by Sadia Khan and Emily Duff
Monday 29th July marked a tragic day in British history, with 3 murders and many left injured in Southport.
Their names were Bebe King, Elsie Dot Stancombe, and Alice Dasilva Aguiar.
They were 6, 7, and 9 years old.
Over one million crimes against women and girls were recorded in England and Wales last year alone, constituting 20% of all crimes documented by the police.
Despite this, far-right figures like Tommy Robinson are using the young girl’s deaths to promote racism.
Instead of focusing on the urgent issue of femicide, they have chosen to exploit this tragedy for their own hateful agendas.
In Liverpool, far-right rioters attacked a community library that also serves as a foodbank. They threw missiles at firefighters, assaulted police officers, and looted local shops and small businesses. Supposedly fighting for their country, these riots are only causing more harm and destruction.
Imagine being the parents of those young girls and seeing your child’s death turned into an excuse for a race war. Children died, yet these individuals are using their deaths to spew hatred and violence. Rotherham, South Yorkshire saw the worst of it. Extremists set fire to a hotel housing migrants, blocking exits and trapping both adults and children inside while onlookers cheered. These actions were done in the name of ‘protecting women and children,’ a hypocritical stance.
In these times, you’d expect that our countries main concern would be to prioritise and support these young girls' families. However, Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) became rife with extreme right-wing activists spreading false information, with the American billionaire himself being vocal on the matter.
“Conflict is inevitable” and “civil war is inevitable,” he commented via the platform.
A vigil held to honour the girls was hijacked by supporters of the English Defence League (EDL). Incorrectly identifying the murderer and wrongly blaming a Muslim boy, this sparked further violence leading to the destruction of a community mosque.
A week after the murders, the real culprit’s identity has been revealed, yet they continue to incite violence. Cities like Middlesborough, Sunderland, and Manchester saw planned riots aimed at harming migrants, asylum seekers, and people of colour.
Over the weekend, right-wing protestors destroyed local shops and community centres, with similar scenes occurring in areas from Liverpool to Belfast.
Three little girls. Three little girls were murdered, and yet was immediately pushed to the back of the news. We no longer saw their names, instead reports have become overrun with the violent disorder occurring in cities across the UK.
Their names were and they can’t forgotten. They were spending their summer holiday attending an innocent Taylor Swift event. The murders were not a mistake and they weren’t random. A specific demographic is being targeted - highlighted by recent murders of Carol, Hannah, and Louise Hunt in Hertfordshire less than a few weeks prior.
At least 147 women were killed by 144 men in the year 2021. This is a statistic that has only grown in the last 3 years.
Despite seeming sudden, this aggression has been years in the making. The 400 arrests don’t detract from the fact previous governments have created this divide by sparking fear of migrants, just as Adolf Hitler did and just as we are witnessing Donald Trump do, leading to the current climate of hate. This violence is not just a reaction to a single event but the result of long-standing prejudices and political manipulation.
We cannot address the issue of femicide by responding with more violence. Attacking Muslim women and other minorities only perpetuates a cycle of hate.
Real change requires unity and a focus on the true issues affecting our society.
How to Take Action and Support Your Community:
- Email your local MP for support against hate groups. Find yours here.
- Donate to charities helping refugees, migrants, and asylum seekers. Reach out to support POC you know, here are some resources you can share.
- Report hate crimes. Call 999 if someone is in immediate danger or report online here.
- Attend anti-hate rallies. A national day of protest to stop the far right is taking place on Saturday, August 10th. Stand Up to Racism UK are calling for mass anti-racist resistance in every town and city to push back against the fascists. Find your local event here. Please make sure to travel in groups - don’t arrive or leave alone.