“Race riots do not come out of the blue.”
hardboiled.org
Race riots? Asians? In a surprising twist, the “model minority” took up arms this last summer
in England and battled the British police out in the streets. What was their call to arms?
Racism.
Ethnic minorities make up only five percent of Britain’s population [EDIT: I'm sure that helps A LOT! - LL], but this vociferous minority has made its dissatisfied presence known throughout the United Kingdom. Over this last summer, race riots broke out between Asian (the British term in reference to Asians of
Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Indian descent) and white youths in various north English cities.
The violence was astonishing and unexpected for most residents living complacently in these
small Northern cities.
Early stirrings of race riots first started on Easter Sunday of 2001 in the English town
Bradford; the riots originated after a confrontation at a Hindu wedding. Shortly thereafter a
cycle of racial violence began to emerge:
Bradford, April 2001
Oldham, May 2001
Leeds, June 2001
Burnley, June 2001
Bradford, July 2001
The police of North England unsuccessfully tried to prevent more race riots after the violence
in Leeds, but Bradford was once again site to race rioting. The municipal authorities of
Bradford promptly cancelled a Pakistani cultural festival and a British National Front
sponorsed anti-immigrant rally by white supremacist.
However, the members of the National Front appeared for their cancelled rally, and violence
quickly ensued. At one point, there were up to one thousand Asian and white youths battling
on the streets against each other and the local police. In an apocalyptic vision, the quiet
residential streets of Bradford were witness to burning cars, looted stores, stabbings, and
flying petrol bombs.
Two different stories emerge from the race riots of North England. Asian leaders of these
communities paint a picture of both community and police hostility. The anti-immigrant
atmosphere has been exacerbated by the national electoral success of the British National
Party (with an equivalent in Australia) in the recent June elections.
The British National Party has based much of its platform on repatriation of non-white ethnic
minorities. One of the BNP party ideologies is that the members are “opposed to the growth
and increased militancy of the various Asiatic religions.” In the Race Relations Act of the
U.K, it is lawful for British citizens to deny employment, to provoke antagonism, and to
publicly berate Muslims.
In late July, Amnesty International issued a report advising the British government to look “
closer to home” in examining discriminatory practices within its police and judicial systems.
The report said that racial minorities in Britain often do not receive follow-ups to their claims
ofpolice abuse and discrimination, and are also doubly subject to harsher treatment by
police and more severe judicial punishment than their white counterparts.
Amnesty International’s secretary-general, Kate Gilmore, put it simply: “Race riots do not
come out of the blue.”
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