Black and Asian group

Socialist ideas to unite all workers

The Socialist Party Black and Asian group in London met recently to discuss the work of the group and the difficulties facing black and Asian communities in Britain today.

Senan, Socialist Party Black and Asian group

Median pay for men of Pakistani and Bangladeshi origin is £6.25 an hour compared to £7 for black men and £9.31 for white men. While 25% of white children in Britain are growing up in poverty, 49% of black children and 63% of Pakistani and Bangladeshi children are doing the same.

Britain under New Labour has seen an even bigger transfer of wealth from the poor to the rich than under the Tories, which affects black and Asian communities disproportionately.

The black and Asian socialist group aims to discuss the particular problems faced by black and Asian workers and help the party as a whole to develop a political programme to take up these issues, as part of the struggle to unite workers from every background.

Topics debated included how to raise socialist ideas within different communities and how socialists should respond to Margaret Hodge's divisive comments on housing (see "Defend and expand public housing" in the socialist issue 489).

The meeting also spoke about the Save Sadiq Abakar campaign. Sadiq, a Socialist Party member originally from Darfur, is facing deportation. Sadiq fled Darfur in 1999 after he and his brother had been jailed for protesting against the government.

His brother was killed in prison and has father was murdered. His asylum case has been denied in Britain and he faces persecution if sent back to Darfur.

Sadiq, who introduced the discussion, pointed out that the UK government are still trying to maintain their economic interest in Sudan despite ongoing genocide and civil war taking place in Darfur. There are petitions, leaflets, and a 12 minute documentary CD available for the campaign.

Please contact Rob MacDonald on lambethsocialistparty@hotmail.com if you are able to help this campaign.

There are many upcoming events that the group plans to take part in, including the Rise festival on 15 July, the 5 August Latin American festival, the London Mela on 12 August and the Notting Hill carnival during the last weekend of August.

We also plan to produce a booklet about the abolition of the slave trade in 1807.

Our next meeting is on Tuesday 26 June, with the main discussion on 'Africa in revolt'. While we particularly encourage black and Asian Socialist Party members to attend, meetings are open to all members interested in the issues being discussed.