The far-right protests in Falkirk continue to escalate in thuggery, but the anti-racist coalition remains united in standing up to them, reports Lewis Akers

Falkirk For All (FFA), the local anti-racist group which was set up in response to the anti-refugee group Save Our Futures And Our Kids Futures (SOFOKF) held its first mid-week counter-protest yesterday.

SOFOKF have been holding twice weekly protests outside the Cladhan Hotel in Falkirk for a number of weeks now. Previously, a decision had been made by FFA to focus on outreach work instead of countering the Wednesday protests but after the way anti-refugee protestors harassed a local man asking for music to be turned off, a decision was made to run a counter-protest.

The counter-protest got off to a difficult start with local anti-racists having to arrive an hour and a half early to claim the side of the road next to the hotel due to reports SOFOKF were going to try to claim the usual counter-protest spot next to the hotel. Once set up, food was shared and people began a silent and peaceful protest to show a contrast between us and the noise on the other side. At one point, a women’s solidarity wall was initiated spontaneously  by counter-protestors to highlight the unity and lack of fear of the woman on our side.

On the other side, things seemed angrier and more volatile than usual. Bright lights and laser pointers were shone at counter-protestors’ eyes while sirens were played continuously through megaphones and fireworks were let off. Unusually, quite a number of the anti-refugee protestors for the first time turned up wearing face masks and acting very aggressively.

Despite the police being warned of the volatility of the situation and the need for a police presence to control these elements, it was not heeded. The first incident happened when a group of men from the hotel left and were followed by local masked men and met with chants of ‘Pedo’. On the return of a man who lived at the hotel, anti-racists clapped as one to block out the chants of ‘Pedo’ and to show their solidarity with those inside the hotel.

 A second incident happened later when, as a local woman was leaving, she was followed and surrounded by anti-refugee protestors. She was only saved by the fact that local anti-racists intervened while the police waited for their presence to be bolstered. Both incidents didn’t become more serious by luck more than by serious planning.

The irony for anti-racist protestors was that Connor Graham, the SOFOKF founder, was heard on his speaker system claiming it had been a peaceful and respectful protest. This claim was debunked completely when anti-racists were followed to their cars, bus station and train station by masked SOFOKF protestors who shouted abuse, squared up to people, and tried to block the safe exit of FFA counter-protestors. One of the most serious reports of the evening was an anti-racist being nearly run over by an anti-refugee protestor while he was shouting out his car.

In response to the chaos of the last month and a half, FFA have launched a petition to call for an exclusion zone to be put around the Cladhan Hotel to stop the risk to refugees and the disruption to local residents. Alongside the outreach work the group has done, this will become a key way of creating a dialogue with those across Falkirk and a way of driving a wedge between SOFOKF and local people.

In spite of volatile situation where local anti-racists are harassed, abused and attacked, FFA counter-protestors have continued to stand strong in support of anti-racist politics and in solidarity with those inside the Cladhan. Despite the dangers, the anti-racist campaign in Falkirk is showing that we can fight back against the far right.