In Memoriam: Trevor Rayne
We remember and mourn the loss of our comrade Trevor Rayne (Rawnsley), who died two years ago on 2 March 2022 and whose articles, grounded in a profound Marxism and painstakingly researched, enriched the pages of Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! for so many years. We miss his warmth, his wit, his erudition and, as a movement emerges onto the streets of Britain in solidarity with the Palestinian resistance, his thundering, inspiring speeches that could light up a crowd. A communist and anti-imperialist to the core, he understood the fault-lines created by imperialism’s division, occupation and plunder of the oppressed nations of the world and would have relished writing and speaking on the eruptions of resistance in occupied Palestine, in Lebanon, Yemen and beyond. He remains an inspiration to us all.
In Memoriam: Terry O’Halloran
Thirty-five years ago, on 23 January 1989, the revolutionary Terry O’Halloran died suddenly of a heart attack aged 36. He became a member of the RCG in 1976 and played a critical role in our work in opposing British imperialism in Ireland – becoming a well-known and respected figure amongst Irish Republicans – and in South Africa, where his work on the Non-Stop Picket outside Apartheid South Africa House was similarly outstanding. His precise and scorching journalism for Hands Off Ireland and Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! have left an indelible mark in the record of those struggles. His minutely prepared polemical attacks on opportunism at every stage in our class struggle remain an example for all of those opposing British imperialism today.
Stand up for education
Susan Davidson’s article in FRFI 297 ‘Poverty in Britain: an institutionalised state policy of impoverishment’ struck a chord with me and my experiences working in primary schools in London. Cuts to education are profoundly affecting children, particularly those from working-class backgrounds. Your article compelled me to reflect on my experiences as an educator and one of the many reasons for my decision to step away from teaching.
Our goal as educators is to make a meaningful difference in the education of children and their future. Today this means highlighting and fighting against the direct impact the state is having on the most vulnerable members of society. The startling data you presented is echoed by organisations such as the Education Policy Institute, Child Poverty Action Group, and the Good Child Report, that the daily life of working-class children in Britain has rapidly declined in countless ways. This includes the widening achievement gaps, a staggering decline in mental well-being, persistent food insecurity and concerns for their future, which have been exacerbated since Covid-19.
Additionally, there is a constant pressure on primary school children to do well on their KS1 phonics screening checks or KS2 SATs, and the burden on children and staff alike for OFSTED inspections to ensure pupils are meeting government curriculum set targets. It was clear to me from my experience in school settings that the state did not care about acquiring ‘true knowledge’ for students, but about acquiring its future workforce and maximising profits. Education and profit-making are essentially intertwined under capitalism. The article you wrote has strengthened my commitment to fight for systemic change and reinforced my concerns. I agree with you that socialism provides the solution and I urge us all to rise and resist the cuts.
NIMA YASSIN
North London
Dundee stands with Palestine
As everywhere, people in Dundee are angry. In our particular situation in Dundee, where hundreds have mobilised every week to stand in solidarity with Palestine, we are furious that the Scottish National Party (SNP) has failed to raise the flag of that beleaguered nation. As an FRFI supporter I have raised this outrage from the platforms of our regular Saturday protests. Dundee has been civically twinned with Nablus in the West Bank for over 50 years and the flag always flew above the City Square. When he visited Dundee in 1981, the then-mayor of Nablus, Bassam Shaka’a, had to be carried into the City Chambers in his wheelchair after losing his legs in a Zionist bombing.
Nadia el-Nakla is an SNP councillor here and has addressed our demos. She is the partner of the SNP First Minister of Scotland, Humza Yousaf, and they live in Dundee. Yousaf was on Radio Scotland last week detailing the emotional and possibly final telephone call from his mother-in-law in Gaza. Yet we look up at the wee balcony of the City Chambers and see: the Butcher’s Apron – the Union Jack, the Scottish Saltire and the flag of Ukraine but no flag of Palestine after three months of genocide. Shame on the SNP! Raise the flag of Palestine!
MICHAEL MACGREGOR
Dundee
Thanks FRFI
It has been a very difficult year for me in prison: very traumatic and a mental challenge. I do not know how I would have dealt with it all if I had not had the support of FRFI. FRFI gave me a voice which I am so very grateful for because it validated my truth and my experience here in prison. Thank you deeply for this. FRFI also stood up to the prison and challenged them on their violation of my rights; again I can’t put into words how much of a difference this made for me and how much it meant to me. Thank you for this also. But mostly I would like to thank you for giving me the strength and confidence to fight for my rights.
Early in my sentence I was attacked by police officers after being racially abused by them. I reported it to the police, but the police covered it up; the main officer involved left the prison rather than face any consequences. I now have a court action against the prison and Lancashire police relating to the matter. I am facing opposition, but thanks to FRFI I have the self-belief and confidence to at least try to get justice. I survived the attack but if I don’t actually speak up the next racially motivated attack in prison may end in a fatality and be covered up as it has happened in the past.
Right now the courts are trying to rush my case through and dismiss the racial element as quietly as they can. They want no attention on these cases but thanks to you I will keep on fighting.
ELAVI DOWIE (A0444EF)
HMP Lindholme,
Bawtry Road,
Hatfield Woodhouse,
Hatfield, Doncaster DN7 6EE
FIGHT RACISM! FIGHT IMPERIALISM! 298 February/March 2024
