We’ve pulled together ideas and links from our meetings and put them on a new Brexit page. Scroll through, find what you need and let us know if we’ve missed anything or if you spot an error. Thank you for the suggestions and pointers.
Everyone’s ideas are included: refreshing our links & knowing who to contact, where to find specific information and the importance of bringing people together & building trust while the uncertainty continues.
There are some specific links for business, supporting EU citzens, a no-deal Brexit and a round up of our safety and security advice.
Local places of worship are often a trusted source of information & support – for their members and for the wider community. We’ll add further links & resources as we become aware of them.
A big thank you to DS Shabnam Chaudri and colleagues for hosting our latest Brexit Briefing for local places of worship at New Scotland Yard.
We refreshed our knowledge of keeping ourselves, our buildings and the wider community safe. The EU Exit page has been updated with links, videos and checklists which we can use to maintain and increase our resilience. There is also plenty of information for non-British EU citizens, businesses, universities, handling the media, looking after one another and reporting hate crime.
Attacks against Muslims and mosques have soaredsince Christchurch. We discussed how we can all keep at look out, protect each other and report hate crime of any kind. Here is a pdf of the Upstander cartoon, which is easy to circulate – what to do if someone on the bus/tube/train/street is being shouted at or receiving horrible comments. We heard many stories of people from minority faith and ethnic groups in London, including people from Eastern Europe, receiving hateful messages and online abuse. Reporting abuse and providing support is something we can all do.
Since our briefing, the earliest date for leaving the EU has shifted to 12 April. We are keeping in touch with each other and we encourage all places of worship across the capital to strengthen their links with neighbouring churches, mosques, temples, gurdwaras & synagogues – and with their local authorities and police. Borough faith forums are one way of supporting each other and a network to share information.
The Church of England is encouraging churches and communities to come together for tea & prayer for the country and the Brexit process.
Please contact LBFN if you would like the contact details of your local Metropolitan Police Faith Officer. The MPS is now organised into 12 areas across London called Basic Command Units (BCUs) and Faith Officers sometimes work across their SBU or look after a smaller area.
Register here to join us on Thursday 21 March 6pm-8pm at New Scotland Yard, Victoria Embankment, SW1A 2JL, for briefings from DS Shabham Chaudhri and DC Richard Fidge of the Metropolitan Police and to share ideas on building a positive environment together in our neighbourhoods & boroughs.
Bring photo ID for entry to New Scotland Yard. Allow 10 mins to clear security. Registration by 11am on 20 March is essential.
Please pass on this invitation to others who might find it useful.
Our meeting at City Hall last week brought people from Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim & Sikh communities together for some thoughtful discussion.
We are very grateful to Jeremy Reynolds of London Resilience for briefing us on preparations for leaving the EU and for listening to a range of concerns as well as our positive ideas for resisting any negative impacts on our local communities.
Local authority and police officers also joined us.
Have a look at our EU Exit page, which is now updated with links to useful sources of information suggested by Jeremy and others. There are also suggestions for action, with links. We will keep this refreshed as new material becomes available.
Concerns included hate crime on public transport (eg “Wait till Brexit – we’ll get rid of you”), uncertainty & not knowing who to ask, trade down in small businesses & worries about import/export, impact on donations to foodbanks, paralysis at the top trickling down to local level, fear experienced by anyone perceived to be foreign (whether they are British or not), antisemitism playing into the situation (“you’re controlling/benefiting from all this”), concerns that Islamophobia & antisemitism in the major political parties not really being dealt with properly, people being asked to prove their status before treatment in the NHS (& embarrassment about this stopping British people going for treatment until things are worse), EU nationals can register but you don’t get a piece of paper only a number, people are confused over benefits, public services are fully stretched and also preparing for EU Exit, no-one wants to stir up unnecessary fear by voicing uncertainty, visible differences (eg minority religious clothing) v invisible differences (eg when speaking) create further fractures, uncertainty about travelling to continental Europe and getting back to the UK, worries about EU Nationals employed by churches, fears of panic buying and public disorder.
Having channels of communication open means we can be prepared. There are suggestions on our EU Exit page. Preparing for Brexit builds our capacity & our social capital. It encourages the public sector, churches, mosques, gurdwaras, synagogues & temples to be in touch and to
bring together local residents
resist any negative impact on community relations
support the vulnerable
share information
We are planning one more briefing meeting before 29 March. In the meantime, please keep in touch and add your own suggestions of useful material/organisations as a reply to this post or by email.
PS Apologies for the intrusive ads; we need to upgrade the LBFN site.
Book your place here. Join us on 7 March 6pm at City Hall, SE1 2AA, to hear the latest information and to share ideas on building a positive environment together in our neighbourhoods & boroughs.
How should we prepare for 29 March, regardless of the outcome of negotiations?
We
are aware that many of us – representing organisations and as
individuals – have questions and concerns about the impact of EU Exit,
regardless of whether this is a ‘no deal’ situation, or what ‘deal’ is
agreed upon. We are also aware that these questions and concerns may be
around tangible issues, or less tangible issues, and may be objective
and real, or mostly arise from perceptions.
You are invited to a briefing and discussion on EU Exit on Thursday 7th March from 6pm-8pm.
This will be an opportunity to share these questions and concerns with each other, and also to hear from key people from public agencies such as the Police, local and central government. We will also aim to guide participants to sources of clear information and to share ideas together for how to build a positive, welcoming and hopeful environment in our communities.
The following questions and concerns may be included:
* Possible spikes in hate crime * Concerns about possible shortages of food, fuel and medicines * Staffing issues in our own organisations and in public services * Residence and status issues for our members * Issues for students * Concerns that other more important issues have been side-lined as a result of the unhealthy focus on Brexit
There is no cost and all are invited to this meeting.
Please forward this invitation on to others who might find it useful.
We’ve pulled together ideas and links from our meetings and put them on a new Brexit page. Scroll through, find what you need and let us know if we’ve missed anything or if you spot an error. Thank you for the suggestions and pointers.
There are some specific links for business, supporting EU citzens, a no-deal Brexit and a round up of our safety and security advice.
A big thank you to DS Shabnam Chaudri and colleagues for hosting our latest Brexit Briefing for local places of worship at New Scotland Yard.
London Boroughs Faiths Network 