getting far, because there's a sense that whatever the problems are, they're across the board. What IS resented is the derisory number of jobs being generated for local people by the Olympics; an Eastern European in temporary digs in Leytonstone is classed as a local employee by the bean-counters, and people know they're being conned. Group rivalry is about economics: it's not that certain parts of the country have advanced in social awareness and wisdom more than others.
- Mdj E10, london uk, 09/06/2009 13:59
Report abuse
