The Far-Right in Castle Park, Bristol 3/08/24 - Fascists Are Not Welcome Here

Monday the 29th of July was a dark day for the UK, leading to an even scarier week.

In Southport three innocent girls were brutally murdered, more were injured, and somehow they already feel like a distant memory. The aftermath hasn’t focused on the victims and their families, instead, we saw disinformation online as discussions around the criminal's identity led to right-wing conspiracy theories.

Up and down the country people are using this event to fuel their hate and give themselves an excuse to riot, pogrom and worse.

But on Saturday as the clock struck 6pm, hundreds gathered in Castle Park prepared to stand up to racism. Placards in tow, we listened carefully as numerous people shared their stories and followed with chants such as “Nazi scum in the sea, Bristol welcomes refugees”.

An hour passed and the mood started to change as whispers were circulating that the ‘Stop the Boats’ far-right ‘protesters’ were beginning to arrive; one individual weaved their way into the crowd and started to BOO as someone was sharing their story. The police immediately removed them from the situation but we all knew then that things were about to take a very different turn. People were alert to stay near friends, as we amped up our messages.

The messages were those of love, not hate, kindness not cruelty.

“Bristol Welcomes Refugees”

The police created a wall around both groups so we couldn’t merge; poignantly our group of counter-protesters surrounded St.Peters church, up against the old church wall at the highest point of Castle Park looking down on the far-right protesters.

The word protesters no longer felt appropriate for the far-right below us as they drunkenly started throwing glass beer bottles, and began setting off smoke grenades.

The plan to head towards Redcliffe to protect those at the Mercure hotel threw things into further chaos, splitting groups up leading to worse violence. Coined the Battle of Bristol Bridge, police had the far-right groups cornered on one side of the bridge and the counter-protesters on the other; whilst all police efforts were focused on keeping the two groups apart on Bristol Bridge some key members of the anti-racism protesters found their way ahead to Mercure.

Hand in hand these protesters stood in line, creating a wall to block the far-right rioters from the Mercure, protecting the terrified people inside.

This further frustrated the far-right and with so much of the police force still at Bristol Bridge, the violence escalated from the Mercure to the Pasture restaurant with fights breaking out, kegs being thrown and police cars being smashed into.

The violence across the country has worsened and many people are too scared to leave their homes. However Saturday’s events in Bristol did leave us with pockets of hope. Those standing up to racism far outnumbered the far-right, and there has since been money raised to buy those terrified children at the Mercure toys and sweets.

As I walked home from Redcliffe I overheard two far-right rioters say to one another “well that's it now, they have won again” - it was a horrible day for Bristol but it did show us what we can do when we stand together as a city. We have strength in numbers to stand up to racism, and we can do better.

We cannot let these people who use “patriotism” as an excuse for blatant racism and Islamophobia speak for the UK. They do not represent us, and these people, and their beliefs, are not welcome in Bristol.