Today, anti-fascists from across the country stood in solidarity with locals from around Dover to oppose neo-nazis and assorted far-right rejects who decended on the town, once more openly flying fascist flags and seig heiling.
The pathetic fascist turnout.
The AFN had organised coaches from across the country, with groups traveling from Brighton, Berkshire, Oxford, Bristol, Portsmouth and London amongst others. London2Calais also organised transport, as did the UAF. We were met in Dover by a large contingent of locals organised by the Kent Anti-Racism Network.
All in all, around 350 antifascists gathered around a KARN aid convoy to Calais, which, after being filled with donations from locals, was to be sent to the port.
The refugee solidarity convoy.
Several vehicles had been provided, and the plan was for them to be escorted into the port, right under the noses of the fascists. Whilst the far-right bimble around burning EU flags and throwing bacon at mosques, we offer practical solidarity with those fleeing both ISIS and the Western bombing.
After some short speeches, nearly 400 antifascists moved off towards the port, the aid convoy in our midst. Despite the enormous police presence, we stuck together and made it down to the seafront, where the convoy was cheered onto a Calais-bound ferry. The nationalists were powerless to stop us, after all their online bluster about “smashing the reds” and “doing antifa”. Only around 100 to 120 of them actually bothered to come, and they were clearly not interested in making good on their online threats.
The tiny far-right protest getting ready to leave the station.
After the convoy was seen off, antifascists quickly moved to block the road and stop the fascists marching. The far-right march route was blocked, and the fascists ended up being stuck in an immobile kettle for nearly two hours, bored out of their skulls waiting for the police to move us out of their way.
Antifascists blocking the far-right march.
Antifascists holding the line against the police and the far-right.
Eventually, inevitably, the police moved in. Kent’s finest seemed determined to facilitate open neo-nazis marching through Dover, despite local opposition. They kettled us and aggressively arrested several antifascists, eventually forcing us back onto one side of the road so they could move the fascists through.
Police moving in on antifascists.
Then the fascists were finaly marched into view, and what a sorry lot they were. Barely half the numbers of last time, marching slowing in silence, surrounded by a mobile kettle of police for their own protection. They couldn’t even muster a good chant as they went past us, most prefering to keep their heads down and stay silent. Even those few who did make any noise confined themselves to shouting “come on then!” at antifascists from behind 4 lines of police, horses and vans. How brave, lads. They marched past us (with a couple of lacklustre seig-heils), held a few speeches at the docks (in which cypriot immigrant Paul Prodromou burned an EU flag and shouted about “imigants” for a while) then marched back past us (again in silence) and were escorted under extremely heavy manners back to the station and promtly sent packing.
All in all, not exactly a good day for Paul and his fascist mates. They had very low numbers, and it took the combined protection of about 5 different police forces for them to march 500m through town, and even then we held them up for nearly 2 hours! All this plus the fact that we proudly marched an aid convoy to Calais through the centre of town right under their noses, and they couldn’t do jack about it.
We’ll leave you with this utterly hilarous photo of some of the neo-nazis who were in town today. Is it just us or does this remind anyone of kiddies dressing up as power rangers?
The master race at play?
