Supporting
Nine days after a violent riot* that targeted a Rotherham hotel housing asylum seekers, Who is Your Neighbour? helped to support local people to come together, share their feelings and begin to express their hopes and plans for the future.
WiYN?, South Yorkshire Communities Together and Rotherham Cohesion Advisory Group organised a community meeting attended by around 30 people. In addition to being together, there was opportunity to listen, talk and look ahead.
Being Together, Listening, Talking
Speakers - including meeting organisers, an asylum seeker, a volunteer who had been supporting hotel residents, locals, the Refugee Council and representatives of Rotherham groups - gave information and shared their experiences.
WiYN? Senior Facilitators Ian and Violet then held space. They invited people to work in pairs and threes, to talk about how they were feeling. The profound impact of the events, and other similar acts of violence around the country, was obvious as people gave words to their distress:
I felt like a black cloud had been put over me.
Many were afraid, shocked, sad and worried. There was a pervasive sense of loss:
We have lost our friends – the brotherhood we had.
Some attendees spoke about fears for their own and others' safety; many had cancelled outings, activities or plans.
There was also a shared energy and commitment, a desire to act and find the best way to respond together:
I am mobilised into action, to bring people together and rebuild.
Imagining the Future
Invited, next, to discuss their hopes, people shared dozens of ideas in groups of 7 or 8. They talked about changes to local and national Government policy, education and story-telling initiatives that support neighbours who are different from one another to understand and feel empathy.
Even though attendees said they felt shame and anger, they also wanted to take action - to ensure their communities and others could:
understand causes – give hope to people who want to blame someone.
They also expressed appreciation for a chance to meet - and were committed to finding ways of working together in coming months. They thought that, for safety to grow, there needs to be:
more contact between different groups; more dialogue; more understanding; more listening; more friendships.
* After the tragic murder of three children in Southport on 29th July, racist violence followed in the town within 24 hours (after a false rumour spread on social media, saying the suspect was a Muslim asylum seeker); riots then followed in other towns, including some in South Yorkshire, targeting Muslims and asylum seekers.