Her own cry of anguish, her own shocking testimony, about the savage anti-immigrant riots that broke out in the United Kingdom after the murder of three little girls in Southport, she gives to skai.gr a young British doctor, originally from Yemen. “If not the UK, where do we belong?” he wonders. “This week incidents broke out right outside my daughter’s nursery. Across the street is a mosque. I was really worried” notes.

H N. Burgess, of mixed race, with British citizenship, feels lucky to be “ethnically ambiguous in her appearance”. In a letter to skai.gr she expresses her “complaint”, but also her concern for her friends and family, on the occasion of the violent far-right incidents that are shaking the country.

In detail, the letter of N. Burgess

Unfortunately, these riots involved hundreds of people, some of them quite violent or with very hateful slogans. Usually the slogans are related to immigrants: “they take our jobs” etc. Well, I’m mixed race, my dad is English, my mom came here when she was 9 years old from south Yemen which was a British colony at the time. He has always held a British passport. What does this mean to me in their eyes? Am I worthy enough? We never claimed benefits, always worked, paid taxes. The irony is that my mom is an English teacher!

Do we need to justify ourselves further? The point is that we feel like we have to justify ourselves! If not in the UK, where do we belong? The British came to Yemen to get oil and natural resources from which they benefited. Many immigrants came to the UK to rebuild it after WWII. But now they are not welcome.

Unfortunately, the vast majority of extremists who rise up are not very educated. They say immigrants take their jobs, but they get benefits themselves. And the vast number of highly skilled immigrants, lawyers, doctors, engineers, etc., don’t get their jobs because they haven’t gone to college or university or whatever, and they live on benefits.

Islamophobia is nothing new, it has been an issue for decades. The media and politicians have really encouraged Islamophobia and especially since 9/11. Even in movies the “bad guys” are always Arabs! That is starting to change now. But after the Brexit vote, there was a huge increase in anti-Muslim/Arab hate crimes with acid attacks and some rioting afterwards. It also happened after 9/11. In our last election, the third largest party voted for was Reform UK. That says it all.

The recent riots started after the stabbings of those badass girls at Taylor Swift’s children’s party. And someone said the shooter was a Muslim. It was not. He was British, Christian (his parents from Rwanda). But all the riots towards the mosques started then. And although it became known that he was a Christian, the riots against Muslims and mosques continued. Apparently, the attacks are not directed at the churches, they were just a pretext to let Islamophobia out.

Unfortunately, this week episodes broke out just outside from my daughter’s daycare. Across the street is a mosque. I was really worried.

I’m “lucky” I’m “ethnically ambiguous” in my appearance. I worry about my friends and family who wear headscarves or have long beards… Or for my Sikh friends who unfortunately wear turbans, and these far-right thugs don’t know the difference between religions and think a turban means Muslim.

These far-right English rioters are radicalized. A term usually reserved for Muslims. But it is our media and politicians who have contributed to this radicalization… I wonder if there will be lessons in recognizing the radicalization of these people, as we are obliged to teach about Muslim radicals.

Also, unfortunately, the riots targeted the medical workforce. The NHS works thanks to immigrants… The BMA (British Medical Association) he instructed us doctors this week not to go anywhere alone, to be careful when entering or leaving the hospital and to avoid areas where gangs form.

But when these people go to the hospital, they are happy to be seen by a foreign doctor or nurse, and complain when they wait too long.

We use the term “anti-Semitic” very easily, but Islamophobia is hardly mentioned at all. Words have power. If we use it we must do something about it. Why does Keir Starmer avoid the term? It’s easier to have someone to blame for all our problems.