I’ve been on many protests, from a one-person demo against Brexit to a million strong march against the second Gulf War. I wonder if all the protests I’ve been on have made a difference. Brexit still happened; road by-pass schemes were still built; tuition fees came in despite our shouting; Tony Blair ignored our calls of ‘Not in Our Name’ and went to war in Iraq; and our bus services are still being cut despite our ridiculous protest in Aberaeron.

After Brexit went ahead I felt battered and bruised emotionally, not feeling at home in the country that I’d invested more than 40 years of my life in, but nobody threatened me physically, some just told me to go ‘home’. I’m not a person of colour and I don’t wear my atheism on my sleeve.  I’ve got my settled status and am getting on with my life.

After that fateful 2016 Brexit vote, there were events organised to help make our communities more cohesive. I went along to a Polish evening in Lampeter, ate delicious pickled pumpkins and danced to loud music. At that time we welcomed many Syrian refugees. An East Meets West evening was organised in Aberystwyth with music and dancing. The Syrians produced gorgeous platters of food while the Welsh contingent introduced them to a proper Twmpath. Did we try to involve Brexiteers in these events though? No.  

People who have fled violence and intimidation are looking for a place of safety. It makes no difference if they arrive on a small boat or an aeroplane. And would many prefer not to be here? Every time I see my Ukrainian friend on the bus she tells me she’s homesick. All I can do is give her a hug. The current riots against people of colour, Muslims, immigrants, asylum seekers, are frightening and are having a detrimental effect on these people.

There are campaigners imprisoned for protesting peacefully, activists against climate breakdown from Just Stop Oil. The Whole Truth Five have each been jailed for 4-5 years.  The judge refused to let the protesters explain in court why they took the action they did. And the Heathrow 13, three of them from Machynlleth, faced jail for their protest with Plane Stupid. All brave individuals but none of them violent. And yet I ask if their sacrifices have been in vain as climate change is still rattling along at an alarming rate and most people still fly willy-nilly without a single thought for the future of Mother Earth.

I was in Trafalgar Square when the anti Poll Tax riots broke out, I escaped swiftly as I abhor violence. Peaceful tactics got this unfair tax axed in the end. Without mobile phones and social media we had a sophisticated way of communicating via the grapevine that explained to people how to stretch their time in court. We all knew the slogan ‘Can’t Pay, Won’t Pay’. Civil disobedience on a massive scale worked.

All protests start as an act of desperation, anger at a situation, a feeling that your words are falling on deaf ears and your vote doesn’t count. What are the current rioters telling the rest of us? That they are angry over the senseless killing of children? We all are but most of us are not incited by behind the scenes agitators tapping away on X telling untruths about immigrants. I hear a lot on the national media about why certain people believe such lies, why they rioted.  They’re difficult and complicated issues and they need tackling. We cannot allow these rioters to intimidate immigrants while peaceful protests go unheeded.