Welcome to my new regular column in The Communist! In each issue, I’ll be discussing what I’ve been up to as national campaigns coordinator and spokesperson for the Revolutionary Communist Party.
Summer 2024, for me, will always be defined first and foremost by the revolutionary victory of the students in Bangladesh.
Since I launched my general election campaign in May, I’ve had the opportunity to meet hundreds of people – students and workers; activists and organisers – locally, nationally, and internationally.
Revolution in Bangladesh
In my constituency, and across the borough of Tower Hamlets, resides the biggest Bangladeshi community in the country. I was bowled over by the support and warmth I received from them.
In fact, this reached Dhaka itself, with Bangladeshi student leaders offering their support and endorsement of my election campaign.
When the Awami League – alongside their student supporters in the Chhatra League – began using violence against protestors, I was contacted by students in Dhaka directly, asking me to speak out about what was happening.
The first message I received was on 15 July. From there, the whirlwind began.
Huge demonstrations took place in Trafalgar Square and in East London’s Altab Ali park. At these, I spoke about the inspiring example the students were setting for young people all over the world; and how the true allies of these courageous students are the workers and students of other countries.
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We did everything we could to promote what was happening. I will never forget the day Prime Minister Hasina fled. In Whitechapel, it felt as though we were in the revolution ourselves.
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But our celebrations had to have a sense of sobriety. I am still discussing with our comrades and friends about the danger the revolution now faces: the possibility of any victory or gains being snatched away by the same class with different faces.
The RCP will therefore continue this solidarity work.
Camp for Revolution
I also had the pleasure recently of being invited to speak at Youth Demand’s ‘Camp for Revolution’, held in Cornwall, where I met a group of 50 young activists.
Youth Demand are a development of Just Stop Oil Students, composed of activists who want to campaign against the government’s support for Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
I was excited to attend this camp, alongside four other RCP comrades. I spoke about how the situation in Palestine reflects the extreme lengths the ruling class will go to, in order to protect their imperialist interests.
Our priority in Britain, therefore, must be to overthrow our own rotten imperialist ruling class, who are responsible – both historically and presently – for this brutal violence and oppression.
After my talk, I was asked for any books I would recommend. Where to begin?! Maybe by heading to wellredbooks.co.uk…
United struggle
During the camp, the idyllic Cornish vistas were sharply counterposed by what I and others were watching on our phones: fascist thugs wreaking havoc on our streets, up and down the country.
Days later, I attended the 10,000-strong counter-demo in Walthamstow, along with a large group from the RCP.
The best part of this was joining the ‘Healthcare Workers for Palestine’ bloc. I was asked to give a speech, where I explained that the fight against racism, fascism, and imperialism is the fight against capitalism – which is a revolutionary fight!
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Uniting all these struggles does not make them weaker, but stronger, I said.
I saw comrades from Youth Demand, the student encampments, the Bangladesh solidarity protests, and more at this protest. This shows the appetite to bring our struggles together, on a class basis.
This leaves me confident and excited about the upcoming autumn, and the prospects for revolutionary work in the months ahead.
As part of this, the RCP is launching a ‘Books Not Bombs’ campaign.
I plan to travel up and down the country – to different universities – to speak at rallies and meetings, to help promote this national campaign; to bring together revolutionary, anti-imperialist students under this banner.
Hopefully I’ll see you on this campaign trail!
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