As has been widely reported, not least here in Sussex Bylines, hundreds of people have been marching through the streets of Crowborough, protesting against plans to move asylum seekers to an army training camp, with speakers encouraging people to “form patrols” and stop paying council tax. There have been several large marches with participants frequently chanting “send them home” and carrying threatening signs and flags.
Two groups seem to have done most of the organising for these marches: Crowborough Shield, which was set up by local residents and has launched a legal challenge; and Crowborough Says No, a forum with a website that ‘shares information and co-ordinates action’. There is plenty of social media chatter suggesting these marches have attracted far-right individuals and/or symbols and activists from far-right groups, even if it’s not easy to find clear evidence.
Before the last march, on Valentines Day, Crowborough Unity and Stand Up To Racism planned to hold a stall in the town to show the face of ‘kindness and compassion’, and to provide a ‘different voice’ for Crowborough. We chose the day before so that it didn’t clash with the march. The plan had been to bring cakes, literature, some books, music and a large red heart for people to leave messages of welcome for the men in the Army Camp on the edge of the town.
Many locals fear the marches
I was with the stall and was hoping to offer the opportunity for conversations not yet had in public in the town. It was the first event offering an alternative to the weekly protest marches and we know from talking to people that many residents supported something like this. Many locals fear being near the marches. People I know who live near the Green cannot leave their homes, and I understand the local Roman Catholic Priest has had to change his Sunday morning service to Saturday evening, as he is now unable to travel between the churches where he holds services.
We were surprised that the marchers mobilised so fast but, from the minute we arrived, Crowborough Says No had their megaphones out, chanting nasty, uninformed anti-refugee tropes and showing they have no knowledge of the asylum system. They hollered and swore at us and were very threatening. At first, we gave as good as we got, with our share of loud hailer users who were leading the chant “Say it loud, Say it clear, Refugees are welcome here!” and so the whole experience was chaotic, ear splitting and scary.
People were churning around. At first CSN were kept away from us by the police but, latterly, the two groups were mixing together. At one point I found myself separated from our group and stuck in the other crowd. One of the men yelled at me about “illegal immigrants”, spitting the word “filth” as he gesticulated towards the vicinity of the camp. Some of our people witnessed the tearing up of our leaflets too.
There were a lot of police eventually, but it felt like they didn’t separate the two groups sufficiently. I told police officers more than once that the groups were mixing and it was feeling scary. I was told they couldn’t do anything while it was peaceful.
The protesters got closer and closer. Standing on benches. Hurling personal abuse at us, including rape threats against myself and my children, saying that “you can never trust a leftie with your kids”, and claiming we had no right to be there if we weren’t local.
Ambushed
The police were probably unprepared for the speed of the ambush on us and that’s why they didn’t fully cordon off both groups. I’ve seen reports that CSN outnumbered us 2:1. I believe they were literally caught off guard.
The protesters picked out faces on our side that they could identify, such as my friend who had already had her life turned upside down, due to the vile targeting she received over the previous few days by the right wing across much of the media (and by our own MP) for painting cards of ‘welcome’ with her grandchildren.
In the end, we left after an hour, earlier than planned, with a tight police escort back to the car park, and were warned to stay with them for our own safety. CSN say they are peaceful but does that sound peaceful? They say they care about women and girls but does that sound like they do? We were all shaken up and CSN claimed a win. They had stopped our Stall of Kindness.
Climate of hatred being legitimised
After the event Crowborough Unity issued a statement addressing the targeting of community volunteers: “Our mission is to promote unity and support for all, yet our volunteers are currently facing an environment of increased hostility.”
“A peaceful solidarity stall trying to put out an anti-racist message organised by Crowborough Stand Up to Racism was shut down today. About 40 or so far right led campaigners surrounded the 20 or so campaigners who were sharing cakes and leafletting in solidarity with refugees, and drowned them out with chants calling for deportations. They targeted local anti-racists, including councillors, with vile chants and abuse and stole anti-racist material from the stall.”
“The level of intimidation shows how much the so called defenders of ‘free speech’ care about that. The fact they surrounded, abused and intimidated women today gives the lie to their claims they are all just about ‘protecting women’. That they feel so empowered in the current climate to shut down a refugee solidarity stall also shows the climate of hatred being legitimised by too many mainstream politicians.”
The statement singles out Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne, who had joined the Crowborough Says No marches and Sussex Weald MP Nus Ghani, who attacked the Refugee Hearts campaign online.
What’s really going on here? Why do these people think it’s OK to march every week putting their views across, but think it’s not OK for those with a different view to peacefully raise awareness at a stall, with a theme of love rather than hate, compassion over hostility?”
Joan is a pseudonym. The author is a concerned Sussex citizen but for her own security – as she has received threats on social media previously – we have withheld her real name.
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