As the English Defence League arrives in Manchester city centre tomorrow, people from all over Greater Manchester will be holding a celebration of multiculturalism, beginning with a rally at 12noon in Piccadilly Gardens, followed by a march through the town centre.
"Manchester is the third most ethnically diverse city in the world; more than 200 languages are spoken here and this rich mix is good for the city" says Julie Ward, Member of the European Parliament for the North West "Working across Europe, I have seen the frightening spectre of xenophobic far-right parties who would seek to divide our communities. We must not let that happen in our proud multi-cultural Britain.
"I stood against the fascist BNP in last year's European elections and am proud to be part of an ongoing pro-active campaign to Stand Up to Racism" she adds "We owe it to those who gave their lives against the fascists of the last century to be vigilant now and speak out wherever and whenever we see, hear or witness racism. The EDL do not speak our language."
The anti-racism party, which will be family-friendly and peaceful, has been called by Unite Against Fascism and is supported by many groups and trade unions including Salford City UNISON.
"UNISON has a very proud anti-racist history" says Rena Wood, a UNISON representative on the North West TUC Executive "Our anti-racist commitment is based on the principles of unity and solidarity."
Akaemia, a youth worker at the Hideaway Youth Project in Moss Side, has noticed a dramatic increase in racism on social media, both covert and blatant... "It saddens me deeply as well as enraging me" she says "I love Moss Side and believe we can teach the rest of the world a lot about getting along with each other and embracing difference."
Meanwhile, other civic leaders, including Greater Manchester's Police and Crime Commissioner Tony Lloyd, Imam Rashid Musa, Imam of Salford, Manchester Central MP Lucy Powell and Manchester City Council Leader Richard Leese, are calling for people to 'simply ignore' the EDL protest...
"...how do we respond to their arrival in our city?" they state "We recommend that Mancunians do what they have done before – ignore them. The most powerful thing we can do is not to shout back at these people, but simply turn our backs. We do not want to give credit to their campaign."
Celebration of Multicultural Manchester
Rally and March
Saturday 7th March12noon
Piccadilly Gardens
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