The ‘We Are One’ rally aims to bring together and unite communities from all over Birmingham
A powerful display of unity between people of different backgrounds, faiths, political beliefs and ages, is expected to be shown this weekend, as part of a special peace rally taking place in Birmingham’s Victoria Square.
In a show of solidarity against hate and prejudice, the We Are One event has been called in response to a rise in hate attacks following the nation’s referendum vote to leave the EU.
Hate crime in the UK, particularly religious hate crime, has risen dramatically, with Tell MAMA reporting a 326% increase in Islamophobic incidents and reports a 57% increase in hate crime in the immediate aftermath of the EU referendum.
The charity says that makes it all the more important for communities now to take action to challenge the stereotypes and prejudices that feed hatred. 11th July marked the 21st anniversary of the genocide of 8,372 Bosnian Muslim men and boys in the Bosnian town of Srebrenica – murdered on account of their Islamic faith.
Dr Waqar Azmi OBE (left) is the Chairman of Remembering Srebrenica (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Dr Waqar Azmi OBE, Chairman of Remembering Srebrenica, said:
“21 years after the genocide, we are determined not only to remember the victims of Srebrenica, but to honour their memories by taking positive action to build better communities. Srebrenica teaches us that prejudice and hatred left unchecked can have catastrophic consequences, not only for the generation that suffers the violence, but for the following generations whose futures are also irreversibly altered.
“Remembering Srebrenica’s dedicated Community Champions are leading a grassroots movement to challenge the stereotyping and dehumanising language that has become prevalent in our country, and to bring communities together through acts of commemoration around Memorial Week. We are confident that the people of Birmingham will come together in a strong demonstration that they are united against hatred with its biggest ever unity rally”.
Cllr Waseem Zaffar will be speaking at the ‘We Are One’ unity rally on Sunday (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Cllr Waseem Zaffar, Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Transparency, Openness and Equality, added:
“Birmingham is a fantastic, diverse, tolerant, warm and friendly city that welcomes people from all over the world and helps people celebrate their cultures and beliefs in a way that is second to none. This rally will be further proof that our community wants to come together and cherish diversity whilst opposing hatred and division”.
Peace activist Salma Yaqoob (left) is co-organising the ‘We Are One’ unity rally (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Peace activist Salma Yaqoob has been involved in organising the demonstration and said:
“This city is home to people of all different creeds, colours, backgrounds and beliefs, so we want to celebrate that in order to counter the rising tide of hatred. Those who have suffered at the hands of the perpetrators of hate crimes know how scary it can be, so we need to stand together united against hatred”.
This weekend’s event – entitled ‘Remember Together: We Are One‘ – will be presented by Birmingham historian, academic and campaigner Dr. Carl Chinn and aims to “reflect a city united in its commonality rather than difference”.
The We Are One rally is being supported by the Love Your Neighbour campaign, and by Stand Up To Racism Birmingham (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
White flowers will be shared as messages of peace are left in chalk and signed onto a white banner. Organisers will be giving out placards and posters bearing the slogan ‘We Are One’ and encourage those attending to also create their own.
The event has wide support from across the city, including the Birmingham City Council, the Church of England, Birmingham Central Mosque and community and cultural leaders from various faiths, denominations and none.
Supporters of the We Are One unity rally include Jack Dromey MP and international documentary filmmaker Amir Amirani (Photographs: Rana Nazir/Adam Yosef)
Community cohesion initiative Love Your Neighbour is also supporting the rally alongside Stand Up To Racism Birmingham and LGBT+ Against Islamophobia, and has also been endorsed by Labour MP Jack Dromey and internationally renowned documentary filmmaker Amir Amirani.
Birmingham Pride co-director Lawrence Barton – who will be represented at the unity event by Labour’s metro mayor candidate Steve Bedser – expressed his support for the show of solidarity:
“The reality of racism and bigotry against false displays of tolerance and liberty across many parts of the country is disheartening. Equality is an aspiration, but not a reality unfortunately. We need to stand united and show that we truly are against all forms of prejudice directed at all minority communities, especially those targeted following the EU vote. I fully support initiatives like We Are One and Love Your Neighbour, which bring people together and challenge hate in society.”
Birmingham Pride Director Lawrence Barton (second left) is backing the ‘We Are One’ unity rally and is seen here with Salma Yaqoob, Cllr Waseem Zaffar and Council Leader John Clancy, who will be speaking at the event (Photograph: Adam Yosef)
Birmingham City Council Leader John Clancy is also scheduled to speak in the rally in Victoria Square alongside MPs, community leaders and faith leaders all uniting to bring the city together against hatred, racism and prejudice in all forms.
.
The Birmingham ‘We Are One’ unity rally takes place on Sunday 17th July, and will start at 1pm in Victoria Square.
.
