As the xenophobic howling of our ruling class and their brainless moronic minions on the streets grows ever louder, the chanting is that migrant workers are the root of all our problems. Of course we should all realise that the ruling class will always pull a scapegoat out of their hat to take the focus off their greed and inadequacies, today it is those “nasty, lazy, greedy foreigners” stealing all your jobs, and living off your tax money. Now, because of this propaganda of delusion, fear and anxiety visit the daily lives of migrant workers in our country. However, migrant workers, like all workers have power, they have to organise, and as a body, select their day and don’t turn up for for work. Our high streets would change dramatically, all those nice “foreign” restaurants closed, that convenience store at the corner, closed, operations in hospitals cancelled, A&E departments stop functioning all together, crops in fields start to rot, and more mayhem. Of course migrant workers should not be expected to take this action on their own, they should have the support of all workers, for that is what we are, workers trying to survive in an unjust exploitative system, we are one.
To that end, mark this day in your calendar, spread the word, organise.
One Day Without Us
There are moments when silence in the face of discrimination and injustice becomes complicity. In the last two decades, immigration has become a festering toxic obsession in British politics. Year after year, men and women whose only 'crime' is to live, work and study in the UK have been vilified and stigmatised as parasites, intruders, invaders and outsiders.
Now, as a consequence of the June referendum result, xenophobic and racist attitudes previously lurking on the political fringes have erupted into the mainstream. We live in frightening times indeed, when government ministers can describe immigrants as 'negotiating chips', and threaten to 'name and shame’ businesses that employ foreign workers, as if these workers were something shameful.
It is now clear that our government has chosen to pander to fear and hate in order to manage the UK's exit from the European Union. These developments not only pose a direct threat to the millions of immigrants who have made the UK their home - they have also unleashed forces that may do incalculable harm to British society itself.
We cannot accept this.
Who are we?
We are British and non-British citizens; EU citizens and immigrants from beyond the EU; the descendants of immigrants, and non-immigrants. We come from many different political backgrounds. We include Leavers and Remainers. All of us share the same opposition to the dangerous social forces that now cast a shadow over our collective future. That is why we are calling on all those who share our vision to make 20 February, 2017 'A Day Without Us.'
What Are We Going To Do
We believe that now, more than ever, it is essential to remind the British public of the contribution that immigrants have made to this country, and what the country might look like if they were not here.
Liam Fox has said that migrants who ‘consume’ the country’s wealth and don't 'create anything' should not be allowed here. We reject these assumptions.
Inspired by the two historic immigrant days of action in the US and Italy, we are calling for all immigrants and all British citizens who support them to join in a national boycott on February 20 next year which marks the UN World Day of Social Justice.
How are we going to do it
For one day, we are inviting immigrants and their British supporters to absent themselves from the activities they normally do. To close their restaurants and businesses, leave classes, universities, and workplaces, and demonstrate by their absence what they have created, what they have given to British society and how essential and valuable they are.
Strike or take the day off work. Let your absence also remind the country of your presence.. And if you can't do that, then join us in other ways.
March, hold parties and meetings.
Do it in your town, your community, your workplace, your school, college, or university.
We recognize this may be an unprecedented step for many people, and we don't expect immigrants to do this alone. We call on all British citizens who share our vision to support this event, because we believe it should be a day of solidarity and celebration - and a rejection of the dire politics that threaten our common future.
