Socialist Party and Socialist Students member Philip, a college student in Cambridge, wanted to speak at an anti-racist protest in Stevenage in October, organised by Stand Up To Racism. The organisers didn’t allow him to speak.
But this is what Philip wanted to say. So, we’re printing it in the Socialist.
I wanted to come up and speak today, not only as a Socialist Party member, but also simply as a student. Due to situations like the cost of living, climate crisis, the rise in unemployment, and the government’s inadequacy in providing suitable solutions for these problems, young people have more than enough reason to worry about their futures.
Whilst coping with these pressures, I cannot imagine what it must be like for people who are struggling with the same conditions, and yet are blamed for it because of the country that they come from or the colour of their skin.
Asylum seekers living in hotels are given only £9.95 a week to live on, despite the cost-of-living crisis. Yet, they are still being accused of leeching off government resources.
Standard tuition fees for higher education are going to rise to over £10,000 next year. And the price is almost three times as high for ‘international students’.
This can include young people who have spent almost the entirety of their lives inside the UK, but don’t have citizenship. Often because they cannot afford it.
The rhetoric used by the likes of Nigel Farage is blatantly untrue. The same system, that has consistently failed young people born in the UK, is failing refugees and immigrants too. It isn’t a case of us or them.
Regardless of where we come from, we all deserve financial security and a fulfilling future. This cannot be provided by capitalism.
Our interests will never be supported by a system that thrives off inequality and the division of the working class, by means of scapegoating and marginalisation.
Chances are, that if you have gathered here today to take a stand for your community, then we already have a common goal. Join Socialist Students and 25 other youth and student organisations internationally striking on 20 November to advocate for funding for education and in support of all young people.
And beyond these strikes, continue to cooperate with us in a sustained effort for socialist change. Fight for our future, not their wars!
