On Saturday 19 September, Co-chair of our Board of Directors Sam Ud-din was a speaker at Global Link and City of Sanctury‘s event in response Stand Up to Racism’s national day of action in support of refugees.

Click here to find out more and support Stand Up To Racism. Lancaster and Morecambe

In case you missed the event, we thought we’d share his speech. Here’s what Sam had to say:

“I’m speaking today not only as local National Education Union Secretary, with members in every primary and secondary school in the District, but also, as proudly, as Co-Chair of More Music, which for over two decades now has been a voice and source of community action in Morecambe and throughout Lancashire in support of the under-privileged, vulnerable and the lost.

As organisations, and also as individuals within those organisations, we have supported events and activities that help refugees of all kinds.

Just one example: our work in the annual Holocaust Memorial Day events in January, spanning activities across a whole week or more, has always recognised the many refugees fleeing war and persecution nearly 80 years ago that were welcomed into homes across the county.

Standing together with them then, and still now, has been a running theme across the years.

And we of course recognise that fear of war, persecution, famine or some natural disaster is still causing many to seek escape from their current environment – and we know that just as we would want to be supported if we had to try to run away, that we should be making the moral and ethical decision to take the right action and support those who we see need our help. We here do not need to be called on to provide that help. We just know that it is right to provide it.

But it is useful still to provide resources for everyone – the NEU has this week again shared a new Anti-racism Charter – a major resource for use in schools to help de-colonise the curriculum, remove some of the barriers that have been raised over the years between our communities and ‘others’ from outside.

More Music is bringing people together to make new songs and new music, combining elements and themes from different cultures to produce joy for the ears of all!

Equality is at the core of what we do – trying to ensure that no one is discriminated against, everyone feels included.

Being political about that is inevitable – whether it’s unashamedly playing Cuban,  African, Asian and Caribbean music or repeatedly contacting your local MP and Councillors to tell them to support BAME people here or Rohinga refugees the other side of the world or those that we went from here to just across to Calais to support – we have a responsibility to get involved and stay involved if we claim to be part of ‘society’. Again, it’s a reciprocal relationship – we want society to look after us, so we must look after it. Because we are part of that global community – thank you ‘Global Link’!

It’s actually a really, really simple message – ‘be good to each other everyone!’

Thank you for coming out – keep safe, and help to keep refugees safe too.

Refugees are welcome here, refugees are welcome here.”

Click here to find out more and support Stand Up To Racism. Lancaster and Morecambe