Callum Barker Wait patient for protesters. He has been one of the first to appear in front of the hotel The Bell in Eppinga small city northeastern London that has become the focus of protests against asylum applicants in the United Kingdom. Barker, a construction worker and neighbor of the town, has raised as one of the most outstanding voices of the demonstrations after one of the hotel guestsof ethiopian origin, was alleged by allegedly Try to sexually assault to a 14 -year -old girl in early July.
“For many people it was inevitable. We knew that Having these people here is a dangerso it was not a surprise that stopped someone, ”says this 22 -year -old, construction worker.“ This hotel has been open in several periods in the last five years and during this time has disturbed the community. People don’t feel safe Taking their children to school, they are scared to have to walk around here. We do not know who is housed here and that has generated tension and anxiety”, Adds Barker, although they have only registered three incidents Since the accommodation began to host asylum applicants in 2020, none of them with a final sentence.
Dozens of people gradually add to the demonstration. Many of them carry United Kingdom Banderas and from England, t -shirts with the slogan ‘Leave the kids alone’ (Leave children alone) and posters with proclamations such as ‘Epping Says no’ (Epping says no) or ‘Stop violence against women and children’ (Stop violence against women and children). The cars that pass in front of the attendees in support, under the watchful eye of dozens of police officers deployed to protect the building and 138 asylum seekers that continue inside. The few that are seen are beaten by the protesters, who require them to return to their countries of origin.
Citizen Division
The feeling of rejection of asylum applicants is majority in Epping, a historically conservative city. Still some anti -racist organizations have managed to concentrate hundreds of protesters in front of the hotel in recent weeks, with the aim of dealing with protests.
Henning honestan already retired social extrabajador, is contrary to the reaction of a large part of the citizens of its town. “How far do I know, asylum seekers They have the right to live somewhere And we have the obligation to host them according to international laws. It is true that there have been a couple of incidents, but for now no one has been convicted, so I think people are exaggerating. I can understand that parents with children are worried, but that does not mean that all asylum applicants are bad people, ”he says. Besides them, Michael Westwoodalso retired, replicates: “You have a house with four rooms, but You don’t take any there”.
He increased tension In Epping and the risk of riots, encouraged by groups of extreme right outside the town, has been one of the arguments presented by the District City Council to Ask for the hotel eviction. Some arguments that add to the lack of the necessary permits, since the establishment supposedly did not duly inform local authorities about their change in activity. Justice He accepted these arguments and ordered the precautionary closure of the accommodation next September 12but the decision has been reversed by him Court of Appeal Given the risk of other administrations to follow the same path and cause a collapse of the asylum system.
Populist proclamations
The Epping incident has served as combustible For the party of Populist right reform uk And for its leader, Nigel Faragewho has promised to abandon international human rights agreements to carry out mass deportations in case of winning the next general elections, provided for 2029. Farage’s speech, based on the infused link between immigration and crimehe has penetrated an important part of the population and has brows him in the polls. The most recent, published this week, place Reform UK as the first force with a 28% of voting intention in front of the 20% of the Labor Party and al 18% of the conservative party.
The prime minister, Keir Starmerhas hardened his speech against immigration in an attempt to cope with populists, despite the divisions that this issue is generating within his own party. The Government has promised close the more than 200 hotels For asylum seekers who are still open throughout the country before the legislature ends, but has defended doing so In an “orderly” way to guarantee compliance with human rights laws.
Legal routes
The organizations of refugee defense They have warned of the risks of following the speech of the populist right and asked the government to Open legal roads so that people who escape violence can request asylum without playing their lives in their attempt to arrive irregularly to the United Kingdom. The mobilization of thousands of people in the streets, in addition, has increased the concern of the authorities for the possibility of being Repeat xenophobic disturbances last summer, something that would put the security of thousands of innocent people at risk.
Some Asylum seekers They have shown their worryin statements to local media, for the increase in voltage in EPPING. A few meters from The Bell Hotel, in the Anglican Church of St. John, a visits book invites newcomers to leave their messages. In one of its pages you can read a text written in Amárico, one of the official languages of Ethiopia, and just above, a few words in English: “Lord Jesus, please, listen to my prayers.”
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