By Rumana Hashem
This article draws on some thoughts and reflections on how we can use anti-racist activism and collective organising to overcome trauma caused by abuse and hate. How can we take action against racism-sexism and other kinds of violence, when we are so distressed and traumatised? What do we do when victim support services are so limited?
The notion of therapy which I found new in its effectiveness at a personal level is participation in anti-racist and anti-fascist protests. Based on my participation in a series of anti-fascist protests and solidarity rallies held recently across the UK, I argue that these have empowered individuals like me at a very distressful time and helped overcome the trauma experience of hate crime.
One such national, anti-fascist, counter protest was held in the UK on 7th August 2024. It was a time when thousands of women and men of colour were feeling vulnerable and traumatised. Personally, I was experiencing extreme trauma and anger at the harms and vicious stalking by hate campaigners who continue to perpetrate hate crime against anti-racist women academics and activists of colour.
We saw the viciousness of far-right rioters on the streets of Liverpool and other cities across the UK. Watching it on the television was hard. It added to all of our trauma. The hope for justice was dying. It seemed as if that was the end.
When I returned to work despondently on the 6th of August, I saw an email thread on the university’s staff mailing list demanding that the management should clarify how they would ensure the safety of students and staff of colour on campus. One colleague of colour shared a flyer of an anti-fascist protest and solidarity march within this email thread. I thought: We must go. We should go. No matter what it costs us. It is the time to stand up and fight back.
There were others in the same university, including low-paid staff, who were scared and had ended up suggesting that we should stay away from such counter-protests and let police deal with the far-right violence. When I told one lovely, senior white English member of the cleaning staff, that I was going to the march, they were shocked. They said: ‘Oh really? Are you risking it?’
Despite the rumours of violence and restrictions spread by the local authorities, despite the scaremongering posted on social media by the Tommy Robinson gang, thousands and thousands of people came out of their homes and took to the streets. We protested peacefully but in a festive environment. There was a festival of anti-racist humans, many of whom said that they never attended any public march like this before.
Protesters sang together loudly, “There are many, many more of us than YOU”. “When our friends are attacked, what do we do? Stand up and fight back”. “Whose streets are these? Our Streets”, “Fuck off Far-right”.
I was wearing a Bengali dress, despite threats by far-right groups in the neighbourhood and on social media. It was the first time ever during summer this year that I wore authentic Bengali dress. Someone complimented me from the other side of the street, “Whoa, you look gorgeous! I didn’t know that we could wear normal dresses, woow”.
Anti-Fascist protesters were normally given guidance to wear black clothes and cover faces with facemasks to avoid harassment by the police and far-right racists. We all covered our faces with facemasks, though it was a personal choice I made on the day. Wearing our dress of original nationality, we stood boldly to declare that Britain is diverse. Do not undermine our diversity and ethnicity.
The organisers had taken all possible steps to ensure anti-racist marchers’ rights were protected. Prior information about why people should leave their mobiles at home, come with easy to walk shoes and wear face masks was very helpful. When we arrived, we were given the solicitor’s contact details and tips to seek legal support if we were wrongly arrested by the police or attacked by the far-right rioters.
Fortunately, and expectedly, nobody needed any legal support as the far-right rioters were outnumbered by the festival of anti-racist protesters outright. There were strong feelings of unity and happiness of people from all walks against racism and sexism. The peace solidarity march and jolliness of the counter-far-right protesters formed the best therapy for my 18-month long experience of abuse and stalking by organised hate crime.
It was not only about personal trauma. Speaking with other fellow protesters, I have learned how this anti-racist protest and other anti-racist protests across the country have helped us all to stand up and fight back against the far-right. It has truly worked as “a new form of trauma therapy” for some of us. As Women of Colour, our trauma was unbearable as our voices were unheard and rights were undermined for so long. Our active participation in the anti-racist protests helped us to be heard and stand firm with the jolly and bravely united crowd.
The street protests and organising are not reduced to a single issue. These protests often talk about oppression, abuse, violence, and trauma which millions of individuals and many communities are collectively or individually experiencing. Our active participation in such protests then offers and enables three forms of support: first it offers space to express our individual and collective struggles against abuse. Second, the street protests and organising creates opportunities to connect with other humans who have experienced or know about the violence, abuse, and trauma which we individually have faced. This connection and sharing enables us to reduce our isolation.
Third, the connections we make at anti-fascist protests can lead to further actions and solidarity. This last form of support goes beyond trauma therapy. It helps us heal and take actions for justice. The healing process started for me on the evening of the 7th of August as we returned from an incredibly powerful counter-far-right protest. We continue marching and organising further national and international protests. It brings us hope for a better future and justice.
Rumana Hashem is an anti-racist and antifascist educator, public sociologist and a
climate justice activist.
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