National Front off our streets!

By K.D.

ON MAY 21, the streets of Portrush were soiled by the presence of a racist , anti-refugee demonstration. It was organised by the former NI leader of the neo-fascist National Front, with the aim of stoking up fears over the housing of refugees across the North Coast.

This protest, and the Facebook group “North Coast Concerned Collective” used to organise it, was rife with racist, xenophobic, homophobic, and transphobic rhetoric. Despite the arrest of one of the far-right organisers at the beginning of the demonstration, he continued to spout threats of violence and support for the neo-Nazi terrorist group Combat 18 as he was dragged away. This arrest didn’t stop the fascist posse of around 12 from hoisting National Front flags resem- bling swastikas. . In opposition to this protest was a coalition of Portrush residents, trade unionists, climate activists, members of the Socialist Party and the Socialist Feminist group ROSA, who outnumbered the fascists by more than 3 to 1.

This protest continues the troubling trend of racist xenophobic action taken by far-right radicals. In the south of Ireland some of these have also escalated into violence. There have been arson attacks on a refugee camp in Sandwith street Dublin and attacks on a camp in Ashtown. As Socialist Party TD (Southern MP) Mick Barry pointed out after these attacks:

“It is only a matter of time before the far right claims its first killing.”

The rhetoric used by far-right groups in the South and the National Front prey upon genuine concerns of housing insecurity and gender-based violence. In doing so they attempt to obscure reality. The responsibility for housing shortages, shoddy accommodation and high rents/rates lies with profiteering landlords and the political establishment. The faux concerns of the far-right fall away when we see their targeted campaigns of violence against refugees who are in need of homes, many of whom are women, as well as their regressive views on traditional gender roles and women’s rights.

However, the overwhelmingly positive response to Nicola Gallagher’s public disclosure also gives us a glimpse of the hope that still exists. For every misogynistic institution, and disaffected man who would decry the victories of #MeToo, there is a young woman or LGBTQIA+ person who reviles oppression and exploitation to their core.

There is still tremendous potential to take this revulsion to the streets and build a socialist feminist movement capable of challenging the right-wing backlash that would scapegoat women and queer people. Such a movement would also need to have the whole capitalist system in its crosshairs so that the revolting violence and gaslighting Nicola and so many others have experienced is ended once and for all.

This wrong portrayal of refugees as the source of these deeply systemic issues is an attempt to scapegoat vulnerable groups for the failings of our current capitalist system. To effectively fight the far right we need a multi-racial, working-class, bold and active movement of young people and workers of all genders to isolate them and expose their lies.