Around 50 protesters from Stand Up to Racism (SUTR) and other local groups gathered yesterday outside a Holiday Inn Express near the Kassam Stadium to oppose a smaller anti-immigration demonstration. The counter-protesters rallied in support of the asylum seekers currently housed at the hotel by the Home Office.
Section 95 of the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999 allows the Home Secretary to provide accommodation and support to migrants who are destitute.
Similar protests were held at the hotel last week in the wake of demonstrations against asylum hotels across the country. Local tensions have also been inflamed by an alleged hate crime outside Oxford Central Mosque on the 19th August.
Anti-racism activists arrived from around 2.15pm holding banners and signs, which included a St George’s flag emblazoned with the words “love asylum seekers” and a banner from the Oxford Green Party.
Across the road, anti-asylum protesters, draped in Union Jacks and St George’s flags, began gathering from approximately 3pm, with numbers reaching 20 within the hour. A police presence ensured the groups were kept separate across the road, with some anti-migrant protesters dancing along to trumpet music from the other side. Reggae music also blared from an SUTR speaker, as one English nationalist declared to the anti-racism activists: “I’ll love you all just the same.”
Guardian columnist Nell Frizzel was spotted talking calmly with a group of opposing protesters, part of what one anti-racism protester told Cherwell was a concerted attempt to “include and re-educate the far-right”.
Other interactions were less amicable with verbal insults exchanged and one anti-immigration protester’s drone occasionally flying at low altitude over the opposing group.
Anti-migrant protesters voiced their grievances about the recent break-ins and criminal damage in the area, which they attributed to the asylum seekers housed at the hotel.
Each camp filmed the other side intently, with one man wearing an elaborate bodycam. Some anti-migrant protesters appeared to be local residents, and were diverse in age and gender. They continually referenced alleged sex crimes from the asylum seekers and identified the police officers present as “people you can talk to”.
On the other side, those gathered had written welcome messages for the asylum seekers on a piece of card to be delivered into the hotel. Protesters chanted that the real enemy was not immigrants, but “profit”.
This follows the release of an open letter by Oxford-based charity Asylum Welcome calling for “Unity and Compassion in Oxfordshire”, which has gathered more than 2,000 signatures in less than 48 hours. Signatories include Liberal Democrats MPs Calum Miller, Olly Glover, and Charlie Maynard.
Dr Hari Reed, Co-CEO of Asylum Welcome, said: “We’re living through difficult times, and acts of kindness make a world of difference. This response shows that our community rejects division and stands alongside people seeking sanctuary.”
In a statement, SUTR told Cherwell: “Racist scapegoating by politicians like Nigel Farage, Robert Jenrick, Kemi Badenoch and the prime minister Keir Starmer has emboldened known fascists to call demonstrations around the country spilling over in to [sic.] racist intimidation and violence.
“Far right misinformation and agitation is drawing some people’s anger at the austerity and injustices caused by the rich and powerful, by the very scapegoating politicians, and abusing it to fuel hatred that is making our communities unsafe and unwelcoming, and lets the real culprits off the hook.”
Disclosure: one of the authors of this article, Peter Chen, volunteers at Asylum Welcome’s immigration advice clinic.
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