On Saturday 30th November, Aberdeen joined with thousands of others across Scotland taking part in the St Andrews Day weekend of anti-racism/ anti-fascism activity.
In Aberdeen trade union, community and political activists rallied at the Castlegate to the rousing tunes of the Grampian District Pipes and Drums.
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| Grampian District Pipes and Drums |
ATUC President Sasha Brydon welcomed those who braved the cold, introducing a range of speakers, united in their messages of solidarity with all those facing discrimination and oppression.
Over the next few days, we will be sharing speeches and messages from the day, starting with Sasha's opening address...
Sasha Brydon, President of Aberdeen Trades Union Council.
We are
gathered here today to reaffirm our commitment to fight all forms of racism and
fight fascism wherever it rears its ugly head.
Aberdeen has
a very proud history of resisting fascism, where we are standing is very
significant. Here, in the 1930s, Bob Cooney and others organised to drive the
British Union of Fascists out of the city for good. In 1936, a group of men
from Aberdeen went to fight to defend democracy in Spain against Franco, who
was supported by Hitler and Mussolini.
That may all
seem like an awful long time ago, however all over the world we are seeing the
rise or consolidation of distinctly right-wing and reactionary forces. In 2014
we saw the toppling – aided by NATO and
the European Union, of Ukrainian democracy to be replaced by a government that
rehabilitates Nazi war criminals.
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| Sasha Brydon, ATUC President |
In 2016 the election of Donald Trump in the
United States, in 2018 the election of Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil, In 2019 we have
seen the re-election of Narendra Modi in India, the rise of Boris Johnson, and Benjamin
Netanyahu is doing his very best to cling to power in Israel.
Things may
seem very bleak, however we have opportunities to fight back. Wherever racists
seek to organise, we likewise organise and stop them before they grow. The
labour movement will oppose racism wherever it is found, in the workplace, in
the streets, or in the halls of parliament.