Racism is distraction
Hey Guys, Andy here. I had been asked to talk live this morning on BBC Radio4’s Today Programme about my Afghan interpreter project which opens today at The Fusilier Museum London. However due to ‘developing news’ my slot was dropped from the schedule. It is not a great leap to believe that my slot was disrupted by the far- right unrest in the UK of which there are reports of 100 planned gatherings today. Oh the irony.
“Social co-operation is a hard and difficult thing. I feel you would have done your duty as a politician, as an ethical politician, much more productively if instead of exciting the notion of future strife, you had encouraged the notion of future co- operation on the basis of understanding.” Jonathan Miller speaking to Enoch Powell, 14th May 1971
The full title of my project is We Are Here, Because You Were There; Afghan Interpreters in the UK. The rationale behind the project was to explain that the interpreters are here because their lives are at risk from the Taliban because they worked for the British Army in Afghanistan. No one wants to leave their homeland, their culture and their family. And no one wants to leave with nothing but the clothes on their backs and throw themselves onto the mercy of a foreign government; yet which is precisely what the Afghan interpreters did. Many, as teenagers, learned a foreign language, donned a uniform, and went to work patrolling the fields of Helmand shoulder to shoulder with soldiers in the British Army; they are clever, hard working and proud.
Racism is distraction
I was going to talk about this. I was going to offer background, context, and anecdotes (from interviews conducted by my partner in crime Prof Sara de Jong) to offer detail as to why the interpreters deserve our support and aid. I was going to recount how one interpreter was blown out the back of a Warrior armoured vehicle, lost his hearing, was fired, and spent his savings on his medical bills. I was going to say how awful it was that 35% of the interpreters had been dismissed without due process which would then be used as an excuse to exclude them from resettlement in the UK. I was going to explain while there is a Ministry of Defence (MoD) policy for the interpreters, co- ordinated with military charities, the migration, integration and cultural challenges involved are complex. I was going to point out while there is governmental policy to help resettle additional family members of Afghan interpreters (due to the acute risk of the Taliban targeting male relatives), there is no time scale with applications being placed in indefinite hold. Lastly, I was going to encourage listeners to visit the exhibition being held at The Fusilier Museum London located at the Tower of London where the regiment was originally raised in June 1685.
Racism is distraction
I had asked to be introduced as ‘a photographer, a veteran and the son of a refugee’, deliberately including the final description in solidarity with those who are being targeted and blamed, by some, as the cause of the nation wide violence. And yet, rather than talking about social co-operation, rather than sending a message of support and assistance my time went to discussing disorder and cruelty. At time of writing 428 arrests have been made and 120 people charged after violent disorder. For those who claim ‘Two Tier Policing’, ie the pernicious myth that white far- right ‘protesters’ are treated more harshly than other, including non white, protesters, the comparison with the 2020 Black Lives Matter (BLM) is telling; between May and June 2020 there were 135 arrests across a reported 200 protests. If you think this proves ‘Two Tier Policing’, please consider the Duck Test.
Words have meaning and violent words lead to violent actions. The UK has had a decade of government telling us ‘outsiders’ are threatening what we hold dear. Those ‘outsiders’ are not the ones setting libraries on fire, assaulting emergency workers, and sowing division, hatred and spreading lies.
“The function, the very serious function of racism is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work.” Toni Morrison, Portland State University, 1975
andybarnham
I am a portrait photographer based in Cheltenham, UK. Born in Hong Kong to a Chinese mum and British dad, I had an international upbringing while I educated in the UK. I started photography as a hobby while serving as an officer in the British Army.
After my service I turned this passion into a career and became immersed in London's sartorial scene. I am now focusing my camera on portraiture and using this eye for detail which was refined over ten years. As a former Royal Artillery officer it is only fitting I shoot with a Canon camera.
