• Rochel Newton The rise in racist attacks and the growth of the far-right in Britain has seen an increase in activities fighting racism and fascism. Several anti-racist organisations, each claiming to have the legitimacy and correct formula for being 'the mittee. national anti-racist movement' have been launched or revived. However all these groups have been found wanting -anti racist activity has suffered from their weaknesses and public bickering, and the potential strength of thousands of anti-racists has been dissipated at a time when we need it most. Against this background the Manches- war). ter Unity Committee Against Racism and Fascism was formed.
Unity demo The October 16 demonstramingham. tion to 'close down the BP' in Welling succeeded in one thing nationally -uniting the majority of active anti-racist forces on one single demonstration. Despite the many negative points about its organisation and outcome this positive aspect should not be forgotten. In Manchester many inde- anyone. pendent anti-racist activists and different organisations came together to organise for the demo. This formed the basis for the Unity ComBlack activists It is centred on groups of black activists organised in the Black Peoples Alliance and their supporters. They were the driving force be- elections. hind Manchester's largest ever anti-racist demonstra tion in August 1992 (a memorial march to protest the racist murders of Siddik play the 'race card". Dada and Mohammed Sar- Still very new, Also involved are a group of largely Asian activists who were the core of Manchester's support group for the Burnsalls strikers in Birnot totally There has also been some input from Manchester AntiFascist Youth - a new independent group of sixth-form students - with suggestions for joint activities. Other individuals and left 4001
• Lovise Whittle • elow this article i Othe appeal of stu dents in Tuzla. Read it possible. over. Students from all over the region went to study in Tuzla. Now they are trapped by the blockade, Their families don't know if they are dead or alive and cannot help them. The students and young people of besieged Tuzla are involved in the defence of the multicultural city again the racist and chauvinist Serbian military. They are defending the right to live together, the right to live in peace. Their fight is our fight. They are fighting for our common future. VOU Young people and students have been heavily involved in the International Workers Aid convoys to Bosnia. IWA is a campaign based in the international Tuzla. working class movement but also unemployed youth and students, including Liberation! supporters, were members of the first convoy. In November part of the convoy got through to Tuzla. The next convoy plans to STUDENTS ASSOCIATION MINING - GEOLOGICAL FACULTY TUZLA UNIVERSITY Respected Colleagues! We address you from Tuzla, the centre of northeastern Bosnia, which is at the same time the most powerful mining centre of our country. Soon, the whole two years will pass since the war has begun in this area. The war affected all of us, including students and our faculty. Besides, faculty is still in function. Professors and students still work hard and learn in order to use their acquired knowledge in after war industrial development of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this difficult time, our work is getting to be worse, becuase we are faced with a lot of problems. Our town and country are kept in blockade from all sides, so we are not in the position to make a contact with the outside world. In this way we would like to accomplish all kind of co-operation with you. As we are not able to provide the new books and literature journals we kindly ask you to help us as much as vou can. Our financial situation is tragic so we ask you for support. Our address is: Student's Association, Mining. Geological Faculty, Bratsiva i jedinstva, 75 000 Tuzla, phone: (075) 238 552/ 239492 Greetings. move off in late April. Well want get as much support from students and young people on the convoy as The students of Tuzla are appealing for books and money to buy journals and other reading matter. And students and young people in this country should answer their request.
Why not contact Interna tional Workers' Aid and find out how you can help. vital maybe you can help with leafletting in your town or IWA convoys give your college? Maybe you can help with a collection? Maybe when IWA holds campaigning activities - like its recent picket demanding the UN open Tuzla airport.
COEN come along? Maybe we can arrange for Esma Kadic and young people from Britain to go to Tuzia? Samia Either way, we have to aid our brothers and sisters in refugees from Contact Tuzla in central International Bosnia, talked to Workers' Aid, Liberation! 12-14 Thornton Street, London, before the war? SW9 OBL.
great time. probably choose to for me to leave, really like it here are more friendly. back to Bosnia.
rebrenica: United Nations has tanks & threats of airstrikes Tuzla? amia: They are not big Karamehmedovic, differences. But I think Tuzla was more quiet. I two young women mean, the lifestyle here in London is so fast. In our • country we started work at seven in the morning and finished at three, and then we had the rest of the afternoon to spend with our LI: What was Bosnia like family. Here people work until five and then, Samia: We had a coaly dinner, you have just a few hours to spend with your If I could family and then it's time choose whether to stay for bed. here or to be back in my LI: What do you like most country before the war, I'd go about this country? back. It was really difficult - sma & Samia: Nightand I was •lifell crying and it was hard to LI: And what do you like leave all my friends. But 1 least? in Eng land I think people here amia: I don't like t see lots of homeles: LI: The government hasn't people. I mean I was really really been sympathetic to to surprised to see that. In refugees in general. What our country you don't really problems have you had? see homeless people on the street.
- sma: I've had a letter In our country, the differ.
from the Home Office, ence between poor people they gave me a visa that and rich people is really not ends in November. I can that great. You don't have apply again for political really, really rich people and asvium but i don't know if that will happen, if the war really really poor people, is over then I'll have to go everybody works together.
LI: A lot of people in Britain LI: What differences do are very concerned about you think there are between racism and the growth of life in Britain and life in racism. Do you think Britain is racist?
• amia: Yes, but I didn't really get any harassment. Some people were really shocked when they knew we were Bosnian refugees. It was like a re ally big deal. And some people said "what are you doing here" and when I said i was proud to be Bosnian they said why don't after we go and fight for Bosnia and kill Serbs and Croats. Bosnia before the war was really multi-ethnic. In Bosnia we used to live to gether. My next door neighbour one side was Serb, the other Croat.
LI: There are now many Bosnian refugees in London. How important is the community of Bosnians living here to you?
• amia: When voi people from Bosni you think my God, I don't want to talk to them about Bosnia because you just want to forget what's happening. Its not easy for me, especially for me be cause I'm really emotional so every thing about Bosnia is very upsetting. I wish I was with my parents. I heard yesterday from my sister that they're really hungry. And I hear things like that and for me its really difficult.
APE B25L LI: There's a move to try and get people to twin with: Tuzla University, and to get people to write letters of support to Tuzla. Do you think that's useful?
that's really useful, because if you're in Tuzla, you think that the rest of the world doesn't hear about what's happening.
LI: International Workers' Aid picketed the Foreign Office in January calling for Tuzla airport to be opened. Why did you encourage people to go?
Samia: The worst of the war in Bosnia is that people are living there and they haven't got any food. When I talked to my sister she said that for instance in Tuzla people are really dying from hunger. I think that is really important to open the airport to gel supplies there.
A friend of mine rang me the other day and said that the situation in Tuzla is re ally bad. There are people making appeals to other towns in northern Bosnia, asking for food because people are dying. She said that the Bosnian army - actually when I say Bosnian army I don't mean just Muslims - they're trying to de fend the territory around see Tuzla and around central Bosnia as well.
I'm so proud to be from Tuzla, where I know that all the people still believe in something, that they can live together. If I go back to Bosnia, if take a gun and go and fight I'll probably be killed. What I can do is try to raise money and send it to people in Bosnia.
If some people really want to live together, like they want in Tuzla, they should have the right to.
German socialist _ Duncoma Chapple mass unemployment and back the right of the west